Great trip down Flatbush---I enjoyed this enough to recommend to friends. But what a cheapeskate! Besides trying to mooch drinks and snacks off merchants, the guy moves in with his for months ---- and when her 75th birthday arrives the loving son and daughter say Peter Luger's is too expensive. They take her to Jerry's Ribs instead, for crissakes! If you can get past this guy's tendency to be a tightwad you'll enjoy Flatbush Odyssey.

Thoroughly enjoyable and informative reading. At first I couldn't understand how someone could take the time to research and write about what I assumed was a fairly narrow subject. Then I was surprised at how well it was written. Getting deeper into the book I realized that Allen Abel was a professional writer and it all made some more sense. The historical information gave more depth, insight and appreciation to my growing up in Brooklyn. His humor and contemporary characters were delightful. I have forwarded this book on to friends who were most appreciative.

A wonderful, readable book, and a must for anyone who grew up in Brooklyn. The author walks the entire length of Flatbush Avenue, from Dumbo to the ocean, chronicling the changes he sees. I have read this book twice, and thumb through it often. I loved it!

I picked up this book not too long ago. I loved it I have already begun planning my travels. I want to start with the firt place mentioned. I would recommend it to anyone!

This is the most enjoyable travel book I've read to date! I enjoyed just reading it & can't wait to plan some of the trips! As a resident of New York City, my access to a car is limited. I love the idea of not having to worry about getting a rental car, paying for it, or having to return it! Not to mention, being able to start my vacation immediately rather than waste time sitting in traffic! To the authors: Keep up the good work! I'm waiting for a follow up!

for the person who lives and works in New York City, this handy book provides a great way to beat the fall and winter doldrums of spending everyday in the city. Instead of just renting a video or fighting the saturday night crowds at Manhattan's movie theaters and eateries, you can actually go to another place (one hour away) visit a museum and some galleries, wander into charming boutiques and collectable shops,dine under candlelight and spend the night in a room overlooking a forest, with beds turned down and a chocolate kiss on your pillow, awake to an elegant brunch... and return to the city refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to begin your work week. And you don't have to have a car, big bucks or a significant other to do it! What a revelation ... this book tells you how.

It is obvious that Phil Brown, despite his workmanlike description of nearly every square inch of New York's Adirondack Park, has a passion for the region unmatched by any other expert. His descriptions of trails, waterways and other attractions of the Adirondacks expose his intimate relationship with America's most beautiful environment. This book is all you need to guide your exploration. It is an instant classic.

Even though I spent my summers as a kid in the Adirondacks this book was a tremendous help in planning a trip back to there after being gone for 20 years. I couldn't believe the things we did that I had never seen within 20 miles over our old summer home! In addition to the help in planning a trip we brought it with us everwhere we went and it helped us get some great ideas on things to do once we got to our initial destinations. Wish they had one for the mountains in VA.

If you want to know what to do in the Adirondacks this is the book to have. Phil Brown's knowledge of and feeling for the region is astounding. I've lived in the Adirondacks for twenty years and Brown's book has given me a whole new enthusiasm for the region. It's also accurate and up-to-date. I have a pretty good knowledge of my own area and Phil Brown's advice is right on the mark.

Bruce Roberts is one of the best lighthouse photographers working in the U.S. today. He and his partner Ray Jones produce great lighthouse travel guides. For each lighthouse featured, you get a great picture from Roberts, a little historical story from Jones and directions of how to get to the lighthouse. Lighthouse lovers could scarcely ask for more.

There are directions and other info for finding and visiting lighthouses. They do not always show all lights for a given area. The photos are all color. I own 3 of these books. There are not many other guide books out there so if you are looking for guide books these are good to have. Since there are so many books in this series I thought I'd help people find them easier. This is the series.
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American Lighthouses
California Lighthouses
Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses - I own this one
Western Great Lakes Lighthouses - I own this one
Southeastern Lighthouses - I own this one
Southern Lighthouses
New England Lighthouses
Mid Atlantic Lighthouses
Gulf Coast Lighthouses

I love Atlantic coast lighthouses and this book is a dream come true, chock full of images and info on mid-atlantic lighthouses and light ships, including how to get to each one that is open to public. A must for lighthouse lovers, esp. those like me who love the mightly Atlantic!

been looking for something like this for my 15 year old daughter who is interested in becoming a fashion model. i found it a good source of information on the subject- thanks

Wow! The illustrations in this guide are sooo cool and the advice was smart and to the point- It saved me a lot of time and answered tons of questions I had about the fashion world. I loved the map on NYC and got to check out their hotspot suggestions. Thx so much to those two top models!

This was a great book and they tell you all of the tricks!
I learned a lot from this book and can not wait for the summer so I can get started! I recommend this to anyone who is serious about getting into the fashion industry as a model!!!!!

The National Parks of the Eastern U.S. are lovely and important historic areas, and deserve attention by all travellers to these regions. The Guide to the National Park Areas provides a short overview of each of these areas, including the lesser-known parks in each of the states. For travellers who simply want to know what is available, and what is there, this is a fine resource. However, the book does little more than list the places and tell you a bit about them. Significantly more research would be necessary in order to plan a trip to any of these places or to get much out of a visit.

We found the fifth edition of this guide to be very helpful during a recent East Coast visit. The thing that impressed me most was the inclusion of smaller park areas we would ordinarily skip or miss simply because we didn't know about them. In fact, we found many of the smaller park areas (Fort Caroline in Jacksonville, FL) to be very interesting. We highly recommend this guide if you are thinking about taking in the east. We also found the western edition very helplful during our summer trip.

It goes without saying that the national parks east of the Mississippi River are both scenic and chronicled with historical lore. David and Kay Scott, experienced campers and authors of The Guide to the National Park Areas: Eastern States, corroborate those claims, substantially and naturally! Accompanying the detailed maps and essential travel information are concise statements about facilities, camping, and fishing for the eastern national park sites. This revision is even more serviceable than the earlier releases! The book is truly outstanding--illustrating the gift of America to its populace!

I used this book to plan a recent trip to Pittsburgh and was generally pleased. I especially liked the information on local restaurants-- it was very detailed, and they took care to point out restaurants with vegetarian options, which I found helpful. However, some of the other recommendations were way off. The authors fall all over themselves praising Pittsburgh's Strip District, which is mildly interesting but also dirty (and it gives off a faintly creepy vibe)-- trust me, we found much better shopping/dining areas on our own. More maps would also help a lot! However, given that there are very few Pittsburgh travel guides on the market, I would recommend this book over the others that I glanced through (CitySmart, etc.) It also seems like it might be useful to people who are moving to Pittsburgh-- it has lots of information on childcare, healthcare, real estate, etc. which is basically useless to the common traveler but would probably help the new Pittsburgh resident.

With summer travel in full swing, I found this guidebook pointed out several things about Pittsburgh I hadn't known -- namely, the great architecture and kids-oriented activities (amusement parks, science center, museums just to name a few). I'd once read an article in an airline magazine by one of the authors, and it piqued my curiosity to take a closer look at Pittsburgh. Glad I did. Also, I had no idea there were so many golf courses in Western Pa. I know people who will use that chapter more than myself, but still....lots of new facts learned about a city that has progressed over many decades.

What a valuable book! Here is a great guide for entertaining out of town guests. Festivals and annuals events, area attractions, the arts, nightlife, restaurants, recreation, kidstuff, and much more are described in the book. Each description includes an address and telephone number for easy reference. The book is well organized and includes something for everyone in Pittsburgh - including seniors. The Insiders' Tip, a small rectangular box highlighting the authors' suggestions or comments, adds a special touch to almost every page. Now we have a book that answers the question, "What can we do?".

When Phil Conkling came out with the first edition of Islands in Time he more or less created a genre of Human Ecological writing that was actually of use to a wide audience. Mixing history, geology, ecology and geography with a healthy dose of the story-tellers whimsy the book has become something of a cult classic for many of us in the Archipelago. Unfortunately the second edition is a bit of a step backward. It's big. too big. The first edition fitted comfortably in a daypack -this seems aimed more at coffee tables. It's chatty, and I think that a rather savage editor would have worked wonders. We get a bit too much of the "and-then-Raven-gave-a-thump-as-she-ran-over-the-puffin" style of writing & it tends to distract us from some really good stories & the solid history/natural history that shone so clearly from the first edition. That being said, if you are only going to take one book with you Downeast & are going the whole way Downeast, and can't find the first edition, get this.

I'm just finishing my first read of this book, and all I want to do is go back to the beginning and read it all again. This book is filled with people, history, nature, fascinating anecdote, gorgeous prose, introspective rumination, and too much rich information to even begin to digest in one reading. Conkling is a scientist comfortable with an amazing array of subjects and he is also a humanist and pretty-nearly a poet. I have a tendency to fall into the bleeding-heart environmentalist category, and while not offending my sensibilities in the least (he loves nature with a passion), he opened my eyes to many valid coastal points of view among the lobstermen, fishermen, and others. I changed my mind about a number of things while reading his book and I love Maine even more as a result of reading it. Lovely, informative, fascinating book! I'm one of those English-major types and a writer, and Conkling has not only increased my respect for science but has shown me how beautifully the arts and sciences can blend in a thoughtful, productive, earth-changing way.

This is a beautiful book--I'm sorry to see that no one has commented on it yet. It gives a wealth of information about the geology, ecology, and ecosystem of coastal Maine, but even better, it's written in a style that often verges on the poetic. Can't recommend it highly enough.

I want to review the book about light

THE best picture book about NY: photographers managed to catch the beautiful light that makes New York so magical!

After reading many architecture and photography books about NYC I knew this book was a keeper when I noticed it at a used book store in Boston. I have yet to find a more visceral or beautiful collection of photos about the great city. Likewise, the collection of prose is equally captivating and informative to read.

MapEasy are fantastic, and beautiful maps suitable for framing, really. Each map is entirely hand-drawn, annotated with small illustrations of landmarks, historical tidbits, and filled with color-coded listings of many neighborhood shops that a resident, not just a visitor would find useful. There is one main map, and in the back, a series of mini-maps focusing on various areas of interest along with driving directions, suggested itineraries, and more. The maps are printed on tear resistant, and water resistant material for long lasting quality. The only downside is MapEasy's definition of "Midtown" is the area located between 33rd and 59th st.

MapEasy are fantastic, and beautiful maps suitable for framing, really. Each map is entirely hand-drawn, annotated with small illustrations of landmarks, historical tidbits, and filled with color-coded listings of many neighborhood shops that a resident, not just a visitor would find useful. There is one main map, and in the back, a series of mini-maps focusing on various areas of interest along with driving directions, suggested itineraries, and more. The maps are printed on tear resistant, and water resistant material for long lasting quality. The only downside is MapEasy's definition of "Midtown" is the area located between 33rd and 59th st.

This map and the MapEasy GuideMap to Lower Manhattan were a great help before and during my one week stay in the big apple. Wonderful for the armchair or practical traveler.