This book was originally recommended to me by some hikers at an EMS. I've now been to a couple of places discussed in the book, and I've found that it gives a good sense of what's going on at the places described in the sense of what sorts of terrain, etc that you might encounter.

But it seems to only mention a SMALL subset of the possible hikes in an area. For example at the Kettle Moraine park (Southern Unit) it failed to mention that most of the trails have longer and more difficult variations. And it didn't mention going up to the top of a hill, where you can see the entire park.

Still, this is the best reference on hiking in Wisconsin in this format.

I purchased 11 books on hiking, camping, and touring in Wisc. Of these books that I purchased, this book is the best for hiking (4 of the 11 books were on hiking.)

It is especially good if you:

- don't know Wisc too well (I grew up in Wisc, so am very familiar with Wisc, but I never paid attention to the names of the incredibly wonderful places my folks took us to when I was a kid, which was a big mistake.)

- want to go on the best hikes

This book has the best hikes (when compared to the other hiking books I bought.)

It's a great book for the first-time hiker or for a hiker that doesn't know the hikes in Wisc. I wish I had bought this book ten years ago when I first wanted to hike with friends in Wisc. Ten years ago, I purchased "Guide to Wisconsin Outdoors" and "Wisconsin Handbook", which weren't right for me at the time (even though both are excellent books) because they weren't for hikers, but more for folks that wanted to drive through an area and know what the cities have to offer in way of entertainment and amentities. Those two books, while absolutely perfect for folks who prefer to either drive through, do indoor activitity, and learn about an area's local amenities (which can be important information), they set me back several years on my goal to get up to speed on hiking in Wisc. I needed a hiking book.

So, I finally found this book. I bought other books on hiking (4 of them), but I liked this the best. Now that I know more about the areas I went to as a kid, I now know that this book lists the best areas for hiking. All of the best hiking areas we went to as kids are in this book (except one, which is a not so well-known area that our family would go to - but none of the other hiking books I bought listed it either.)

I want to mention the cons of the book, so you know what's missing and so you know what you may need to find elsewhere. When you travel to a faraway location, it's a good idea to know the local amenities of the area (restaurants, etc.). This book doesn't have that information. However, I would definitely not buy a book that tries to cover both hiking and amenities in one book because that's what I did ten years ago and that method failed me because I ended up not getting the hiking information I needed (other info got crowded out by the info on amenities) so I ended up not hiking in Wisc for several years as a result because I was stalled on it - I didn't have the info I needed and I didn't know how to get the information from faraway. I was in Washington at the time (majestic views but not as peacefully pastorial as beautiful Wisc), and back then, you couldn't find the books you needed online like you can now.

So, I suggest buying Hiking Wisconsin and finding the hiking locations through it, and then figure out amenities through other sources (the other two books that I mentioned do a good job on amenities, though I wouldn't recommend them for hiking.) Also, triple AAA covers amenities for free (but a bit too briefly when compared to the two books I mentioned.)

If you are an experienced hiker that has already gone on more than 75 different hikes in Wisc, most likely this book will be a repeat for you since it covers the top 100 hikes.

I liked this book because it has the best hikes. It was important to me to find the beautiful locations my parents took us to when we were kids (my Dad knew some really good areas.) Those were great places and created great memories for me. So, I just didn't want to go to any place that simply had a so-so hike - I wanted it to be special and see something that moved me as much as the hikes moved me when I was a kid.

So, if your goal is to find the best areas to hike, I'd buy this book.

I am happy to own this guide. I particularly like to be able to review the different places where I can go hiking before I go, so I know I am making a wise choice. It has information for biking, boating, etc. It does not have information for cross-country skiing, however.

One thing I really like is that it tells you about different stops along the trails, so you can use this to make sure you have not deviated from the trail.

I proofread this book, and it was a pleasure. I learned a lot, and the subject matter (John Ruan's life, from his childhood to his first truck to recent times) was interesting. My work went by smoothly, and I know there will be at least two copies of this biography in our extended family! If you're interested in the Midwest, trucking, or the life of a self-made man, this book is for you.

An exceptional book about an exceptional man. The great index helps immensely to make this a quality product.

Let me first disclose that I am a little biased in my review because the subject of this biography is my grandfather. For those of you considering reading this book I highly recommend it if you're interested in learning about a spectacular story of entrepreneurial success. I am an avid reader of business-related biographies and I can attest that this is near the top. In addition, the biography accounts for John Ruan's entire life to date, with details of his childhood, his family and related hardships, the founding of his many business, details on the inner-workings of those businesses and his many community/charitable efforts (the most notable of which is the World Food Prize). In all, the book sums up a man of tremendous impact in both Iowa, the U.S. as well as the world. John Ruan, as you will come to note after reading this book, is a unique individual whose 90+ years have had an exceptionally positive impact in our community, and in business. In my opinion, John Ruan truly embodies some of the fundamental principles upon which the United States was founded; the opportunity to achieve through hard work. On a final point, upon picking up the book, I read it straight through in four hours. Again, I highly recommend reading the book.

Most people when they go on vacation go to national parks like the Grand Canyon or theme parks like Disneyland. How many would go to see the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame with a giant embalmed worm on display? Or how about the world's biggest corkscrew? A serial killer's grave? The author saw these things and more in Wisconsin and compiled them into this book. It's an enjoyable journey through Wisconsin's strange side and is recommended for die-hard road trippers or those interested in America's stranger side.

If you have an appetite for the curious or offbeat, this book will fill the bill. I don't have plans to visit all the places and things mentioned in this book, but just sitting and reading it was a hoot. Not just a guide to the oddball, but histories and trivia are included. This is Wisconsin at its best.

Where does this guy get all this information? I thought the book would only be full of goofy things like monolithic cheese monuments and the world's largest six pack. Although it has that in spades, there are also plenty of historical places to see, like the shrine to the birthplace of the Republican party and the grave of Edward Gein, inspiration for Silence of the Lambs.

Growing up on the west coast, we used to watch movies about the midwest and say things like, "Wouldn't you go absolutely insane in some small town out there?" Oddball Wisconsin has answered my question.

This is a great book if you're in the area or just want to get out of Chicago for a while.

This is a "must-have" for finding the great bars of Chicago. Just beware of one thing before you hop on that train or in that cab to go heading off to the perfect, little, out-of-the-way-neighborhood-pub: CALL AHEAD. In my recent visit, I found out the hard way that two of the places to which I travelled were no longer in existence. In one case, the bar was under different ownership and subsequently a totally different bar and in the other case, the building had been demolished and replaced by a townhouse. (This little hitch is the ONLY reason that this book doesn't receive 5 stars.)

If you ever find yourself in Chicago with a taste for an ice cold beer, you need this book! An all-encompassing guide to the wonderful bars of the Windy City that doesn't dwell on Rush Street. Although it's a bit out-dated at this point, it still serves as an invaluable reference.

If you love bars and beer and you're anywhere near Chicago, you've got to check this book out. They pay homage to the old classics and uncover some new gems

Better detail than other available state-wide atlases. Great for business travel to smaller towns and to outlying county areas.

I like to scout out small lakes off the beaten path, and this Atlas has proven invaluable to me. Picture this: If you cut out all the pages and re-assembled them into a one-piece map it would be as roughly as big as the average front yard! Hardly anything is left out, including many small farm pond sized bodies of water. My best discovery to date was a tiny 'lake' South of Columbus, Ohio, with a picture of a fish on it. I made the short trip and proceeded to catch a 6 pound Bass out of it- unheard of in the more heavily populated lakes around Columbus.

I'm on my third copy of the Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer the others have worn out from all the use I give them. Based on the quality of the Ohio version, I just ordered the Colorado book for a trip I plan to take there. The Ohio version offers a great resource for not only accurate road maps of the whole state, but also other items of interest like recreation areas, etc. I have a copy in all my vehicles. Wouldn't leave home without it.

This map is easy to use and has many wonderful attributes. It covers the entire St. Louis area and vicinity, it graphically shows libraries, post offices, etc., has overall and page grids that help with location, a comprehensive index and colors that help you discern neighborhood streets from local expressways, etc. This is by far the best map I've seen for the area and everyone I've shown it to agrees!

We recently moved from Portland, OR to the St. Louis area, and this Streetfinder has been indispensible. The map system is based on an Letter/Number coordinate system, and the information is up to date -- even some newer subdivisions are captured. We like to use it in conjunction with Microsoft MapPoint, to see if we can find a more efficient route than the one MapPoint recommends.

Unless you know every square inch of the St. Louis metro area, this book is a handy companion that will give you the confidence to travel anywhere by car.

This is a great reference source, parallelled by none. I first bought it when I moved to St. Louis about 1 year ago, and I still use it to look up little roads and streets. It is a faithful drivong companion and has been in my car for over a year, and saved me from numerous episodes of being lost...

This book has information on where to stay, to eat, to shop, etc. in Door County. This book offers a huge amount of information. I also ordered Exploring Door County by Craig Charles, I liked this book better. Exploring Door County has Door County history, information on County and State parks, hiking and bike trails, and places to visit that I did not know existed in Door County.

This is an excellent little guide. It has everything you might want in a travel guide: background information, nice descriptions, information on what to do, where to stay, where to eat, etc. It also short, well written and easy to read and carry around with you. What more can you ask for?! In my opinion, this guide is much better than "Exploring Door County," which I found to be repetitive and, in the end, not very useful.

Well, what can I say about a book that purports to be a "Guide to Great Minnesota Taverns" that does not include Vic's Bar & Grill in Moorhead, Minnesota nor does it include the International Eelpout Festival - one of the premier Beer Consumption Events in the US, Canada, and other places from which contestants happen to stagger?
This book was written by a couple of Cheeseheads (Wisconsinites.) They do silly things like referring to Fargo, SOUTH Dakota [sic.] It seems that selection criteria involves how many foreign/microbrew (e.g. Yuppy) beers a place has on tap - although a few "working-class" REAL taverns are thrown in just to amuse the connoisseur (like watching the animals in the zoo.) For example, of a local bar in International Falls: "Forget about ordering any of your favorite brews and instead bend a macrobrew elbow with a regular patron." Gee, what if I really do like Budweiser and those proud Clydesdales? Of a place in Grand Marais: "Blessedly, ... (it) is a nonsmoking venue. ... No jukebox intrudes on the calm, which is enhanced by soft blues programming delivered by satellite." Oh bless their stiff little pinkie finger! If I can't smoke my cigarettes and sing along "North to Alaska" with Johnny Horton on the juke, what's the point of being in a bar?
If you would like to tour Minnesota one "designer" brew at a time, this book's for you! If not, you can play Bar Bingo with the folks at Vic's.
Reviewed by TundraVision

If you want a book recommending every 3.2 bar in Minnesota, TundraVision, then you're right, this isn't it. Which is why everyone who wants to drink anywhere of note in the state should pick this one up. Good selections, extensive reporting on each location.

Written by the father and daughter team of David and Monica Wright, Great Minnesota Taverns is a cheerful and informative guide to historic and entertaining taverns located all over the land of 10,000 lakes. From lists of Minnesota beer festivals and events, to beer publications, tavern web sites, tavern descriptions arranged by geography, and so much more, Great Minnesota Taverns is the ideal reference for the Minnesota vacationer or local resident looking to enjoy the best tavern ambience Minnesota has to offer.

What a great map book of Minnesota! Land of 10,000 lakes isn't accurate - it's more like over 12,000 and guess what? If I were to count each lake on each page, I bet nearly each lake is accounted for!

I appreciate the details it goes into in terms of terrain including elevation, fishing spots, camping spots, non-paved roads, etc. With my outdoors proclivity mixed with a sense of adventure with my 4x4 truck, I plan to explore Minnesota as if I were one of the original voyageurs. I've not moved to MN yet, but cannot wait to do so in the very near future.

The only thing I wish this book had was a more detailed map of the Twin Cities area. While they show every street, it would have been nice to have a break out section of it going to even greater detail. That would have saved me the money of having to purchase a seperate map book on the Twin Cities and keep it down to one book.

However, it's still a great investment. You'll not get lost with this map book unless you are simply trying to get lost from civilization!

Here's a chance to see where bodies of water are located. Major and minor paved roads are drawn in as well, so you can tell how to get to a body of water. If you're looking for standing water, you'll love this resource.

The detail at which this (and other atlases) are produced is amazing. Small towns and cities have most if not all of their streets depicted, and this map picks up where state highway maps leave off. As a lifelong Minnesota resident, I was always impressed with the detail of our official state highway map, until I started driving some of the many small county roads, particularly in the western portions of the state. I soon learned that many, but certainly not all roads are on the official map.

The Delorme atlas fills the gap. I've yet to drive a road that is not on this map, and for this reason alone, it will accompany me on any future journies. This map also includes drainage ditches, landing strips, water treatment centers, and many other useful features. This makes it useful to public works departments or other government agencies who might need to know such locations.

The oveall size (it's the same size as Rand McNally atlases) allows it to fit beneath a car seat, and it is organized with a quick reference map-index on the back cover. A complete gazateer in inside. These atlases are essential for any traveler.

As someone living in Indiana, I appreciate this book as an excellent introduction to Indiana geology. While much of the treatment is superficial, it covers a lot of ground and there isn't time to go into everything at much depth. It also provides substantial insight into historical use of surface and subsurface geological resources in the Hoosier state, and as such gives a taste of lifestyles over the last 150 years. Highly recommended.

This is definitely one of the better books in this series (I own most of them). If you, like me, have always regarded Indiana as a place you have to drive through, you'll be as surprised as I to discover just how much interesting geology there is. It's a good read besides.

Another great Roadside Geology work, this time better than most. Who would have thought that Indiana geology could come alive like this? The book is so well illustrated with maps, photographs and drawings that it is fun just to flip through. At the same time, there is enough science here (though well written for the layman) that it provides an intelligent, in-depth treatment of the subject. I recommend this to anyone in Indiana or nearby states; to anyone with an interest in mid-west geology; and to anyone with an interest in Indiana history and lore.