Reviews (86)

A lovely, lovely find...
I heard this book discussed briefly earlier this year on the Today Show and decided to order it since, at the time, I was in the throws of my own divorce.Ms. Gilbert chronicles her international journey of self-discovery with such amazing detail and tenderness and humor that I recommend this book to anyone who has found him or herself in a place or state that he or she would like to change or leave (I imagine, that's everyone!).The story is engrossing and the writing is skillful.I couldn't put it down, and I feel more empowered to follow my own dreams and heart after finishing the book.That's 5-star material if I've ever seen it.

Surprise - you are in control of your life....
A re-count of the author's year spent in Italy, India, and Bali in the wake of a difficult divorce.This book is easy to read and enjoyable.The author does an excellent job of providing her outlook on the variety of experiences she has + how they relate to her dealing with her "life issues."She eventually comes to the self-actualizing realization that she is in control of her life (as opposed to anybody else) and takes steps to make herself happier.

Boring
Just another self indulgent autobiography.It was too boring to read and had not much to say.If you are in for light reading, go for it.Do not expect too much from this one or you might be very disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1969-    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography And Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Description And Travel    9. Gilbert, Elizabeth,    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Travel    12. Travel writers    13. Travelers    14. United States    15. Women    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (10)

Stunningly Bad
This book is not funny, insightful, interesting or well written. The style is like prose on speed but ultimately there is nothing here. As a long term traveler to Italy, I saw nothing familiar other than some of the obvious stereotypes. Tim Parks does it better and with style in Italian Neighbors.

Awkward format but an incisive and comprehensive dissection of Italians
While dining in a favorite restaurant recently, I congratulated the Italian proprietor on his country's recent well-deserved World Cup triumph."Yeah," he replied, shaking his head, "it was just too easy...I'm really not sure what they can do in 2010 because it's just too easy for us now."I scanned his face for any hint of his pulling my leg (are we talking about the same tournament here?).There was none.
Everything you always wanted to know aboutItaly, but nobody told you.
I think that this book is really well written, witty and serious at the same time. It is a balanced description of the Italian "real life", leaving apart emphasis or stereotypes. As a matter of fact the Author did not run after what most of the foreigners want to ear or read about "il Bel Paese" (the Beautiful Country). Mind the title. Severgnini goes beyond the behaviours of the people, he tries to analyze when, how and why the "Italian mind" acts in a specific situation. This is a complex matter (i.e. Italians are so different despite they share the same flag), but he succeeded to write a clever, deep and also funny book. I'm convinced that North Americans overall like the Italians. If you belong to this category, then go for this book, you may learn more, if not buy it anyway. You may change your mind ! AMust. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1945-    2. 20th Century Description And Travel    3. Culture    4. Customs & Traditions    5. Description and travel    6. Europe - Italy    7. Italy    8. National characteristics, Italian    9. Social life and customs    10. Travel    11. Travel - Foreign    12. Travel / Europe / Italy   

Reviews (5)

A slow start...a rousing finish!
This volume picks up the plot line where the *Galileo Affair* left off. The principal players are young Frank Stone, his lovely young wife Giovanna (ex-Marcolli), Sharon Nichols, and the irrascable Ruy Sanchez. The *bad guys*, Cardinal Borjas and a lengthy cast of characters are seeking to neutralize pope Urban VIII, due to his acceptance of the USE and the *foreighn witches* from Grantville.
Good writing in an exceptional series
Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis have written a great follow-up to their Galileo Crisis. It is not as much fun as that book: there was a lot of humor in Galileo, with a cute ending. A nice love story or two as well.
Canon Law an improvement
The first book in this side story about the USE that takes place in Italy is an improved story from the Galileo Affair. Frank Stone, the eldest son of the Stoner clan (well it was a druggy comune and the family name is Stone) has set up a Frank's Place, his version of the Committee Of Correspodence's Golden Arches, to serve pizza and wine. I really hope that in Italy the rest of the CoC's offices become Frank's Places, because I like the idea of bringing American pizza's to the forefront of Italy like we did in WWII with American soldiers. Note: they still make better pizzas than we do if my last visit to Sicily is any indication. What I like about this story is that the silliness of the first book is lessened, while the insight into the barochian politics of Spain, Rome, and the Vatican is looked at more closely. I really like the way Frank has developed his version of the CoC in Rome and I look forward to how it evolves in the third book. Sharon Nichol's wedding with Ruy Sanchez looks to be a very good team as far as Sharon's diplomacy and Ruy's spymanship is concerned. They both make great foils for each other. The coverage of the Pope and his nephew Antonio Barberini is a fascinating look into the workings of the church during the 1600's, remember that the French only lost control of the Catholic Church about one generation ago, and how much influence the Spanish had on Catholic policy. Cardinal Borja's plot to change Catholic policy is fun to watch, and his tool Francisco de Queverdo y Villega makes for a good rival for Ruy as spymasters. The strength of this novel, more like the main storyline, is its characterization and its look at politics, its downgrading of the silliness of the first book is a very serious plus. What is missing is David Weber's counter-balance of Republican values. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 17th century    2. American Science Fiction And Fantasy    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - Science Fiction    5. Historical fiction    6. History    7. Italy    8. Science Fiction    9. Science Fiction - Adventure    10. Science Fiction - Alternative History    11. Science Fiction - Space Opera    12. Time travel    13. Fiction / Science Fiction / General   

Reviews (70)

Bundle with Party Italy
Wow, what a blast I had. I found some cool off the beaten path things to do with Rick Steves and then turned to my Party Italy book to live it up and have the most amazing time. What a great combination.

Rick Steves' Italy 2006
I would never go to Europe without his books!They are the best updated as far as sights, prices, hotels, food and travel hints.His books allow us to spend our time on only the best sights of Europe using his maps which are by far better than ones you can purchase there.They allow us to be our own travel guide.He shares where the best food is and where to get a clean-good nights sleep without breaking the bank.I can't believe how many people we run into using his books.Don't go without it!

Fantastic resource!
Very good book and gives one a look at what to do for the traveler versus a regular or typical tourist--covers the out-of-the-way places very well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Italy    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Italy    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Europe / Italy   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (148)

Falling angels and rising tides
Author John Berendt doesn't tell a story, so much as paint a portrait in The City of Falling Angels-appropriate, perhaps, since the American view of Venice is so colored by art and architecture. The reader gets a protrait of a Venice that is simultaneously cosmopolitan-the playground of nobility, titled and untitled-and provincial-Berendt's Venetians are often distrustful of outsiders, and frequently resentful of the millions of tourists who throng the city, bringing traffic, environmental decay-and money. Though it was once the seat of an empire, Venice today is as much a tourist town as Las Vegas or Orlando.
Another City - no angels
It just didn't do it for me.Like so many other people, I loved Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.It was such a rich, unexpected book and came alive in the reading.But, I fear John Berendt had only one in him - one great story.He found a crime and a city and another series of characters, but he just didn't find the magic.
John Berendt has a formula - and it works well.
John Berendt has a formula - and it works well.
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Subjects:  1. Description And Travel    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. Europe - Italy    4. History    5. History: World    6. Social History    7. Social life and customs    8. Travel - Foreign    9. Venice (Italy)    10. History / Social History   

Reviews (24)

Spanish in 10 Minutes a Day
This text is either for the very beginning beginner or a good review for the person who has been away from Spanish for a time.
A good Start
I have read almost all of the book. Along with the CDs I think the set would be very good for a beginner but not enough for adequate conversation. No conjugation rules mentioned. You have to be enrolled in a spanish teaching class to fill in the defecits that this set have. Overall I think my spanish improved alot from 0% spanish to 50% now,which is not bad to a beginner....

Wonderful Product
We are a homeschooling family and we were looking for a good beginning Spanish program.This program was recommended to me by several people so I thought we would give it a try.My daughter and I are learning together and we are finding this program easy to use and alot of fun.I think it would be a great program for older elementary (my daughter is 14) - adult.The CDs are a must because they teach you the correct pronouncation for each word.The stickers are a great way to incorporate Spanish into your everyday life. Excellent program. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to learning Spanish for educational purposes and for those who are planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Conversation and phrase books    2. English    3. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    4. Foreign Language Study    5. Self-instruction    6. Spanish    7. Spanish language    8. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    9. Travel / Europe / Spain & Portugal    10. Language self-study & phrasebooks    11. Spain   

Reviews (8)

A Must Have!
First of all, please note that this is a coffee table-type book. It is oversized and oddly-shaped. So if that bothers you, steer clear.
Appropriate title!
I bought this book because my dad's side of the family is Irish and I'd hoped to one day go.The book is a gorgeous addition to my photography book collection...and my desire to go to Ireland has been upgraded from 'one day hope to go' to 'can't wait to go!'.
Absolutely Beautiful
The photos in this book are gorgeous. Anyone who has been or wants to go to Ireland should look at this book. Those who have never been will want to go when they see the beauty of the land depicted in this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Ireland    2. Historical sites    3. Individual Photographer    4. Photography    5. Travel    6. Travel - World/Europe   

Reviews (17)

Cute.
Cute describes these books in the 10-mintues-a-day series.Pleasant, a little fun, a little insipid.But, really, not so bad just to get a taste of the language before you decide to move on to deeper study.
Very Useful
This book really came in handy on our trip.The menu cut out cards and the flash cards proved to be very valuable to us, especially since a friend gave us the bad advice that everyone spoke some English.Don't believe that, there were a number of people that did speak some amount of English but we both wished that we had taken more time before our trip to learn a littlem ore of the language.

Italian in 10 Minutes a Day
My wife and I have now spent a good month "learning" with
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Subjects:  1. Conversation and phrase books    2. English    3. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    4. Foreign Language Study    5. Italian    6. Italian language    7. Language    8. Self-instruction    9. Textbooks for foreign speakers    10. Travel / Europe / Italy    11. Europe - Italy    12. Language self-study & phrasebooks    13. Travel   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Ireland    2. Europe - Italy    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Italy    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / Europe / Italy   

Reviews (1)

Wow!
This isn't the perfect coffee-table-travel-reference book for golf in Scotland and Ireland, but then Tiger Woods isn't the perfect golfer either.If you've golfed in Scotland and Ireland, if you're planning to play in Scotland and Ireland, or if you're only dreaming of playing in Scotland and Ireland, this is absolutely one book that you must have.It's a steal at Amazon's $37.80.You may recognize some of the text, paraphrased a bit, from Finegan's 1996 "Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens" [Scotland], and "Emerald Fairways and Foam-Flecked Seas" [Ireland], but this large format book is in no way a duplicate.What can I say?The golf course photography by Laurence Lambrecht is spectacular.Finegan's prose sparkles as ever.Any negatives?Sometimes, I think, Finegan goes a little over the top, maybe even a lot over the top.But who cares? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Golf    2. Golf - General    3. Golf courses    4. Guidebooks    5. Ireland    6. Scotland    7. Sports    8. Sports & Recreation    9. Sports & Recreation / Golf   

Reviews (2)

Wonderful Travel Book
After looking at several other travel books, I kept going back to this one.It is full of color and interesting facts.Great ideas of places to stay and comprehensive information on currency and traveling tips.The book makes me more excited about my trip each time I read it.

Great presentation, excellent for planning and reference
This is one of the best travel books I've read. Every page has well laid out and well labeled full color pictures to augment the text. Once you look at this it's hard to go back to a dry, sterile book that's all text with a handful of color pages in the middle. The information here is clear and easy to read. There is cross-referencing everywhere, for example a page that's describing a major attraction will tell you where to go in the book to find hotels in that area. There are listings and descriptions for hotels and restaurants in each area, and general travel tips. The introduction to each area of Italy also has an overview of the history and architecture. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Italy    2. Guidebooks    3. Italy    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel Guides    7. Travel / Europe / Italy   

Reviews (5)

Combines beautiful photography and great travel ideas!
What a great idea!Lazzarin has combined beautiful photography with 'teasers' of these interesting destinations.
One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy
I already had a copy of this book (given to me as a gift) and was so pleased with it, I purchased this copy as a gift for a friend. As a frequent visitor to Italy, I have really enjoyed retracing my steps and looking for new places to visit

A Beautiful Book
A very Beautiful book that was a gift to a friend who loves Italy. The detailed, colorful pictures are a pleasure for the eyes. Highly recommend. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Italy    2. Pictorials    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Italy    6. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    7. Travel / Pictorials   

Reviews (23)

Try the recommendations in the book, they are spot on
My wife and I now have over 15 Eyewitness Travel Guides...obviously we like them. There are several reasons, and the Paris guide points these out quite well:
A seeing eye
If you are a grown-up and want context for your travels, this series brings it.They figure, reasonably for me, that you already know how to shop and that club-hopping is not the be-all and end-all--and that, if it were, you would probably be able to suss all that out.
Good for Planning
The Eyewitness guides are known for their full color photos which make them an interesting read for armchair travellers.However, they are also known for being a little light on travel information, and this holds true for the Paris edition as well.You get lots of great photos of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and of the art treasures of the Louvre, so this guide is actually a good one to get in the early stages of planning your trip.The full-color photos will help you to decide which areas and sights you would like to see most.However, when you're ready for more serious information, you'll have to look elsewhere.Perhaps this book would be good for those who are travelling with a package tour, but those who are travelling independently will need to get another guidebook.Basically, if you can only afford one guidebook, then I recommend getting something else, but if you have the cash to buy two or three guidebooks, then you won't regret adding this one to your collection. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Travel / Europe / France   

Reviews (5)

Brilliant Golf Landscape Photography
Emerald Gems is a terrific compilation of golf landscape photographs in a large coffee table type of format (11x12?).Many if not all of the very best courses of Ireland are reviewed.
Incredible photos.
This book has incredible beautiful photographs of ALL of the great courses in Ireland and a wonderful written talk about each course. The book is big. It will have to go on the coffee table and not in the bookcase, but it is truly beautiful. Very highly recommended.

Emerald Gems
In "Emerald Gems", Larry Lambrecht has been able to capture the feel and distinct nuances of the Irish links. The stunning photographs and accompanying stories provide the reader with an incredible sense of how golf was and is meant to be played and enjoyed. David Owen said, "The thing I like best about golf is the sense of infinite possibility..." Emerald Gems presents a real glimpse at that possibility and is a must read for those fortunate to have visited and played, and those who dream of doing so.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Ireland    2. Golf    3. Golf courses    4. Photography    5. Pictorials    6. Sports & Recreation    7. Subjects & Themes - Regional    8. Subjects & Themes - Sports    9. Travel    10. Travel / Pictorials   

Editorial Review

Who hasn't dreamed, on a mundane Monday or frowzy Friday, of chucking it all in and packing off to the south of France? Provençal cookbooks and guidebooks entice with provocatively fresh salads and azure skies, but is it really all Côtes-du-Rhône and fleur-de-lis?Author Peter Mayle answers that question with wit, warmth, and wicked candor in Read more

Reviews (117)

A Vacation for the Mind: A Year in Provence
This book has something for everyone.The anecdotes are charming, funny, and full of deliciously descriptive sentences.I read some passages aloud to whoever will listen.This is the 2nd book I've read by Peter Mayle. I also read "A Good Year" and am currently reading, "Toujours Provence!"Mayle's books are refreshing and delightful to read.

Delicious reading, creme brulee for your head!
I read this book as a follow up to "Almost French" which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wanted more but that author hadn't written anything else (yet?) so I looked to the back cover where there were some recommendations. I am so glad I did!
A Hilarious Vicarious Journey to France
Englishman Peter Mayle and his wife realize what most of us could only dream about--life in the French countryside of Provence.Food and the hearty French life are the themes that run through this book as the Mayles undertake renovating their 200 year old farmhouse.
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Subjects:  1. Essays & Travelogues    2. Europe - France    3. France    4. Homes and haunts    5. Mayle, Peter    6. Provence    7. Provence (France)    8. Social life and customs    9. Travel    10. Travel - General    11. Modern fiction    12. Travel / Europe / France    13. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (135)

phenominal
Bill Bryson is a genius. This book is absolutely hilarious. I was never much of a reader, but i got this book for a present and when i started reading it i couldnt put it down. This is a must read. Bill Bryson, please right more (italy, islands, etc.)!!!

Bill Bryson is no Mark Twain, but who is?
Why not just read Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad instead? Bryson's account reads like a bad rip-off at many points, and while Twain's mockery of a typical American tourist in Europe is clearly coming from love of and respect for his fellow Americans, Bryson comes off as snobbish and superior, wishing to distance himself from all things American, quick to point out that he is an ex-pat. Also, Twain is funnier. Of course.

Bill Bryson is always great
You must know by now that I never write a bad review about this guy. In this book, we take a whirlwind tour of Europe. You can read the cover blurbs about how funny and perceptive he is, and how skillful he is with the language, and how eminently readable he is. I agree with every word. But I'd like to mention that this isn't some snooty tour guide or gushing forth bubblehead. He's an average guy who won't hesitate to tell you what sucks, or leave a place that he doesn't like, or bend over backwards to say nice things. He'll bash anybody, himself included. He's refreshingly honest.
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Subjects:  1. Essays & Travelogues    2. Europe - General    3. Europe - Western    4. Form - Essays    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Reviews (23)

A limited view of Paris
I bought this map, having read the previous reviews. And am returning it because it gives a much too limited view of Paris. It literally cuts out whole neighborhoods -- the north end of the 18th, most of the 19th and 20th, the 12th arrondissements(including Belleville, Menilmontant), most of the 13th, 14th, 15th arrondissements including Montparnasse, the Cite Universitaire, etc.
Extremely well done
The map is a single folded length of heavy, laminated paper.On one side is the central part of the city on the Seine, and the northern and southern portions beyond that are on the other side.It is extremely durable (it survived in my hip pocket as I walked for many miles without so much as a mussed corner), waterproof, and easy to read.All the museums, churches, squares, and even some of the major stores in Paris are marked on it.One panel has a metro map of Paris which is better than what you'll pick up in the subway stations, though it doesn't have a map of the SNCF lines outside of Paris.
A good map is hard to find!
When we travel, my husband and I like to visit places that are "pedestrian friendly".We enjoy walking and hiking just about everywhere we go.For this reason a good map is as essential as a comfortable pair of shoes.The "Streetwise" series of maps (we've used the ones for Prague andVienna as well, last year) is excellent.One advantage is that they give you a fairly good idea as to what distances are from one point to another.We plan to visit Paris soon, and this map will definitely be going with us. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. General    3. Reference / Maps    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. France    7. Maps    8. Maps, charts & atlases    9. Paris    10. Paris (France)    11. Reference    12. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Reviews (39)

Good fun!
I simply don't get the poor reviews! This book is absolutely HILARIOUS! The title, naturally, is a parody of "A Year in Provence" (right down to the font style, I believe.)
It's not Merde, that's for sure.
I bought this book awhile ago, inexplicably moving it to the bottom of my unread book pile in favour of other books. I just never felt in the mood for it. Rather interesting book outside my normal genre of reading. So, this weekend when I was bored out of my skull, I finally decided to give it a try.
A little tedious after a while
I guess I didn't get it.Parts were funny then it got a little tedious.Read it if you think you'll get it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. British    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. France    6. General    7. Humorous fiction    8. Paris (France)    9. Tearooms    10. Travel    11. Travel / Europe / France   

Editorial Review

Rick Steves, author of 21 guidebooks and host of the television series Travels in Europe with Rick Steves, has spent 100 days a year traveling Europe, every year, since 1973. If any American knows Paris, he does, and his self-imposed mission is to make the city just as accessible to those of us who don't have the good fortune to spend months there at a time. Read more

Reviews (65)

Bundle with Party London & Paris
What a blast I had. I used my Rick Steve's to do some chill off the beaten path things and then grabbed my Party London & Paris guidebook to have the most fun and social days and nights. What a great combination.

Very helpful
This book is very detail oriented.In this book we found answers to all our questions during our stay in Paris.