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

Reviews (7)

Great Book
We went to Turkey and this book was the best guide for us. We had a very short time to get ready and this told us everything we needed to know. Culture, food and the way to dress in a Muslim country.Plus,the must see sights. Remember some Mosque and palaces are closed one day a week.

difficult to please
Although on the heavy side, I have bought a number of the "eyewitness travel guides" because they are easy to use, and have great pictures - which is very important to me indetermining which places I want to visit, what food I would like to try and so on.The maps are ok, but do not include all the sites in the book.I tried to get the "streetwise" map for the trip because they are awesome, but they don't publish any of Istanbul.Although the guide isn't perfect it is better than the competition - I recommend it.

Istanbul (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
This book is a travesty, not a travel guide.I found it really lacking in substance.Mostly pictures, not much text, lots of platitudes designed to dazzle you, and made of heavy paper that is a drag to carry around. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - General    2. Guidebooks    3. Istanbul (Turkey)    4. Middle East - Turkey    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel / Europe / General   

Editorial Review

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive, engrossing and just plain fun-to-read guidebook than the Read more

Reviews (36)

Heavy Reading
Yes, this book is heavy - weight wise - but well worth the money.The photographs are very well done, and the mapage is not too shabby.If this is your first trip to Ireland this book will serve you well to prepare for your trip.But, don't expect to carry it with you everywhere you go unless you've had your full Irish breakfast with pork'n'beans.
Excellent Ireland travel guide
I purchased the Ireland Eyewitness Travel Guide to prepare myself for a vacation I'll be taking. It was wonderful! Organized well, color coded, beautiful pictures! I couldn't ask for a better book.

Journey of the Mind
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides are of such high quality that through them I venture thousands of miles without ever leaving home.This guide to Ireland, updated in 2003, was no exception.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Ireland    2. Guidebooks    3. Ireland    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel Guides    7. Travel / Europe / Ireland   

Reviews (12)

DON'T READ IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DON'T READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DON'T LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
a great book
MAGIC TREE HOUSE OLYMPICS
I loved it!
The last Magic Tree House that I read was Hour of the Olympics.I liked it because it had a lot of interesting facts about the early olympics.I thought it was funny that some people wore armor when they ran in races! I suggest that you read this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Fiction    5. Greece    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Olympics    8. Osborne, Mary Pope    9. Readers - Beginner    10. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    11. Sex role    12. Sports & Recreation - Miscellaneous    13. Time travel    14. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Reviews (5)

Excellent guide - ausgezeichnet!
I used this book as my guide travelling around Munich and I can strongly recommended it to others. The layout of the book is clear and logical which makes choosing destinations and getting there easy. The maps in the book are all in full colour, as always in this series, showing roads as well as public transport routes. Countless illustrations enrich the reading - each carefully drawn so as to say more than a thousand words found in other guides. The choice of restaurants, hotels etc were all great picks. I managed to find a couple of real gems of restaurants in the recommended list here. I can assure that speaking from personal experience: you can use this book with complete confidence!
The best guide on Munich
If you're planning on spending just a few days in Munich, then this compact little guide will be indispensible in locating the famous beerhalls and tourist sights. The maps are more than adequate and the walking descriptions to each locale are precise and accurate. There is also corresponding material on how to use the U-Bahn in the city and which station to take for each particular site. There is a separate chapter on the beerhalls of the city with a brief ranking system for the nosiest places, the friendliest, the cheapest beer, etc. As a resident...
...I can affirm the genuine worth of this book.The maps are convenient, easy to use, and marvelously clear.Furthermore, the organization of the guide is wonderfully helpful in assisting the traveler (or resident, as the case may be) in finding cultural destinations, culinary spots, that may have otherwise been missed.Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - General    2. Europe - Germany    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (6)

Good companion book
This makes a good companion book to a book like Rick Steve's France. The pictures are good and give some ideas at what to see before you go. As far as the other aspects of planning a trip it isuseless. It is a good picture book and no more.

France (Eyewitness Travel Guide)
Great book to read before the trip. It gets your juices flowing. Will even enjoy it after the trip. Too heavy to carry along if you are doing the one bag back pack thing.

DK + France = Great Read!
I've been a fan of DK for years.It's just now that, in searching for travel books, I found this DK Eyewitness Travel Guide series.This is a great book!All the high-quality pictures, illustrations, diagrams you expect out of DK - and the whole of France in clear, easy-to-comprehend chunks.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. France    3. General    4. Guidebooks    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel / Europe / France   

Editorial Review

Tuscany's hill towns and countryside have enthralled inhabitants and visitors for centuries--the golden light in the afternoons, the grape arbors, and the rolling hillsides dotted with rustic farmhouses and villas.

Reviews (3)

Gorgeous book!
This book is so enjoyable!The pictures are beautiful...just looking through it takes me back to my favorite place in the world!
Beautiful, inspiring,full of memories of Italy
This book was so lovely. It contains exquisitephotos and many, many ideas applicable for my own home. Great decorating ideas. I've shared this book with other people who have been equally inspired by the warm,gracious, elegant living portrayed throughout. Highly recommend this bookfor yourself or gift. A lovelyway to remember past visits to Italy orinspire apersonal visit in the not too distant future.

A visual feast!
A beautiful book -- I enjoyed it much more than Tuscany Interiors which I also own.The houses range from simple to elaborate and -- of course! -- the landscapes and gardens are gorgeous. This is a great book from which to"lift" Italian decorating ideas. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural & Industrial    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Celebrities    5. Domestic    6. Dwellings    7. Interior Design - General    8. Interior decoration    9. Italy    10. Landscape    11. Landscape Architecture And Design    12. Photography    13. Residential Interior Design    14. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Europe    15. Tuscany    16. Architecture / Interior Design   

Reviews (7)

Convenient design, but inadequate detail
The Streetwise London map is very convenient if you limit yourself to central London and only need to find importantattractions and/or streets of major or moderate significance. But many smaller streets in central London are NOT even named on the map and are not listed in the index. This was definitely a problem for me in finding smaller hotels, restaurants, etc. and lesser tourist attractions. In addition, the map includes some decent subway information, but nothing about buses. The reason for these inadequacies appears to be that the map is not detailed enough for there to be room to label the smaller streets and lesser tourist attractions. In summary, I suspect that this map will work better for first-time visitors than for repeat visitors.

There are much better options
I ordered "Streetwise London" based on reviews such as "must have" and "don't go without it." For central London it's a great tool!
A week in London, and this map was with me on every outing. The Streetwise Map is a great help in navigating Central London, but if you want to go beyond "Zone One" on the London Bus and Underground system, this map will be of no help at all. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. Europe - Gt. Britain/London    3. Maps & Road Atlases    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. England    7. London    8. London (England)    9. London, Greater London    10. Maps, charts & atlases    11. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Reviews (2)

Delicate, Dedicated and Dignified
Arnold Joseph Toynbee's clear genius focused on a project of his younger years. It all started with Toynbee's insight into an enlightened contemporary reference to Gibbon's own account of De Administrando Imperio and to its author. Toynbee's mother also had a role in this " project " which is, afterall the work of a professor of byzantinology. The author's pertinence, honesty, erudition and writing style are, as usual, unsurpassed. If it were only by this book, and Toynbee would enter the famous historiographic gallery guarded by pillars such as Edward Gibbon and Lord Acton. However, my cultural hero, whose own interests ranged from International Affairs to Archives of the British Admirality and from anthropology and histories of religion to those of cities and sociology, did it greater than ever. Civilizations, wrote Toynbee, don't die. They only commit suicide.
Classical History Explained
Taking his cue from the De Administrando written by Constantine VII and other Byzantine historians before him, this thick volume may be Toynbee's greatest achievement. Throughout, he takes Constantine's own words with a grain of salt, especially about events before the Macedonian dynasty by applying a historical perspective to this entire period of Byzantine civilization (c. 800-1050)Read more

Subjects:  1. 527-1081    2. Byzantine Empire    3. Civilization    4. Economic conditions    5. Europe - Greece    6. Foreign relations    7. Unassigned Title    8. Asian / Middle Eastern history: c 500 to c 1500    9. Constantine   

Reviews (10)

Buy the 2005 version and save some money
I just got back from Spain a few days ago, having used the 2006 Frommer's Spain to plan our trip.None of the entries have been updated to reflect 2006 pricing for entry fees to museums, etc.The book has a small section in the front called "What's new in Spain" or something along those lines, but the rest of the book does not appear to have been updated for 2006.We ended up spending more than we had expected at almost every single place we visited on Frommer's advice due to the fact that the pricing was outdated.In hindsight, I would have saved some money and bought a used 2005 version.And FYI, most attractions have student discounts which knock up to half of the admission price off, so don't leave your student ID at home if you have one!

Thorough, Comprehensive and well-put together - excellent guide for Spain
Thorough, Comprehensive and well-put together.
The New 2006 Frommers Review
Note: This is for anyone contemplating purchasing the new 2006 travel guide of Spain by Frommers. Don't waste your money. Although I have purchased over 30 Frommers books in the past and enjoyed each one, the Spain book was awful. In Madrid, the book lists 20 or so "Top Attractions" (which is customary for Frommers). However, try to read about these attractions (e.g. what they are, hours of operation, etc.) and you can only find about half of them in the book. How do you know if it is worth treking across town for something that has no description?
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Spain & Portugal    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Spain    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Europe / Spain & Portugal   

Reviews (5)

my favorite pocketbook!
i carry it everywhere, when in the states or italy- great and easy set-up, extremely comprehensible pronouciation tips and helpful/useful blurbs about not-so-well-know (by the outside world) cultural practices, lingo, actions, etc. pleanty of categories, and explanations that make learning bits and peices easier to understand- cant say enough good!

Dont Ever Travel Without It
This little book is really what you will need when you're in Italy, you will find everything in it easy & highly organized for fast reviewing

If you're going to buy a phrase book, this is the best one on the market.
Ok, here is my thing about phrasebooks: they don't teach you the language!! I understand that people just need some basic sentences before a trip, but believe me, I would definitely try to learn some Italian before going through an actual course.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Italy    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Italian    5. Language    6. Italy    7. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Editorial Review

"Photography is nothing, it's life that interests me." With his ever-present Leica camera, Henri Cartier-Bresson captured the raw and the sweet, the comic and the profound moments of lives that were lost in the grind or relegated to someone else's memory--the coincidental moment at which a reflection in a puddle of water mimics a poster on a nearby wall or when lovers kiss, oblivious to the not-so-pristine world around them. It is the familiar beauty and cruelty of the day-to-day that is so engaging in his photographs: two cosmopolitan woman chat nonchalantly while surrounded by empty lettuce crates; mourners at a funeral stare directly into the camera; postwar Paris awakens in the fog. Cartier-Bresson was the master of the "decisive moment," that fleeting instant for which a picture really is worth a thousand words, which is the essence of photojournalism. In no place is this more exemplified than in his images of Paris.Read more

Reviews (10)

Highly recommended
This book is one of two Henri's books I have and the best one. The book to go through again and again. Then go shoot some pictures and go through it again. You'll be surprized how many fresh impressions you'll get every time. Very inspiring book. Highly recommended for practicing fotographers.

Amazing!
As my favourite photographer, Cartier-Bresson has some kind of impayable discernment. His gallery of Paris is his magnum opus. His Leica, his 50mm lens, his mysterious face... all made him a monumental legend. I bought this gallery (hardcover) in 1995 for the price of $US 50 in Hong Kong. What are you waiting for? Just click it and buy it immediately, you will never regret buying this book.

Amazing!
As my favourite photographer, Cartier-Bresson has some kind of impayable discernment. His gallery of Paris is his magnum opus. His Leica, his 50mm lens, his mysterious face... all made him a monumental legend. I bought this gallery (hardcover) in 1995 for the price of $US 50 in Hong Kong. What are you waiting for? Just click it and buy it immediately, you will never regret buying this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1908-    2. Cartier-Bresson, Henri,    3. Europe - France    4. Exhibitions    5. In art    6. Individual Photographer    7. Individual Photographers And Their Work    8. Paris (France)    9. Photo Essays    10. Photography    11. Photography, Artistic    12. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Europe    13. Photography / Individual Photographer   

Editorial Review

"Provence, again?" one may think, seeing Peter Mayle's latest effort. "Has the man nothing better to do than promote a region that's already overhyped and overpriced? Can't he turn his eye to a place that needs a touristic boost, like Bulgaria?"Read more

Reviews (72)

An Entertaining Book
"Encore Provence" is entertaining, but not quite as hilarious as "A Year in Provence".

fun, witty
As always, Mayle is terrible entertaining.His breezy style is fantastic. He has the ability to make his readers feel like you are sitting in a cafe with a glass of local wine, just listening to his endless line of colorful stories. At the last page of his books, Ifeel that I have finished my visit with him in Provence all too soon.
Peter Mayle is unsurpassed when writing about Provence
This is a fitting end to a wonderful trilogy on Provence. I have read most of his books and whether they be novels or travelogues his work is unsurpassed.
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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. Reading Group Guide    12. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Reviews (15)

Travel with Eyewitness
The Eyewitness Travel Guides are easy to use and essential for anyone who enjoys getting to know a place on foot. Cities are divided into Districts and then Street by Street. Maps and all essential information is included.

DK EYEWITNESS HISTORY AND TRAVEL GUIDE OF BUDAPEST.
QUICK INFORMATION:
Budapest Travel Guide
I have been using Eyewitness Travel Guides for 8 years now, and find them to be one of the best organized and most helpful travel guides available. Information is organized into logical categories, making any essential information one wants easy to find. Numerous color photographs are especially welcome. I find the walking routes that combine visual and verbal cues extremely helpful, easy to follow, and very much appreciated. Good preparation for a visit enhances one's enjoyment; this guide helps one prepare thoroughly. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Eastern    2. Europe - General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel / Europe / Eastern   

Reviews (38)

Good but this is not really a funny book.
Underneath the mask of humor, light-heartedness and enthusiasm, the author is just plain frustrated and let's face it, not a major fan of the US. As an European (Eastern) who has been living here for 8 years (not just one, as the author did) I found most of his observations painfully accurate. Unlike him though, who could maybe notice those things and poke light-hearted fun at them knowing that he'll be back in his gorgeous, deeply human Italy very soon, to me those things are no longer funny. They are downright depressing. I really don't see how some people thought that he was "not laughing at Americans but with Americans". Na-ha. He actually WAS laughing at Americans. The myriad absurdities, idyosincrasies and almost non-human aspects of US life are unique to this part of the world. Quite a few "new arrivals" love the lifestyle, typically if they used to be very simple, materially and socially disadvantaged people in the place where they came from. Then of course they're bound to believe that all the junk that they now can afford to buy at the cheezy mall is the equivalent of "Heaven Found At Last". If you're born here - well, you've never known anything else, case closed. But if you landed in this place thinking that along with that promissing education program or work opportunity you'll also enjoy an actual LIFE - as in "the life of a more evolved, sophisticated human" - then you are in for major trouble: nostalgia for the World Old and constant longing for esthetics, good conversation, decent food, non-superficial individuals, etc. But then again, I finally understood that I am one of those that have NOTHING to do with the "American Dream". And obviously, so is the author.

Fun to read!
As an American who has lived in Italy since 2001 and has read countless pieces of writing on Italy by Brits and Americans -- I thoroughly enjoyed Severgnini's book!Many of the criticisms of it are correct, but, in all, it is insightful and plain funny.My husband and I (and many of our American friends in Italy) can certainly relate to his experience -- or his lack of experience with real estate advertisements and car sales and such.I recommend it to all of my American friends in Italy -- and we all get a great chuckle from his stories.

Nice cover.
Beppe Severgnini certainly seems to have mastered the English language, at least the British version. As for American, one has to wonder how much he comprehends of the idioms of everyday life in this vast country. (Many Europeans do not seem able to grasp the ramifications of living in a unified democracy the size of their entire continent.) The best part of his book is the cover, an amusing "Americanization" of the famous painting of Federico da Montefeltro by Piero della Francesca. It's easy to understand Severgnini's bemusement over "the sky is falling" tone of the endless weather forecasts on TV, or the sheer number of channels whose numbers don't match. It's widely known that Italians don't especially like air conditioning, but he himself experienced its blessed relief in the D.C. summer. His attitude toward the way Americans treat their children, which admittedly can be wildly overindulgent, is puzzling, however, in view of the way Italian mammas dote on their own offspring (especially sons). And I'll pit my own ability to spell against his any day.
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Subjects:  1. Description And Travel    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. Travel    4. Travel - General    5. United States - General    6. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Reviews (6)

Helpful but a tad boring
Don't get me wrong, I read all about the places I wanted to go and noted all the things I wanted to see.I was disappointed to see that there was no information about Evvia, the second largest island.
Frommers Greece Guide Book
This book was very helpful.It discusses topics regarding cruises which I thought was very helpful.

Good info, but needs updating
Just came back from a Greece trip, with Frommer's as my main guide. Overall, I am pretty happy with the information in it.Since I went in April, it's not always clear whether I should follow the Summer or Winter operating hours for attractions.Also, many of the restaurants have not yet opened, or have moved or closed down completely. ... Read more

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

Reviews (6)

Not for a person going by rail!
I absolutely hate to give a Rick Steve's book a bad review but in this case I am going to have to. I will preface this however that if you have access to a car this book is proably great for you!
You're going to LOVE FRANCE!
I'vemade >20 visits to France all together.Here are my reviews of the best guides....to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit!I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future.Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!
Great descriptions but limited coverage
I brought this book with me on a recent trip to Paris, the Loire valley and Brittany. Whenever we could, we used the recommendations for places to go and stay and eat from the book and never came away dissapointed.The book does a great job of getting you to the best sights and avoiding the crowds. Read more

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

Reviews (6)

Excellent Information
Rick Steves did his homework and this book definately helped in the small details.Especially helpful was the section regarding Auschwitz.Getting to and from can be tricky, and the book helps the situation.However, the minibus system wasn't as described in the book.Overall, a fantastic resource for traveling to Eastern Europe.

Needs improvement to be user-friendly!
Although there was a wealth of information within the book, it was almost impossible to locate through the Index.If you are trying to find an explanation or discussion quickly, do not bother with this book, as we found it necessary to leaf through pages and scan for key words, which often were noted museums, churches, palaces, etc.
This Book is an Eastern Europe MUST
05/06/06 I will be traveling to Eastern Europe this summer on a tour, but I wanted a guide book that would help me prepare for my trip.Rick Steves book is full of great history, knowledge and background information.It also covers many major cities (five of which I will be visiting). I like that he's usually "wallet friendly" and you'll know that his recommendations aren't going to max out your credit card.The maps are clear and I have been able to locate my hotels.I will admit, I love to shop in Europe and his guide books don't tell you where to go---for good shopping recommendations check out Fodor's new gold series.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Eastern    2. Russia    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Eastern Europe    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / Europe / Eastern   

Reviews (2)

Read this engrossing little book before Marie-mania breaks out.
Arriving on the eve ofSofia Coppola's film about Marie Antoinette is Ms. Haig's gorgeous book, packed with facts, sidebars, and many of the author's own collection of illustrations. Beginning with her introduction to the French court outside Versailles, Marie Antoinette's ascent to fame and fast fall is documented by Ms. Haig in a style that is both objective and yet with a clear affection for her subject matter.
A tour of Paris from the view of one of history's most iconic figures, the often adored, but often reviled, Marie Antoinette.
Although I am an enthusiastic fan of Diana Reid Haig's Walks Through Napoleon and Josephine's Paris, her new book is an even more engrossing blend of education and entertainment.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Biography: historical    6. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    7. France    8. Museum, historic sites, gallery & art guides    9. c 1700 to c 1800