This book is organized by county, but it contains no map indicating counties. The index has serious omissions, rendering it almost useless. I wanted to know what was outside South Bend, but South Bend is not in the index. Neither is Gary, for that matter. Don't tell me it's because they're not "off the beaten path;" they are covered in the book. Counties are listed in the index, but of what use is that unless you know what county you're going to be traveling through? This book could be useful to someone with a good map who already knows where he is, but it does little to orient a newcomer or differentiate between one area and another. I have to cross Indiana this summer, and I'd like to take an interesting route, but I can't find one using this book unless I read nearly every page. This book needs itineraries near the major highways, a map indicating counties, and an entirely new index. To its credit, this book contains much information. Better referencing tools would help the reader find it.

In the introduction, the authors advise that it is necessary to use a map to find the "natural wonders". The authors even tell the reader how to obtain a map. Question: Why isn't there a map in the book? Just a simple map of Ohio with dots numbered to match the places mentioned.

In "Necessities: Chicago," author Kathy Kaplan takes readers on the tour of the service industry in Chicago -- from pet sitters to where to buy special gifts. The purpose is to allow the reader to be their own concierge and gofer. The inherent problem of the book is that, published in 1998, many of the service companies may not still be in business, thus making this as dated (or outdated) as a 1998 phone book. The author has, however, picked the "exclusive" cream-of-the-crop businesses for this compelation. Someone desiring the most personal $ervices money can buy should definitely look here. However, these same listings (sans the author's comments) can be found in the latest Yellow Pages, and definitely be more up-to-date.

While this book was okay, I was kind of disappointed. It seems to just be rehashed articles from the author's previous two books, Roadside NJ and Jersey Diners, without all of the great pictures that originally accompanied them. I would recommend buying one of those books, which are still published by Rutgers University Press, rather than this one.

If you are looking for a book to inspire your next midwestern trip, keep looking. Bob Puhala's writing is hardly the sort to bring out the intrepid (or insipid) traveler in anyone. Reading the reviews of inns I was familiar with was disappointing. He does not manage to bring these places to life or capture their essence. He does provide a good basic description of each inn and fairly good directions to each, along with the information you would need to make a reservation. Because most of his picks are rather on the beaten path, if you're going to visit Uncle Lem and Aunt Nan in Backwater Creek, you probably won't find a likely place to stay using this resource.

I was suprised that many Inns were neither Inns or in the counrty. Jumer's Castle Lodge is hardly an Inn (having 210 rooms and being part of a chain) and the Blanche House, minutes from downtown Detroit, Michigan (and a short walk away from some unsavory neighborhoods), would only be in the country if one traveled back in time about 150 years.

This book might be more useful for business travelers looking for something different, but for the traveler looking for inspiration and a nice country vacation (as I was) - it dosen't fit the bill.

Most of this book is devoted to general history and the basics of trout fishing, which is only of value to the novice. The "meat" of the book - actual information about selected ponds and lakes, comprises only approximately a third of the volume.

Hopefully, the author will have more to share with us in a future edition.

Ho hum. I bought this book to zero in on early and late planting dates for each vegetable. It did not provide that information. For example, I surmise that I can plant 45 day tomatoes on Aug 20 to harvest before the last frost on Oct 5, but somehow I doubt they will grow much in cool September so I found little value in this book since it shed no light on such scenarios. Worst yet, one main planting chart calendar refers to all the planting dates by Zone. This was useless because I could not find where the zones where defined. The calendar chart refers the reader to a zone map in the back of the book but the map fails to identify the zone's with any notation. Instead, this map identifies temperature zones, but there is no legend to associate the temperature zone with the notation used in the book, i.e. zone 4,5,6. This was a major omission for everyone who wants to know when to plant! Therefore this book is only useful for general gardening information that can be gotten anywhere else. I do not recommend this book for midwest planting calendars. Other than that, it seems to cover general gardening topics and that is why I rated it two stars instead of one.

This book was a huge disappointment. Extremely overpriced---much of the book consists of obsolete lists of restaurants, veterinarians, campgrounds, etc. Lots of generic, re-hashed information on things like dogs and guns and decoy layouts, with very little in the way of helping nonresidents understand the unique habits and habitats of North Dakota game birds.

This book should NOT be sold as a new book - its information is obsolete.

I used this book several weeks ago and got into trouble because every I-75 exit number in the book is incorrect. This is the case on all the Georgia maps and coupons. Georgia changed its exit numbers last February (it announced this change 3 years ago) and removed all the old numbers. This book shows only the old numbers and was therefore no good to us.

I paid good money for this book and didn't expect out of date information.

You can read the other reviews and they are scathing, but accurate. I live in Georgia and use I-75 to go south to Florida and, yes, every exit number in Georgia is incorrect and with a publishing date of May 1999,and a three-year-old state announcement that in February 2000 all the exit numbers would be changed, this is a significant faux pas on the part of the author. And, with all the coupons and advertisements in this book, it does feel like one of those motel discount publications that you can pick up at truck stops and gas stations in every state. The print quality, paper and really small font size (pica 6!) are a significant distraction, but this is not all the author's fault, there was a publisher involved in this too, eh?

So what is there about this book that is redeeming. What does Christine Marks have that you can't find in a USA Guide, or State Guide? I was impressed by information on various locations, communities and counties. Christine Marks did a lot of digging to come up with some very interesting and provocative vignettes. County information, cultural insights, historic blurbs that were NOT in my other state travel guides. I am a Bar-B-Que afficionado and I did not know that in October, in Vienna, GA, there is The Georgia Barbecue Championship! Or that Fried Green Tomatoes are found at the Whistle Stop Café in Juliette, Ga. I like these tidbits of information and this, and this alone, makes the book valuable to keep. I also like the concept of the guide following a route, providing information with maps that break the journey down in bite size portions. These two aspects, especially the unique information, makes me keep this book. It is my hope that Christine Marks pushes this forward, gets the right exit numbers, larger readable fonts, better paper and printing, and dumps the blatant trashy advertising. With the number of cars that roam up and down this huge stretch of highway there is a market for good guides. Conditionally recommended.

In response to the "un-generous" comments previously written about this book, I would like to submit a counter argument that the book isn't all that horrific. And how can one with any common sense compare a new author with Dave Hunter who has been around for several years. Also, I honestly doubt his first book was of the quality that he offers currently....did you ever hear of giving someone a chance?

signed, Frustrated in Windsor

Iowa's a great state but this book doesn't show it. It's a haphazard collection of some truly great photographs unfortunately mingled with very very amateurish stuff. The writing is horrible. Can we rate this book as a quarter-star instead of one? It's that low.

A picture book of Iowa scenes and people. Sixty percent of photos are professional and interesting; the rest are amatuerish, out of focus, and pointless, plus awful "cut out" collages-in my opinion. Book does not "read" well, nor does it hold up to normal handling- a PAPERBACK "coffee table" book?? NOT!! A real contradiction in quality- some images suitable for framing, next to fuzzy snapshots! NOT a true picture OR song of Iowa.