Reviews (10)

Good story
The book itself is hardy, heavy with an attractive format, lots of color pictures and advise for future travelers. This couple must have been in their fifties or early sixties and very adventurous and friendly. I will never own a motorhome but really enjoyed reading their story. Thanks for the book!

Tonight is the night
With great sadness, tonight,I will finish the book by the Halkyards.My husband and I were thinking of making the Mexico to Panama trek with our dog and were reticent but now after reading the book, we have changed our minds and are planning the adventure.
Share the adventure!
I enjoyed reading John's and Harriet's adventure so much that I couldn't put it down and was sorry when it ended.Aside from that, 99 Days to Panama is full of details of what to expect when traveling by road throughout Central America.I think anyone who enjoys traveling will enjoy reading about their experiences.I hope to read about more of their travels in the future! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Central America    2. Description and travel    3. Halkyard, Harriet    4. Halkyard, John    5. Parks & Campgrounds    6. Reference - General    7. Travel   

Reviews (7)

AMAZING TRAVEL AND SCIENCE WRITING ON THE AMAZON
Though there are many books that describe nature in the Amazon, David Campbell definitely is among the top writers on it.In this book he offers, from start to finish, a very interesting mix between storytelling with lyrical qualities and scientific analysis with social commentary.
Richly textured
This book delivered much more than I expected. The author is a scientist, not just a traveler. Each observation went several steps deeper into the biology and history than typical with this kind of book. The story was made much richer by these details.
Excellent!
A Land of Ghosts is a splendid journey through Amazonian Brazil. Infused with enlightened historical, ecological, and anthropological perspective, Campbell stands alone in his ability to fuse eloquent science writing with a tale of adventure. At times haunting, this book reveals the deep causes of rainforest destruction in the region. However, this book presents these causes in a unique way, and, at least for me, marks a new style of conservation advocation. Indeed, a refreshing one. If you have any interest in tropical ecology, and like works by such authors as David Quammen or Tim Flannery you will love this brilliant work. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Acre    2. Anthropology - General    3. Brazil    4. Cultural And Social Anthropology    5. Ecology    6. Essays    7. History    8. Indians of South America    9. Jurua River Valley (Peru and    10. Juruâa River Valley (Peru and Brazil)    11. Latin America - South America    12. Natural History    13. Nature    14. Nature/Ecology    15. Social conditions    16. South America    17. Nature / Ecology   

Editorial Review

Where else but in Honduras can you find a seamless blend of powdery soft, palm-lined beaches, untouched coral reefs, Mayan ruins, cobblestone colonial villages, dense jungle, monkey-filled forests, and the nicest people this side of paradise? Honduras's appeal is gaining tourist attention, but it's a slow process. You can still wander small villages and be treated with kind hospitality, without the dollar frenzy of more tourism-dependent nations.Read more

Reviews (6)

"Alli No Mas"
Whenever you ask for directions in Honduras, this is what you'll be told: "alli no mas", just a little further down the road.Take this book with you instead.
The one to get for Honduras!
I'm not sure there even is another country-specific guidebook for Honduras, but if you're going to be there for even a few days this is the one to get! I've used a lot of different guidebook series in many parts of the world, and I can confidently say that the country-specific Moon Handbooks for Central America are far and away the best guidebooks I've ever used. They're extremely complete in every way--both in the practical and the historical--and they include "hidden gems" not mentioned in other guidebooks. That's because these guidebooks are written by people who've lived in the countries they're writing about, and clearly care about these countries. It really shows through in the quality of the books. You might want to read the reviews of the Moon Handbook for Nicaragua to get a sense of the quality of Moon's Honduras handbook--they're similar in many ways.

Terrific Book, very helpful
Honduras Handbook has been very helpful to me in my travel throughHonduras. It is comprehensive, and especially strong in historicalreferences. I look forward to the 2nd edition which should reflect thereality of tourism in Honduras after Mitch. However, most of theinformation continues to be accurate and helpful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Central America    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Honduras    6. North America    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / Central America   

Reviews (3)

Guatemala from the eyes of a concerned American
Seldom have I seen such an easy read which is a concise, accurate, and to-the-point review of the Guatemalan Maya and their progeny from the Classic Period to the 1990s.In the interests of brevity, early cultural history is scanned, but the essential information is covered from 209 AD to the entrada of the Spanish Conquistadors led by the cruel Pedro de Alvarado and continuing through the multiple exploitations that occurred to recent days.The role of the United Fruit Company, the military, and the CIA are discussed frankly.Topics of the economy and society are succinctly covered as are current religious practices with the syncretism of the Catholic, Mayan, and the encroaching protestant sects.Visit Guatemala and you will know that these tough, resilient people, both Mayan and Ladino, are not to be denied.While there, visit with individuals who survived the Civil War and hear their stories.You can not help but become a sympathetic traveler, not just a tourist.
nice and to the point
i'm adopting a child from guatemala soon and wanted to get a good, general overview of the country.it's an easy read and i learned enough to be dangerous....

great overview of Guatemala's history and culture
This title offers an easily readable introduction to Guatemala. It is great for the first-time traveler to Guatemala who wants to understand the modern country in the context of its history and culture. It explains thecurrent status of Guatemala and its uneasy balance between the remainingMayan culture and the ladinos. The book is a quick and enjoyableread--truly a great orientation. It also points out how the intrusion ofthe U.S. CIA interrupted Guatemala's transition toward agrarian reform--aneye opener for me, anyway.Read and learn! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Central America    2. Central America - History    3. Description And Travel    4. Guatemala    5. Guidebooks    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Cultural studies    9. Economics, Finance, Business and Industry    10. Historical geography    11. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT   

Reviews (3)

Beautiful photographs of a far away place
I bought this book because we are planning a trip to Patagonia.This book with its magnificent photographs has been a huge help in planning the trip.Not because it gives any travel tips, but the photographs speak for themselves.This is not a travel advice book.There is no information regarding where to stay or eat. However, the photographs tell me what not-to-miss sites to include in my tour.The photographs are so gorgeous that I cannot hardly wait to get there.This book plus a good South American travel agent have allowed me to establish a travel plan to the most scenic locations. The photographer must have spent a long time traveling the area.His views of glaciers, lakes, dramatic clouds and wildlife show his talent. Many outstanding panoramas are included.These must have been taken with a high quality panorama camera. This isa very nice photo book, to be looked at over and over again.

Patagonia a beautiful read!
I recommend this book highly. Tim Hauf?s remarkable photography captures the many regions of Patagonia - the diversity of landscapes, the various moods and raw beauty, a stark grandeur.The uncivilized immensity of mountains and water, sometimes filled with icebergs other times with whitecaps, some misty above the power of falls, leaves the viewer in awe. We are surprised and delighted by the variety of images, from the smallest of flowering bushes to the romping of guanacos, but overall we are speechless before the vastness of empty space. Fortunately, Conger Beasley?s text brings the photography into a semblance of understandable.By introducing us to the history of the region alongside tales of the personal journey that he shared with Hauf, Beasley brings the reader into the wild and foreign land as a fellow traveller. We are less intimidated by the endless wild.

Enhanced with an informative text
Tim Hauf is one of those photographers who raises to the level of visual art with his spectacular, full-color photography. Patagonia: Wild Land At The End Of The Earth continues to document his ability to capture truly memorable and impressive imagery -- this time to that wild and desolate region near the bottom-most tip of South American known as Patagonia. This latest showcase of Tim Hauf's photography is enhanced with an informative text by Conger Beasley as we tour through the history of this obscure but fascinating country which is sparsely populated, yet offers visions of granite towers, glaciers, wildlife, farmlands, and breathtaking landscapes of incredible beauty. Patagonia: Wild Land At The End Of The Earth is a welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic landscape photography collections. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Description and travel    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. Patagonia (Argentina and Chile    4. Patagonia (Argentina and Chile)    5. Photo Essays    6. Photoessays & Documentaries    7. Photography    8. Pictorial works    9. South America    10. Subjects & Themes - Landscapes    11. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/South America    12. Travel - Foreign   

Editorial Review

Some people will go to the ends of the earth for a good story; NickReding went to the end of the road, which turned out to be one and the same.When the Pan American Highway was extended into Chilean Patagonia, it exposed apeople long believed to be extinct--the gauchos. While the gauchos had struggledfor centuries with the hantavirus, extreme isolation, and visits by the devil,what the road brought was truly overwhelming. Reding befriends the likes ofDuck, an alcoholic slowly breaking from the pressure of the outside; John of theCows, a cattle thief on the lam; and Don Luis, an aging gaucho with terrificstories to tell. From its dramatic opening to its turbulent end, this elegant,brutal, and funny dispatch from one of the world's most forlorn places attemptsto answer the inconceivable: What happens when you suddenly find yourself twocenturies in the future? Read more

Reviews (18)

Lose yourself in order to find yourself
This is an exceptional study of the Patagonian gauchos and their life style and habitat before it is extinguished forever by western values, money and culture. As a tourist in Patagonia it should be required reading, especially if you are attempting a riding trip there as we were, across the Andes. For a moment you can understand what you are seeing and experiencing, for a second you are part of the scenary, not just watching it voyeuristically unfold before you. I don't think I understood travel until I read this book.I will never travel again with my eyes open and my mind closed.

A Fascinating Person and a Fascinating Story
I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Reding earlier this year, and as I chatted with him over some drinks, I was really struck by the thought, "This guy has led a really amazing life!"As a result, I went out and grabbed this book and as I read it, I became even more amazed. Gauchos are not chilean
This is just to correct a gross mistake from one of the other reviewers. Gauchos are the archetypical argentine country men, not chilean. and Patagonia is argentinean in more than 90% of its extension.Read more

Subjects:  1. Aisen (Chile : Province)    2. Anthropology - Cultural    3. Chile    4. Cisnes Medio    5. Coihaique    6. Description and travel    7. Frontier and pioneer life    8. Gauchos    9. History - General History    10. Latin America - South America    11. Patagonia (Argentina and Chile    12. Patagonia (Argentina and Chile)    13. Social History    14. Social Science    15. Social conditions    16. Sociology    17. South America    18. Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural   

Subjects:  1. Mountaineering    2. Pictorials    3. Skiing - General    4. South America    5. Sports    6. Sports & Recreation   

Reviews (4)

Well laid out and very contemporary
For the last seven years I have lived in, and traveled throughout Peru.Frommer's keep surprising me with new relevant information about Peru. Kudos.Especially informative is Frommer's first section: "What's New in Peru".In Frommer's the Cusco, the Machu Pichu and the Inca Trail section alone take up 100 pages and the information is excellent.If you are going only to these locations then this portion of the guide is reason enough to buy Frommer's.
Good on Frommer's!
It appears to me that the first reviewer may have a chip on his shoulder and ought to have stayed home, wherever that is.As someone who was raised in Per� and return often, I believe that the author of Frommer's Per� did a very good job, especially considering that most guidebooks don't include much about how tourism is endangering many heritage sites in the country.Neil Schlecht obviously cares and let's readers know, politely, that they need to walk softly through this beautiful nation. Overpriced and overrated
I was really disappointed with this, the most 'recent' book about Peru.I have recently moved here, and was looking for some information about places to go and things to do when I had holiday time.The information is often incorrect, the prices are exorbitant and the whole book reads more like "go where I suggest because they let me stay here free in exchange for a promotional blurb" than a truly objective presentation of options.Read more

Subjects:  1. South America    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Peru    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / South America   

Editorial Review

Covering tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda, this field guide by C. Lavett Smith (curator emeritus, Department of Ichthyology, American Museum of Natural History in New York) sets the tropical-fish standard. There are 417 truly magnificent color photographs evincing the glories of the coral reefs and full-text descriptions for more than 400 species, each with its own range map. In addition, the guide includes maps of the regions, more than 100 fish anatomy illustrations, and close to 800 more brief species descriptions. Easy to use and understand, lightweight, and sturdily constructed for travel, the field guide is a great boon for one's snorkeling or scuba-diving vacations. Read more

Reviews (8)

disappointing
Although there are many fishes accounted for, it has quite a few that are missing, and it would be helpful if more showed pictures of the difference between adult and juveniles.

OK, But Paul Humann's Book is Much Better
A few years ago, I bought the Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes and found when I tried to use it in the Florida Keys that there were many fish I couldn't identify. People recommended I buy Paul Humann's book, "Reef Fish Identification."The book is more expensive, but I found it to be far more comprehensive and user friendly. For example, many fish look entirely different when in their "juvenile," "initial" or "terminal" phase, and the "Reef Fish Identification" book has clear photos of each of the three stages shown beside each other, and frequently includes photos of alternate color phases as well.The Audubon book usually just shows a picture of the fish in just one phase, and often not a terribly good photo at that. Next to each photo in the Humann book is an excellent line drawing of the fish, highlighting and labeling which features of a fish are most dependable for identification. The Audubon book includes no such diagrams to aid identification. Finally, the Humann book is based upon both an extensive bibliography and collaboration with field biologists, and if the detailed descriptions in his book of definitive features for discriminating species of fish are correct (and experienced scuba divers tell me they are correct) then some of the pictures in the Audubon guide are actually even misidentified as to species. For example, the Audubon picture labeled as a "Leopard Goby" is almost certainly a picture of an "Orange-sided Goby" (if the Humann book is correct about dark lines outlining the orange rectangles being areliable discriminating feature). If there were no other reef fish identification book available, I would have given the Audubon book more stars, I am usually a great fan of the Audubon Field Guide series, but in comparison with the Humann book it just doesn't rate very well. I should add that I have never met, nor have any private or professional association with, the author of either of these books, so my opinion is not biased by any such affiliation.
Necessary installment.
The Audubon Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes is used for identifying brightly colored fish that are most likely to found in the open ocean or on reefs. This guide is different from its predecessor, "Audubon Guide to Fishes" in many ways. First off, the range is quite different, containing a wider variety of fish. This book also takes up where "Fishes" left off. There were so many species to cover that there needed to be more explanation in a second book, "Tropical Marine Fishes". Read more

Subjects:  1. Atlantic Ocean    2. Fish    3. Fishes    4. Ichthyology    5. Identification    6. Marine fishes    7. Nature    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Reference - General    10. Travel    11. Tropics    12. Fishes (ichthyology)    13. Nature / Fish    14. Reference works    15. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Reviews (9)

A good read
Malcom gives the reader a real first hand view of Bocas.He is funny and hauman.Makes you want to move there.

Very Interesting
This has been the first book that I have read cover to cover, except for techincal manuels. I enjoyed all of Malcolm's adventures. Having been in Bocas, I can relate to some of them.

A psychologist's perspective
I have just finished reading, for the second time, Malcolm Henderson's enchanting tour of a marvelous part of the world and his introduction to some wonderful people.Mr. Henderson has what other writers wish they had, the innate gift of being able to tell a story.In this delightful book Mr. Henderson displays the qualities of a Mark Twain, or Ambrose Bierce in that regard.This book would make an excellent addition to University classes in creative writing and psychology courses on social psychology.Mr. Henderson succeeds in taking us to Bocas Del Toro, sharing his relationships with interesting people, and engages us in the desire to live with and assist however we can, both the indigenous tribal natives and other Panamanians.He is candid in the things he probably should not have done, as well as in those things he did well.You will become engrossed in this book as it is truly a relaxing, entertaining, and informative work.Human behavior is remarkably different in different cultures and Mr. Henderson introduces us to a truly admirable culture in Panama, in a truly admirable manner.Sit back, read, enjoy.I look forward to other offerings by this author. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Central America    2. General    3. Nature/Ecology    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Humor-General    7. Humour    8. Nature-General    9. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    10. Travel / Central America   

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

Subjects:  1. Mexico    2. Special Interest - General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Living & working abroad    6. Travel / Mexico   

Reviews (1)

Spectacular
This is a sensational book.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design - Decorative    3. Interior Design - Style Books    4. Mexico    5. Pictorials    6. Travel    7. Interior design    8. Photographs: collections    9. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Reviews (2)

A great and informative book
Ok, go and buy this book. I am saying this because it is indeed a good read on Mexico and its historic towns and not just because this author devotes 16 pages to my adopted town of Guanajuato!
Colonial Mexico 2nd edition
I think this is an excellent book.I was delighted to find a guidebook that focuses on such an under appreciated topic.It is well researched and well writen.It describes many of the major colonial towns in central and southern Mexico. It provides a brief history for each town, describes the significant buildings, as well as near bye attractions.The maps are accurate and easy to read.It will be one of the few guide books that I bring on my next trip to Mexico. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Guidebooks    2. Mexico    3. Museums, Tours, Points of Interest    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (1)

Fodor's has commendable qualities, but its weaknesses outweigh its strengths.
This year I have used and then reviewed five guides on Argentina.Fodor's has commendable qualities, but its weaknesses outweigh its strengths.This guide will give you excellent direction on what to see/where to go.Its selection andrecommendations of accommodations is the best out in guides today.However, if you want a guide to help you select an excellent, unique restaurant, if you want a guide that informs you about the history and culture of Argentina, and if you want a guide that will provide you with maps that help you locate restaurants and hotels, then look elsewhere.
Read more

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

Reviews (1)

Treasures of Copper Canyon
Since I made the train journey up to Copper Canyon, I bought this book and felt like I re-lived the trip, and then another I wished I had made.This is a wonderful, moving, often poetic, memoir of an American's year-long sojourn in a Tarahumara (he uses the traditional name, Raramuri) Indian village.The writing, however, never falls into any anthropological notes.Biggers moves back and forth from his own experiences in his adopted village, where he chops wood with the local lumberjacks and plants corn and weathers the worst drought in the region's history, and the often hilarious adventures of famous travelers who have made their own foray into the canyons.The book's range is fantastic: characters like French poet Artaud, black West Point cadet Henry Flipper, a young George S. Patton, and a Russian sailor--to name only a few--pepper the stories like characters from a great drama.Jeff Biggers, who is the author of a book on Appalachia, is that chatty companion you wished you had along for the journey, someone who knows world literature and history as well as he knows the intimate details of the local canyons and people, and someone who loves to mix the two.Biggers writes about the ups and downs of tourism in Mexico's famed Copper Canyon by spinning a tale of a modern-day tragicomedy based on the Greek Antigone; he discusses the plight of logging by recalling a poem by Scottish bard Robert Burns and the Scottish debacle at Darien.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies    2. Folklore    3. History    4. History - General History    5. Latin America - Mexico    6. Mexico    7. Social life and customs    8. Special Interest - Adventure    9. Tarahumara Indians    10. Travel    11. Travel / Mexico    12. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Belize    2. Central America    3. Guidebooks    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    7. Travel / Central America   

Subjects:  1. Atlases - General    2. Maps & Road Atlases    3. South America    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel Guides    7. Argentina    8. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Reviews (10)

a unique and important book
No other book has been written, to my knowledge, that is similar to the "Uttermost Part of the Earth."The book is well and evocatively titled. The author was the third white child to be born in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina in 1874.Ushuaia has become today the southernmost city of the world -- a place where 60 degrees F is a hot summer day and the wind never stops blowing.
Good resource on early missionarys in Chile
I visited Tierra del Fuego & Patagonia in March of 2004. When attending a lecture aboard ship regarding the early settlement of this area I was told a good resource book on this area was Lucas Bridges book "The Uttermost Part of the Earth" - it was a great recommendation. I was able to obtain the book via Interlibrary loan (believe it came from a library in Minnesota). A great read! Lucas was one of 6 children of Thomas Bridges a missionary sent from England to Christianize the natives. 5 of his 6 children were born there. The book doesn't deal that much with actually missionary (ie: church) work as it does the experiences of Bridges family members with the native tribes. What endurance those people had! I'd recommend it to anyone interested in that part of the world.

Why is this book out of print?
I was given an old hardback copy of this title by my husband's granny, who lived in Tierra del Fuego for several years. It's the most rivetting book I've ever read. I'd love to recommend it to my book group, but where is it?Read more

Subjects:  1. 1874-1949    2. Biography    3. Bridges, E. Lucas,    4. Essays & Travelogues    5. Fuegians    6. General    7. Ranchers    8. Sociology    9. Tierra del Fuego (Argentina an    10. Tierra del Fuego (Argentina and Chile)    11. Travel    12. Bridges, E. Lucas   

Subjects:  1. Maps & Road Atlases    2. South America    3. Travel    4. Belize    5. Travel / road maps & atlases