Eyewitness Travel’s “Top Ten” series can be excellent or miserable guides to different places, depending on two major variables: one the amount of time one has to visit and the complexity of the place itself. With little visiting time, they are almost always a good choice, even the older editions, since the great attractions don’t change that much over time. With a very complex location — New York City, for example, or London — they are almost useless, keyed too much to the obvious and without the room to provide essential detail.

Istanbul is a city where the “Top Ten” book really shines for either purpose. Most of the great sites are located fairly close together — is there any richer place in the world where one can walk to four great sites — Haghia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar — and check out a fascinating cistern — and only pay for two cab fares?

We really enjoyed this book on a four day visit recently; we had been in Istanbul several times before, but it gave a great perspective on the riches here. The maps are excellent, and Istanbul is a city one must really explore on foot to capture its essence.

Even the list of ten things to avoid is helpful — warnings on drugs and prostitutes, of course, but offending Islamic sensibilities and criticizing Turkey itself are well taken.

The sources of additional information are up to date and very accurate.

Istanbul is a wonderful place especially for OFs like myself — the Turks treat older people with great respect.

Robert C. Ross 2009

Istanbul (DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide) Overview

“DK Eyewitness Top 10 Istanbul” travel guide will lead you straight to the best attractions Istanbul has to offer. Whether you wish to experience the Ottoman opulence of Topkapi Palace, find the liveliest nightlife in Istanbul, visit the unmissable art galleries, or shop in Istanbul’s amazing market: the Grand Bazaar, this pocket-size travel guide is packed with essential information for every corner of the city, whatever your budget. There are dozens of Top 10 lists including the Top 10 Istanbul restaurants, Istanbul’s Top 10 liveliest bars and clubs, the Top 10 places to stay in Istanbul, there’s even a Top 10 list of Things to Avoid! “The Top 10 Istanbul” travel guide is packed with beautiful illustrations and detailed cutaways of the greatest attractions of Istanbul, with comprehensive reviews and recommendations of Istanbul’s best hotels, markets, festivals, shopping and nightlife. Included with the Top 10 Istanbul travel guide is a pull-out map and day guide to ensure you don’t miss a thing! This is your guide to the Top 10 best of everything in Istanbul.

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A wonderful soft back book of posters designed for instant nostalgia. I rather liked its comprehensiveness, mainly featuring US railroads but nicely chapters devoted to Canadian and European posters. Another nice touch is the inclusion of ads, baggage labels and several black and white photos.

Predictably the posters tend to feature the streamline diesels of the thirties and forties (certainly a lot easier for the illustrators) rather than the European style of picturing the destinations. The travelling experience was the selling point rather than getting somewhere quickly and this, by the late forties and fifties, was rather a lost cause as plane travel was slowly becoming commonplace. There is great 1958 photo of the General Motors Aerotrain on page fifty-four making a PR stop in San Diego, possibly the last true streamliner.

Most of the posters shown have a graphic rather than literal style though there is a stunning 1940 Santa Fe brochure cover that has an E8 somewhere west of the Rockies done in a very photo realist style. The last chapter Rails for Victory covers the WW2 years when railroads lost no opportunity in telling everyone they were doing their bit. There are couple of beautiful Dean Cornwell paintings used as calendar art by the Pennsylvania RR in 1943 and 44.

The European chapter has some excellent British posters issued before the railroads were taken over by the state in 1947. If these take your fancy have a look at Railway Posters 1923-1947: From the Collection of the National Railway Museum, York a gorgeous book of over two hundred posters and quite remarkable because of the range of artistic styles that were used just to push train travel.

All Aboard is an easy-on-the-eye quick tour of rail posters. A more detailed look can be found in Travel by Train: The American Railroad Poster, 1870-1950 with plenty of super graphic material.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click ‘customer images’ under the cover.

All Aboard!: Images from the Golden Age of Rail Travel Overview

Travel back to the wonder years of rail in this beautiful compendium of art and illustration. Through luggage labels, maps, posters, advertisements, promotional brochures, napkins, and other colorful ephemera, All Aboard! celebrates our romance with the railroad. Its pages provide a nostalgic look at rail travel as it used to be, from the exciting early days at the turn of the century through its heyday in the ’40s and through World War II. Lynn Johnson and Michael O’Leary have collected hundreds of period images, from Deco-era logos that evoke the sleek, streamlined style of the day to wartime propaganda posters highlighting the muscularity of freight locomotives that transported weapons and tanks for American troops. All Aboard! also explores the art of the Orient Express and great European lines, the rugged rails of Canada, and exotic points abroad. This exciting new resource for train enthusiasts and everyone on the lookout for terrific images recreates the splendor of the modern locomotive era.

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TRAVEL WRITING 2.0: Earning Money from your Travels in the New Media Landscape Overview

This is the first guide to earning money from travel writing in a media landscape turned upside down. With stories and advice for dozens of working travel writers, editors, and publishers, Travel Writing 2.0 leads readers on a path to success straddling print and electronic media. Written by Tim Leffel, a successful writer, book author, editor, and blogger.

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“Oaxaca” is the essential travel book for the Mexican state of Oaxaca, written by a Mexico travel specialist who lives there. Since it concentrates on a single state, there is far more relevant, current, and helpful details on this area than can be found in travel books that cover the entire country. I bought property in Mexico, and this book is my constant companion. Since the Mexican government is making the new resort area of Huatulco the premier travel destination of a quality well above that over any previous such resorts, obviously learning a lot from the poor design and mess that Cancun has become. Having this book is essential for anyone who is interested in checking out this fabulous area of Huatulco, which is several times larger in area than any other resort area, has far better and much more interesting views, far better fishing, way less crowded, has buildings in the Mexican style rather than “International” style. And the towns of Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido offer contrast for travelers; Puerto Angel area has the best and most beautiful beaches in Mexico, with a South Sea island look, and Puerto Escondido has surf, less expensive lodging and food, and is a “people” town with many foreigners, mostly Canadians and Americans living there. But Huatulco has not yet been discovered by American tourists, they are in the minority compared to Canadian and European visitors, which is why it is uncrowded, so get there soon!
Other areas of Oaxaca are also well covered, including Oaxaca City, of course, and the interesting villages near Oaxaca city where crafts are made. I travel mostly around Oaxaca City and the unspoiled coastal areas of Oaxaca. I never plan to go back to the other Mexican beaches, they really do not compare.
So, get this book, schedule a trip to the Oaxacan coast – you will like it better than any other area of the Mexican coast.

Moon Oaxaca (Moon Handbooks) Feature

• ISBN13: 9781598800883
• Condition: New
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Moon Oaxaca (Moon Handbooks) Overview

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The IndoChina Chronicles, a travelogue good enough to be a historical novel, captures the sights, sounds and the people of the area more richly than most travel books. Phil Karber, a dedicated world traveler, returns to where he started his travels as a soldier during the Vietnam conflict. Phil takes you beyond the big cities and tourist spots to the villages and byways of the region. Experience life (and death)along the Mekong with Phil and his trip companion, Simon, as they travel with the locals. Witness emotional encounters between American veterans and their former foes as they all seek to put the war behind them and build better lives. And life is improving in Indochina. The scars of war are gradually healing over. But Phil won’t let you forget the horrors that the war brought. His extensive research provides an historical perspective for almost every town he visits. The intensity of the battle of the Tet Offensive in 1968 as told by a participant is especially compelling. In all, the reader will experience a vibrant culture brought to life by a traveler who can’t seem to experience enough of it, a traveler deeply sympathetic to the land and its people. Savor it as you would a fine wine, sip by sip, or as Phil and Simon often do, with a nice spliff.

The Indochina Chronicles: Travels in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam Overview

In this insightful travelogue, American war veteran Phil Karber takes you on a journey down the roads, rivers and rails of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. He writes insightfully about the political effect of the Vietnam War on the people and places, adding a whole new perspective on the region’s history and culture. Accompanied by a friend, London artist Simon Redington, they follow the Mekong River from China to Saigon, to the infamous Tiger Cages on Con Son Island, and to the city sidewalks of Hanoi, where the author lived for five years. Along the way, the stories will capture your imagination and transport you to a beautiful region, undaunted by war and poverty. Indeed, this book brings to life the harsh realities of the region’s history, culture, politics and people. Together with its unforgettable images of locals, veterans and expatriates, this transcends normal expectations of travel literature.

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You could easily fill a book about England or Scotland alone (in fact Rick Steves has a book only for London). However, when you simply have to cram it all into one tight guide he does a great job in his 2010 travel guide to Great Britain. For the most part, his recommendations are all entertaining and worthwhile. Rick covers all the bases and levels as best as you can in a single guide to an entire country. From the historical, geographic, and possible itinerary overview of Great Britain to the country specific information (England, Scotland, Wales), region highlights (highlands, lowlands, isles, etc), and city/area locations almost all of the big attractions and quite a few of the more endearing smaller ones are touched on. I would take his itinerary more as a guideline than a rule of thumb. In fact, I believe he intended it as such since this book goes into a good amount of detail and provides options which were not allocated within his itinerary. Although Rick includes an obvious lean towards B&Bs in his recommendations I feel that this choice is spot on in trying to delve into the culture and atmosphere. Nonetheless, he still provides a few alternatives for the strongly opposed. From hotels, to restaurants, to attractions everything is done with thought, wit, and a touch of humor. This guide goes beyond just saying “go there, do that” but actually provides a dialogue of what you may see and frequently the history of why or how it’s there. He gives tips to pay lower fares and avoid lines and provides details and walking and driving tours on occasion. There are even helpful sections on packing, currency, transportation, etc. Of all the tour books I’ve read over the years I feel that Rick Steves’ guides are not only some of the most useful but also some of the easiest to read. Hope this helps.

Rick Steves’ Great Britain 2010 with map Feature

• ISBN13: 9781598802931
• Condition: New
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Rick Steves’ Great Britain 2010 with map Overview

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I purchased this book in the hopes my wife would like it, since it did not get into the heavy depth and geek details that the RV Bible does, which my wife would not care for. Both my wife and I were instead dissappointed with the book because it did not give ENOUGH detail. It tries to cover everything but instead seems to gloss over details that I think needed more explantation. In an attempt to be an EVERYTHING family guide, it’s attempt in my opinion falls somewhat flat.

The back THIRD of the book lists campgrounds I would assume the author likes, with adaquate detail given to give you an idea about them.

WHY?

Why toss away 145 pages to be a not very good imatation of what Woodalls, Fodar, Frommers, Foghorn Press, Trailer Life AAA and a host of others have ALREADY done, in far better detail?

IMHO those pages would have been better used explaining in more detail the subjects you bought the book for. It is like the author got tired of the project, the publisher wanted to increase the page count, so they threw this on the back.

OK, want an example? Lets choose trailer brakes. A very serious and important issue RV’ers should know about, the author spends a quick three paragraphs (yes they were thick paragraphs) on a subject that could have easily had more detail, and in such a safety related area I feel should have.

The little breakouts, E-Facts and E-Alert, E-Essential Etc, were nice little snippets, But many lacked any meat or purpose. For instance, to break out the fact that people have different opinions on how to tow a dinghy vehicle like it was an essential piece of info that would ruin your trip if you did not know is a bit much. You could have included something in the paragraphs stating “opinions vary widely” or some such thing but to drag it out as a break out seems a waste.

After all this, I am not saying the book does not have it’s merits. It is written in a nice plain english, friendly way, with good info provided to a new or nearly new RV’er. It does attempt to touch on everything, and at least get you thinking about issues a person new to RV’ing needs to think about.

It is a family guide, one that is written well enough that even the kids might read some of, and that is a plus to this book over others I have seen including RV Bible. I like RVB because I am a Geek, I want detail and the more the better, but I am not everybody, and not everybody wants to know how to calculate Combined Gross Vehicle Weights, (though they should know how, like medicine it is good for you and keeps you safe).

For a general introduction to RV’ing this book is pretty good, but if the author & publisher read this, I would much rather loose the campground directory, and instead run a small apendix referencing the authors FAVORITE campgrounds in an established book such as Wodalls or one of the others. Use a small paragraph to tell me why you the author like that campground, ( very friendly host, wonderful scenic location, etc). The author is billed as an experienced RV’er, so if you want to talk about campgrounds, lets get some of your road experience on the actual campgrounds you have stayed at.

Overall, a 3.5 but Amazon does not give half points. I will give you the extra half point, because I think the book does fill a nich, for the new RV’er, and is not as insulting as the RV’ng for dummy or complete idiot titles are.

Marian, good luck on your second edition.

The Everything Family Guide To Rv Travel And Campgrounds: From Choosing The Right Vehicle To Planning Your Trip–All You Need For Your Adventure On Wheels (Everything: Travel and History) Overview

Traveling in an RV offers the excitement of a road trip without the cost and worry of food and shelter. It’s perfect for adventurous families who want take in all of nature’s beauty without losing the comfortable amenities of home.

With The Everything Family Guide to RV Travel and Campgrounds at your side, you’ll tour America in style-or simply unwind at your local campground. From choosing the right vacation spot to packing and planning, this all-in-one road includes: