Books About Travel

Travels in Alaska or Frommers Seattle 2009

2009-12-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

Travels in Alaska

Author: John Muir

To the mountaineer a sea voyage is a grand inspiring restful change. For forests and plains with their flowers and fruits we have new scenery new life of every sort; water hills and dales in eternal visible motion for rock waves types of permanence.

Interesting book: Hospitality Managers Guide to Wines Beers and Spirits or Oz Clarkes Pocket Wine Guide 2006

Frommer's Seattle 2009

Author: Karl Samson

America’s #1 bestselling travel series

Written by more than 175 outspoken travelers around the globe, Frommer’s Complete Guides help travelers experience places the way locals do.

• More annually updated guides than any other series

• 16-page color section and foldout map in all annual guides

• Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and suggested itineraries

• Dozens of detailed maps in an easy-to-read, two-color design

Beach Stones or Frommers Napa Sonoma Day by Day

2009-12-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

Beach Stones

Author: Josie Iselin

Walking along the water's edge, who among us has not stopped to admire the evocatively patterned, shaped, and multihued stones that beckon? Fun to collect and free for the taking, beach stones are objects of contemplation, beauty, and sentiment. This exquisite volume-at once a gorgeous art book and a nature guide-presents more than 200 exceptional stones from around the world and describes the fascinating natural processes that produced them.

Photographer and installation artist Josie Iselin, who uses a flatbed scanner to generate her imagery, has arranged these stones with great artistry, and nature writer Margaret Carruthers yields their secrets, revealing, for instance, that a pebble from Maine was created 400 million years ago during the birth of a great mountain range. Art lovers and beachcombing spirits everywhere will cherish this gift book.

Interesting textbook: Chestnut Cookbook or Food and Beverage Mycology

Frommer's Napa & Sonoma Day by Day

Author: Avital Binshtock

These attractively priced, four-color guides offer dozens of neighborhood and thematic tours, complete with hundreds of photos and bulleted maps that lead the way from sight to sight. Day by Days are the only guides that help travelers organize their time to get the most out of a trip.

• Full-color package at an affordable price

• Star ratings for all hotels, restaurants, and attractions

• Foldout front covers with maps and quick-reference information

• Tear-resistant map in a handy, reclosable plastic wallet

• Handy pocket-sized trim

At last, a travel guide that tells you how to see the best of everything—in the smartest, most time-efficient way.

The best of Napa & Sonoma in one, two, or three days
Thematic tours for every interest, schedule, and taste
Tips on wine-tasting, including best wineries for aspiring oenophiles
Walking tours of the region's best-loved towns
Outdoor itineraries to fit in active pursuits between wine-tasting, such as exploring the region by bike, in a kayak, and along hiking trails
Hundreds of evocative color photos
Bulleted maps that show you how to go from place to place
Hotels, restaurants, & shopping, for all budgets
A tear-resistant foldout map—enclosed in a handy plastic wallet you can also use for tickets and souvenirs

18 Favorite Moments     1
Strategies for Seeing Napa & Sonoma     5
Napa & Sonoma     6
The Best Full-Day Tours of Napa & Sonoma     9
The Best of Napa in One Day     10
The Best of Sonoma in One Day     14
The Best of Napa & Sonoma in Three Days-Day 3     18
The Best of Napa & Sonoma in Five Days-Days 4 & 5     22
The Best of Napa & Sonoma in One Week-Days 6 & 7     26
The Best of Special-Interest Tours     31
Wine Country for Foodies     32
Wine Country with Kids     36
The Big Splurge, Napa Style     40
Wine Country for First-Timers     44
Wine Country for Nondrinkers     46
Wine Country for History Buffs     50
A Day for Arts Aficionados     56
Wine Country for Romance     60
Wine Country without a Car     64
Wine Country on a Budget     68
The Most Charming Towns     71
Napa     72
Where to Dine     76
Sonoma     78
Where to Dine     81
St. Helena     82
Where to Dine     84
Healdsburg     86
Where to Dine     89
Guerneville     92
Where to Dine     93
Yountville     94
Where to Dine     96
Glen Ellen     98
Where to Dine     100
Calistoga     102
Where to Dine     105
The Great Outdoors     107
The Wine Country by Bike     108
The Best Wine Country Hike     110
From the Russian River to the Pacific Coast     112
Napa & Sonoma Lodging     115
Where to Stay in Wine Country     116
Napa Lodging A to Z     118
Sonoma Lodging A to Z     124
The Best Wineries     129
Wineries A to Z     132
San Francisco     161
The Best of SF in One Day     162
The Best of SF in Two Days     166
The Best of SF in Three Days     170
Lodging A to Z     176
Dining A to Z     179
Shopping A to Z     186
Nightlife & Arts A to Z     189
The savvy Traveler     193
Before You Go     194
Getting There     197
Getting Around     198
Fast Facts     200
Wine Country: A Brief History     205
A Quick Guide to Wine Varietals     207
Index     210

Streetwise Athens Map Laminated City Center Street Map of Athens Greece Folding Pocket Size Travel Map With Metro or Bill Brysons African Diary

2009-12-04T05:17:00.000-08:00

Streetwise Athens Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Athens, Greece - Folding Pocket Size Travel Map With Metro

Author: Streetwise Maps

2008 UPDATED Streetwise Athens Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Athens, Greece - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro map

This travel map covers the following areas:
Main Athens Map 1:9,000
Piraeus Inset Map 1:21,000
Greece & the Aegean Map 1:3,300,000

Anyone who visits Greece is drawn to visit the Acropolis of Athens. It houses the Parthenon, sitting majestically on the hill, and offers terrific views of the bustling capital below. Go early or late in the day to avoid the afternoon heat. Mid-day, visit some museums or relax in a cafe with an ouzo. Athens is loaded with museums, and the National Archaeological Museum ranks among the top ten in the world.

The Plaka, located downhill from the Acropolis, is one of the oldest parts of modern Athens. The old market, where philosophers Socrates and Plato once walked and talked, is known as the Ancient Agora. The Psiri, working class neighborhood by day, is the hip nightlife district. All these sites, places, hotels and metro stations are easy to locate with the STREETWISE® Athens Map.

For those venturing outside Athens, there is a detailed map of the port town of Piraeus, where all ferries and cruise ships make their departure for the Greek Islands. And because no trip is complete without visiting at least one Greek Island, a map of the Greek Islands with major ferry routes is also included.

Our pocket size Athens map is laminated for durability and accordion folding for effortless use. The STREETWISE® Athens map is one of many detailed and easy-to-read city street maps designed and published by STREETWISE®. Buy your STREETWISE® Athens map today and you too can navigateAthens, Greece like a native. For a larger selection of our detailed travel maps simply type STREETWISE MAPS into the Barnes & Noble search bar.

About STREETWISE® Maps

STREETWISE® is the first map to be designed with modern graphics and is the originator of the laminated, accordion-fold map format. We've set the standard that every map company has imitated but never duplicated. Our mission is to make you feel comfortable, to make you feel safe in a place where you've never been before and to enable you to experience a familiar place more fully.

The company was founded in 1984 by Michael Brown, who had been in international publishing for many years, setting up subsidiaries for textbook publishers. In the 1970's, Brown traveled extensively throughout Africa, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Brown would take a large paper map, cut out the city center, folded it up and slip it into his pocket, thus preventing him from looking like a tourist in areas where discretion is the better part of travel. This was his tool for surviving.

After many years on the road, Brown settled back in New York and decided to start his own business, based on the adaptations he had made to maps in his travels. His goal was to give someone the ability to navigate easily in unfamiliar terrain.

He started with a new map format: the accordion fold. Such a simple idea, but at the time it was revolutionary. No more struggling to fold an awkward, oversized paper map. This new format would enable the user to blend in like a native, instead of stick out like a tourist. Brown then added lamination to ensure that the map would be a lasting tool.

More important than the format was the design of the map itself. It had to be a map that not only succeeded above and beyond any map he had used, but was esthetically appealing as well. The look of it had to be as striking as the functionality. Color was introduced in a way that was never seen before in a map - vivid purple for water, soothing gray for the background of street grids, gold to highlight elements of the map. Clarity, conciseness and convenience in a very stylish package.

Building the business was a 24 hour job. Brown sold the maps during the day, zipping around Manhattan making deliveries on his Harley Davidson. At night he packed the orders and did the design work. More titles were added, each title requiring months of research and design.

Today, STREETWISE® produces over 130 titles for major destinations, regions and countries throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia. We have grown from the back of a motorcycle to selling millions of maps around the world.

Yet each title is still painstakingly researched and updated. STREETWISE® is one of the only, if not THE only map company that conducts research by walking or driving an area to ensure accuracy. After all, what good is the map if what you hold in your hands doesn't match what you see on the street sign? This lengthy fact checking results in superior accuracy; in effect, we've done the work, now you have the adventure.

In the end, it's not about the map, it's about getting out and finding your own authentic experience wherever you go. It's about being in a city or a region and discovering things that you never thought you would find. You can do this if you have confidence and you have confidence if you have a great map. STREETWISE® is the great map that you need.

The New York Times

"Don't leave home without STREETWISE."

Travel + Leisure Magazine

"STREETWISE is an absolute travel essential."

Bill Bryson's African Diary

Author: Bill Bryson

“Here is a man who suffers so his readers can laugh.” — Daily Telegraph

Bill Bryson travels to Kenya in support of CARE International. All royalties and profits go to CARE International.

Bryson visits Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Kenya is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves and a vibrant culture. It also provides plenty to worry a traveller like Bill Bryson, fixated as he is on the dangers posed by snakes, insects and large predators. It is also a country with many serious problems: refugees, AIDS, drought, and grinding poverty. The resultant diary, though short in length, contains the trademark Bryson stamp of wry observation and curious insight.

Out of Africa or Frommers Alaska Cruises Ports of Call 2009

2009-12-03T00:43:00.000-08:00

Out of Africa (Modern Library Series)

Author: Isak Dinesen

In this book, the author of Seven Gothic Tales gives a true account of her life on her plantation in Kenya. She tells with classic simplicity of the ways of the country and the natives: of the beauty of the Ngong Hills and coffee trees in blossom: of her guests, from the Prince of Wales to Knudsen, the old charcoal burner, who visited her: of primitive festivals: of big game that were her near neighbors--lions, rhinos, elephants, zebras, buffaloes--and of Lulu, the little gazelle who came to live with her, unbelievably ladylike and beautiful.

The Random House colophon made its debut in February 1927 on the cover of a little pamphlet called "Announcement Number One." Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, the company's founders, had acquired the Modern Library from publishers Boni and Liveright two years earlier. One day, their friend the illustrator Rockwell Kent stopped by their office. Cerf later recalled, "Rockwell was sitting at my desk facing Donald, and we were talking about doing a few books on the side, when suddenly I got an inspiration and said, 'I've got the name for our publishing house. We just said we were go-ing to publish a few books on the side at random. Let's call it Random House.' Donald liked the idea, and Rockwell Kent said, 'That's a great name. I'll draw your trademark.' So, sitting at my desk, he took a piece of paper and in five minutes drew Random House, which has been our colophon ever since." Throughout the years, the mission of Random House has remained consistent: to publish books of the highest quality, at random. We are proud to continue this tradition today.

This edition is set from the firstAmerican edition of 1937 and commemorates the seventy-fifth anniversary of Random House.

What People Are Saying

Isak Dinesen
I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills...It was Africa distilled up through six thousand feet, like the strong and refined essence of a continent... In the highlands you woke up in the morning and thought: Here I am, where I ought to be.

Interesting textbook: Last Train to Paradise or Discover Your Sales Strengths

Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call 2009 (Frommer's Cruises Series)

Author: Fran Wenograd Golden

America’s #1 bestselling travel series

Written by more than 175 outspoken travelers around the globe, Frommer’s Complete Guides help travelers experience places the way locals do.

More annually updated guides than any other series
16-page color section and foldout map in all annual guides
Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and suggested itineraries
Dozens of detailed maps in an easy-to-read, two-color design

Rome or Hallowed Ground

2009-12-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

Rome: History and Landscape

Author: Angus Konstam

Rome is the Eternal City and the true city of empire with its legacy of columns, triumphal arches, and monumental buildings. But this is not the whole story of this ancient city: Rome is also a thriving and busy metropolis where Italian government and commerce rub shoulders together to the soundtrack of modern life. In addition Rome encompasses the tiny city state of Vatican City, the domain of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the Pope.

All roads, of course, lead to Rome and not just for the ancient Coliseum, Trajan’s Column, Saint Paul’s Basilica, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps—visitors also discover the delights of the lesser-known streets with their lively chatter and bustle. Romans enjoy street life to a degree unknown in many cooler climates, and while the restaurants and bars are famous for their atmosphere on no account miss the opportunity to savor a wide array of delicious food and drink. The city is arguably even more beautiful at night when lights pick out the details and silhouettes of the buildings and monuments.

From Coliseum to Castell San Angelo, from the Ancient Roman Forum to St. Peter’s Square at the heart of the Vatican; from the Piazza Navona to the cobbles of the Appian Way—Rome is a beautiful and historic city that will delight readers of this book.

Discover the glory of Rome’s past and richness of its present-day in this lavishly illustrated book. After an introductory essay on the history of Rome, the reader embarks on a chronological photographic journey around the city from its classical beginnings to the present.

Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg

Author: James M McPherson

“[I]n a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our power to add or detract.”
—President Abraham Lincoln

James M. McPherson, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom, and arguably the finest Civil War historian in the world, walks us through the site of the bloodiest and perhaps most consequential battle ever fought by Americans.

The events that occurred at Gettysburg are etched into our collective memory, as they served to change the course of the Civil War and with it the course of history. More than any other place in the United States, Gettysburg is indeed hallowed ground. It’s no surprise that it is one of the nation’s most visited sites (nearly two million annual visitors), attracting tourists, military buffs, and students of American history.

McPherson, who has led countless tours of Gettysburg over the years, makes stops at Seminary Ridge, the Peach Orchard, Cemetery Hill, and Little Round Top, among other key locations. He reflects on the meaning of the battle, describes the events of those terrible three days in July 1863, and places the struggle in the greater context of American and world history. Along the way, he intersperses stories of his own encounters with the place over several decades, as well as debunking several popular myths about the battle itself.

What brought those 165,000 soldiers—75,000 Confederate, 90,000 Union—to Gettysburg? Why did they lock themselves in such a death grip across these once bucolic fieldsuntil 11,000 of them were killed or mortally wounded, another 29,000 were wounded and survived, and about 10,000 were “missing”—mostly captured? What was accomplished by all of this carnage? Join James M. McPherson on a walk across this hallowed ground as he be encompasses the depth of meaning and historical impact of a place that helped define the nation’s character.

USA Today

What word in American history resonates more than any other?

James McPherson makes a convincing case that the word is Gettysburg in his slim but informative and eloquent book, Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg. — Bob Minzesheimer

The New York Times

For 20 years James M. McPherson has been conducting private tours of the Gettysburg battlefield. Hallowed Ground puts such an expedition on paper. — Raye Snover

The Los Angeles Times

One could ask for no better guide. McPherson may be the best-known living historian of the American Civil War. — John Rhodehamel

Publishers Weekly

The country's most distinguished Civil War historian, a Pulitzer Prize winner (for Battle Cry of Freedom) and professor at Princeton, offers this compact and incisive study of the Battle of Gettysburg. In narrating "the largest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere," McPherson walks readers over its presently hallowed ground, with monuments numbering into the hundreds, many of which work to structure the narrative. They range from the equestrian monument to Union general John Reynolds to Amos Humiston, a New Yorker identified several months after the battle when family daguerreotypes found on his body were recognized by his widow. Indeed, while McPherson does the expected fine job of narrating the battle, in a manner suitable for the almost complete tyro in military history, he also skillfully hands out kudos and criticism each time he comes to a memorial. He praises Joshua Chamberlain and the 2oth Maine, but also the 14oth New York and its colonel, who died leading his regiment on the other Union flank in an equally desperate action. The cover is effective and moving: the quiet clean battlefield park above, the strewn bodies below. The author's knack for knocking myths on the head without jargon or insult is on display throughout: he gently points out that North Carolinians think that their General Pettigrew ought to share credit for Pickett's charge; that General Lee's possible illness is no excuse for the butchery that charge led to; that African-Americans were left out of the veterans' reunions; and that the kidnapping of African-Americans by the Confederates has been excised from most history books. This book is a very good thing in a remarkably small package. (May)

Library Journal

McPherson's moving and compelling description of the historic Gettysburg battlefield is a written version of the Princeton professor's walking tours with his students. A Pulitzer Prize-winning expert on the Civil War (Battle Cry of Freedom), he leads the reader with ease and familiarity through the physical and personal landscape of this turning point in U.S. history. The text is brief but manages to be comprehensive in its overview of the three-day battle-the bloodiest in our history-while including fascinating stories and refuting persistent legends. McPherson writes in a conversational tone as he describes the atmosphere of the site and what Gettysburg has come to mean. He offers perspective on how the surroundings would have appeared at the time-some wooded areas were previously cleared and some present-day fields used to be orchards in 1863. Specific street directions are provided, and the author adds informative background on several individual monuments and markers. This format is equally adaptable for a reader touring the grounds in person or in an armchair at home. Recommended for all libraries with a Civil War collection.-Elizabeth Morris, formerly with Otsego Dist. P.L., MI

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-McPherson focuses on the period July 1-3, 1863, and explains why readers should know about the battle 140 years later. The book is concise, sprightly, and full of personality-both McPherson's and the participants' in the conflict. A prologue and epilogue flank the three chapters on the battle (each covering one day), relating why it happened and what followed. The author walks readers through Gettysburg from beginning to end, telling a story of simple personal decisions that had a global impact. The importance of the battle is elucidated in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. When readers have finished this book, the only way they can know Gettysburg better is by going there.-Hugh McAloon, formerly at Prince William County Public Library, VA

Kirkus Reviews

Celebrated Civil War historian McPherson (Fields of Fury, 2002, etc.) holds our hands, points our heads, and evokes awe-ful and sanguinary images of July 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Like many other entries in the Crown Journeys series, the text is brief, lucid, and learned. McPherson (History/Princeton) begins with an allusion to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and ends with its full text. An unabashed champion of the site's importance--"More than any other place in the United States," he declares, "this battlefield is indeed hallowed ground"--the author knows this ground intimately and has conducted uncountable tours there. He educates, even inspires with fluid ease. We learn along our vicarious walk that the battlefield comprises some ten square miles, that the town was only 75 miles north of the nation's capital and had a population of roughly 2,400 in 1863, that some 4,000 acres now comprise the park. We learn as well that the total number of American casualties there over three days (50,000 or so) is tenfold the number on D-day. McPherson devotes a chapter to each of the battle's three days, beginning with the first shot on July 1 and ending with Lee's escape. (The author reminds us that nearly two years of fighting remained after Gettysburg.) McPherson's unsurpassed scholarship enables him to debunk many myths: blue and gray did not share Spangler's Spring, he states, and there was probably not a huge supply of shoes in town to attract the footsore Confederates. Like other military historians, he is sometimes romantic, honoring rather than analyzing, and he needs to re-check the meaning of Gertrude's line to Hamlet about a protesting lady. More often, though, he frames his soundinsights in perfect sentences, writing about one prevaricating memoirist, for example, "His sword was mightier than his pen--or at least more truthful." A leisurely walk through a former inferno with a most eloquent Virgil. (4 maps, not seen)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States or Walt Disney World Dining Guide 2009

2009-11-30T16:01:00.000-08:00

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Lousiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

Author: Peter Alden

Filled with concise descriptions and stunning photographs, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States belongs in the home of every resident of the Southeast and in the suitcase or backpack of every visitor. This compact volume contains:

An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;

A complete overview of the southeastern region's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns, and the night sky;

An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, hiking trails, forests, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others.

The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 13 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as more than 100 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals.

For everyone who lives or spends time in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States.

Booknews

A superb pocket guide to the diverse plant, animal, geologic, and other features of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Excellent maps and some of the best color illustrations to be found in a pocket guide series. 4x8<">. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Walt Disney World Dining Guide 2009

Author: Birnbaum Travel Guides

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Dining Guide is a complete diner's guide to what's where in the World. What do they serve? How good is it? How much will it cost? It's all here. Our personally rated taste-tested temptations include: who serves the best PB&J, where to sup with Snow White, and why turkey legs are the most popular snack food in the World.

Our updated 2009 edition includes details on WDW's newest eateries, including The Wave at the Contemporary Resort, and Epcot's new Japanese and Italian restaurants. This year's edition will also include expanded coverage of Disney's wildly popular Dining Plan; updated information on dining with Disney characters (and dinosaurs!); the scoop on Epcot's perennially popular and ever-expanding "Food and Wine Festival"; and where to find the best bargain buffets and spectacular splurges the Mouse has to offer. Discover our choices for fine fare for everyone in the family-from toddlers to grandparents. Fascinating food facts and secrets to the best spots for eating and enjoying the parades are included in this perfectly-sized gustatorial guide.

Books About Travel

Travels in Alaska or Frommers Seattle 2009

Travels in Alaska

Frommer's Seattle 2009

Table of Contents:

Beach Stones or Frommers Napa Sonoma Day by Day

Beach Stones

Frommer's Napa & Sonoma Day by Day

Table of Contents:

Streetwise Athens Map Laminated City Center Street Map of Athens Greece Folding Pocket Size Travel Map With Metro or Bill Brysons African Diary

Streetwise Athens Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Athens, Greece - Folding Pocket Size Travel Map With Metro

The New York Times

Travel + Leisure Magazine

Bill Bryson's African Diary

Out of Africa or Frommers Alaska Cruises Ports of Call 2009

Out of Africa (Modern Library Series)

What People Are Saying

Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call 2009 (Frommer's Cruises Series)

Table of Contents:

Rome or Hallowed Ground

Rome: History and Landscape

Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg

USA Today

The New York Times

The Los Angeles Times

Publishers Weekly

Library Journal

School Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States or Walt Disney World Dining Guide 2009

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Lousiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

Booknews

Walt Disney World Dining Guide 2009