This guidebook has some positive features, but ones that would probably best serve someone already familiar with the layout of San Francisco. First, the book divides its sections according to neighborhood without much integration between them or of the city as a whole. This is acceptable if one is already familiar with San Francisco's geography, but would frustrate someone trying to get a sense of how the different parts of San Francisco fit together. Indeed, the only attempt to present what one should consider covering in a trip to San Francisco seems to be a scanty two-page afterthought.

Second, the book does not offer much help as a resource when actually touring the city. The walking tours lack interesting detail about history or architecture and instead quickly note interesting sites. The maps are lousy, as one has to already know where the neighborhoods are to make sense of the maps within each section. The maps also lack detail, as few of the sites listed in the text are actually marked on the maps. The information regarding dining and lodging is frustratingly coded from budget to ultra-deluxe-instead of just listing prices in the text, the guidebook requires readers to decipher code by flipping back to the introduction where the terms are explained or to memorize them.

That being said, the guide offers much for other users. The walking tours cover interesting ground, the guide highlights less frequented sites, and useful information such as websites for attractions of interest are included. Thus, I would recommend using this guidebook at home and sketching out where you want to go, but leave it at home when you go (as its bulk is more useful at home to decide where you want to go, but of limited value once you are actually there). In particular, the book is a great resource for Bay Area residents to consult regarding parts of the city they may wish to brush up on or to lead guests to less obvious sites in San Francisco that often slip one's mind.

This guide scored an A+! Every place it suggested was great, and the information was always helpful. We had this book, Lets Go, Zagat San Fran (which didn't even have many of the recommended restaurants listed), and Fodors. This one was by far the best. By then end of our 2 week trip, we had stopped using all the other books. I ended up giving all but this one away. The only thing I would change is the maps. They were not very detailed. I would recommend getting this book and then a detailed San Fran and surrounding area map from a gas station when you get there.

On my first visit to Northern California, I depended on this guide for help in choosing lodging, restaurants and places to visit. As a result, my vacation was very enjoyable! Recommendations were very solid, and arranged in a logical order. The focus on out-of-the-way spots was very valuable and helped us spend time on the most unique and rewarding activities. I can't wait to spend more time in Northern California, and will definitely take my well-worn copy of "Hidden...." along.

If you are thinking about maybe renting a car when visiting the Madrid/central Spain area, get this map now. It will easy your mind about how easy it is to navigate the area, which by the way is very beutiful and dramatic. This part of Spain, with mountains to the north of Madrid and the plains with the windmills to the south, is as much worht seeing as a sight unto itself. The driving was a pleasure, the roads and traffic safe and well marked. This map is for central Spain, not Andalucia as indicated by the reviewer for Charleston. Andalucia would be antoher map, this goes only as far south as Cordoba.

Available locally (at list price) is the 1998 edition detailing the large network of "autopistas" built in Andalucia since the version offered by Amazon (1991), which is now out of date. The coverage of this map is actually all of Spain SOUTH of Valdepenas and east of the Portuguese border to the Costa de Almeria at Aguilas: the entire territory of Andalucia. The single map insert (7") is of Sevilla. Otherwise, I concur with the comments of the two other reviewers, especially the one that more city maps on the reverse side would be eminently more helpful (and efficient).

This map has excellent detail, covering all the terrain from south of Madrid to the northern coast, and from Salamanca in the west to Zaragoza in the east. Includes even little-used country roads. Also has a 7" inset of Madrid and city/road index. But it is missing features we expect in US maps: double-sided printing, more city insets.

In honor of his 50th birthday, Howard Mosher decided to take a solo journey exploring his home ground. His chosen turf is the "north country," the borderlands between the United States and Canada. Mosher traveled from Maine to Washington, meandering a few miles one either side of the border.

In this account of his odyssey, Mosher intersperses short anecdotes from his life as a resident and traveler in these areas, combined with mini-sketches of the people and places he encounters. Nobody and no place merits more than three pages of Mosher's spare prose. Mosher voices himself in the taciturn manner of the hardy border people. He strives for a rough-and-ready effect, implying that his itinerary was haphazard, and that his encounters were primarily ones of chance. I suspect that a lot more planning went into the trip than Mosher suggests.

My favorite chapter was the one on "fresh starts," in which Mosher profiled people who had left one life for another. For Mosher, traveling through places both familiar and completely new was its own form of fresh start.

Howard Frank Mosher has crafted a warm, inviting story of his journey across the America via the backroads border of Canada. This book invokes the wanderlust... Read "Stranger in the Kingdom" and "Northern Borders" for superior fiction. Warm and intriguing.

Howard Frank Mosher is a gifted writer. His descriptions provoke the imagination into painting landscapes and portraits that the human eye ordinarily can't see. I found it literally impossible to put this book down, and I will definitely be reading the rest of Mosher's stories!

This book has just been awarded "Exceptional Books of 1999" by the A List, published by Bookman Book Review Syndicate and is a candidate for best book of the year. The reviewing panel found it to be worthy of such an award, and it was chosen over hundreds of books.

Since E. Boyd wrote her almanac about the traditional arts of the 18th and 19th centuries in New Mexico and the surrounding areas, she was followed by several books written by Professor William Wroth, then at the Taylor Museum in Colorado Springs. Both his books were concerned with the Taylor collection of Santos, a huge representation housed in their Museum. However, Wroth's books are difficult reading, particularly for the novice and the collector. His usage of big words unnecessarily bog down the information, and there are few discoveries which separate his writings from those of the late E. Boyd. Miss Cash, on the other hand, has blessed us with an informative, easy to read book on the Santos in the New Mexican churches, replete with hundreds of photographs (many previously unpublished) which form a chain which extends from the 1760's to 1900. Yes, we would have loved for these photographs to be all color, but certainly the writing makes up for that lack. An ingenious detective search allowed Miss Cash to unearth the identities of two major santeros, the 18th Century Novice and the magnificent Laguna Santero. This book is must reading, not only for the collector, but for the researcher and those interested in the primitive arts of the region.

I found "Santos" a very informative book. There have been other books written on this subject, but none have covered the subject so thoroughly. The author has discovered the names of two previously unknown santeros, and has proven her theories respectably; she has also gone into great detail to dispel many of the myths about the santeros created by other writers. I think this book is a must read about this subject. Granted, many of the photos are black and white, but that does not diminish the importance of the research. It was not designed to be a coffee-table book, and therefore the university press which published has done an ok job of reproducing the many photos. As I understand it, this book has received great reviews by the author's peers, perhaps some of which should be mentioned here: Tradicion Revista; New Mexico Magazine; Latina Magazine and many others. It has been called the "New Testament" as relates to the subject.

Just tried to use this book for hike in North Point State Park and found it difficult to follow. Luckily, we had another guide with a map. This guide often does not have maps and the directions lack points on the compass, i.e. north, south, east, west.

I have been looking for a book just like this for some time now. Having hiked a fair amount in and around Washington I was running short on ideas for new hikes. I had tried the Appalchian Trial Guides and some other books that are out there but felt that while they were great on trail details they didn't provide much of the practical information that you want when heading out to a new destination. Especially enjoyed the author's editorial comments and trail descriptions which combined to make the book a pleasure to read. The author must be a dog lover as well which earns her points in my book. She marks each trail to let dog owners know if their pooches are welcome.

Having been on many trails in the region (and now many more thanks to this guide), I highly recommend100 Easy Hikes. It's as good as it gets for hitting all the hot spots in the Washington DC area- from nearby jaunts on the trails of Rock Creek Park to the lesser known gems in the Shenandoah. Additionally, the author's insider tips and her clear directions to the trailheads make this guide exceptional.

I was particularly impressed the "best of" recommendations. They were right on target. Neither bluebells nor waterfall classics escaped her attention. The maps, as you'd expect from the National Geographic Society, are clear and easy to follow. Anyone looking for a basic resource on the area should have this guide.

Jeri Howard is not among the strongest representatives of the female PI genre, but these stories are well plotted and believable. This installment has a neat plot twist after making an early point on the evils of stalking and harassment. This book is recommended for a solid, entertaining read.

As always, Janet writes a great story

I have consumed every one of Janet Dawson's series involving private eye Jeri Howard. I love the characters and Jeri's sense of humor, as well as the realism in the issues which she confronts. I heartily recommend any of the Jeri Howard series to anyone who likes mysteries involving female detectives and lots of character!

This lists interesting sites in many towns and cities. This has more detail than is needed for the rushed tourist with only a couple of days to do the "highlights" of Italy, but is great for the more serious visitor with more time. Info on both the famous sites and many possibilities for going off the beaten path.

I miss these books most when I am in a country for which they are out of print (recently Spain) as other guidebooks provide little information on these topics. However, I also buy a standard guidebook for general (hotel, etc.) information as the Blue Guides are useless for that. If you are not that interested in more details on these topics (there is no reason you should or shouldn't be), then you'd probably be wasting your money buying this book. In that case I would give this book one star.

I think the previous review expresses the same point but in a different way. Perhaps it is partly in reaction to this type of review that recently there seems to have been a dumbing-down of the books, which is a shame. Now that is a snotty comment.

The book is for the art and architecture historian/student. Not meant for the casual traveler to Europe. This book is an authorative on the subjects it involves. The perfect book to have when you want to know what the archtecture in the region is about and wish not to carry a huge "textbook". Not some lame book that tells you of hotels and restaurants to visit with lots of pretty pictures.

I found the book an easy read. It was informative to find out the day to day life of an average soldier in the Confederacy during the last part of the Civil War. In many ways though I wish the author would have been more specific with details, but I had to remember of the time (1882) in which he wrote. He was really a product of the time, the flowery language shows and I accept this. Still some of the descriptions seemed intentionally vague, as if he was scared at offending some one, or worse yet stirring up old emotions. I would however, recommend it to a person studying the day to day life of a soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia.

Nicely paced, reader-friendly account of the "minutiae" involved in the life of a Confederate soldier - more specifically, as a member of the Army of Northern Virginia. Along with Billings' Northern perspective as seen in Hardtack and Coffee, these two books tell just about all the "ins and outs" of the tedium and horror of war.

A quick, really great read on the everyday life of the Confederate soldier in the War for Southern Independence. The Whats, Whens, Hows, and Whys of the survival of the common man in the Army of Northern Virginia told in a very readable manner. Anyone interested in "the War" shouldn't go without reading this one! Too bad there isn't a hardback!

I have read and enjoyed several of MS Cookson's earlier books when she was alive but I found this one to be soooo silly and farfetched. The characters were flat and unbelievable. You knew Annie was going to end up with Terrence from the very first and the action in between the first page and the last page was pretty boring. Lucky me, it was a Library book

Set in the early twentieth century, this novel tells the story of the eldest daughter of Kate Hannigan, Annie. We first meet Annie when she is 14, growing up in a loving, prosperous family in the English countryside, but Annie is always aware of her mother's upbringing among grinding poverty, and the fact that Annie is illegitimate. Kate has since married a loving husband, Dr. Prince, but their background is never far from their thoughts.

When she is 19, Annie falls in love with the mysterious boy next door, Terence Macbane who has earned a seat at Oxford even though his family is very poor. Annie's so-called friend, Cathleen Davidson, is jealous of Annie, and tries to destroy her relationship with Terence. Annie's childhood friend Brian has long assumed that she would marry him, and his possessiveness is cloying and upsetting to Annie. Annie is also tormented and conflicted by her faith, and has vowed to become a nun, in spite of the wishes of her family.

Although the plot is full of melodrama, it works up to a successful and satisfying conclusion with love overcoming evil, and all the unpleasant characters put to rest. If you enjoy period romance novels, which I do as an occasional break from more contemporary writing, you'll enjoy Kate Hannigan's Girl.

This book is so very "Cookson". I read at breakneck speed and and feared coming to the end. Catherine Cookson continues to force us to care for her characters and smell the grass under their feet.

This book is an enjoyable read which will introduce you to all the major players in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Peace Accords, and give a good sense of what the challenges were and how the various parties worked to overcome them.

Unfortunately, it was probably too early for Mitchell to come out with any new details, and he is reluctant to be overly critical of any of the parties -- no doubt a wise move as the peace process contiues to move forward.

Hopefully, we will see another account from Mitchell in the future which will give a little bit more bite in terms of how he really feels. In the mean time, this book is well worth the quick read.

If you followed the peace negotiations while they were occuring, you really have no need of this book. Mitchell is frustratingly vague throughout, relating the negotiations in the most general of terms and not giving us much new insight. I don't think I learned anything about the negotiations from this book that I didn't already know. Vague and dry, read this book only if you didn't follow the peace negotiations at all.

Senator Mitchell deserves tremendous respect for his (continuing) role in the Northern Ireland peace process. This book delivers a clear and consise account of his participation in the events that led up to the Good Friday agreement. We get glimpses of all the major players and many unsung heroes who worked behind the scenes.

Perhaps in reaction to the long-winded Irish politicians he uses a very broad brush to describe the events and often condenses days of complex talks into a few sentences. This is not, as I initially hoped, a detailed description of the negotiations. But it does portray the kind of patience and determination that was needed to pull everything together and gives a taste of the complexity of the political situation around Northern Ireland. It's a nice read for anyone, but especially geared for the average American.