poorly edited, out of date information

I started travelling with the south america on a shoe string book around south america, and quickly found it to be out of date! Stick to FootPrints guide to SA, loads more info! and its published yearly unlike lonely planet guides!

Fantastic

We are planning a fly-drive trip to the USA and we have been looking for information/things to do in places.We initially looked at the Foders books but then stumbled across this book. What a fantastic informative book, the only problem with having this book is we need to book a longer holiday !!!<br />It is excellent value for money and a must have for fly-drive touring of the USA.

Brilliant book

For those lacking inspiration or looking for a new adventure in the world's greatest city, buy this book!<br /><br />It's packed full of interesting and fun stuff to do in the capital, for all budgets and interests.

Perfect indulgence

Many people will have seen Matthew Fort on Great British Menu or read his Guardian columns over the years. His passion for food is totally infectious. And behind his affable demeanour is a sharp mind, wonderful eye for detail and delightfully involving use of language. On this journey around Sicily he also shows an awful lot of himself. It is a very personal journey. It shows not only a sense of the history of the places he visits, it also tells a lot about his own self; his family relationships, his strength of character, his willingness to engage anyone and everyone in his quest. You sense how hard such a journey is; the loneliness of several weeks on a scooter, the uncertainty of what you will find. This is a rare book as it is readable for so many reasons: as a foodie, as a travel journal, as a social document and most of all as a good read. You can be interested in any of these or none to enjoy this.

Very interesting

I don't usually read non-fiction but this was brilliant; very easy to read and gripping. It was very informative about the Afghan way of life and the Taliban. I thoroughly recommend this.

Disappointing

This book has attracted an overwhelming number of good reviews. Mine isn't one of them. Danny Wallace, a sometime BBC producer, writes in a juvenile fashion about a sub-schoolboy philosophy supposedly passed on to him by a mysterious sage. No wonder the BBC has become dumbed down. I am afraid his much praised humour is entirely lost on me. Not a titter passed my lips. Sorry Danny. I am sure your next work will sell by the million, but I won't be buying it.

Wise Words

This book changed my life...for the better. Never before had i been told of the horrors and dangers of holidays abroad. If Slap-Happy Jellyfish is what awaits me, i don't think i'll bother. <br />This book oozes with greatness and it will last the test of time...that is until monkeys take of the planet and rid the world of all evil. That's when the aren't serving coffee in monkey cafes.

An indepth look at Ireland

This guide to Ireland looks at the country in fine detail and provides all the information you possibly need for your trip. There are sections on eating out, accomodation, and places of interest. Even the smallest of towns seems to be included with information on B&B's and prices. Places that are not worth seeing are also included, just so you don't end up wasting your time. I also found the history and general sections on Ireland very interesting. This is a wonderful read containing detailed maps and information.

What can you say about a road atlas?

Only that it's good, has clear mapping and lots of detailed information. It has a ring binding, which I like as this enables you to keep the book open at the desired page without damaging it. It also has a complete index of towns and villages at the back, and each of the city centre maps has its own street index - very useful. Not to mention the small scale route planning map and the map of administrative departments. What more could you need? And it's just about small enough to fit in your glove compartment. So if it seems a little heavy, unwieldy and difficult to navigate at times, well, France is a lot bigger than England.

Undigested

Sorry to begin on a wail of pure arrogance, but how many of Rayner's cheer squad have actually eaten in the places he describes? I found him ludicrously dyspeptic. <br /><br />Ok, he does pick out what for my Euro is the best Gm-19 a Paris, L'Astrance - but what is wrong with L'Arpege? The waiters at Grand Vefour are not snooty, and welcomed my young children with great warmth. The veal at Guy Savoy is not dull, though Savoy's style of cooking is quiet rather than blazingly incandescent. <br /><br />Doesn't he know of all the fabulous 15GM places in Paris? Most of his readers would find Ze Kitchen Galerie more approachable than Grand Vefour or Ducasse. And Rayner would like the thin, intellectual clientele much more. <br /><br />If you really want to eat the world, you might start with good bread. Rayner pays no attention to the basics, and hence comes over like a whiny toddler. If you really want to know about the great restos of France, don't buy this book, buy Gault-Millau. <br /><br />As for Anton Ego here, it's time he ate some of vrai maman's ratatouille - that movie made all the same points with more elegance and wit than Rayner can muster. That said, he's very funny on the hideous empire of Ramsay and its bloated, lazy dominance of world food, and equally telling on Robuchon in Vegas - these just about justify the purchase price. <br /><br />The underlying story of greed is of course enormously sad. The author should stop doing reviews until he feels real hunger again. When he can love food again, then he can guide the rest of us to the good stuff. As of now, he's so jaded as to be pretty nearly worthless to Joe Public.

Lonely Planet misses the mark

Always been a very big fan of Lonely Planet guides... they have helped me round India, Nepal, Pakistan, France, Italy and Ireland. As my old copy is pre-Euro I thought I'd get a new up to date copy. Wish I hadn't. I've been looking at the Paris section... we are taking our children and I was interested in Parc d'Asterix... no mention. Several pages on Disney. Lots of other destinations on our 'tick list' are missing.<br /><br />Nice photography as ever, and the usual clear concise style. I realise they cna't put everything in the guide but these are major omissions. Not recommended. Sorry Lonely Planet!

Dissapointed

This is my first Rough Guide book. I was a bit dissapointed. Although there is a lot of historical information compared to other guides regarding the monuments or areas, for practical information the guide is not very useful. <br />There are no suggested walks which would make the life much easier specially if your are there on a short stay. The maps for each area are oriented in different ways (north is not always up!) which makes following the streets between maps impossible. There are not estimated price range for the restaurants. The practical information is limited in two pages in small print almost at the end of the guide. The restaurants are in another section than the actual section for each area, without crossreference to pages which is a bit of a hussle. Finally, the citypass (a discount ticket for major attractions) is only mentioned in the adds section of the book.<br />In the future I might use the rough guide for information before the trip but not in situ.<br /><br />

A real treasure

I cannot speak highly enough of this book, which tells the story of a fascinating series of journeys to wild locations around the British Isles.<br /><br />It is written with obvious love for those places - the author's experience on the summit of Ben Hope being a single possible exception. The writing is superb - words are chosen and sentences are crafted in much the same way Macfarlane selects fascinating pebbles or birds' feathers from a shoreline and proudly displays them back at home.<br /><br />The book is also very moving. It recounts tragic episodes from history in the Highland clearances and the Irish famine. But Macfarlane also writes about fellow author and environmentalist Roger Deakin - first of their experiences of joyfully exploring the wild places together, then of Deakin's untimely death from a brain tumour. Macfarlane's grief is palpable.<br /><br />But this is, above all, an uplifting book and a reassuring one. Macfarlane comes to the conclusion that the wild places are not only in the extremities of Scotland, Ireland etc, but can also be found where we live.<br /><br />For me, this is one of those books I will lovingly treasure and give pride of place on my own mantelpiece alongside the interesting shell and the fascinating pebble.<br /><br />

Travels in an unknown region

I enjoyed Mr Thubron's latest addition to his collection of travel books. The region visits in this book is relatively unknown in the West, even the bigger countries such as Kazakhstan do not feature regularly in the media. The author certainly gives those of us who know little of the region a very interesting taste of what life is like for the people's of central Asia and western China.<br /><br />I enjoyed most the history of the places the author visited and equally enjoyable were the author's stories of discussions he had with people he met along the way as this gave an insight into their daily lives. Towards the end of the book her travel across Iran and this is arguably the best part of the book. Iran was never somewhere I'd have considered visiting before reading this book but having read it, Iran sounds like a fascinating place with friendly people. I found some of the descriptive passages (especially of places/locations) a bit long-winded but that aside, the book is well worth reading.<br />

Quite a few clichés but entertaining

Neither Here Nor There is probably more for the novice than the experienced traveller, but it is entertaining and has a usefully broad scope. Bill Bryson, an American resident in London, takes his readers from the Arctic Circle to Istanbul in something like a couple of months, mixing in parts of Scandinavia, the Benelux, France, Germany and Italy among others before passing through the Balkans.<br /><br />Inevitably a lot is about finding hotels and places to eat, misplaced reservations and the pitfalls of communicating with strangers. This is travel writing, after all. And inevitably there tends to be quite a few clichés and national stereotyping. The commentary ranges from insightful (e.g. different perceptions of Amsterdam) to expected but fun (the police episode in Florence), to downright vulgar ("Quick restaurants - as in quick, pass the bucket!"). I found the first and last chapters, set in northern Norway, then Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, the most interesting. Bryson has more to say in out-of-the-way settings. And having travelled to the latter two at about the same time, I thought his observations both original and to the point. Nor does the book, written in the early 1990s, generally feel out-of-date.<br /><br />Bryson's style combines a wide descriptive vocabulary with a matter-of-fact, colloquial tone. It drips with irony and evinces plenty of sniggers. The same note is held too long, though, which may explain why one doesn't laugh as much as one would expect: the jokes and witticisms eventually lose an essential element of surprise.<br /><br />Perhaps not unusually for the genre, the book ends up saying as much about the observer as the observed. It provides a snapshot of how an educated and informed American views the European continent. That may be a reason for Europeans to want to read it.

Very informative, telling you many things no ordinary travel book does

Bill Bryson is best known for writing very humorous travel books, and"Down Under" is indeed a funny account of his travels in Australia. Those who love Bill Bryson's books for their humor won't be disappointed.<br /><br />But unlike most people, I like Bill Bryson best when he's NOT trying to be funny, and my appreciation of this book is mostly due to the great amount of very interesting information presented.<br /><br />Bill Bryson amazes you with loads of information about the geology, the animal life, the plants and insects, the history, the statistics, the folklore, etc., etc. The many dangers: poisonous snakes, poisonous insects, poisonous jellyfish, crocodiles, sharks, and rip currents - they're all out to get you. The inhospitable deserts, the beautiful beaches, the huge distances; Bill Bryson gives you a feeling of what it's all like.<br /><br />The book goes into detail about many aspects of Australian life that are fairly unknown, including the discovery (and re-discovery) of Australia, the settlement by British prisoners, the early expeditions to explore the interior, the gold rushes, the outlaws, and the devastation caused by rabbits and other imported animals and plants. Bill Bryson talks about the many unusual animal species found only in Australia, including giant earthworms that grow up to 1 meter (and can be stretched to 4 meters) and the platypus, a cross between a reptile and a mammal. He talks about Australians and the Australian society, and the situation regarding the native people, the aboriginals.<br /><br />Bill Bryson doesn't cover all of Australia from the geographical point of view, and the parts he does cover are somewhat random. But that doesn't matter because he captures the spirit of the whole country based on the parts he does visit and the general information he includes.<br /><br />A very positive aspect is that Bill Bryson makes it clear that he loves Australia. The feeling is infectious, and it makes you want to pack your bags and head"down under" for a long leisurely trip so you can do your own exploring.<br /><br />If I were to mention two things I was less happy about, it would be the occasional excessive attempts to be funny and the lack of contact with Australians. One of the best parts of the book is about his traveling together with an Australian couple for 3-4 days, but other than this passage Bill Bryson is mostly playing the typical tourist, with little or no contact with Australians. And despite a fairly long discussion about the aboriginal situation he does not ever get into contact with any aboriginals. Why not?<br /><br />A final note regarding the unabridged audio version of the book, read by Bill Bryson himself: Most authors are poor readers, but Mr. Bryson does a very good job here, almost on a par with a professional reader. Recommended.<br /><br />Rennie Petersen<br /><br />PS."Down Under" has also been published under the title"In a Sunburned Country". It is exactly the same book.