Editorial Review

Joe Pauker, who refers to himself as "a goof," has compiled what is perhaps the funniest, most original guide available to the city of Amsterdam. Read more

Reviews (36)

Great Guide
I used this guide several times while in amsterdam recently.It was a great book to use to familiarize myself with the city and get an idea of what I was and wasnt interested in doing.

It's filled with important information for the first timer and you'll want to read it once or twice before going to Amsterdam.
Take this Book with you!
I bought this book and several others before my first trip to Amsterdam and the Netherlands.I just returned and have to say that this book was amazing, much more so than any of the others.It pointed me to places off the beaten path, to touristy things (but minus the old folks looming around), and gave great recommendations.I experienced *all* of Amsterdam and then consulted the book to see what was said about these things.My thoughts were perfectly conveyed in this book.I highly suggest this book!!I especially liked the writes forthright opinions and humor.A great guide book with great humor.Five Stars!!!This book is going back with me for my return trip in a couple weeks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Description And Travel    2. Europe - Benelux Countries (BelgiumNetherlandsLuxembourg    3. Europe - Benelux Countries (BelgiumNetherlandsLuxembourg)    4. Europe - General    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Netherlands    8. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. English Garden Design And Planting    2. Garden Design    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Gardening / General    7. Gardening; travel; France   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (21)

The Best Autobiography I've ever read
I find most autobiographies to be masterbatory exercises in which the authors attempt to explain themselves.
There Is No Africa
Underlying Blixen's tale of early 20th century Africa is the presumption that there was such a place; that is, a people or nation of peoples existed to which she went and from which she was forced to depart by economic circumstances. This presumption a priori allows her to reminisce about Africa the way it was or was supposed by her to have been.
Here I am, where I ought to be.
I'm another reader who comes to Out of Africa by way of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye; and it became recommended reading before I visited Kenya for myself in the early 90's.So, having just finished it and now half way through Shadows on the Grass, my overall impression is a pleasant one.I enjoyed Dinesen's writing style very much, and would agree with many readers that Out of Africa deserves a place among the classics in English literature.It's Karen Blixen's memoirs of her time in Kenya around WWI, living and working on her coffee plantation near Nairobi.Her descriptions of the Natives, her European friends, the land, the animals, flora and fauna are incredible.The chapters shift back and forth in time, some focused on specific events and individuals, some more whimsical and anecdotal.Reading Out of Africa transports the reader into early 20th Centrury colonial Kenya, and more concretely, onto Ms. Blixen's farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills.Years later she takes up her time in Africa again in Shadows on the Grass, talking more about her loyal Somali servant & right-hand man, Farah, taking a more philosophical tone regarding "masters & slaves", Native superstitions, manners, and so on.Shadows is inferior in many ways to Out of Africa, and it feels more like an "addendum" to the main work, which is poetry by comparison.By the time she writes it, she seems to have grown slightly more distant, and well, Colonist European.
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Subjects:  1. 1895-1963    2. 20th century    3. Authors, Danish    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Country life    9. Description and travel    10. General    11. Kenya    12. Literary    13. Social life and customs    14. Women    15. Biography & Autobiography / Women    16. Dinesen, Isak    17. Homes and haunts   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. Europe - Gt. Britain/London    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. London, Greater London    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / Europe / Great Britain   

Reviews (3)

If You Love The N. Rhones, You Need This Book
Livingstone-Learmonth does a knock up job, has meticulously researched and what's more--- knows that you should make your drinking decisions by looking into the vigneron or negoc behind the wine and the way they work and not by looking at a score.
The Wines of the Northern Rhone
Every serious wine lover will find The Wines of the Northern Rhone indispensable. It is profound in its knowledge of the soil, grape, vineyard, and the wine makers of the Rhone. John Livingstone-Learmonth's writing is lucid and sensitive. It is not only a scholarly study of reference but also one that will be consulted to select a wine for dinner, for purchase and for cellaring. It is also a wonderful tourist guide of the northern Rhone valley.
Top notch review of the Northern Rhone
The thinking person's alternative to The Emperor's '100 point grading system' tome on the Rhone.Livingstone-Learmonth provides a highly personal account of the vineyards, the growers and the wines, along with tasting notes and vintage profiles that reward style, character and finesse more than brutal extraction and sheer "hedonistic fruit bomb" amplitude -- a rare perspective on the wines from this sun-drenched part of France, the land where the pundits go to find big chunky monkey "special cuvee" reds and oily high alcohol whites slathered liberally (and uncharacteristically) in new oak.Rather than you-know-who's hyperbole about the "greatest in history" 2003 vintage, for example, Learmonth offers a thoughtful and even handed view that acknowledges the question marks surrounding the wines from that freakish growing season.In my humble view, this book is the English language reference standard on the northern Rhone, and a great follow up to Learmonth's earlier Faber publication on the northern and southern Rhone vineyards. My taste and my cellar are overwhelmingly skewed towards Burgundy, but this book sent me back down to my cellar to pull the corks on some older bottles of Cornas, St. Joseph, Cote Rotie and Hermitage and has me ready to lay down more of them -- and perhaps to head a bit further south on my next trip to France. A must have volume. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Beverages - Wine & Spirits    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Cãotes du Rhãone (Region)    5. France    6. Guidebooks    7. Wine and wine making    8. Cooking / Wine & Spirits    9. Wines   

Editorial Review

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nervesof first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the mostjaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach.While still givinginsights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations anditineraries for those with less time than money.Read more

Reviews (10)

Do not buy this guide
I am very disappointed with this guide. It had virtually no useful information about places I visited and its recommendations on hotels and restaurants were often off the mark. The contact information for hotels was outdated in many cases.
Dependable
Since 12 years we always buy Lonely Planet guides for everywhere we travel. We like the Lonely Planet guide for its format and size, the hotel suggestions and the easy maps with the most important things to see and to do on it. What we miss are fine dining suggestions.

Excellent guide to Greece!
I spend a month every summer in Greece, and this guide is excellent!It is concise, reads very easily, and gives good common-sense recommendations on what to see and where to stay. It is as up-to-date as you can reasonably expect with changing prices and euro/dollar fluctuations.A very, very practical guide from the budget tourist to middle class.Excellent pictures, very good maps, a fine job! It reminds me, in a way, of the Michelin guides to Europe. ... Read more

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

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 (24)

An essential guide for exploring/living in Spain
A family member gave me the Eyewitness Travel Guide to Spain as a bon voyage gift, and it has proved an essential guide on what to see, do, and eat in Spain. As someone who will be spending a bit of time in northern Spain (four months), the Eyewitness Guide has proved invaluable on excursions to nearby cities (including Madrid). Since Spain is full of thousands of monuments, churches and cathedrals, bullrings (for those who, like me, oppose the inherent cruelty of bullfights and animal abuse in Spain, one can always appreciate the architecture of famous bullrings), museums, palaces, monasteries and other places of interest, the Eyewitness Guide gives you the best of the best, with brief synopses, maps and must-sees in museums, street maps, photos, historical backgrounds and more. Great Travel Guide, Beautiful Coffee Table Book!
. A Wonderful Travel Guide Book
I thought this book a great teacher to me in my desire to travel to Spain. I am looking forward to my trip and feel that because of information from the book I chose wisely. Candace Seviss ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Spain & Portugal    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel / Europe / Spain & Portugal   

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Description And Travel    3. Railroads    4. Railroads - General    5. Russia    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Siberia    9. Trains & railways: general interest    10. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (8)

Good but not great
On the whole, I agree with the other reviewers that Leigh-Fermor's memoir of his travels is one of the best of the genre.The man can write and he writes well in a style that is both engaging and informative as he roves across a Europe that was soon to be engulfed in the utter ruin of World War II.The lives he describes, of both the city and the country, have a 'quiet before the storm' quality to them that few observers took the time to notice.However, I would fault Leigh-Fermor in two categories.The writer suffers from a surfeit of sincerity.He is a romantic through and through.Not only must he tell you where he went, but also how great the people there were.There is a conspicuous lack of irony or humor throughout the entire book and at times, the author's enthusiasm can become downright exhausting.
Map missing
Justly acclaimed.The New York Review does a sleazy job of reprinting, leaving out the map in the original.You will miss the map.

Best travel book I've ever read
This book is a superbly written account of part of the author's journey across Europe in the 1930's.Its subtitle, "On foot to Constantinople: From the hook of Holland to the middle Danube" tells the scope of this volume.There is one other book in this series, "Between the woods and the water".A third volume to complete the series is still being worked on by the author, Patrick Leigh Fermor, who is in his 90's.
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Subjects:  1. Description and travel    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. Europe    4. Europe - General    5. Europe - Western    6. Europe, Central    7. Fermor, Patrick Leigh    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Travel / Europe / General   

Reviews (12)

DK Eyewitness Travel Guides- Moscow & Prague
These are by far the best travel books out there, because of the detailed picture maps and the specific historical info for each area of the cities.

GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT
Its up to the minute information is invaluable as you travel around St. Petersburg.But, its AAA apearance is so dull you hardly want to use it.My recommendation is to buy this for the current info. and the EYEWITNESS GUIDE for its intelligent and beautifully illustrated usability.

Moscow for Dummies
Greetings,
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Subjects:  1. Russia    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel / Russia   

Reviews (3)

Walk in a Relaxed Manner
This is an amazing book about an amazing experience--walking across Spain--and well after midlife. We share the hardships and blessings of this journey and are able to walk, talk and think in a relaxed manner while reading it. There are lessons subtly given that everyone can shsare.

A Pilgrimage Of Body and Spirit
Back in the summer of 2003, I visited a former seminary roommate in Leon, Spain.I showed up a couple of days before his wedding after backpacking through Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Madrid.While strolling together through Leon, my Spanish friend remarked that people thought I was a "Pilgrim" because of my clothing and backpack.I asked him to clarify, and he replied that Leon was on the path of the Camino Pilgrimage.Thus began my interest in the topic.
Down-to-Earth and Deeply Spiritual
As she approached her 60th birthday, spiritual writer and retreat leader Joyce Rupp abandoned her plan to hole up for a six-month sabbatical by the ocean to bask in solitude. Instead, she embarked on a 37-day walking trek across Spain with her friend Tom Pfeffer. The two prepared and trained for a year before making the historical pilgrimage from Roncesvilles on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees to the Cathedral of St. James in the city of Santiago, a journey commonly referred to as "the Camino."
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Europe - Spain & Portugal    3. Personal Memoirs    4. Religion    5. Spirituality - General    6. Travelers    7. Spain    8. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (11)

Very creative
Nicolle Aimee Meyer and Amanda Pilar Smith have created a book that is part travel guide, part cookbook, part biography -- and all wonderful!The photographs are terrific.The text brings the markets and their people to life.And I can't wait to try some of the recipes, which are for many classic French favorites. Altogether a complete success!Bravo!!

A Parisian's Paris ...
A must for anyone seeking out the real Paris, off the beaten track of tourist traps.Even if you can't visit more than two or three markets per visit to this wonderful city, this book will continue to be a major reference for seeking out these fascinating places of food, drink and 'objets'.Happy exploring!

A lovely gem of a book
I love this book!The cover roped me right in and before I knew it I was buying it.I am so glad I did.The book is organized by arrondissement; each chapter is devoted to one of them.They tend to focus on the biggest or best market in each arrondissement but they devote paragraphs to the others.The text itself is gracefully written and yet very convivial.For each of the main markets, the authors start you out on a typical Parisian morning and gently suggest the path you might want to follow as you navigate that particular market; it is almost as though they are walking along with you.They tell you what's available at each market and what are each market's strengths and weaknesses.You will be introduced to a lot of people - the butcher at the March� d'Aligre, the poissonier at the Richard Lenoir, the organic farmer at the Batignolles market, the interesting old fellow who hawks bath salts as he soaks his feet in green water... I feel as though I'd be able to walk up to them and say hi.There's some history mixed in there, too, so you'll get to see some nice old photos and learn about everday Parisians of the past.And of course there are the recipes.Most of them appear delicious and a few rather exotic.Many of them come from the very people that you "met" in the chapter preceding, so you know they're authentic and the human element makes you want to try the recipe all the more.Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. Gardening    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Vegetables    6. Paris (France)    7. Cooking / Wine   

Reviews (5)

An Italy Lover's Delight! - A Book-Lover's Book!
Adding this slim volume to the over 350 books on Italy in my collection, might seem like a very small drop in the over-flowing bucket of delights I already have to entertain myself with; but the pleasure I derived from the sheer book-lover's joy at receiving such a beautiful volume, caused me to have to immediately write a public "Thank You!" for this creation by Barbara Hodgson.
Transformative
Italy Out of Hand is so lovely to hold and then one opens the book is taken on a unique and private tour.This book brought me right back to my own experiences in Italy and then some!What a treat.

italy out of hand, a capricious tour
I found this book a great introduction to italy,it is a beautiful volume and very intresting to read ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Italy    2. Guidebooks    3. History    4. Humor    5. Italy    6. Social life and customs    7. Travel    8. Travel - Foreign    9. Travel & holiday guides    10. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Reviews (4)

Dense, readable, helpful
A city like Madrid has centuries of art, culture, history, and cuisine to explore. It's universities lead the world in selected areas of research, and it's museums preserve not just the world's treasures for Spain, but Spain's inheritance for the world.Even ignoring the nearby country and other cities, there is a huge amount to know about this complex place and its people.
Great Book for Exploring Madrid
We just returned from our trip to Madrid and this book was fantastic.My sister is abroad there and my family members have all gotten different guides for their visits, but I have now loaned out both copies I had of this guide, because they found it to be much better than theirs.It has great breakdowns of the areas of Madrid and maps that are all cross-referenced.It also includes a section on Toledo that we found to be very helpful on our day trip there.We were very pleased with this purchase.

Eyewitness is the best travel guide!
I'm taking my second trip to Europe in September...Madrid... and again referred to my favorite travel series....Eyewitness.You really can't beat the Dorling Kindersley publishing group for travel books.As I am a little ADD, the fact that not only do they offer a very reader friendly book, but that they also chock it FULL of pictures is a huge plus.To me, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I have to give Eyewitness my seal of approval.I have been relying on Eyewitness travel guides for about 10 years now and so far, I haven't found any other travel guides that come close in comparison. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Spain & Portugal    2. Guidebooks    3. Madrid (Spain)    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel / Europe / Spain & Portugal   

Reviews (1)

A very moveable feast.
`Gourmet Shops of Paris', translated from the French written by Pierre Rival and Christian Sarramon is a high end oversize book which is almost as sweet and luscious as the comestibles on which it dotes. This is a foodie's travel guide to Paris, with photos which are just rich enough to make you want to get on to your favorite ticket vendor and book a flight to Paris. It especially makes you wish your passport were up to date, if it has been collecting dust for more than 10 years.
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Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Regional & Ethnic - French    4. Cooking / French    5. France    6. Travel writing   

Reviews (5)

The eloquence of the visual
The Light of Ireland is a portfolio of twenty-five black and white photographs made in the west of Ireland over a period of nearly thirty years.Rosenstock's stunning images, rich in detail and range of tones,are exquisitely reproduced in a handsome volume in which the binding andtypography contribute to its overall artistry.The few words ofintroduction are also carefully chosen; permitting the eloquent voice ofthe visual to command the attention of the reader.

A visual journey through the Irish Landscape.
Iam thrilled to own this fabulous book; it is a work of art.I feel such a connection to these spectacular images.The reproductions of the photographs are wonderful.The simplicity of the silvery gray book jacketenhances the volume.Ijust love having this book.The Light of Irelandis a complete treasure!

A Must for Collectors
This book is a MUST for the serious collector of photography. The 25 finely crafted images on the highest quality paper focus on Mr. Rosenstock's unique perspective of Ireland's mysterious landscape. Eachpage is a calming meditation. The people of Ireland ,among them notables,are already singing the praises of this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Ireland    2. Ireland    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photography / Travel    5. Pictorial works    6. Travel    7. Travel / Europe / Ireland    8. Photography & Photographs    9. Places & peoples: general interest   

Reviews (10)

Good, easy reading book
I bought this book on the advice of my Italian language instructor and have enjoyed it. It seems to be an accurate description of what it's like to live in the northern area of Italy.
Too similar to other books
I think I've over-dosed on the "Briton living abroad" sub-genre of the memoir. The flow of the text seemed to get stuck so often when Parks would go out of his way to point out how different he found Italian culture. I found it quite tiresome after awhile.

Helps you better understand the culture
This author lived it . . . and writes about it so well.I read this book after a trip to Italy.I wish I read it earlier.It makes my experiences traveling more relevant.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Description And Travel    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. Europe - Italy    4. Social History    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign   

Reviews (8)

Luckily, France actually is more interesting than this
The general notion is excellent, but the vignettes themselves are too mundane to hold the attention of anyone but the most generous of spirit.Simple, pastoral tales can be entertaining--witness "A Year in Provence"--but these ones are almost entirely without interest.Reading this book may be a more boring way to learn French words than simply memoraizing them.

Better blog than book.
The book was really a series of blogs published on paper.The actual blog is much more interesting because of the photos she includes on her blog.I recommend that next time she publishes her blog that she include the photos.
The book comes form a popular blog and newsletter written by an American woman
The book comes form a popular blog and newsletter written by an American woman living in Provence with her French husband and 'Frano-American' kids. Her long love of all things French led to a fascination by words and phrases which she hadn't learned through schooling - which then led to a lively blog about French culture, language and customs.
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Subjects:  1. Americans    2. Customs & Traditions    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. Europe - France    5. France    6. French    7. French Language    8. Manners And Customs    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Travel - Foreign    13. Travel / General   

Reviews (10)

Provence comes to life!
This book has it all...colorful photos, lots of interesting & historical background...a very good book if you're planning a visit to this region.Highly recommended.

The Starting Place For Every Trip
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.
Great and helpful!
This book is everything you would want in a travel guide....easy to read and understand, entertaining and interesting, and best of all, accurate!!It's the perfect companion to a GREAT place!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. Guidebooks    3. Provence (France)    4. Riviera (France)    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel Guides    8. Travel / Europe / France