Reference Books - Page 16

Not for Tourists Guide to New York City (Not for Tourists: New York City)

List Price: $14.95 By: Not for Tourists Amazon Marketplace: 18 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Well written 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a well written guide; although, I only used for about 2 weeks. It's useful for learning neighborhoods, but you'll get more by just walking through the neighborhoods yourself. Recommended for those less interested in self exploration or completely clueless about the city.

4.5 stars 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book has clear maps that DEF. help in getting around. The subway locations were clearly marked, and you get a close view of each section of the city. My only complaint is that it always seems like the restaurant, or store, or coffee shop, etc. that I am looking for is never in the book.

Best Guide to the City 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My mom gifted this to me a couple months before I moved to NYC and since then I have referred to it as The Bible. It's gotten me around the city, helped me learn all the pieces in its individual breakdown of the sections of the city, and inspired me to do a lot of exploring. It's full of helpful hints and very detailed maps. Definately consult this if you're visiting the city, but i especially recommend it if you plan on moving here. There are detailed maps of each section that show you everything from the nearest subway line to all the local coffee shops, banks, and laundromats.

Editorial Review:

Not For Tourists Guide to New York City features clear, easy-to-read maps and graphics, as well as listings of key services, restaurants, shops, schools, entertainment venues, public transportation, parks, and more. NFT Guides detail everything residents take advantage of, placing a wealth of local services at their fingertips, in a convenient size.

Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune: The Contrarian Traveler's Guide to Getting More for Less

Tim Leffel

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Travelers' Tales Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $5.04

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Helpful to some 4 out of 5 stars.
16 of 20 people found this review helpful.

For those who still book package tours and allow other people to make their travel plans for them, this book will be helpful. For those who use the internet to plan their own travel, it offers less. It's a bit long on cute anecdotes and short on solid practical information.

Editorial Review:

Not another collection of checklists or tips on coupons or promotions, this practical guide teaches travelers — novice or seasoned — how to take advantage of travel opportunities by avoiding the typical tourist mentality. Author Tim Leffel shows readers how to bypass the traps that drive up expenses and find the best value, whether as a young backpacker or a wealthy retiree. Drawing on his own extensive experience (including three yearlong trips around the globe as well as his experience as an industry insider), the author also covers what steps to take and what resources to use to save money on travel and how to travel better — or more often — on a smaller budget. A dozen other notable travel writers and subject matter experts contribute sidebars on specific ways to save.

Voyaging On A Small Income

Annie Hill

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tiller Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $15.65

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Food for thought, not only source 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I found the information to be helpful and honest in opinion. I am restoring a sail boat and have been reading tons of books on all systems from electrical, mechanical, heating, cooking, efficiency, safety, etc and felt this book was helpful. It doesn't have all the answers, or cover all the choices, but the author shares what she knows in an honest manner and gives actual models and types of different items for comparison. I liked the female point of view as to ease of management, cleanliness of systems, & actual daily use efficiency. A heating system was rated high, but messy, which made author reluctant to use, I appreciated the candor. As I said....Food for thought, definately worth the price.

Editorial Review:

Annie Hill wrote this book to answer all the questions that always come up about what they are doing. Annie and Pete Hill voyage on Badger, a Benford 34' Sailing Dory. An income of $3,000 a year lets them do this without stopping to work. They built Badger, live aboard her, and have sailed her over 80,000 miles. It's a wonderfully descriptive account of not only what they're doing, but how they have done it and the philosophy of simplification and cost-benefit analysis they use to sort out their priorities. For those who want to follow in their wake, or set off on their own adventures, there's a wealth of information on how-to-do-it here.

Culture Shock! USA: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Culture Shock! USA)

Esther Wanning

List Price: $14.95 By: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $5.36

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Not a good guide 2 out of 5 stars.
18 of 22 people found this review helpful.

I have read six other Culture Shock books. Those are interesting and well researched. However, Culture Shock USA is the opposite. It deals far more with everyday life, than with the USA, with knowing little about what aspects of American life would be a problem or a surprise to a foreigner (apparently most Americans wouldn't know). I have read a few other interesting and well researched books about the USA, e.g. Coping with America by Peter Trudgill, which I would recommend instead.

Editorial Review:

Whether you're conducting business, traveling for pleasure, or even relocating abroad, one mistake with customs or etiquette can leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. International travelers, now more than ever, are not just individuals from the United States, but ambassadors and impression makers for the country as a whole. Newly updated, redesigned, and resized for maximum shelf appeal for travelers of all ages, Culture Shock! country and city guides make up the most complete reference series for customs and etiquette you can find. These are not just travel guides; these are guides for a way of life.

Texas Atlas & Gazetteer

DeLorme

List Price: $24.95 By: Delorme Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $22.52

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Texas Atlas by Delorme 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The atlas has good detail with mapping, however the quality of the material or workmanship is very bad. I modrately used the book two weeks and entire pages came out of the book. The paper is breaking at the binding on several pages. I DO NOT recommend this product

Texas Atlas and Gazetteer 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I have been through several of these. I use them until they fall apart and then get another. I purchased another brand after my last one fell apart. Used it once and did'nt like it. This is the best Texas Atlas made. The blowups and details of the metro areas make it particularly valueable.

Buying a Different Map 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I've been disappointed with this map. I love the back roads, and find that half the roads I pass aren't even on this map. If they are on shown, oftentimes, they aren't labeled, making it even more difficult to navigate. I'm specifically purchasing the Roads of Texas, published by Texas A&M after viewing it from someone else. That atlas labels all the backroads and seems to have a better lay-out.

Additionally, I've had the Delorme map for two years. The glue is terrible and pages are already falling out.

Editorial Review:

The first choice of outdoors enthusiasts. Beautiful, detailed, large-format maps of every state. Perfect for home and office reference, and a must for all your vehicles. Gazetteer information may include: campgrounds, attractions, historic sites & museums, recreation areas, trails, freshwater fishing site & boat launches, canoe trips or scenic drives. Categories vary by state

Insight Guide Costa Rica (Insight Guides Costa Rica)

Paul Murphy

Amazon Price: $22.95 List Price: $22.95 Usually ships in 12 to 14 days By: Insight Guides Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Comprehensive and thorough with great photos 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 21 people found this review helpful.

Vacation photos are the ubiquitous, clichéd chronicle of the average person's travels. Yet few travel books include more than a small smattering of so-so photos, offering only a peek at a destination's sights and environs; even though a great deal of our travel memories and experiences are through images. This book, along with the Insight Guides series in general, is different, offering a comprehensive set of fantastic photos that not only showcase the sights, but bring the details, richness, and life (some gorgeous, some gritty) of Costa Rica closer.

The accompanying text, while a bit uncharacteristic (likely due to editorial consistency), is informative and comprehensive, giving you a great overview of Costa Rica, its history, its people, and places of interest. Its travel information, such as lodgings, appears targeted towards middle-class travelers, although it touches on a wide range of styles and budgets. And when you're ready to plan your itinerary the maps outshine those of any other guide book, and are good enough to use on your trip, even for 90% of the driving most folks are likely to do.

Other guidebooks might offer more in-depth and "insider" information with a particular slant (e.g. the excellent, down-to-earth, and environmentally conscious book by Harry S. Pariser, "Explore Costa Rica") but the Insight Guide should be the first one you buy to "see" where your travels might take you.

Editorial Review:

One of over 400 titles in the Insight series,

Insight Guide Costa Rica. This 298-page book includes a section detailing Costa Rica's history, 8 features covering the country's life and culture, ranging from the spectacular plant life to the best coffee in the worldallegedly, a region by region visitor's guide to the sights, and a comprehensive Travel Tips section packed with essential contact addresses and numbers. Plus 283 impressive photographs and 7 maps, including a National Parks and Reserves map.

Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel

Lisa Alpine, Jacqueline Butler, Pamela Michael, Cathleen Miller, Carla King

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks By: Globe Pequot Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $2.35

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Perfectly executed! 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

This book was perfectly conceived and executed. These 24 smart stories by 12 smart women cover the whole tonal range -- funny, poignant, gut-wrenching, beautiful, thoughtful, irreverant, wonderfully sappy... And the publishing concept itself was brilliant, a clever way to crack a difficult market: strength in numbers, taking power into their own hands...in retrospect it seems so obvious, but I'm sure that two years ago these women had little idea how brilliant they were being... I'm 50 years old now, and anyone who has reached my stage of geezerhood knows the value of having even one good solid friend. I attended a salon event these women put on in San Francisco recently, and I mentioned to one of them just how great I thought it would be to have twelve friends as tight as they seem to be. Her response: "Well, now you do!" And that is the feeling that one comes away with after reading their book: Twelve new friends.

Editorial Review:

Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel is an anthology from a remarkable writers' group. The WWW - a gathering of twelve women - travel the globe, returning as often as they can to share their tales of adventure.

Through these pages you will journey alongside each author, traveling through China on a motorcycle, playing with fire at a volcano's edge in Hawaii, experiencing the supernatural in Scotland, or falling in love in Moscow.

Life's adventures are expressed here with sensitivity and verve, providing a terrific read that is sure to become a favorite of book groups, armchair travelers, and wild women everywhere. (5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 224 pages)

CDC Health Information for International Travel 2008

Amazon Price: $23.35 List Price: $25.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Mosby Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $22.78

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Widely known as "The Yellow Book," this concise and user-friendly resource equips both travelers and physicians with essential information on preventing, recognizing, and managing travel-related health problems. Since it comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - the leading authority on infectious disease, public health, and infection control in the U.S. - you can count on it for all the guidance you need to minimize the health risks and discomforts of travel, from immunizations and jet lag to infections and food poisoning.

• Get dependable advice on any travel health issue from the experts at the CDC, including vaccinations, trip planning and safety tips, health and infection hazards associated with various geographic regions, prevention of a full range of specific infectious diseases, jet lag, motion sickness, sunburn, animal bites, and much more.
• Make travel plans suited to your specific needs whether you are a disabled or immunocompromised traveler, traveling with infants and young children, while pregnant or breastfeeding, or for international adoptions.
• Easily see which health risks are most prevalent in a given area thanks to user-friendly color maps.
• Understand what you need to know with content that's written for general audiences as well as physicians.

• Be aware of the latest risks associated with avian flu, yellow fever, poliomyelitis and malaria, as well as the most current vaccination guidelines.
• Find the answers you need faster than ever thanks to "topic tabs", and key reference citations throughout the book.

Gay Travels in the Muslim World

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harrington Park Press Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $11.10

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Broader prospective than the Middle East 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

The book description mentions "traveling in the Middle East." Readers should understand that the Muslim world far exceeds this limited geographic region and that many of the stories in this book were written by people whose travels were in other areas.

I write this as the author of one of the stories in the book. My experiences were in Africa.

Thoughtful Reading of The Muslim World 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

"Gay Travels in the Muslim World" is quick interesting reading. Luongo's perface to the book is most note worthy. He presents the issue of homosexuality in a framework of identity versus practices which is thoughtful. I would recommend this book for students of sociology and African American studies who are focused on learning more about ascribed and achieved life roles within society.

John Barfield
Evanston, IL

Editorial Review:

Gay Travels in the Muslim World journeys where other gay travel books fear to tread--Muslim countries. This thought provoking book tells both Muslim and non-Muslim gay men's stories of traveling in the Middle East during these difficult political times.

Culture Shock! France: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

Sally Adamson Taylor

List Price: $14.95 By: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $12.80

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Lots of Errors, Though Well-Written 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

While I enjoy Taylor's writing style and personal flair, there are lots of errors in this book. There are things that will get you hurt (like the section that vastly overstates the safety of bicycling here) or get you into social trouble (like the section that states most French people don't know much about wine and they don't have to because it's "quality controlled" -- please never EVER say that to a French person! It's not true! This is their culture and they are all extremely proud of their wine knowledge because the wine reflects the character of each region).

I'm not French, but my boyfriend is French (Parisian, actually) and we've been living here in the South of France for three months. It was a new book that arrived in his office, so he gave it to me to read, hoping it would help my transition here. Unfortunately, I kept finding things that just didn't line up at all with what I'd experienced or didn't ring true for some reason. I'd relate one thing after another to him of what I was reading and he'd have to correct it. I then thought to look for the author's qualifications to write the book and wasn't convinced they were really there.

Anyway, there are definitely some things that are correct, especially where Taylor states that one should use their French, even if their grammar and vocabulary isn't perfect. And I could appreciate the part where she talks about moderating one's voice in public. (It's a pretty common foible for Americans to raise their voices.) I give her three stars for the general information that's right and a well-organized, well-written book. But I would not recommend this for someone who knows nothing about French culture. In fact, if someone knows a really good book on French culture shock, please tell me. We would love to know!

Editorial Review:

Whether you're conducting business, traveling for pleasure, or even relocating abroad, one mistake with customs or etiquette can leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. International travelers, now more than ever, are not just individuals from the United States, but ambassadors and impression makers for the country as a whole. Newly updated, redesigned, and resized for maximum shelf appeal for travelers of all ages, Culture Shock! country and city guides make up the most complete reference series for customs and etiquette you can find. These are not just travel guides; these are guides for a way of life.