West Books - Page 4

Streetwise San Francisco Map - Laminated City Street Map of San Francisco, California - with integrated BART map including lines and stations - MUNI lines, bus routes

Streetwise Maps

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

worked great for my vacation 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I stayed at The Red Vic in Haight-Ashbury, a little off the beaten path. This map and my weeklong muni pass paid for themselves a gabillion times. The map worked great; I was never lost. The way they depict the touristy section of Lombard Street makes me giggle.

Streetwise San Francisco 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Although not as compact, we like this better than the Pocket Pilot. This map has more detail, it just doesn't fit very well in a pocket. Because of its size, it is more readable.
Golden Gate Trailblazer: Where to Hike, Walk, Bike in San Francisco & MarinZagat San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants 2009 (Zagatsurvey: San Francisco/ Bay Area Restaurants)Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to And Living in the San Francisco Bay Area: Including San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, And Palo Alto (Newcomer's Handboks)

Editorial Review:

Streetwise San Francisco Map - Laminated City Street Map of San Francisco, California - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated BART map including lines & stations - MUNI lines, bus routes

This map covers the following areas:
Main San Francisco Map 1:30,000
San Francisco Bus Map 1:60,000
San Francisco Area Map 1:1,000,000
San Francisco BART System Map
Muni Metro & BART Map
Yerba Buena Gardens Map

Thomas Guide 2009 Los Angeles & Orange Counties, California (Los Angeles and Orange Counties Street Guide)

Amazon Price: $23.07 List Price: $34.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rand McNally & Company

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Coming into the Country

John McPhee

Amazon Price: $11.56 List Price: $17.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Amazon Marketplace: 119 new & used starting at $0.79

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Subjects -> Travel -> United States -> States -> Alaska -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A trip around Alaska in the 70's 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I traveled to Alaska in 2006 but lived there in the early 70's. Why I delayed so long in reading "Coming into the Country" I don't know, but John McPhee has taken me back to that earlier day. Both his character and place descriptions are wonderful and make me long for the cabins, the ice break-up, the dogs, the bush planes, and the 55 gallon drums. The Anchorage of today is much changed, but the bush is still there -- Thank God.

Editorial Review:

Coming into the Country is an unforgettable account of Alaska and Alaskans. It is a rich tapestry of vivid characters, observed landscapes, and descriptive narrative, in three principal segments that deal, respectively, with a total wilderness, with urban Alaska, and with life in the remoteness of the bush.

Readers of McPhee’s earlier books will not be unprepared for his surprising shifts of scene and ordering of events, brilliantly combined into an organic whole. In the course of this volume we are made acquainted with the lore and techniques of placer mining, the habits and legends of the barren-ground grizzly, the outlook of a young Athapaskan chief, and tales of the fortitude of settlers—ordinary people compelled by extraordinary dreams. Coming into the Country unites a vast region of America with one of America’s notable literary craftsmen, singularly qualified to do justice to the scale and grandeur of the design.

The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind-and Almost Found Myself-on the Pacific Crest Trail (P.S.)

Dan White

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Utterly Joyless Book 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I did not think it was possible to write a book about hiking the PCT without conveying the joy, beauty and spirituality of the experience, but Dan White has managed to do it.

If you are looking to understand what it is like to hike the PCT, this is not the book. This book about two inexperienced, unprepared hikers portrays the worst of the experience and almost completely misses explaining the hike itself. Instead of descriptions of the terrain, we get long reminisces about the authors past experiences [generally not very interesting] and long descriptions of tedious conversations with other PCT hikers---all which crowd out the PCT itself. For example, on the top of Mt. Whitney, which commands one of the greatest 360 degree views in America, White writes nothing about the joy of being there, but instead repeats a desultory conversation with another hiker. He walks through the southern Sierras without mentioning Rae Lakes, passes through the Yosemite High Country with few comments, then provides a detailed description of his visit to souvenir shops at Lake Tahoe!

I congratulate the author and his girlfriend for undertaking this adventure and only wish he could have captured the joy of the experience,

Editorial Review:

The Pacific Crest Trail stretches from Mexico to Canada, a distance of 2,650 grueling, sun-scorched, bear-infested miles. When Dan White and his girlfriend announced their intention to hike it, Dan's parents—among others—thought they were nuts. How could two people who'd never even shared an apartment together survive six months in the desert with little more than a two-person tent and some trail mix? But when these addled adventurers, dubbed "the Lois and Clark Expedition" by their benevolent trail-guru, set out for the American wilderness, the hardships of the trail—and one delicious-looking cactus—test the limits of love and sanity.

Frommer's Maui 2009 (Frommer's Complete)

Jeanette Foster

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 1.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

America's #1 bestselling travel series

Written by more than 175 outspoken travelers around the globe, Frommer’s Complete Guides help travelers experience places the way locals do.

• More annually updated guides than any other series

• 16-page color section and foldout map in all annual guides

• Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and suggested itineraries

• Dozens of detailed maps in an easy-to-read, two-color design

You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go—they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

Completely updated every year (unlike most of the competition), Frommer's Maui features gorgeous full-color photos of the pristine beaches, colorful undersea life, and lush rain forest vistas that await you. Personally researched by a local expert, and written in an honest, personal voice, Frommer's Maui is the premier guide to this fascinating island.

It's all here, from thrilling whale watching to the spectacular sunrise at Haleakala National Park, from a mile-by-mile drive along the Road to Hana to mule rides on neighboring Molokai. No other guide comes close to matching our coverage of the island's beaches, golf courses, and adventure outings, with personal recommendations on the best outfitters, dive sites, and snorkeling spots.

Our candid and in-depth hotel reviews, all based on recent personal inspections, will help you find the perfect place to stay: a lavish high-rise resort, a family-friendly condo complex, or an intimate B&B on its own private cove. And our restaurant reviews, all personally written by one of Hawaii's leading dining critics, are simply second to none. Whether you're looking for romance or family fun in the sun, Frommer's Maui is the only guide you'll need. You'll even get a free color fold-out map that makes trip-planning a snap!

Fodor's Hawaii 2009 (Full-Color Gold Guides)

Fodor's

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fodor’s. For Choice Travel Experiences.

Fodor’s helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. Although you’re at the helm, Fodor’s offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It’s like having a friend on Hawaii!

• Your vacation never looked better. This Fodor’s full-color guide paints an unforgettable picture of Hawaii with vibrant maps, vividly illustrated features, and stunning color photos.

• Updated annually, Fodor’s Hawaii, 2009, provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guidebook.

• Fodor’s Hawaii, 2009 features options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, so you make the choices to plan your trip of a lifetime.

• If it’s not worth your time, it’s not in this book. Fodor’s discriminating ratings, including our top tier Fodor’s Choice designations, ensure that you’ll know about the most interesting and enjoyable places on Hawaii.

Experience Hawaii like a local! Fodor’s Hawaii, 2009 includes unique photo-features that impart the state’s culture, covering Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Napali Coast, The Road to Hana, Pearl Harbor, and much more!

Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include “Top Reasons to Go,” “Word of Mouth” advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common travel pitfalls.

Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers.

Maui Trailblazer: Where to Hike, Snorkel, Paddle, Surf, Drive

Jerry Sprout, Janine Sprout

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Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Surfing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 59 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A guide for families and outdoor adventurers alike, Maui Trailblazer 2006 covers all of the island, and includes day trips to the neighboring islands of Molokai, Lanai, and Molokini.

Clear directions and concise descriptions lead to all of Maui's well-known attractions, as well as to hidden discoveries that Trailblazer readers have come to expect.

137 different hikes and strolls to tropical rain forests and remote valleys, coastal bluffs and lava caves, Haleakala crater and the Hana Highway, cascading waterfalls, beaches, ridgetops, towns, whale-watching perches, historic sites, and archeological ruins.

Among the 44 snorkeling spots are hike-to coves and the secret places that tour boats go.

Kayakers can pick from about 20 put-ins.

Surfers can select from 38 beaches and decide whether to boogie, board, or body surf. Onlookers will find the best places to watch the surfers, windsurfers and kite-boarders ride the big ones.

The text is complimented by 10 maps and 240 photographs. Driving tours-nine of them-take readers to all the attractions, natural wonders, and historic sites.

A Resource Links section provides numbers for free visitor information and recreational outfitters, as well as hand-picked accommodations and local restaurants to suit every budget and taste bud.

A Best Of section lets you pick the right activity to suit your mood and the day. Appendices include free hula shows, farmer's markets, what to pack, climate, history, fauna, and a Hawaiian glossary.

This new and completely revised second edition for 2006 includes a Trailblazer Kids section for adventuring families.

Hawaii The Big Island Trailblazer: Where to hike, snorkel, surf, bike, drive

Jerry Sprout, Janine Sprout

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A guide for families and outdoor adventurers alike, the new and completely revised 2007 Trailblazer takes you to all of the Big Island's famous attractions, as well as its hidden spots. Nearly twice the size of the rest of Hawaii combined, the Big Island presents a challenge to adventure travelers with limited time. Trailblazer comes to the rescue with its trademark organization and clear directions for . . .

156 hikes and strolls: the peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, the shores of Waipio Valley and Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, rain forests and tropical gardens, waterfalls, petroglyph fields, and the Kona Coast
75 snorkeling and swimming spots including remote hike-to specials
39 surfing spots: boards, bodyboarding, and body surfing
24 bike trails for adventure cyclists: mountain, coastal, forest, pasture
25 campgrounds and rustic cabin hideaways

Hawaii the Big Island Trailblazer also includes . . .

9 maps and more than 200 photographs
A Trailblazer Kids section for adventuring famiies
A Best Of section that lets you pick the right activity for the right day
Resource Links with hand-picked accommodations and restaurants,recreational outfitters, transportation, and visitor information
Hawaiian culture and history
Museums, attractions and shopping
Driving tours to the Parker Ranch and Kohala Coast, Hilo and the Heritage Coast, and Kona coffee country
Safety tips and trip-planning advice

Stairway Walks in San Francisco

Adah Bakalinsky, Marian Gregoire

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fully updated and expanded edition of the best-selling Wilderness Press classic. Now with additional walks and 16 pages of full-color photographs, Stairway Walks in San Francisco contains step-by-step route descriptions that include notes on historical background, architecture, and other points of interest. Accompanying each of the 27 walks is an easy-to-follow map with corresponding numbered walk directions and public transportation information. Locals and tourists alike have used the book for over 20 years to explore San Francisco's beautiful neighborhoods. Includes four new neighborhood walks along even more of the city's stairways--Edgehill, St. Francis Wood, Four Hills, and a cross-city walk and sixteen pages of full-color photographs bring the descriptions and stairways to life. This book is Wilderness Press's best-selling San Francisco title.

". . . A fascinating trek through the sidewalk staircases hidden around the city."
--The New York Times

"Bakalinsky . . . Is the Ferdinand Magellan, the Sir Francis Drake, the Vasco da Gama of San Francisco stairways."
--Paul McHugh, San Francisco Chronicle

Frommer's Alaska 2008 (Frommer's Complete)

Charles P. Wohlforth

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

Alaska Tour Book 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This is an must for the tourist who wants to know something about the area they will be visiting. It is full of good info for a person going on a cruise. It has helped us to plan our days in the different ports we will visit. We highly recommend this book.

Frommer's Alaska 2008 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Frommer's Alaska 2008 proved to be as complete a vacation guide as we'd expected from previous worldwide books purchased under this name previously.

Condescending to Cruisers 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My wife and I are in our 30s, and took our first trip to Alaska to cruise and see the beauty of the coast and its wildlife. In preparation for the trip, we bought 3 books: (1) Frommers Alaska, (2) Lonely Planet - Alaska, and (3) Fodor's Ports of Call. If you are taking a cruise, and are buying less than 3 books (or if you don't want to check a 2 pound book in your luggage) - then you should not buy Frommer's Alaska.

Frommers Alaska is the largest / thickest of the books discussed above, but much of the information is irrelevant to a cruise ship passenger (cities in the deep interior, hotels, suggested 2 week-long itineraries, etc). There is one 20 page chapter, not written by the author, devoted to choosing a cruise-line, which can be helpful. However, better information can be found in a cruise-specific "ports of call" book.

One of the irritating aspects of the Frommers Alaska book, is the author's negativity towards cruise vacationers. Every chapter that discusses a port, includes a backhand remark regarding cruisers / tourists. It is much more pleasant to plan the vacation using a book that is more cruiser-friendly (or at least neutral, such as Lonely Planet).

Frommers Alaska is geared towards the land-traveler, and cruise passengers are better served with a cruise-specific book.

Editorial Review:

Since 2001, Alaska has had an increase in visitors every year, with 1.56 million in 2006. Cruise ship passengers increased an estimated 4% in 2006.