Being new to the bay area need not be daunting anymore. With this book in hand, you can go anywhere you want. All you need is an address. And since the map is in separate A4 size pages, it is very easy to look at different sections at the same time. No need to fold and unfold, no need to be worried about its getting torn.

The maps also have a lookup based on the house numbers. It will be the best investment you will have made in a long long time.

If you live in the Bay Area, the Thomas Bros. map book "Metropolitan Bay Area" is the one volume to keep by your side. It covers just about every single town and street between San Jose and the North Bay. If you're among the terminally lost, this is the book to have...forget those map web sites!

Great Read, even though he is my Grandfather

This book is an incredible resource for cyclists. It is unfortunate that it hasn't been given more recent updates, or that the publisher doesn't adequately support it. The degree of topographical detail on the root profiles is unsurpassed on any books I've seen in the United Stages -- perhaps the Atlas les Cols des Alpes comes close. It fails to get a 10 because:
1. it is becoming obsolete
2. there may be some minor errors in the data

This (and its companion book) are the best ride books I have ever read. In fact, they're the only ones I've ever even liked.

Each route is laid out in elevation profile in an attractive, uncluttered profile. Scale is provided in miles and kilometers for the distance; feet and meters for the elevation; 0 at road start for both. The gradient for steep sections is cleanly labeled on the profile itself. Intersections with other major (from the cyclist's perspective) roads are indicated with a reference to the page number for that road.

The short, spare route descriptions do it for me. They're not the usual boring blow-by-blow description of the road. "At this point, if it's spring, notice the colorful flowers on the left." Rather, he provides a spare description of the feel of the riding of the road, as a cyclist would feel them. At least, as I do.

Note: the book also contains a number of black and white photos of the roads, back roads usually empty, with curves, and shot at low angle. The photographer often darkens the road, so there is little contrast between it and the surroundings. The road appears incorporated into the natural environment. Again, a cyclist's feel.

This book is the best resource for a rider that you can find. It's written to appeal to everyone from a budding racer to someone looking for family fun.

As far as Bay Area hiking books go, this is the best one I have for the East Bay. However, it is not my *favorite* hiking book. There are a lot of parks & trails that you just won't find in regular Bay Area hiking books. I like that. BUT, I found the trail descriptions long winded & sometimes confusing. What I often do with hikes from this book is find the park & get a real map to sort out my route before I leave my car. Then I leave the book in the car. I just use it as a sort of pre-hike guideline for mileage & scenery, etc.

I'm glad I picked this up. It got me motivated to get out and enjoy the stunning beauty of the East Bay. The book has only a general description of the plant and animal life you would expect to see, so if you're into that you may want to bring an Audubon guide along for more detail. I only wish he was more descriptive about the steepness of some of these trails!

I'm really enjoying this book. I've been hiking in the east bay for long enough that I was in something of a rut and this book is really breaking me out of it. It has good coverage of the area, with one or two good trails per park instead of concentrating in any given area. The hikes are mostly loops, and the distances and difficulty measurements are more realistic than some of these books where the author seems to be trying to show how tough they are. The trail descriptions are actually interesting and there are nice maps, again unlike most hiking books.

GM Johnson has produced a useful, very reasonably priced map book for these counties. Street detail is very good in the densely populated areas, but is often lacking for those places off-the-beaten-track. Therefore, if you just need to get around the cities and towns, this map is great. However, it is really not sufficient for backroad treks.

This book is the next best thing to having a friend who lives in the town you are considering moving to. I have gotten great info on lifestyle, shopping, real estate prices, crime rates and school ratings.

Advice on why a good school rating factors into lower crime rates. Great info for someone like me who initially wasn't concerned about school rankings but now knows why it is important.

Information is given on new homes being built, median home prices, as well as a price comparison at local grocery store!

I highly recommend the purchase of this inexpensive book, before putting down the big bucks on a home.