General Books

New Orleans (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

DK Publishing

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Subjects -> Travel -> Guidebook Series -> Eyewitness -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Guidebook Series -> Eyewitness -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> United States -> Regions -> South -> General

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

The Starting Place For Every Trip 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful.

My work has provided me with the opportunity to travel a good bit. I am the type of person who wants to get a working background for my destinations, both in terms of history and geographic layout. Because I work, I don't have a great deal of time to spend reading and studying different, often lengthy, travel guides before or during my trips.

Because these guides are concise, beautifully illustrated, relatively compact, and impeccably organized, I cannot recommend highly enough the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guides! The DK Eyewitness Travel Guide is THE guide I buy for every destination. Not only do I get a quick history and background of the destination, but I also will be provided with a visual guide to everything. The visual detail is really what sets the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides apart.

The street maps of common destination points are drawn in dimensional detail so you will visually recognize when you "get there." This is particularly helpful when you don't speak the native language.

The regional maps are colorful and concise. However, the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide really shows its stuff with the drawings associated with attractions such as museums. Their presentation of museum layouts allow the traveler who is short on time to quickly see the best of the museum within the time the traveler has to spend.

Each DK Eyewitness Travel Guide has a good summary section in the back with practical information about where to eat, where to sleep, what to do, and how to get around.

While I may supplement the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide with others for a more detailed travel guide, the other guide is only more to read, not more to see. Buy the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide first for any destination.

Editorial Review:

Includes: the Upper French Quarter, Lower French Quarter, Marigny, Warehouse District, Central Business District, the Garden District, Uptown, and Mid-City.

Cruising Guide to Western Florida (Cruising Guides Series)

Claiborne S. Young

List Price: $28.95 By: Pelican Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $1.89

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Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Sailing -> Excursion Guides

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Cruising Guide to Western Florida 4 out of 5 stars.
29 of 31 people found this review helpful.

This much-needed guide provide a wealth of useful information for the cruising sailor. Written in an enthusiastic and readable style, the author invites the reader to explore the varied cruising grounds of Western Florida. Of great value in this coastline of difficult channels is the detailed information given for each approach, including low water depths in shoal channels. Another feature is a listing of the charts (by number) to cover each area. Photographs and non-navigational charts are also shown throughout the book. Altogether, an informative and useful guide.

Editorial Review:

This updated guide to the waterways of western Florida provides a useful tool for all cruising boaters - delighting passengers and armchair sailors as well with its good humoured text. It offers readers information on marina's, shoreside attractions, water depths, facilities, anchorages, and local geography, while also covering the history and folklore of the region. From lovely Pine Island South to serene Gasparilla Island and Cabbage Key, this guide describes the splendour of the Withlacoochee, the Steinhatchee and the Suwannee rivers in the Big Ben area, the Ten Thousand Islands down south, and the intracoastal waterways in between. It covers the boating facilities of such towns as Tapron Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, and Naples.

Louisiana Houses of A. Hays Town

A. Hays Town, Cyril E. Vetter

Amazon Price: $29.70 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Louisiana State University Press Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $24.49

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent view 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I found this book to be exactly the view of Hays Town's work that I wanted to see.

Great Coffee Table Material 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My wife loves the A. Hays Town homes, and this book is a nice representation of his work. A good coffee table item for guests to view.

Wonderful architect 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

We are building a new home with the Hays Town Louisiana houses as inspiration. His style should translate well to rural Atlanta. But we have to pass on the German Shepherd.

Louisiana Homes 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Being born and raised in SE Louisiana just outside of New Orleans I really enjoyed the homes presented. I am currently planning to build our home here in the Houston suburbs and the ideas presented are awesome!!!

Timeless Home Designs 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is beautifully photographed and well written. It is a perfect example of how new homes can be constructed to have the timeless appeal of historical properties by using old and new materials and thoughtful intrepetation of historical designs. Mr. Town's homes are the kind that can be handed down from generation to generation due to their quailty and beauty. Mr. Town's residential projects should be an inspiration to those considering building a new home in any price range. It is the design that counts.

Editorial Review:

Architect A. Hays Town changed the face of the Louisiana house, and this volume honors that legacy. Color photographs of numerous homes, including Town's own, combine with illuminating text to produce a volume that captures the appeal and beauty of the state's finest architectural tradition. 200 color photos.

Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena

Julia Reed

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Trade Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $1.99

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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not so funny... 2 out of 5 stars.
9 of 20 people found this review helpful.

Well, having recently finished Celia Rivenbark's 'We're Just Like You Only Prettier', which was very amusing, I figured this book would be similar to that one. The reviews said it was very humorous, and entertaining. I'm sorry, but I do not agree. Julia Reed is a Vogue writer living in New York City, but she's from Mississippi. Now, I felt that at times when describing the silly ways of the southern women's traditions, it was almost like she was making fun of them. But then when she would bash the Yankees (which I happen to be, and am darn proud of it) she was all for her southern heritage.

I love southern books, and I've always had this fascination with the south. I truly hope one day to live there when my husband retires. I have always admired southern women, their traditions, their tight family bonds, and the land itself. Ms. Reed made these women sound ditsy, and shallow, while making us Yankees sound like ignorant, clueless slobs. And she made the area (the south) sound like pure hell to live in.

I gave this 2 stars because there were some interesting facts in it, and some of the events that go on down there were really neat to learn about, and all the food she talked about, sounds delicious! But overall I'd just like to forget this book. It has in no way changed my opinion of southern men and women, or the south itself, and I can only hope they don't look at the Yankees the same way Julia Reed does. If you're looking for a funny book on the 'ways of the south', pick up Ms. Rivenbarks book, that one won't disappoint.

Editorial Review:

In classic Dixie storytelling fashion, with a rare blend of literary elegance and plainspoken humor, the inimitably charming, staunchly Southern Julia Reed wends her way below the Mason-Dixon line and observes many phenomena– from politics, religion, and women to weather, guns, and what she calls “drinking and other Southern pursuits.” To hear Reed tell it, the South is another country. She builds an entertaining and persuasive case, using as examples everything from its unfathomable codes of conduct to its disciplined fashion sense. And then there is Southern food, which is an entire world apart: Gumbo, grits, greens, and, of course, fried chicken make memorable appearances in Reed’s essays, which will amuse, delight, and even explain a thing or two to baffled Yankees everywhere.

Old Glory : A Voyage Down the Mississippi

Jonathan Raban

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> General
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Wonderfully Written Book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Cerebral, yet accessable, Jonathan Raban is hard to peg in terms of genre. A book such as Old Glory could be considered travel writing, but such easy classification would fall far short of the mark. He incorporates history, some incredible descriptive prose, and sparse but welcome bits of dry British wit. In fact, his Englishness is part what makes the book so interesting - you see America, warts and all, from the eyes of an outsider. Raban is a stylist, who reveals himself to the reader slowly. I found him to be a very interesting, complex, slightly tortured figure. I will never look at the Mississippi as just some long line on a map ever again. The whirlpools, the logs, the dangers; always moving atop and into the unknown and on a vessel ridiculously undersized for such a trip; a metaphor, certainly. In terms of pure writing style, there cannot be many better than Jonathan Raban. This is a writer, you think, you will come back to.

Editorial Review:

The author of Bad Land realizes a lifelong dream as he navigates the waters of the Mississippi River in a spartan sixteen-foot motorboat, producing yet another masterpiece of contemporary American travel writing.  In the course of his voyage, Raban records the mercurial caprices of the river and the astonishingly varied lives of the people who live along its banks.  Whether he is fishing for walleye or hunting coon, discussing theology in Prairie Du Chien or race relations in Memphis, he is an expert observer of the heartyland's estrangement from America's capitals ot power and culture, and its helpless nostalgia for its lost past.  Witty, elegaic, and magnificently erudite, Old Glory is as filled with strong currents as the Mississippi itself.

Along the Edge of America

Peter Jenkins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not nearly as good as A Walk Across America 3 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

In his book describing his walk across many eastern states Jenkins does an excellent job of describing the scenery and people he encounters. You really feel that he bonds with those he meets.

The boat trip described in this book seems much less interesting - mostly because it seems so forced. It seems that Jenkins looks back fondly on his long walk and wants nothing more than to recreate it - this time on a boat. The trouble is, an adventure like his walk is impossible to recreate.

A Walk Across America was written after the fact. His adventuresome spirit led him to many intriguing places and he only thought to write about it after it was over. In this book however, Jenkins seems to be on a hunt for interesting folks to include in a new book.

Sometimes he succeeds in finding interesting people (a Vietnam vet and his brother, a Texas sheriff) but more often than not the people he describes were a bit eccentric but really not worth writing about in a book.

Editorial Review:

The best-selling author and walker Peter Jenkins, landlubber par excellence, now takes to the waves and explores, as only he can, a part of America rich in history, mystery, and lore: from the Florida Keys to the Mexican border, by way of the Everglades, the treacherous "jungle woods," genteel southern homesteads, the Cajun marshlands, and Texas's coastal cattle country. It's a riveting encounter with hardy, resourceful, colorful - and occasionally dangerous - characters who have one thing in common: a fierce love for their world of wind and water and sun, a world that Jenkins brings uniquely to life.

Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues

Steve Cheseborough

List Price: $20.00 By: University Press of Mississippi Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $22.80

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A review by a 2004 Blues Traveler 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I highly recommend this book for anybody considering a Blues trip into the Delta. It is the best available resource on the market. Looking at its competitors, they all miss the mark due to either outdated, incomplete, or just plain incorrect information.

I have just completed a Delta blues trip and read the book after I returned. Having actually done such a trip provides a very authoritative vantage point from which to judge any such work.

Our trip was preceded by 6 months of online research into every aspect of the Delta and surrounding areas. Over 100 pages of information were accumulated prior to departure. The trip itself covered nearly a 1400 mile loop by car that began and ended in New Orleans. So many of the stops we made along the way ~ Jackson, Ms.; Greenwood, Ms.; Clarksdale, Ms.; Helena, Ark.; Memphis, Tenn.; all the historic gravesites; the prisons and the plantations were all covered in Steve's book. He certainly did his homework. (For goodness sake, he moved there as part of the overall immersion process, LOL!)

We met Steve in Helena while he was lecturing and playing at the `Blues on Main Street' exhibit opening at the Delta Cultural Center on Cherry St. He is proficient at both. It was there we bought the book that got carried home and subsequently read after the fact.

If you don't have 6 months to do your own research, just buy his book and read it in a week. He covers everything. Then take it with you and use it as a guide on the road.

(p.s. Plan your trip so it somehow involves the WC Handy awards in Memphis in late April, as well as the Beale Street Music Festival that follows that weekend).

Editorial Review:

At a crossroad in the Mississippi Delta, Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for becoming a guitar virtuoso and King of the Delta Blues. Blues Travelling will tell you where that legendary deal was supposed to have been made and guide you to all the other hallowed grounds that nourished Mississippi's signature music. Robert Johnson; Mississippi John Hurt; Memphis Minnie; Jimmie Rodgers; Bessie Smith; Muddy Waters; Mississippi Fred McDowell; Howlin' Wolf; B. B. King; Little Milton; Elvis Presley; Bobby Rush; Junior Kimborough; R. L. Burnside; and many more; A trip through the Mississippi blues sites is a pilgrimage every blues fan will want to make - real, or armchair.

A Guidebook to Virginia's Historical Markers

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Including nearly nine hundred new and replacement markers that have been installed along the commonwealth's roadways since the last edition was published in 1994, this third edition of "A Guidebook to Virginia's Historical Markers" brings together and updates the texts of more than 1,850 official state historical markers placed along Virginia's highways since 1927. Divided for the first time into six geographic-cultural regions, this edition contains maps and three individual indexes that assist the reader in locating markers by title, number, or subject matter. The subject index covers African American, Native American, and women's history; maps out key places in such areas as European exploration and settlement, industry and agriculture, and transportation and communication; and canvasses the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and such notable sites as courthouses, houses of worship, educational institutions, forts, and famous homes and homesites. Vacationers and those simply out for a drive will stumble across sites as diverse as Jamestown and the birthplace of Booker T. Washington, the graves of country music's Carter family and the original locations of northern Virginia's Nike missile installations, the places where paramount chief Powhatan first met with the English and where the artist Georgia O'Keeffe taught art, and Langley Field, which played a significant role in the history of manned space flight. Virginia has one of the oldest marker systems in the country, established in 1927. The markers are no longer state funded, and so the program illustrates a collaborative effort between committed sponsors who offer financial support, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and the Virginia Department of Transportation. The network holds great appeal for tourists and serves as a source of pride for local citizens. Travelers along Virginia's highways will find this guide both useful and informative. The great legacy of Virginia's past is revealed on these markers, making the book both a handy reference and a stimulus to greater study of the history of the commonwealth. It is published in association with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Poor Man's Provence: Finding Myself in Cajun Louisiana

Rheta Grimsley Johnson

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

Sincerity, Humor and Humanity Abound 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Somewhat like the wonderful nonfiction works of Least Heat Moon's "Blue Highways" and Raban's "Passage to Juneau", only better, much better. Like those two travel novels, "Poor Man's Provence", entertains with unique true anecdotes and historical facts about the down home exotic people and places of the Acadiana ("Cajun") Country, Louisiana. Woven into the colorful quilt of her writing, Rheta Grimsley Johnson also gives us wicked irony, Twain like humor and a little subtle, sincere, simple human philosophy. Unlike "Blue Highways" and "Passage to Juneau", "Poor Man's Provence" is not a travelogue, but instead represents ten years of learning and loving the gentle folks of Cajun Louisiana. It's a great book to read if you think that you will ever want to see this part of the American South, and it's still plenty entertaining even if you just want to get to know the natives vicariously. If there is any justice in such things, this must read book should win lots of awards.

Editorial Review:

These days, much is labeled Cajun that is not, and the popularity of the unique culture's food, songs, and dance has been a mixed blessing. Poor Man's Provence helps define what's what through lively characters and stories. The book is both a personal odyssey and good reporting, a travelogue and a memoir, funny and frank.

Along Interstate-75: Local Knowledge, Entertainment And Insider Tips, for Your Drive Between Detroit And the Florida Border. (Along Interstate 75)

Dave Hunter

List Price: $23.95 By: Mile Oak Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $80.33

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

It's all you need for your trip 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

If I could give this book 10 stars I would. The amount of detail and information it has is just amazing. Dave Hunter and his wife, Kathy, have made the trip to Florida much more fun and interesting. You can plan ahead for side trips, rest areas, even what gas stations and restaurants are miles down the road. I had an earlier version, but it is a good idea to update every other year as things change so often along I75. Get this great little book and you will learn things, even if you have driven this route all your life, as I have. If you are planning a trip down to Florida via I75, this should be your first purchase

Great Helpful Travel Guide ! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

A few years ago, when we purchased a vacation home in Florida, friends gave us the I-75 Guide as a gift. How helpful it has been for all this time, as we traveled back and forth twice a year ! It came time to pack it for this spring's trip and it was nowhere to be found. When we reached Florida and it still had not revealed itself, we promptly ordered another one, updated for this year. We have found it extremely useful in passing through large cities (such as Atlanta) with minimal frustration and in locating facilites along the way. Knowing where gas stations, restaurants and motels are - exit by exit- makes it so much easier to plan your stops during the day. It has also been quite accurate in notations about natural phenomena along the way (kudzu vines, weeping rocks, deer sightings, etc.) Sightseeing information is also of interest and value. We have maps and guidebooks from other sources, but still like to have this one in addition. Keep up the good work !

Editorial Review:

If you drive on any section of Interstate-75 anywhere between Detroit, Michigan and the Florida border, this book is an absolute MUST. Full of practical information and roadside stories, this mile-by-mile guidebook entertains you and your passengers on your journey - it turns a boring drive into a fun trip.