"... each trip includes descriptions of historic sites along the route and of shops, inns, B&Bs, restaurants and other establishments of interest. Hand-drawn maps are provided for each route, and reproductions of eight beautiful watercolors of autumn scenes by Mark Tougias are featured prominently. For motorists who don't want to risk a bad turn, here's your guide." Travel Reference Library on-line,

"A native New Englander, a naturalist, and a fine writer, Tougias has done everyone a favor by making it so easy to get out and see the leaves at their finest." Amazon.com

"... an excellent guide to 15 of the most delightful drives... stunning plein air paintings; rich, sure brushstrokes bring the color, form and simple strength of the New England landscape to life." The Shoestring Traveler

This is indeed a beautiful book. It was originally published in 1988 and re-published last year. But the photos look like they could've been taken last week. There are 90 photos taken throughout New England (mostly in Northern N.E., it seems) and they vary from woodland landscapes to bayside scenes, and a variety of sorts in between. It's nice to see a little diversity because, believe or not, looking at a book full of Autumn landscapes could actually be somewhat monotonous.

I enjoyed some of the poetry/writings, such as that from Emerson, Thoreau, and Frost, but I didn't take much from the likes of Emily Dickinson and E.A. Robinson. But I'm not a big fan of poetry to begin with.

The "flaw" that I alluded to is something I think any photographic book like this gets nailed with: the pictures are exciting to look at a limited number of times. So maybe you only pull this book off the shelf a couple times a year to browse through and reflect on the joys of the best time of year -- like maybe after a hot Summer day.

All in all they did some good work, even putting together a rudimentary tour guide that points out some viewing hotspots in each N.E. state.

The photos in this book are exceptional. Combined with the writings of New England authors this book celebrates the wonder and spirituality of nature that we, non-writers, feel but for which cannot find the words.

I spent two years in Boston and I was surprised at the beauty of New England especially in autumn. This book always reminds me of sweet memories in Boston and beautiful foliage in New England.

It is a cool guide. Complete, structured and precise. I went to a different club every night and never was I dissatisfied. The rest of the guide is as informative as the Nightlife section with a wide range from exclusive places to the alternative ones.

I especially appreciate the section on Planning. It made my first trip to New York a pleasure. The guide is well organized and contains valuable information. Its layout is fun with many cool photos.

This travel guide made my visit to London a complex experience. It offers all the basic sites, but it also gives you a chance to linger into the less central areas without the feelings of uncertainty.

Simply the best book available for those seriously interested in a detailed architectural history of New York, even though the most recent edition was published in 1991. Unbelievably rich in detail. As other reviewers point out however, this is NOT a typical "tourist" guide about where to eat, sleep or have fun in New York.

New York is a fascinating place today, and even more so after learning about its history and architecture from this well-written and researched guide book. Did you know that the land under the Empire State Building was originally owned by the Astor family? Or that the NY Public Library and Bryant Park reside on what was the Croton reservoir? Such tidbits abound.

Until Kenneth Jackson's _Encyclopedia of New York City_ this was the closest thing to an encyclopedia of New York City in existence. Don't buy this book for restaurant reviews or the best hotels; the other guides are for those things. There is a (small and) half-hearted set of restaurant and hotel listings in the front of the tome, but the rest is the real meat of the book: Fantastically detailed walking tours of every part of the city. Manhattan is throughly covered, of course, but the other boroughs don't get overlooked as so many other books do. Buckets of historical data, curious facts, interesting nuggets of info fill every page. Hopefully a newer edition will come out soon, but until it does this book is the best!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have moved to the Boston area only a year ago, and this book has helped me learn a lot about the life in and around Cape Cod since 1621. The characters seem almost real with all the trials and tribulations they have had to suffer. I highly recommned it to any reader who enjoys historical novels (the best!).

You will forget about the outside world when you read this; nothing but sand, wind, and water. Plus some natural history, local folklore, a few shipwreck tales. Typical Thoreau; he finds beauty, interest, detail in the wilderness. The desolate landscape will help to clear your mind. Highly recommended.

Each year, in preparation for a week's retreat to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I go in search of a book that would be perfect for a sojourn on a desert island. Of course, the Outer Banks are hardly deserted--the locals have printed up Wege's infamous photograph of a packed stretch of Coney Island with the caption "Nags Head, circa 2000 A.D."--but there we are on an island for seven days, my husband experiencing near death in the waves while I read. Sometimes we stop these pursuits and prowl the beach. Mostly we live as if we're the last two people on earth (which is easier in the off-peak season). I've learned that not every book is right for this way of life. The perfect desert island book has to celebrate the place you are in, not transport you. It should offer a tinge of society, because, after all, a human is a social animal, but it should not make you yearn achingly for what has been left behind nor should you be so repelled by it that you will never fit in again when you leave the island (you always leave the island). It should have some narrative sweep to withstand the competition of the seascape. It should make you think, at least a little: you want the stress to wash out to sea, not the little grey cells. Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau is the benchmark by which I've chosen beach material for several years. it is the quintessential celebration of littoral life. If you are on the beach, you appreciate it all the more; if you are not, well, at least you know vividly what you are missing. There is drama, as in the specter of villagers racing to the shore at the news of a shipwreck. There is information, as in what part of the clam not to eat, how the Indians trapped gulls for food, how a lighthouse really works. There is Thoreau's contagious respect for solitude, his occasional crankiness, and that magic trick of his that can suck in high school sophomores and get them through his books without so much as a whimper. There is one flaw to Cape Cod: brevity. It lasts about a day and a half on the Robinson Crusoe plan. This is not to say that it does not withstand re-reading, it does, but at some point after you have committed it to memory, you may wish for the collected works of Shakespeare and move onto the Bard's beach play, The Tempest.

Entertaining, informative, indispensible for exploring one of America's most fascinating destinations, City Smart: Boston belongs in your carry-on bag. Veteran travel writer Lisa Matte, a Boston-area native, is as smart as the city itself, and she brings to the book a real insider's expertise, with anecdotes and stories that perfectly illustrate Boston's quaint, colorful and sometimes quirky history. Abundant photos and maps quickly acclimate readers unfamiliar with Boston. If you're planning a trip to Beantown, get familiar with this book.

The best guidebook makes you feel like you've got a good friend in town, one ready to share the out-of-the-way finds and to keep you clear of the tourist traps. City Smart Boston is one of those guides. Author and Boston resident Lisa Matte offers up suggestions on her hometown that range from accommodations to dining, from shopping to cultural activities, all designed to help you make the most of your visit.

We especially appreciated the accommodations section, covering properties that range from five-star to bed-and-breakfasts. Details important to romantics, from terry cloth bathrobes to on-site gourmet dining facilities, are included in the hotel writeups. Along the way, readers find a sprinkling of fascinating trivia (hey, bet you don't know which Boston hotel called John Wilkes Booth a guest just a week before he shot and killed President Lincoln!)

Romantic travelers also find plenty of sizzling nightlife activity covered in this guide, including where to see the Boston Pops and the hottest places to dance the night away. A special section takes a look at Boston's best Irish pubs.

DON'T visit Boston without consulting this informative and easy to read guide book. Local residents to international travelers will find this guidebook the key to planning visits that memories are made of. The best guidebook I have ever read.

Want to get outdoors and be active in the Boston area? Start by buying this book. Lee Sinai describes, in wonderful detail, many of the rides and hikes one can take within a thirty-five-mile radius of Boston. The author has organized the forty trips around geographical areas, north, south or west of Boston, so selecting one is easy. Maps of each destination are included. Each trip description includes what's important to an outdoor enthusiast.... availability of restrooms, closest access to food, degree of difficulty, directions for getting there, and a historical background of the area.
Using this book, I discovered Dogtown, a mountain biking haven in Gloucester. I also experienced Cameron's, home to the best lobster roll in Massachusetts. The author led me to Great Brook Farm in Carlisle for cycling and then to Kimball's for a memorable ice cream treat.
As a guidebook, I give Exploring In and Around Boston on Bike and Foot the highest rating.

Lee Sinai has taken a group of varied and unusual hikes and trails around Boston and compiled them into an informative and accessible guide. We refer to her book often when looking for interesting, new places to explore, and have found it invaluable in "rediscovering" Boston.

Right from the get go I found this hiking and biking guide to be a miracle of organization and indispensable information. This book not only groups locations by geographical location, but also with respect to hiking, road biking and mountain biking. I found the handy reference guide towards the beginning of the book extremely useful while including not only difficulty ratings, but also mileage for each trip, something not always available in one specific location in a guide book. The maps accompanying each site are extremely easy to follow and the descriptions really do fit the terrain perfectly, whether or not you chose to take the book along on your journeys. I found the directions to each location to be extremely useful and especially appreciated the public transportation options that help those city dwellers who lack automobiles. Other handy features include locations and descriptions of local restaurants, attractions and even restrooms. This book included an very helpful mix of locations both in the greater Boston area, as well as highlighting several gems in the neighboring suburbs. I especially appreciated the handy reference map showing the location of all the spots, as well as the ever present tips to find geater enjoyment in your outdoor adventures!

Let's face it; most travel books are a glance-and-go proposition. Most of them do a passable job providing key information, but they aren't exactly a pleasure to read. Frommer's New England 2003 changes all that. Not only are the cititations clear, correct, and complete, many of them are laugh-out-loud funny or wickedly sly. At the end of a busy day on the road, I actually found myself reading the guide for fun (while happily settled in one of the recommended accommodations).A literate guide obviously written by folks in the know.

Great for a recent trip to Boston and Newport, RI.

The tips on what to see and what to avoid were dead on.

I have never bought a Frommer's Guide Book before, and now after I purchased this one, I am a loyal customer! I found it extremely insightful as to the most quaint New England towns to visit, which are the best routes to get there, practical information on the restaurants in town as well as their price ranges for any type of budgets - as well as advice on the many different bed and breakfasts that are available. This book caters to all travel styles, preferences and budgets. I planned most of my vacation with this book because it had phone numbers, prices, excellent directions... I could probably go on and on. Definitely a must for anyone who is traveling and not familiar with the area. It's like talking to someone who has lived in New England their whole life and is on hand to give you all the practical information you need to have a successful and fun/relaxing vacation. As if the book weren't great enough - they give you a wonderful full-sized pullout map that has all the towns marked on it which are mentioned in the book.

I'm an editor at Frommer's Travel Guides, and I worked on this book; I can tell you that Cheryl Farr Leas is a thorough, dedicated REAL New Yorker, with attitude & skills. This edition of the book required a lot of new information about how transit was affected by 9/11, updated security measures, and the latest (as we went to press) about what was open, and the latest information/predictions about what is going to happen at and how to visit Ground Zero.

This is a book I've used for reference because even we New Yorkers don't know every neighborhood, every dining bargain (though we like to think we do).

When friends are coming to town, I go to this book to recommend hotels that they'll particularly like because the descriptions really give you a feel for the ambience of the place, who would be most comfortable there (and places some people WOULDN'T be comfortable in).

New York is one expensive town, and I particularly appreciate the tips for low-cost (and free) entertainment: bars with no cover charge where you can hear live music, ways to get breaks on theater tickets, a list of when some cultural institutions have free admission. It's a good book to have around even if you don't have friends coming to town!

I just love this travel guide to New York City. Written with a spirit of discovery and frank commentaries, one can't find a better budget guide book than this. The book is categorically divided into different segments representing different activities from dining to places-of-interest. The range of choices in food, accommodation and travel hot spots will tickle your desire to go on a trip to NYC but immediately. It offers a wide array of prices and quality of products to expect in NYC: from posh Plaza Hotel that "looks like a cake sitting opposite Central Park" to the economical Sweet Hill Intl Hostel in North Mahattan; from cheap F&B to the mouth watering French cuisines; from free Staten Ferry rides to the elite class' pastime of scaling the Empire State Building - Frommer's got it all there. It's a all-in-one book with a free map and subway notes. BUY IT!

Very thorough, full of info on prices, how to get around, what to see and do. all guide books do that i guess, but this covered a lot of ground and didn't seem to be written just for mom and dad and the kids. it saved a lot of time and guess work and pointed me in the direction i wanted to go.

As a new-yorker I would recomment to use this book as a travel guide. I'm not sure about hotels info in this book but attractions coverage is great!

Es una excelente guía, con muy buenos planos de la ciudad, e itinerarios realizables caminando, en pocas horas, por distintas zonas de New York : Lower Manhattan, South Street Seaport y Civic Center, Lower East Side, SoHo y Tribeca, Greenwich Village, East Village, Gramercy y Flatiron District, Chelsea y Garment District, Theater District, Lower Midtown, Upper Midtown, Upper East Side, Central Park, Upper West Side, Morningside Heights y Harlem, y "las afueras" (the Cloisters, Jardín Botánico, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island). Estos itinerarios están acompañados por dibujos en perspectiva del recorrido, lo que hace muy fácil ubicarse y seguirlos. También incluye un capítulo con información de hoteles, restaurantes y bares, teatros, etc. Tiene además excelentes fotografías y un diseño muy práctico.

A guide (whether a person or a book) can make a big diference in showing you a city. The eyewitness guide about New york is the best one you can get ,once you buy a eyewitness guide book you'll always want to buy the eyewitness guide for all the other destinations you are planning to travel. It is designed in a wonderfull style you learn and see the city different and you love all the restaurants, bar, cafes and hotel which are shown there. Anythin'described in the book deserves a visit.

They really know the places to go.Believe me I am a tourist guide myself,and I believe ý do know what is important when you travel. Thanks for this wonderfull book