Washington, D.C. Books

Washington, D.C. (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

DK Publishing

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

More please! 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I usually love the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, which may have raised my expectations of this one on Washington, DC. There could easily have been an extra twenty or thirty pages - or am I just being greedy?

As I live in Australia, I thought Washington DC would mean the entire capital. The book mainly focuses on the areas along the Potomac, such as the Mall, Georgetown, and Foggy Bottom. Areas such as Dupont Circle and Kalorama have been relegated to the 'Further Afield' section, which I found disappointing.

There's quite a good section on the White House and the beautiful buildings which surround it, but again I was left wanting more.

It's still a beautiful book though, and the photographs are clear and crisp, but there just wasn't enough for this armchair traveller. I guess I'll have to get out of my armchair and experience Washington DC for myself. At least this travel guide has whet my appetite!

Editorial Review:

Do you want to know about Washington DC's monuments, festivals, museums, history and shopping? Well, look no further the Eyewitness Travel to Washington DC has all of the information about the city and more! This guide is packed with illustrations, photographs and maps to help you navigate around the District. The floor plans of all major sites and the 3-D aerial views of Washington's most interesting districts allow you to feel practiced in the art of tourism. There are also three specially devised walking tours that will point out all of the intriguing things to do around town. Make yourself feel at home with DK's Eyewitness Travel Guide to Washington DC.

The Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.C. (Unofficial Guides)

Eve Zibart

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great information and details of attractions 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Used this book to plan what to see in a limited 3 day visit and was very pleased. Also bought Eyewitness guide, but this is the one I'll be taking along.

Not so good for family travel 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Like other reviewers, I purchased this guide after using the excellent Unofficial Guide to Disney Word a couple of years ago. Whereas the Disney book is targeted right at families, this book seems to cater more to the business traveler who wants to take in a few sites on the side. Most disappointing was the rather snobbish dining section that was essentially useless to families looking for a place to eat while or after touring the mall. This book leaves the impression that you might find a few hotdog carts near the Lincoln Memorial. The reality is that there are several permanent refreshment stands scattered about the mall with hotdogs and much more. You would also have no idea that the Nat'l Museum of Natural History and the Nat'l Gallery of Art have better lunch food selections than the Air and Space Museum. Information on what can and cannot be brought on various tours need improvement as well. Are prohibited items checked at a holding station or put in the trash? It depends on which tour you're doing, but you won't find out by reading this book. Hopefully there are better family-oriented guides to DC than this one.

Editorial Review:

• Guides travelers to Washington's best cultural and historic sights-and offers helpful hints on how to beat the crowds and avoid long waits
• More than 75 in-depth restaurant reviews explain where to find a good meal
• Incisive hotel ratings show how to find the best lodgings at the best prices
• Shows how to get around, how to see the government work, and where to find parks and outdoor activities.

Zagatsurvey 2009 Washington, DC Baltimore Restaurants (Zagatsurvey: Washington Dc/Baltimore Restaurants) (Zagatsurvey: Washington Dc/Baltimore Restaurants)

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Zagat Survey Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $8.24

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Editorial Review:

Washington, DC Baltimore Restaurants covers over 1,100 restaurants in Washington, Baltimore, Annapolis, the Eastern Shore and Northern Virginia. You ll find trusted ratings and reviews based on the opinions of over 6,700 avid restaurant goers. The trademark reviews and corresponding ratings for Food, Décor, Service and Cost are organized alphabetically in a user friendly format.

Fodor's Around Washington, D.C. with Kids, 5th Edition (Around the City with Kids)

Fodor's

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Best book for Kids going to DC 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

My 10 year old son loves this book and so do I! It tells us the important stuff, location, contact info, prices, ages & hours. It also gives us little things like places to eat and fun other thing to notice and do while we are at each place. We LOVE this book!

Editorial Review:

The Family-Friendly Guide to Everything Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. is the perfect spot for a fun and educational family vacation. Rich in history and learning opportunities for children and adults, this cultural mecca is full of unique family experiences that will create memories to last a lifetime.
Now freshly revised and updated, this comprehensive book is your personal tour guide to our nation's capital. Included is everything from must-see historical sites, parks, and monuments to inside information on activities for parents and teachers with kids of all ages.

Inside you'll discover:
•Up-to-date reviews of the top family attractions
•Budget- and family-friendly lodging, dining, and shopping
•Suggestions for pre- and post-vacation activities
•Maps of Washington, D.C., and surrounding area

Lonely Planet Washington, DC

Aaron Anderson, Becca Blond

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Tradition and innovation are twin pillars in America's captial city, where grand monuments beckon, memorials inspire and power browkers cut deals in Downtown bistros and Georgetown bars. Washington, DC appeals with attractions as diverse as the nation's population. Our savvy authors scour the city, pinpointing the best experiences in DC.

Explore The National Mall - experience America's front yard your own way with our special full-color National Mall chapter.

Tour The City - sample the corridors of power before savoring daily life in DC's energetic, vibrant neighborhoods.

Eat Out - indulge in Ethiopian pancakes, olive martinis, overstuffed Tex-Mex, oysters and mimosas, and all-American ice cream.

Go All Night - cut loose like the locals in DC's relentless nightlife scene by downing rooftop drinks, catching shows at the 9:30 Club or clubbing in Dupont till dawn.

Hit The Road - see the best of the Capital Region's varied attractions, from Atlantic beaches to Civil War battlegrounds to the full pallet of colors at Shenandoah National Park.

60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC: Including Suburban and Outlying Areas of Maryland and Virginia (2nd Edition) (60 Hikes - Menasha Ridge)

Paul Elliott

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Editorial Review:

From the central city through the suburbs to the foothills and mountains in the west and the lowlands in the east, the Washington metro area has something to offer anyone looking for a good hike. With 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC as a guide, trekkers have an astonishing variety of hiking choices available year-round within about an hour's drive from the Capital Beltway. Some are variants on familiar hikes in well-known areas. Others consist of exciting new hikes in such locales as Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve and Evergreen Mills Parklands, Overall Run and Heiskell Hollow, Watkins Regional Park, and Wildcat Mountain Nature Area. This new edition includes new maps and 7 new trails.

Fodor's Washington, D.C. 2009: with Mount Vernon, Alexandria & Annapolis (Fodor's Gold Guides)

Fodor's

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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 in Washington, D. C.

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

•Fodor’s Washington, D.C. 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 in Washington, D.C.

•Experience D.C. like a local! Fodor’s Washington, D.C. includes unique photo-features that impart the city’s culture, covering the remarkable monuments and museums of the Mall; the power of Arlington National Cemetery; the deliciously scandalous side of D.C.’s political past; 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.

•8 page color insert and full-color pullout map.

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

The White House: Its Historic Furnishings and First Families

Betty C. Monkman

List Price: $75.00 By: Abbeville Press Amazon Marketplace: 18 new & used starting at $25.80

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

BRAVO! BRAVO! 5 out of 5 stars.
29 of 34 people found this review helpful.

Once again Betty Monkman has given us WHITE HOUSE FANS a magnificant chronicle! What a glorious, beautiful absolutely stunning work of art! Betty has included everything in this piece! Bruce White's photography cannot be topped! Looking at the old photos of days gone by and then seeing the "latest versions" of those historic rooms is truly a treat! The details on the historic furntiure, art pieces, glassware, china and more within those walls is fascinating! During this - the 200th Anniversary year of the White House getting it's first occupants, this book is really a treasure and a great addition to anyone's library to help mark this historic anniversary! I thought I knew a lot about the White House - once again Betty Monkman has taught me more! Thanks Betty! :-)

Editorial Review:

With an anecdotal text by the curator of the White House, this illustrated work is a comprehensive survey of the furnishings of the President's house and the changing taste of the first families. The book focuses on some of the most historically important decorative objects in the White House, including those with presidential association that have been collected since the establishment of the Office of Curator. There are also photographs of rooms shown on tours of the White House, as well as views of rooms that are not open to the public.

Top 10 Washington DC (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

DK Publishing

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

Good guide 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The guide offers a good balance between size and content. The information included provides good insight into DC-area attractions.
However, the format of the included map is somewhat challenging. It looks like a winning entry in an origami contest. On the positive side, the map size is OK.

Frommer's Washington, D.C. 2008 (Frommer's Complete)

Elise Hartman Ford

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Adequate 3 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

This was the first guidebook I purchased when planning a trip to Washington, DC. Frommers always covers the bases and this book is no exception. Hotels, restaurants, local attractions, and more are all covered here. I also found the "Best" lists that Frommers always includes to be useful. It helps me zoom in on the best of the best experiences when time is short on a trip.

The problem I had with the book is that the level of detail for many of these entries was lacking. Hotels get a nice write up but the vast majority of those covered are above the budget for a typical traveler. The information on the tourist attractions also seems fairly comprehensive... until you compare it to the The Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.C. (Unofficial Guides) and realize how much more clear and complete that guide is. While I used this guide for the early stages of planning, it was my frustration with it that prompted me to look at other books and I ultimately stopped using this one and didn't even bring it with me on the trip. The Unofficial Guide has roughly 100 pages of additional content and none of it is filler.

In closing, this is not a bad guidebook for Washington, DC. Most of the basics are covered competently and I'm sure a lot of people have used it and been satisfied. Once you read the Unofficial Guide, however, you'll realize just how much useful information is left out of the Frommers Guide.

Editorial Review:

About 14.1 million domestic visitors traveled to Washington, D.C., in 2005, a number that is projected to increase by 700,000 in 2007.