Best West Virginia Travel Guides
From Shenandoah National Park to New River Gorge National River, from the Monongahela National Forest to the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, this book has a waterfall to fit any readers mood or sense of adventure. Directions on photography, including how to set up the best shot - from time of day to angle and direction - makes this book indispensable to professional and amateur photographers.From Shenandoah National Park to New River Gorge National River, from the Monongahela National Forest to the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, this book has a waterfall to fit any readers mood or sense of adventure.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Excellent book by Kevin Adams describing the waterfalls of Virginia and West Virginia."
"He should have an image at least to those falls that he gives photo ratings, but many falls described in the book has no image."
"Get out there & USE this book (& his other book "North Carolina Waterfalls A Hiking & Photography Guide") to go & explore some of the most beautiful places around."
"I use with book in conjunction with the SNP maps of hiking trails and waterfalls, and do use the Gazetteer that is referenced."
"We have Kevin Adams' Waterfall guide to North Carolina and decided to pick up this one since we planned to travel through West Virginia and Virginia."
"good book on waterfalls but not as good as the North Carolina one."
"My boyfriend is a "waterfall" buff and has been to every fall in NC..I gave him this book for Xmas and he loved it..It gave info on all the waterfalls in our area and the info on how to get to them..This was a great gift for him..I'd recommend this to anyone who loves the outdoors and loves to hike..Now we can explore the Virginia area this summer..He loved the book and I always go to Amazon for all my books anymore...They are great!"
"This book has taken us to some pretty remarkable places."
Using straightforward language yet incorporating the most up-to-date scientific information and nomenclature, the book will be welcomed by amateur naturalists or professional botanists looking for species in the field and by those who simply enjoy photographs of beautiful wildflowers. The combination of habitat information derived from the author's experience and beautiful photographs places this volume among the best of the regional orchid treatments. Although the southern Appalachians are known to botanists and wildflower watchers as a botanical paradise, it will probably surprise and then delight many people to discover that over fifty species of orchids are native here. This book is quite a treat for you amateur naturalists or professional botanists who happen to live, vacation or botanize in the southern Appalachians.-- SIDA. It is written in a conversational, sometimes almost folksy style based on the author's 25 years of experience in seeking out and photographing the orchids of his native Southern Appalachians.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The book is roughly divided into two parts: Part 1 contains general information on orchids including when and where to look for them, while part 2 contains detailed descriptions of each orchid species. My only concern with this book would be that the plant descriptions are sorted alphabetically by scientific names, which may not be the most user-friendly organization."
"The absolute best book on native Orchids of the Appalachians."
"Exactly what I needed to research the native orchids around here."
"Very nice book with great photos and information."
"I'll say it again, Great book."
"I bought this one as a replacement for my copy that grew "legs"."
"Let Stanley be your guide,you will not be disappointed.But beware, once the "orchid bug" bites you may find yourself crawling through thickets,slogging through swamps,and scaling up steep ridges, mumbling latin to yourself, and having the time of your life!"
"The pictures are crisp and beautiful, and laid out nicely alongside the text for easy access while reading the description."
Grand Staircase, Escalante, Vermilion Cliffs, Canyons of the Ancients, Dinosaur, Hovenweep National Monuments, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase of the Vermilion Cliffs, Pink Cliffs in southern Utah, volcanic lavas of Sunset Crater, geologists, dinosaur footprints in and around Arches National Park. Filled with stunning pictures, this book is a great accompaniment to any trip across the West this summer. Past users will find an old friend they can appreciate even more...From the beginning of her writing about geology, Chronic has had the knack of making complex things comprehensible...This book has all the necessary paraphanalia...You don't know what cross-bedding is, or the difference between caliche, chert, concretion, and conglomerate? Good black-and-white photos illustrate every chapter, and the publisher has added a section of color plates to enhance appreciation of these wonderful places preserved for our outdoor enjoyment.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I am a tremendous fan of the writing of Lucy Chronic and her mother Halka Chronic."
"Great summary for many of the National Parks in Utah and Arizona which we visited in the autumn of 2014."
"I purchased it for a geology field trip course (7 days where we saw features in California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada)."
"Great for geology and southwest aficionados!"
"This book was most helpful as we are 'rockhounds' and our excurions are even more interesting now with using this book."
"Her book, following a general introduction to the geological formation processes of the plateau landscapes, is organized around the numerous national parks and monuments in this remarkable area."
Best Virginia Travel Guides
Detailed, waterproof navigational chart book of the entire Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Chesapeake bay chart."
"I found it to be what I expected."
"Received on time and was exactly what was expected."
"As expected."
"The charts are very informative & detailed."
"The format is the same but the quality of the binding is just OK."
"Just what I needed to supplement my Lowrance HDS unit for planning my fishing trips."
"I bought this as a gift for a new boat owner."
Best Western US Travel Guides
Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her. “Strayed’s language is so vivid, sharp and compelling that you feel the heat of the desert, the frigid ice of the High Sierra, and the breathtaking power of one remarkable woman finding her way—and herself—one brave step at a time.” — People (4 stars). — The Boston Globe "One of the most original, heartbreaking, and beautiful American memoirs in years. The cumulative welling up I experienced during Wild was partly a response to that too infrequent sight: that of a writer finding her voice, and sustaining it, right in front of your eyes.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times. Strayed’s journey is exceptional.” — San Francisco Chronicle “One of the best books I’ve read in the last five or ten years. Wild is angry, brave, sad, self-knowing, redemptive, raw, compelling, and brilliantly written, and I think it’s destined to be loved by a lot of people, men and women, for a very long time.” —Nick Hornby. By laying bare a great unspoken truth of adulthood—that many things in life don’t turn out the way you want them to, and that you can and must live through them anyway— Wild feels real in many ways that many books about ‘finding oneself’ . [Strayed] has the ineffable gift every writer longs for of saying exactly what she means in lines that are both succinct and poetic. an inborn talent for articulating angst and the gratefulness that comes when we overcome it.” — The Washington Post “Vivid, touching and ultimately inspiring account of a life unraveling and of the journey that put it back together.” — The Wall Street Journal “Strayed . with a raw emotional power that makes the book difficult to put down. In walking, and finally, years later, in writing, Strayed finds her way again. And her path is as dazzlingly beautiful as it is tragic.” — Los Angeles Times “A fearless story, told in honest prose that is wildly lyrical as often as it is dirtily physical.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune. “This isn’t Cinderella in hiking boots, it’s a woman coming out of heartbreak, darkness and bad decisions with a clear view of where she has been. There are adventures and characters aplenty, from heartwarming to dangerous, but Strayed resists the temptation to overplay or sweeten such moments. Her pacing is impeccable as she captures her impressive journey.” — The Seattle Times “Strayed’s journey was at least as transcendent as it was turbulent. She faced down hunger, thirst, injury, fatigue, boredom, loss, bad weather, and wild animals. Yet she also reached new levels of joy, accomplishment, courage, peace, and found extraordinary companionship.” — The Christian Science Monitor “Strayed writes a crisp scene; her sentences hum with energy. Cheryl Strayed emerges from her grief-stricken journey as a practitioner of a rare and vital vocation. She has become an intrepid cartographer of the human heart.” — Houston Chronicle “A deeply honest memoir about mother and daughter, solitude and courage, and regaining footing one step at a time.” — Vogue “This is a big, brave, break-your-heart-and-put-it-back-together-again kind of book. I snorted with laughter, I wept uncontrollably; I don’t even want to know the person who isn’t going to love Wild. This is a beautifully made, utterly realized book.” —Pam Houston, author of Contents May Have Shifted and Cowboys are My Weakness.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Although I did not hike the PCT I did backpack in Yosemite."
"Cheryl Strayed's memoir of an 1100 miles trek on the Pacific Crest trail is an astonishing story of a spectacular and breathtaking adventure of coming to terms with grief and survival during a difficult trek through snow_clad mountains and thick forests for two months beginning in the Mojave desert and hiking through California and Oregon to the Bridge of Gods in Washington."
"This book is not for everyone, you either seem to love it or hate it, but I loved it."
"The author tells her personal story which includes a lot of her flaws and mistakes. I'm grateful for the author's willingness to share this with enough detail to make the reader understand her state of mind and her experience of events."
"Having hiked, during my long life, on four continents, along trails of varying degrees of intensity, I empathised with every painful step this young, intelligent and courageous woman endured on the extremely challenging Pacific Crest Hiking Trail on the North American continent."
"But this book is really less about the PCT and more about the emotional journey which apparently was a good deal more strenuous than the trail. This book documents with chilling honesty the route she took emotionally to deal with that upbringing."
"I am an experienced hiker and Cheryl Strayed was an outdoor person but not a hiker of the type who usually attempts an extreme hike. Her writing is so good that I could envision each part of the trail as she hiked along the PCT."
Best Georgia Travel Guides
Whether you're headed to downtown or to the ethnic mecca that is Buford Highway, you’ll find Atlanta’s best chefs innovating and continuing to redefine the culinary food scene in the big Peach. Part-cookbook and part-tour guide, Atlanta Chef’s Table. manages to capture the complexity and breadth of Atlanta’s modern restaurant landscape, and serve as a resource for those interested in emulating the flavors of this pivotal time in Atlanta food, at home. Atlanta Chef's Table. is more of a food-focused narration of where Atlanta came from and where it's going. Atlanta Chef's Table is a stunning book worthy of your kitchen counter or your coffee table." Atlanta Chef's Table. highlights that authentic zeal, the focused precision and the gastronomic excitement that Atlanta restaurants have been working on for the last decade and it is a stunning collection of recipes to behold.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm generally not a fan of traditional cookbooks as you can find virtually any recipe online and they take up a lot of space in the kitchen cabinets."
"I found just the perfect item in Kate Kordsmeier’s book “Atlanta Chef’s Table.” This is the kind of book you like to sit out on the porch to read, pen in hand, so you can take notes of where you want to dine or what dish will be the main focus at your next dinner party."
"Great book for foodies who not only love new recipes but also like to have a little knowledge about the history of Atlanta's best restaurants."
"The benefits of this book are two fold - It allows you to get to know the wonderful chefs and restaurants in your city and allows you the ability to create their dishes right in your own home!"
"Wonderful book and I love the photography as well."
"This book is a nice resource for the culinary happenings in Atlanta."
"Not only does it provide some great recipes, but also gives a great overview of some of the best restaurants/chefs in the ATL."
"Just received this cookbook as an early Mother's Day gift from my daughters."
Best California Travel Guides
* Muir is perhaps the nation's greatest conservationist. Other places named in his honor are Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great quality book that is perfect to add to our top shelf of the books."
"Really nice book that I bought as a gift for my boyfriend."
"In those days (1951) we could camp on the valley floor and watch as the rangers pushed the entire large fire over besides the falls in the dark of the summer evening."
"Anything regarding John Muir is a great read."
"Nice, thick book."
"The inside of the book looks great however the cover is dirty and sticky."
"A must read for outdoors enthusiast."
Best Pennsylvania Travel Guides
In this ultimate guide, true fans of Pittsburgh Steelers football will learn the origins of the team’s iconic logo, the best place to tailgate before kickoff, and how the legendary Steel Curtain defense got its nickname. Matt Loede has covered Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Football League for Fox Sports Radio, the Associated Press, and other stations around the country.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My daughter is an up and coming Steelers fan, so my wife and I told her she needs to know the history of the Steelers if she's going to be a true fan."
"This was a Christmas gift for my karate teacher in addition to some other fun Steelers products."
"Go to my "coffee table" for reference and good memories of my home town/team."
"Anything concerning the Steelers is great."
"Fun gift for a Steelers fan."
Best Washington Travel Guides
"Simply put, every local boater should have a dog-eared, well-thumbed copy [of this guide] as a permanent feature in the nautical library. A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands has earned an outstanding reputation for the accuracy of its piloting instructions, the clarity of its writing, and the high quality of its information. Approaches and anchorages for hundreds of bays, harbors, and inlets―many with annotated charts Weather, tides, currents, and commercial traffic patterns Local history and attractions 240 full-color photos 75 color chartlets Larger size and lay-flat binding for ease of use. For even those few boaters who think they know all Puget Sound has to offer, this invaluable reference guide will introduce them to hundreds of new places yet to explore. "An encyclopedic sailing guide to area waters, written with exhaustive first-hand research to almost every cove and inlet, and complemented with a remarkable series of maps, charts, and pictures. "A monumental book that gives minute details on every bay, waterway, and stretch of navigable salt water from Olympia to Port Angeles, including the San Juan Islands. A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands has earned an outstanding reputation for the accuracy of its piloting instructions, the clarity of its writing, and the high quality of its information. Approaches and anchorages for hundreds of bays, harbors, and inlets―many with annotated charts Weather, tides, currents, and commercial traffic patterns Local history and attractions 240 full-color photos 75 color chartlets Larger size and lay-flat binding for ease of use. For even those few boaters who think they know all Puget Sound has to offer, this invaluable reference guide will introduce them to hundreds of new places yet to explore. "An encyclopedic sailing guide to area waters, written with exhaustive first-hand research to almost every cove and inlet, and complemented with a remarkable series of maps, charts, and pictures.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Cruising up there can be very complex....considering ship traffic, reefs that are close to the water surface, floating logs that can separate an outdrive from the boat in a nanosecond, and private or shallow areas that it is a good idea to stay away from."
"A must have for cruising down sound or in the San Juan Islands."
"We constantly use this book for boating in the puget sound."
"the wire coil back is a pain to deal with."
"We've been sailing in the San Juans for over 30 years and still found this book helpful."
"The spiral binding is very nice which allows the pages to lay flat and the heavy cover tucks acound them when the book is closed to protect the page edges - a great touch. I expect this will be a book we will really use this season."
"Great book for cruising the Sound."
"The Waggoner book that was in our charter boat was much better but our favorite was San Juan Islands Cruise Guide: A Boaters Handbook for Camping the San Juan's and Surrounding Area by Cummins."
Best Arizona Travel Guides
In full-color throughout, Fodor's Arizona and the Grand Canyon helps travelers take advantage of the state's myriad pleasures, including outstanding museums and galleries, Navajo and Hopi cultural experiences, top-notch golf, three national parks, and excellent Mexican food and tequila. “Fodor’s is pitched a few notches higher….aimed at a fairly discerning traveler with an appetite for background and the occasional surprise.” – New York Times.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Got this for a friend who was moving to Arizona."
"Helpful book."
"My first solo trip was all guided by this book."
"Very detailed and informative."
"Nice quick reference guide if you are traveling to Arizona."
"Easy to use and priced right."
"Great book, happy with the information provided."
"Fodors is my go to travel guide always!"
Best Vermont Travel Guides
Complete map coverage for all of Vermont including Burlington, Rutland, Montpelier, Barre, Bennington, Brattleboro, Manchester, Woodstock, Middlebury, White River Junction, St. Albans, Ludlow, St. Johnsbury, and Newport as well as all other communities.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I read a review for the Rand McNally Vermont Road Atlas wherein the reviewer dumped the Rand McNally mid-trip and picked up the JIMAPCO Vermont Road Atlas and recommended it above the former."
"It keeps me from going in circles and helps me find covered bridges, wildlife management areas, hiking trails and other interesting things along the ways."
"NIce maps, good detail."
"The spiral binding allows you. to lay it flat on your lap or desk."
"Just what we needed to replace our original Vermont Road Atlas which had been well used, and had seen better days."
"Timely delivery good product."
"This atlas has amazing detail on every road and the spiral binding makes it real easy to use."
"The spiral binding is great, the index is mostly useful; however, it uses town road numbers which makes it very hard to figure out what the road is because many of the ones we were looking for did not have a number on the sign or we were not sure what the number was until we had already driven past the road."
Best Wisconsin Travel Guides
Chronicling the Brewers from the Suds Series of 1982 to the 2011 National League Central title and from Bambi's Bombers of the late '70s to Harvey's Wallbangers of the early '80s, Bill Schroeder, a longtime Brewers color commentator and former Brewers catcher, provides insight into the Brewers inner sanctum as only he can. Olson grew up in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he spent a semester on the men’s basketball team “before they got good.” Bill Schroeder is the color commentator for the Milwaukee Brewers, a position he has held since 1995. Born in Baltimore and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Schroeder graduated from West Windsor Plainsboro High School, where he earned All-State honors his junior and senior years.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In If These Walls Could Talk Bill Schroeder and Drew Olson provide a comprehensive look at the Milwaukee Brewers, paying tribute to the great players like Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, reliving memorable moments on the diamond, sharing a smattering of tales, most only mildly amusing, giving credit to behind the scenes staffers like the director of clubhouse operations and the director of team travel, and reflecting on the challenges of broadcasting a game."
"The book also seems to end abruptly as well."
"Highly recommend picking up a copy and reading and even perhaps rereading just before the start of the baseball season or any time the reader requires a baseball "fix!""
"If you are a Milw Brewer fan, you need to read this book."
"Enjoyed thoroughly."
"Bill Schroeder has been with the Brewers for a long time now as a player and then an announcer."
"My husband is a huge Brewers fan and, of course, anybody from Wisconsin loves Bob Uecker."
"If you like the Brewers you will enjoy this book."
Best Wyoming Travel Guides
When Rick Lamplugh reports for work at the historic Lamar Buffalo Ranch on New Year's Eve, he has one goal: to learn as much as possible about the ecology of the Lamar Valley and how wolves fit in. A literary blend of facts and feelings, In the Temple of Wolves celebrates nature's stark beauty and the importance of wolves, while revealing Lamplugh's inner battles with his own human nature. Rick Lamplugh's love of the wild in Yellowstone shines brightly in these eloquent narratives, conceived while living in the park's Lamar Valley--prime wolf habitat. His stories pull the reader into adventures and mis-adventures of cold wind and blowing snow, the reality of life and death in nature, and the complexities of managing wildlife and human park visitors.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I tore greedily through the pages, my heart and mind captured by the stories of Rick's winter in the most beautiful place i have ever seen--the Lamar Valley--supporting the Yellowstone association and the Wolf Week programs."
"Rick's book offers compelling reasons for people to make Yellowstone their winter travel destination as well; I've always wanted to visit Yellowstone in the winter, and after reading this book I fully intend to do so within the next few years."
"This love story to Yellowstone and its wolves is a book that made me long to be back in the Lamar Valley, my happy place."
"I hope loves of nature and wild places discover this book, and open their minds and hearts to the role of this amazing animal in protecting and preserving our last great wildernesses."
"Rick made you feel like you were actually in the moment with him no matter if he was driving a tour bus of eager sightseers, stepping out of bed ready for the days activities or witnessing a wold pack cross the Lamar Valley.... you were standing right there with him. I felt his information and history on the bison, ravens, coyotes and wolves were so thorough, factual and complete and very interesting. I am ready for my journey to Yellowstone and I will carry with me the many things I learned from this book... and this time... Rick will be with ME."
Best Montana Travel Guides
Glacier National Park and the Great Northern Railway became synonymous in the early 20th century. C. W. Guthrie is a freelance writer who lives in the Ninemile Valley west of Missoula, Montana.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Bought this book for my husband for Christmas."
"great read about a beautiful place."
"All Aboard for Glacier is a we done book about the Great Northern RY and Glacier NP."
"Good coffee table book."
"Very well researched & interesting read."
"Wonderful illustrations and delightful writing."
"This was a nicely done book about the history of Great Northern in general in addition to highlighting how important the development of the U.S. was on the railroads."
Best Florida Travel Guides
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2018 explains how Walt Disney World works and how to use that knowledge to make every minute and every dollar of your vacation count. And because they've found that "spontaneity and self-discovery work about as well at Walt Disney World as they do on your tax return," The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is packed full of essential advice for anyone braving the frontiers of the mother of all theme parks.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you’re lookin for info about making a trip to Disney World, this book is absolutely amazing!"
"You don't want a rained on Kindle (God forbid ) It seemed as thought there was a lot of "filler" in this book, I understand this is a subjective book , but just my opinion."
"If you get it, go ahead and spend the $10 for their online access (touringplans.com) - it's an essential piece to customize travel plans in the parks for what you want to see and when."
"However, many rides in WDW have been closed (Maelstrom, Backlot Tour, Pirates of the Caribbean, the sorcerers hat in DHS, etc) that are so significant they need to urgently put out a revised edition."
"This book was very valuable in planning our Disney World trip in March."
"So informative, it's insightful, and it's the go-to book for how to successfully navigate Disneyworld."
"I have used this book every time to help plan my trip. I have learned that if you do not plan a WDW trip as a "type A" personality, you will lose out not only on time, but money, and in the case of Walt Disney World....time equals your money spent."
Best Indiana Travel Guides
In an era dominated by huge railroad corporations, Indianapolis Union and Belt Railroads reveals the important role two small railroad companies had on development and progress in the Hoosier State. An interesting history not only of these two railroads but how they ultimately served as a model for the many other belt railroads . This is a great history book, neatly telling the value of railroads in the development of the United States as well as in Indianapolis.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I worked in Indianapolis for over seven years and was fascinated by Union Station and the railroads."
Best Nebraska Travel Guides
In this sequel to the best-selling If I Never Get Back , Sam Fowler manages to break into the past once again—but this time it’s 1875. Brock's sequel to If I Never Get Back promises the quaint historical charm that distinguished its predecessor, but some erratic plotting and a decision to virtually eliminate the baseball motif hurts the follow-up effort.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Brock's treatment if the "gay" Indian was equaly offensive to me as a 2 spirit person."
"Into the mix we now find Mark Twain, international intrigue, and the metamorpheus of professional baseball into our National Pastime."
"Great time-travel book - sequel to "If I Never Get Back" - Couple of episodes with Mark Twain, riding the rails with hobos in 1875 - gambling in Saratoga Springs, coal mines in Pa. - and settling a village in Old West Nebraska."
"Not as good as the first one."
"Like its predecessor, "I Don't Care if Never Get Back", Two in the Field is a great read."
"Sequel to "If I Never Get Back..." I was so happy to read the rest of Sam's adventures."
"It could have had more vintage baseball in it like it's predecessor."
"The book was interesting and did hold my attention."
Best Louisiana Travel Guides
The next day he began to photograph, house by house: "All the places I went in, the doors were just open. Amidst all this, Polidori has found something worth saving, has created mementos for those who could not return, documenting the paradoxically beautiful wreckage. Oversize photos capture the stark reality: whole neighborhoods under water and later in shambles, and close-ups of sodden bedrooms, mud-scoured kitchens and painterly mold spores.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It is as if his books on Havana and Chernobyl were mere foretastes to this exceptional and moving work, and certainly anyone who has seen these two books came away with a feeling of the power and storytelling that Polidori's images can convey. In "After the Flood", he presents us with an almost encyclopedic presentation of the aftermath of the hurricane, flooding, wind, water and mud damage showing the fragility of our cities and the power of nature. The first images show parts of the city still under water and the receding water. Succeeding groups of images show the effects of mud, water and wind on buildings and cars that have been tossed around at random like toys."
"Ridiculous amazing amount of detail from this 8x10 photographer."
"These high quality photos come without captions."
"There are likely a thousand awesome photos in the book, but not the one I remember from the exhibition."
"This book captured the aftermath of the storm to its precise destruction."
"The best photographic essay of New Orleans after the flood."
"I bought this book as a gift for my sister-in-law."
Best Iowa Travel Guides
Taken by a true insider who has lived in Iowa his entire life, Frazier’s photographs are rich in emotion and give expression to the hopes and desires of the people who remain, whose needs and wants are complicated by the economic realities remaking rural America. Years of working, walking, photographing, carefully making notes, names, places. Inhabitants: Farmers, Migrant Workers, their families, Hunters, Churches, Trailers, Storms, Open Fields, Sunday Night. “I wanted to explore the lives of the people who stay, who are casualties of the growing economic divide that separates America’s rural and metropolitan classes. Having lived in Iowa all my life, these forgotten communities are part of my own history.”—Danny Wilcox Frazier.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Driftless: Photographs from Iowa. fantastic book, great illustrations, excellent quality."
"Typically, the photographs show the lower classes, but a few of the images depict well-dressed people practicing their religion, or engaging in a civic activity. Other examples of this genre include: (1) IN THE AMERICAN WEST (1996) by Richard Avedon; (2) PHOTOGRAPHS FROM ONE YEAR (1983) by Nicholas Nixon; (3) SOCIAL GRACES (1984) by Larry Fink; (4) APPALACHIAN PORTRAITS (1993) by Shelby Lee Adams; and. (5) GRIMM STREET (2005) by Mark Cohen. I saw an exhibit of IN THE AMERICAN WEST in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. APPLACHIAN PORTRAITS is excellent in terms of composition, uniqueness, and image quality, but some of the images in APPALACHIAN PORTRAITS are so bizarre that a typical person would find no solace in looking at them (we find snake handlers, and hillbillies looking like escapees from a mental institution). To conclude, DRIFTLESS:PHOTOGRAPHS FROM IOWA features sharp-focus images, with excellent contrast (ranging from bright whites to jet blacks), and plenty of variety. Variety takes the form of inhabitants of trailer homes, hunters toting rifles, tawdry scenes in taverns, and straightforward landscapes."
"They are depressing pictures."
"The sugar-coated, romanticized, or one dimensional view of "Middle-America" would have us believe that Iowa is only a land of covered bridges, fields of dreams, or over weight mall moms casting their red state ballots."
"The idea has merit: to capture the feel of a changing Iowa, with the relentless agri business taking over the individual farms, small towns built up over decades on many of the State's crossroads now disappearing, their inhabitants, having either worked on the land or in local industries but now drifting away. They clearly have a sense of place and tell a story which I felt was more or less missing from Frazier's contemporary look at Iowa because his photos are too personal and subjective (and I wonder if he takes them quickly, too)."
"Danny Wilcox Frazier's book of photographs, Driftless, is just that."
Best Nevada Travel Guides
This authoritative guide will show you how to navigate the crystal-clear waters of Lake Tahoe and the exciting nightlife of “The Biggest Little City in the World.”. For more than twenty years, the Insiders' Guide® series has been the essential source for in-depth travel and relocation information―from true insiders whose personal, practical perspective gives you everything you need to know. From world-class ski resorts and rugged mountains to pristine beaches and magnificent golf courses, there's more to Reno and Lake Tahoe than just spectacular entertainment venues and casino gaming.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I certainly have picked out other day trips and activities for future return visits."
"I have just moved to Reno and this book was on my hit list so I can understand and get acquainted with the area as soon as possible."
"I look forward utilizing it during my trip to Reno."
"Wow what a extensive book on what all is offered in that area !"
"This book provided the information I needed."
"We got this updated edition because we were moving to Reno and had to have the latest scoop on all the information this book holds, and it holds a lot of information."
"haven't had time to look at much."
"This book is very helpful and full of information, however I was disappointed that a book about such a gorgeous place had no pictures of the places it was describing."
Best Maine Travel Guides
Maine: A Portrait is the result of Lucian Niemeyer's desire to explore the Maine viewed by his inspiration, Eliot Porter.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A beautiful rendering of Main."
"Mr. Neimeyer shot this book plain, not fancy: he apparently did not use a digital camera and states he did not use filters or image manipulation tools."
"This book contains two sections of photos: the coast and the woods."
"I bought this book sight unseen as a birthday gift for a friend."
"..great pics I love Maine..gave it as a gift..I hope the recipient is worthy of it!"
Best Minnesota Travel Guides
The stories of these grand houses are, above all else, the stories of those who built and lived in them—from the fantastic saga of Marion Savage to the continent-spanning conquests of James J. Hill, to the all-but-forgotten tragedy of Olaf Searle, a poor immigrant turned millionaire who found and lost a dream in the middle of Lake Minnetonka. The first book to take an in-depth look at the history of the Twin Cities’ mansions, Once There Were Castles presents ninety lost mansions and estates, organized by neighborhood and illustrated with photographs and drawings. Larry Millett is an architectural historian and the author of Lost Twin Cities, Twin Cities Then and Now, and AIA Guide to the Twin Cities.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As a preservationist I feel this book should be sitting on the desk of city planners nationwide as an example of how we haphazardly destroy the very elements of our cities that make them unique."
"This is a lovely book and a must-have for coffee tables across the Twin Cities."
"If you have any interest in the history of the Twin Cities, Historic Architecture, Victorian Homes, or the 19th century, this book is definitely a worthwhile purchase!"
"My brother in law saw an article about this book in our local news paper."
"We open the gifts one by one so everyone can see who got what...this book was the hit of the party...everyone was jealous of the person who received the book."
"This is a beautiful book with many memories for my parents and a few for me, too."
"The book is well laid out, and has great pictures."
Best Alaska Travel Guides
Travel through the coastal rainforest, the fishing towns and ice fields of Southeast Alaska; the glacier-carved landscape of Prince William Sound and Kenai Fjords; through the major cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks; and on to the crown jewel, Denali National Park. The quality of the photography is first rate, and varies from the small scale of flowers and wildlife to the grander scale of mountains, fjords, and glaciers.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A good balance of pictures and narrative, ideal for anyone contemplating a drive through Alaska."
"Just received this beautiful photographic book and we couldn't be more pleased to view and read all about Alaska."
"Bought this for someone who went on an Alaskan adventure and cruise, and they said it was amazing to have to remember their trip."
"Absolutely superb photography by Mark Kelley and stories by Nick Jans."
"Wonderful book."
Best Oregon Travel Guides
The new cartography is about much more than just land! David Banis has managed the Center for Spatial Analysis and Research in the Geography Department at Portland State University since 2006, working with a wide variety of partners at the federal, state, and local levels.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It documents the most absurd things, from house color by neighborhood to noise level in Providence Park by minute in a Timbers game."
"This book is PACKED full of interesting maps, facts, history, images, and impressions of Portland past and present."
"Got this for my best friend's birthday after she moved to Portland and she's loved it as fun way to get to know her new city even better."
"Fun way to explore Portland from many different perspectives."
"this is a great book written by Portland State University professors and their students."
"A creative and smart approach to visualizing the culture of a city."
"I bought this as a gift."
"If you thought you knew about Portland you're wrong!"
Best South Carolina Travel Guides
In vibrant watercolors and detailed sketches, artist Diana Gessler captures the beauty and riches that make Charleston so unique: White Point Gardens, the Spoleto Festival, Rainbow Row, Waterfront Park, Fort Moultrie, the beaches of Sullivan's Island, sumptuous Lowcountry cuisine, and handmade sweetgrass baskets.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My Dad likes it because it is a book one can pick up and read things in no particular order, just a tidbit here or a short story there."
"Lovely entertaining book!"
"Interesting guidebook for Charleston."
"After returning home I can look at the book and it can remind me of the interesting places I visited."
"I fell in love with the city, as many do, and wanted to revisit the charm of the city combined with the nostalgia of a magical vacation."
"When visiting Charleston for the first time recently, I saw this book for sale everywhere."
"Fantastic guide to Charleston - I recommend this to anyone planning their first visit."
Best North Carolina Travel Guides
Exquisitely illustrated with over 100 original pen & ink illustrations by the artist author, the Ultimate Guide is the only book available that presents all of the 250 attractions in the mountains, from tiny historical museums and craft galleries to blockbuster attractions, including Biltmore Estate, the Cherokee Indian Reservation, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. A highly recommended book for anyone planning a trip to Western North Carolina the The Ultimate Guide by Lee Pantas surpasses in scope all other area guides. The Ultimate Guide has proven over the years to be a valuable resource not only for the many tourists and visitors who flock to our mountains, but also for those folks who are considering Western North Carolina as a place where they might like to live.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good resource for getting to know Asheville and surrounding towns."
"We've referred back to this book many times in the short time we owned it."
"Informative, well-written, and up to date."
"All the info I hoped for and much more!"
"Had a great vacation."
"I know that the availability of tourism websites has likely cut into the guidebook market, but personally, I appreciate having everything in one place (and a warning: the Western North Carolina mountains will likely make your cell service unreliable - so don't count on having the internet everywhere you travel!)."
"The big attractions such as Biltmore, the Grove Park Inn, Carl Sandburg Home and the Thomas Wolfe House are all here, but it's the off-the-beaten path things only a local could tell you that make this volume worth buying."
"This is wonderful guide book written by Lee James Pantas, local artist who has lived in Fairview NC, right outside Asheville. Having lived in the area for many years, the guidebook is written from a local point of view."
Best Utah Travel Guides
User-friendly highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices, emergency information, park seasonality, hiking trail junctions, viewpoints, landscapes, elevations, distances, difficulty levels, and durations Focused on the best - hikes, drives, and cycling tours Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, camping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, summer and winter activities, and hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Contextual insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, geology, wildlife, and conservation Over 65 full-color trail and park maps and full-color images throughout Useful features - Travel with Children, Clothing and Equipment, and Day and Overnight Hikes Covers Zion National Park, St George, Snow Canyon State Park, Cedar City, Glendale, Bryce Canyon& National Park, Red Canyon, Panguitch, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and more. The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Zion & Bryce Canyon& National Parks, our most comprehensive guide to these parks, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It stated to take the Queen Garden trail first and then make the ascent up Wall Street and it was 100% accurate on this."
"Excellent guidebook, and we used it to prepare for our trip, though once we were at each of the parks, the park documentation was excellent."
"This book is packed with information about Zion and Bryce Canyons."
"A nice travel book and was useful on our recent trip to the area."
"This was the most useful and informative guide I found for Zion and Bryce."
"Comprehensive info on parks with map inserts,pictures, trip plans, history and geology, and, of course, detailed information on all the hikes."
"I'm still making my way through this book; it's so loaded with useful information."
"purchased for my upcoming trip."
Best Midwest US Travel Guides
Composed decades before Sigurd Olson or Calvin Rutstrum began documenting the wild life of the upper Midwest, Howard Greene’s journals are a window into a world at once familiar and strange, the wilderness caught on the verge of becoming the North Woods we know today. You can almost hear Kent Ryden’s ‘quiet human voices whispering in the landscape.’"—Mary Graves, chief of Cultural and Natural Resources, Voyageurs National Park.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The journals of Howard Greene have been skillfully annotated and set in context by Martha Philips."
"It was interesting to get a first hand view of what some of the rivers and waterways were like in the early 20th century."
"This is the perfect gift for so many people."
"Over night shipping and this is an amazing book."
"Fast delivery."
"Wonderful book, enjoyed it so much."
Best Texas Travel Guides
Author and Cowboys employee Nick Eatman, through interviews with current and past players, provides fans with a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the great moments and the lowlights throughout the team's history. Nick Eatman writes for DallasCowboys.com as the featured columnist and has been with the Dallas Cowboys organization since 1999.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I pride myself on knowing random tid bits of knowledge or facts that people rarely know."
"There were a few, but not a lot."
"Pick it up for the Cowboys fan in your family, I know they'll enjoy it."
"I really enjoy reading Nick's articles and finally got around to ordering his book; great book, brought back some memories and hit some things I had forgotten about."
"Christmas gift that I already gave a little early."
"Very informative."
"The author is also a gifted journalist, a knowledgeable and witty talk show host on The Cowboys Break streaming online."
"If you are a big fan of the Cowboys, and grew up watching the glory days of 90s and loved the Parcells era, this book is for you."
Best Michigan Travel Guides
The information provided for each County includes: indexing for county roads, hydrology, and place names.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"We bought it as a backup to the GPS for locating waterfalls in the U.P."
"Very detailed atlas."
"The brilliance of combining old cartography with current digital advances has certainly produced a new gold standard for evaluating all atlases from this point forward."
"This is a very good map and it tells how & when each county was started."
"Easy to read maps with a lot of detail."
"This is an amazing book of maps and a whole lot more."
"This is so much more than an atlas."
Best Hawaii Travel Guides
The finest guidebook ever written for Maui. Wizard guidebooks take over a year to compile and the writers are residents who personally and anonymously review every facet of the island.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"After reading this guide from cover to cover, making all kinds of notes, and cross referencing it with information from internet sources such as Trip Adviser, it's easy to see why it has such high reviews. But after making that decision, this guide devoted to Maui offered FAR more specific insight about things to do and see, where to stay and eat, and all kinds of great details. I generally consider travel guides to be completely useless when it comes to lodging and dining because the information is always so generic, and it is often there because the business paid to have it included. This is the first guide book I've ever used that actually has useful information about lodging and dining."
"We have used Andrew Doughty's Big Island version in the past."
"Mr. Doughty and his team really do get to every nook and cranny on the island and give very honest reviews of simply anything you can imagine."
"Given the nature of the road system and the traffic, it's absolutely necessary to have a guide book that lists more than just the sights to see."
"The best guide book, period..they really have great restaurant recommendactions which we follow and are never disappointed."
"Many of the top picks for activities and so forth have been seconded by my friends who have traveled to Maui therefore I have confidence in the recommendations found in the book. This makes for a very long table of contents to scroll through and I have found it to be overwhelming to read through this section in general. Don't get me wrong, there is some method to the madness as far as the organization of the restaurants (by cuisine and some region), I just don't see the need to list them all in the contents. If I'm really interested in one particular restaurant I've seen along the way then I can search through the book in the Kindle, and I imagine in the paper version there's an index? There are links in the writing to other parts of the Kindle book for things such as photos, maps, or more detailed information on a given topic."
"This is a really great book, but a lot of the pages are blank on my devise."
Best Missouri Travel Guides
With new hikes and updated text and maps, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: St. Louis points hikers to the best outdoor trails and rambles within easy reach of the city. Trail Descriptions allow you to assess each trail before you hike it. Detailed Trail Maps provide you with accurate trail information. Trail Profiles help you visualize altitude gain and loss. Directions and GPS coordinates lead you to the trailheads. Whether you live in St. Louis, St. Peters, Washington, or Sullivan, "60 Hikes within 60 Miles: St. Louis" provides you with the information you need to choose the perfect day hike in your area, including trail lengths, hiking times, and trail difficulty.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I like how the trails are organized and separated with categories and that some trails can fall into several categories."
"Directions listed to get to the trailheads, parks, natural areas and conservation areas are accurate. I like to make notes after I hike a trail or an area, so I do wish there was a blank page or two included with each chapter so that trail and area notes could be made. In addition, when the book is updated, it would be great to have a website or something online linked to the book."
"We have used the older version of this book many times over the years."
"Fun book to find places to hike."
"All of the important facts that would keep you on the trail are true, but the trails were a lot easier to follow than suggested, and some of the scenery points did not exist?"
"We go hiking all over missouri, and this book has shown us several new and cool places."
"I read the write-up on the hike I've been doing for 16 years."
"The author does a good job outlining the difficulty of trails and things to look out for."