Pacific

This book is great if you plan on visting Vegas with the kids in mind. It gives a good description of the attractions, addresses, phone numbers, height restrictions, and prices. We've started checking off the things we've done in the table of contents. The only downfall is it doesn't really give a review of great buffets...only some suggestions of kid friendly eateries.

This book saved me a bundle of time and expenses when family came out to visit here in Las Vegas.

I was a big hero to my nephews and nieces because I knew all the best places to take them to see free shows and other exciting things. My sisters and brothers loved me because once the kids had their adventures, they were free to do the adult vegas experience.

Whether you live here (and have family and their children coming to visit) or whether you are bringing your family, this book has a complete list that will keep the little ones happy. From pirate battles to clown museums. Rollercoasters to wild life parks.

BUY this BOOK

Now that I live in LAs Vegas, the rest of the family, and heir families are coming out. The Lobster Guide is a great tool to help them plan all the litlle trips fand activities for the kids.

I bought two copies and ship one to the folks prior to their coming to visit. They decide what they want to do and see and it saves me hours of hassle.

The book has information on attractions and shows I never knew about.

If you have kids, or have guests who have kids. GET THIS BOOK!

Having been a collector, affectionate reader, and on-the-field user of Lonely Planet guidebooks during my numberless and continuous travels, I can indeed witness that this one is one of the best. Some guidebooks try to cover too much, e.g. all of West Africa or all of Central Asia, and don't do the job so well (inevitable and still better than carrying one book for each country, but to the detriment of the quality). Another common problem, is the author's favourable bias towards the country she or he is covering, as if it were the most marvelous place on Earth - I think here of the LP guidebook to Libya. In other books still, some regions are covered more in-depth than others: the Indonesia guidebook only has seven pages on East Timor, which would in fact deserve a whole chapter if not a whole book on its own ! Instead, in covering the fascinating land of Papua New Guinea, this author has done an excellent job, and not much else really needs to be added: this is indeed the Lonely Planet standard, that is to say, an excellent standard. For those who may not be familiar with it, this means excellent, up-to-date, accurate coverage of all areas of the country, with information (primary basic facts as well as further data for perfectionists) about accommodation, getting around, eating, entertainment, etc. Despite the vastity of this land and the difficulty of getting to the most remote areas, the author has managed it. The chapters on history and culture, especially in this guidebook, I find to be extremely well-written and researched. This one is indeed an excellent tool not only for the traveller but also for the armchair traveller who may wish to know more about PNG without necessarily going. It is extremely enjoyable and pleasant to read, thus combining the unrivalled qualities of a guidebook from Lonely Planet, with great information and facts about the mysterious land of Papua New Guinea.

Even though this edition is already some years old it is still THE guide for independent traveling in this awesome country.

I was traveling in 2000 for about 8 weeks in PNG and found the book a real help for getting around in a country that is far away from being touristy. Whether you are looking for a bus stop, the next spots for hiking or diving, hotel information or information on culture and religion this book has it all in detail.

Especially in this kind of less developed country every bit and piece of information in this book is worth every cent you spent for it.

We traveled to Mt. Hagen and Port Moresby last March for the first time. What a great and beautiful country, and what a perfect travel guide to orient you. While this book is nice enough to have on the shelf, ours is worn from use... and usefulness. As a bonus, it's also well-written and a great book to read!

Lonely Planet has again done a superb job combining art, graphics, maps and information in exactly the right proportions. There are a collection of excellent color and black & white photos and graphics. The history and cultural background is extensive owing to the three experienced traveler-writers. They make great use of side-bars to highlight special features and information (a trade mark of most Lonely Planet materials).

All the regions are treated pretty equally and include useful maps that otherwise would be tough to find anywhere.

If you could only buy one book in preparation for your trip, you would not have any problem making this your "Bible". It is also a great size at 5 x 7.25 x 5/8's inches and printed on high quality paper.

I will always look to Lonely Planet as my first choice in travel books.

One of the nice things about the Lonely Planet guides is that they are very good about telling you which things are just tourist traps and which are genuinely worth seeing. I don't think I've yet run into any bad recommendations from this guide, and now that I live in Seattle (I bought the book several years before moving here), I've had pretty good opportunity to try out a lot of their suggestions.

There is lots of good information about interesting spots in many of Seattle's vibrant neighboorhood communities besides just the downtown and Pioneer Square areas. I also appreciated the information on various points of architectural interest, which has made me want to chase down another book about Seattle's architecture.

If you want to get to know Seattle beyond just the touristy stuff that every visitor to Seattle has seen (Pike's Place, the Needle, etc.), you can't go wrong with this book. Even if you are already familiar with Seattle, there is much you can learn from this book -- I intend to try out more of their recommended day trips to the surrounding areas soon!

I bought this book for about 7 months when I was in Seattle for a week. The book has only 200 pages, so that europeans can read the whole book during the fly. The book give you detailed information about facts about and around Seattle. A quickly reference about the history of Seattle can be founded here, but also information about the economy, arts, language and culture. There is a section of 20 pages with color maps needed for a good orientation. This book is highly recommended for all people travelling to Seattle.

Virgilio Krumbacher

As a resident of the area, I have say that this book is a great asset to my bookshelf. I often find myself looking through the book to find new and exotic things to do around the city. Sometimes it is more useful than using the phonebook because there are tidbits on culture, restaurant styles, and where the best places are to rent bikes, canoes, and rollerblades. When friends or relatives visit, I lend them the book so they can easily find the things they need around town. I highly reccommend this book to any traveler heading to the Seattle area!!!!!

If you can think of anything you'd ever want to know about Los Angeles, chances are you will find it in this book, and in DETAIL. I was hard-pressed to find anything missing that I knew about as an Angeleno. Historical entries include L.A. water czar William Mulholland, the Chandler families, the histories of movie theaters and many, many more pieces of information. A great book for those fascinated with L.A. history.

This is without a doubt the best book ever written about L.A.! It is amazingly comprehensive and virtually teams with fascinating stories on every page. Great for reading in bed before sleep. For every Angeleno, especially those unlucky ones who are far from home, this is a welcome companion. You will love it!

My wife bought a copy of this book for me as a birthday present, and I love it! This is an excellent resource for understanding the details, history and current state of Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County. I hope the authors will consider producing a companion volume to this work, perhaps called "Orange County A-Z".

i heard the hype about how popular this book was, who was i to stand in the way of this books progress. progress u ask? why of course, this book is probably the one most riviting influencial piece of american literature to date. it provides a compass, a compass to the soul and to our hearts. and itll give u direction in life... page 345-C4 put chills down my spine because it hit home.

Suprisingly, Thomas Bros. has again, given us a book to put on our list of "Top Books ever Written." Its beguilingly sexy appeal to life will keep you on your seats as you finally come to the realization that yes, even YOU will one day seek the help of...THE GUIDE! But don't take my word for it, read page 4697 and you too will become believer.

I have to agree with the other reader-- that surprise twist at the end of 110 (the freeway, not the page) was so unexpected! It's true, every page tells a story, and you absolutely won't believe 767 E5.

I just recently moved out to Los Angeles, and let me tell you, this map set is essential. Not only does it show EVERY street in Los Angeles County, but it is also regarded as a standard. Several times since I've been here I've noticed businesses will list their Thomas Guide page number in their ads and recordings when giving directions. If you're moving out to LA, or even just visiting for a while, this book is well worth the investment.

Trying to get around Los Angeles without this would just be plain silly. Ask anyone who's ever lived there or tried to get around...everyone knows and uses the Thomas Guide.

info - info - info -info - info . . .

This is your brain without the T-guide: {help}

Los Angeles: Where Anything Is Possible by Larry Brownstein is a marvelous, full-color, photographic showcase of the brilliant diversity of Los Angeles. Celebrations, sunsets, amazing architecture, outlandish costumes and much more fill this dazzling visual tribute. The text is very simple and brief, and offers brief and basic information concerning the festivals and other aspects captured on film. Especially recommended as a souvenir book for vacationers or armchair travelers, Los Angeles: Where Anything Is Possible could well serve as a template for photography celebrations of other major American communities.

What a joy it was to see these photos depicting Los Angeles in such a vibrant, insightful, amusing and delightful way!
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in L.A. It will expose you to hidden treasures and leave you smiling at the creative characters that call L.A. home

As a New Yorker who's visited the LA area over the years, I really appreciated how this book captured the diversity of people and places in the LA area. What impressed me the most was how colorful, in every sense of the word, Larry's photographs are. He captured places I've been in ways I'd never seen before. He introduced me to events and places I had never been. Mostly his photograpy made me smile and feel connected. Truly lovely and joyful!

The photographs alone are worthy of buying this book. There are plenty of rare b&w shots of mammoth from the turn of the 20th century on up and prime photos of the Mccoy legend. One of my favorite shots is Dave's Harley with skis strapped to it--circa late '30's! In addition, the text is nicely written giving you a sense of the key players in the development of mammoth as a ski town, mammoth in the world of ski racing, and nice vignettes on some unique things to the eastern sierra--from Schat's Bakkery to big horn sheep.

This book is awesome! The pictures are excelent and the information is great. Nice to know what Mammoth used to look like before it became the famous place that it is today.

Anyone who likes skiing will love this book. Forstenzer's familiarity with the Sierra makes it one that won't just sit around on the coffee table. He writes engagingly and tells great stories about the early days of skiing in Mammoth and its culture, how the ski area was built and some of the people involved. The photographs are astonishing and well worth the price alone, but in combination with the writing Forstenzer lets us glimpse what made Mammoth Mountain the great ski resort it has become. This is a terrific book about past and present skiing days at Mammoth. Like most any ski item associated with Warren Miller - breathtaking!

I fall immediately under the spell of good sea stories. Essex is among the frontranks. Phibrick supplies a richly textured background to his subject. The author always respects his readers curiousity and interest. He presents various theories and sociological information in an even handed and non judgemental manner. My only regret was the unresolved nature of the ending. I sensed the author had run out of interest towards the end. Yet one must admit that life has a way of being existential and not part of a process but punctuated by moments of crisis and survival. One is left with a greater respect for men and whales.

This a terrific collection of personal accounts gathered together for the first time in one volume. For well over a century Owen Chase's story of the sinking of the whaleship Essex has been the only firsthand documented account. Now side by side with Chase's tale is fellow shipmate Thomas Nickerson's account of the sinking and trial of the Essex crew lost at sea. As is to be expected, the style of the period makes itself felt throughout via word choice, spelling, etc. but more so in Mr. Chase's recounting. The real gem in this volume is Nickerson's retelling of the tale from his point of view, in spite of the strange twists of phrase his warmth and humor show through. If you enjoyed Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea" and want to delve a little deeper and explore some of his resources this is the perfect place to start.

This book is a collection of accounts, remarks, annotations, and letters from the people involved in the tragedy, their rescuers, and other notable persons, which paints a vivid portrayal of the life of a Nantuckett whaler in the 1800's.

After having killed off the whale population in the Atlantic, the New England whale ships pushed farther into the ocean to find their prey - the spermacetti whale. Hunting grounds in the Pacific were discovered and, after a year's journey rounding South America in which it lost half of its boats in a sudden gale, the whale ship Essex set out to fill its hold with the valuable whale oil armed with only 3 small boats. During a hunt, one of the boats was stove by the death throes of a speared sperm whale and returned to the ship. While enacting repairs, the pings of the first mate's hammer attracted the attention of a large bull sperm whale, a creature uniquely designed for ramming. The bull made two charges, collapsing the bow of the ship on either side of the keel, and 20 men found themselves alone, in 3 open boats, deep in the heart of the blue Pacific, with only faint hopes of rescue.

The Essex did not sink immediately, and the men were able to salvage a few casks of water, some navigational instruments, and hard biscuits (which would later be fouled by ocean spray and induce dehydration in the men). The first mate also had paper and pencil, which he used for keeping a daily diary of their attempts to survive the ravages of storms, thirst, hunger, and attacks by killer whales and large sharks.

I read this book prior to reading "In The Heart of The Sea", also by Nathaniel Philbrick, and I was glad I did. The first-person narratives really bring home the tale, and Philbrick's other book helps fill in the historical background. I would recommend reading this book with a good atlas, so that you can plot the narrator's progress as he tries to bring his ship to South America, against the wind, the current, and his dwindling strength, and realize just how screwed these sailors really were.

The pace of change in urban Nevada is faster than any author can keep up with. My 2nd edition from 1991 is hopelessly out of date as far as casinos are concerned (Vegas has an additional 200,000 residents and about 6 new casinos now) but the areas outside the cities don't change much. Anecdotes about Nevada's neverending cast of characters spice up the pages, which is more than can be said for the state's consistently bland road food that bores the weary traveller in search of a decent bite to eat. Includes a lot of information by using tables and lists avoiding the travel-writers' trap of waxing lyrical about every roadhouse and juke joint.

Nevada is a unique state, all right. There's no state quite like it in the US. Deke Castleman's book does a GREAT job of capturing every nook and cranny of this sometimes weird and quirky state. The alien landscape of Nevada and its rich western character of ghost towns, colorful history and "life on the edge" never cease to fascinate me. This book captures this Nevada quite nicely! Sure, it covers the Las Vegas casinos but it delves into the sparsely populated boom&bust ghost towns that make up the vast majority of the area of the state. Things are always changing in Nevada so Castleman can be forgiven if some things don't make it to press. For example, when I visited (spring of 2002) the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah had been closed for renovations. I had eagerly awaited staying there based on my reading about it in this and other books. Hopefully, they said it would reopen again sometime but they didn't say when. :( I hope it will be soon! Otherwise, everything is pretty much right on target. Can't wait for the next update!

This book reveals the true character of the greatest state in the Lower 48. With Deke Castleman's wit and the solid updating skills of Nancy Keller and others, it's surely the most complete treatment of a rapidly overpopulating but still magical state. There's a lot more to Nevada than casinos, and from Jackpot to Laughlin, this book will take you to the real Nevada, and a taste of the disappearing American West.