Pacific

Bobbie Hasselbring has brought something new and wonderful to the table in the world of travel guides. Not only does her book "The Chocolate Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest" feature terrific places to stay, but she also rates the best chocolate desserts, candy, baked goods, and frozen treats in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. My mouth started watering almost as soon as I picked it up. The author has listed "Chocolate Happenings" which are events that focus on chocolate, plus chocolate facts, stories profiles and tips. I love this book!

Bobbie Hasselbring's book is the ultimate guide to fine chocolate around the Pacific Northwest. For all of us who trek around the area, we have much to look forward to, chocolately speaking. I found listings for restaurants, bakeries, and candy stores which I hadn't known of. Now, thanks to the Chocolate Lover's Guide, business travel can become travel for pleasure!

In addition to these places I had not know of, I had enjoyed chocolate at several of the places listed, and find this book to be credible and reliable.

I was thrilled to find this book before Christmas. I gave this book, along with a box of Fran's Chocolates (in Seattle), to a friend who was ecstatic. I was, too, because I sampled several chocolates at Fran's while buying the gift.

The Chocolate Lover's Guide is crammed with information the traveler and chocolate lover needs--where to stay, where to eat, where to find the best brownies and truffles. Plus it includes some great recipes. The author has a deft, lighthearted touch that makes you want to keep on reading. It's like nibbling on really good fudge, you can't stop with just a taste. And it's a perfect gift. >

This is the best guidebook EVER! My wife and I recently moved to Portland and this book is what guided us into a great apartment, cool neighborhoods, fun shops, beautiful parks, and awesome restaurants. We've now lived here for 6 months and still use the book often. The authors definitely know the city. Whether you're moving here or just visiting, getting this book is crucial.

When you browse through the US Travel books for something on Oregon or Portland, this is the one book that you can find that goes beyond the cool places, the neat restaurants and the best deals in hotels. It's comprehensive in terms of including information that a person considering the move to the city will find extremely useful! Thanks, City Smart!

I loved it. It was funny and witty and interesting. For the person moving to Portland, this book is for you. It outlines the areas where one should and should not live. It give detailed and interesting reviews of everything from children's parks to gay bars. It illustrated the history of Portland perfectly and was a hoot to boot. Five stars!

Alan Watts did an excellent job in putting together this guide. The topos and maps are high quality, the photos are excellent and it's easy to navigate. But what really sets this guide apart from many others is the quality of the historical perspective and the overall readability of the text. Watts played an important part in the development of sport climbing in the US and thus was a controversial figure for years. His treatment of those tumultious times is worth the cost of the guide.

One of the best guidebooks out there. The topos and pictures are clear and the descriptions are detailed. The author has probably done all the climbs so he should know. The topos even give specific gear needed at certain places on the climb. Where the author's climbing style lays is obvious, he seems to dislike anything with a chimney. Quality of routes are measured by a 4 star system. The author uses R and X rating. This guide has everything you could ask for. If you only want one guide to the area, this is it.

This is the greatest guide book to Smith Rock State Park ever. It has it all. That is all there is to it. This is the perfect guide to the perfect climbing area.

This book gave me a great description of the routes to some of the most scenic and captivating peaks in Washington. I especially liked the way he gave other options to chose from if you didn't like the route he chose. The only problem I had was a very minor one, I felt he could have added several more Olympic peaks like the bailey range, stone, and some lesser known (which means less crowded) peaks like McCartney or Warrior. Other than that this book is a must have for everyone from a scrambler to a technical mountaineer looking to climb the Highest peaks of Washington

Smoot bills his book as a "Selected Climbs" for the rest of us. I'm not quite sure I buy that, but I do think this book deserves a spot on the shelf nestled in between "Selected Climbs" and Beckey.

Compared to Goldman's "75 Scrambles", it is noticably better in some respects: it covers a wider range of climbing (all the way from class 2 to easy class 5); it covers a wider variety of climbing (more snow routes); and it does a better job at providing and describing options beyond just the most popular route.

I think the book is great because it combines
routes from 4 different books.
3 of Beckeys,one the Guide to the Olympics.
It shows the approch roads, trails, every thing on the same page.
I don't have to figure out which Face or route to do
he has already picked the best routes.
There is a lot of climbs that I have wanted to do
but haven't done them because I wasn't sure about the
trails or logging roads in the area.
Now I can do them.
A lot of the climbs seem to be easy on the technical side.
I like that, Now I don't need a partner just
take off on the spur of the moment and go climb something.
There are also some good moderate climbs for a
weekend party of climbers.
I think he has made a good choice of mountains,
the "must do" ones for Alpine climbers.
They are cool looking and in scenic areas.
Some thing for everyone except the hard core rock jock.
The best thing about the book is the author has done
all the home work, you don't have to wade
through a bunch of stuff. Just Climb

I really like the way this book is organized. There are sections such as "Desserts" and "Canyons". When I went to Arizona the last time, I wanted to visit desserts, and I wanted to hike some Canyons, so I could simply read these sections and learn pretty much everything I wanted to know, rather than piece this information together as other travel books make you do (since they are usually organized by area). The organization also allows you to skip information such as "Art" and "History". Of course in the end I ended up being interested in these sections after all, so I read them in the care while I was there. And once again, I could focus on these sections rather than finding this information organized by area.

Long story short: I really like reading about an area by topic of interest, rather than by location. It makes travel planning much easier. Of course, your need may be different (you may be in a certain town and want to figure out what to do for instance...). In that case, this book still is useful (it DOES have short sections on individual locations), but there are other books I use for that type of research.

Overall, I can highly recommend this book. In fact, I will order some of the other books from this series for different states.

Compass Guides are the best series I have ever read. They are literate and beautifully illustrated, laid out well and very logical to use. Of the Compass Guides I've read, Cheek's Arizona is the best (followed closely by his Santa Fe Guide).

He writes with wit and style. He's not afraid to share his opinion, but never takes for granted that his is the only viewpoint. He also adds a human element that few other guides offer. Frequently you'll find sidebar articles that introduce you to a person whose story particularly illustrates the idea or place in question.

I lived in Arizona for 4 1/2 years. This is the guide that I used to learn the state. I would recommend it to anyone. When my wife and I married in Sedona, Arizona we sent copies of this book to our relatives to acquaint them with the wonderful place they'd be visiting. All who read it were delighted. You'll be, too.

This book is incredible. It gives all kinds of details ranging from local interest and lore to general information about the state. It reads like a novel and yet is very informative. Even if you have no intention of ever visiting Arizona, this is still a wonderful book to read and the photographs are breath-taking.

A very helpful guide for driving up or down my favorite coast in the world! Doerper takes you almost mile by mile - was particularly helpful as I drove from Sebastopol up to Menocino, heretofore undiscovered country for me. Galen Rowell's photographs have always been a treat. His death was a real loss, but at least you can tour the CA coast through his eyes in this book.

I liked this book enough to buy Doerper's corollary for the Pacific Northwest to use this year:)!

I bought this book before traveling from San Francisco down Big Sur (about halfway), and it has great coverage of the Big Sur coast, the Santa Cruz area, and San Francisco.

Costal California is more than just a guide book to the California coast. A first glance, Galen Rowell's spectacular photography, 25 full-color maps, wine labels, and historical photographs tell you that there can't be a better illustrated guide for this local. When you start to read this book, you find that it is more than just travel data. John Doerper writes, "The California coast is as much a state of mind as it is a place. Its people, and the stories and myths they have woven around this magic coast, are as captivating as the spectacular scenery." He obviously kept this thought in mind as he wrote this inspirational , entertaining, and expert guide.

How good is this book? Another guidebook recomedns reading it! This book gives great insight into the history of Las Vegas as well as the individual hotels. While it is a little short on specific information, this guide more than makes up for it with specacular color photography and well written articles. A must read for those who want to know more than what the Chamer of Commerce or the Convention and Visitors Bureau will admit.

This is not your typical tour book. The author acutally suceeds in being entertaining as well as informative. Las Vegas is made tangible and not just rated in terms of good or bad.

The typical tour book stuff is here including hotel rates and restaurant reviews. However, if you want to know more, it's there. It provides the description of a hotel as well as detailing its history. In Vegas, even the hotels have personality. Every subject is handled in a like manner. This has the added bonus of making the book feel more like a narative.

There are small excerpts from popular authors for even more perspective. Perhaps, perspective is the right word for this book. The reader is treated to a point of view and not just a vague recollection of facts and figures. This is the first tour book I ever read cover to cover.

Though it has some slow parts, over all it is a great quick history / guide of Las Vegas. Even if you've been there, you'll find amusement in some of the tales or info included. I did.

I work in tourism, so I'm required to know all I can about Vegas. Castleman's Las Vegas is more than another guide. It can be read like an exciting novel that you don't want to put down. Or it's index makes it a quick reference tool. It's all here. History, the characters, the gaming, the hotels, weddings, maps, side trips, bargains - everything in a good size to carry and read on the plane.

By the time you land, you will feel like a Vegas veteran and save time and money.

Besides a great read, this book is worth the price simply for the fantastic photography.

This is such a well structured and informative guide that I do not make my numerous trips into wine country without it.

Its one great failing is that the publishers have not seen fit to update it in over 7 years!

I shopped around extensively at local travel bookstores to find a good wine country book, and I think this one is the best. It has beautiful color pictures on almost every page. Many of the pictures show the wine labels, which helps make the book a nice souvenir for you to remember the wine/winery later. The pictures are supplemented with insightful commentary on the wines, history of each winery, and even pictures/descriptions of the restaurants, lodgings. The maps are also in color, and are detailed for each town. Also included is an events/festivals list and analysis of wine vintages by year. All that, and it's still small enough to carry with you when you visit the wineries.

My wife and I were completely delighted following the "tours" in this guide. The maps, directions and winery descriptions were second to none! Anyone contemplating a trip to the California wine country should consider this book a MUST. Of course, if your not planning a trip, you will be after reading this! We stayed at two different B&B's recommended by the book and were very pleased. The book accurately depicted the quality of the rooms and hospitality of the staff. Again, I highly recommend this wine country guide.

Honestly? I can say, without any hesitation: this is the most extraordinary work of literature I have ever read. The prose is breathtaking, the characters are like relatives to me now, and the experiences within the book will be familliar to any Native person who reads it.

How this woman missed out on the Nobel Prize (or the Booker, at *least*) is an utter mystery to me.

If you are an Indigenous person of any stripe, do yourself a favor and buy this book. Patricia Grace is a literary kaumaatua, and I thank her for her words.

Although I read this book some time ago, I will try to make a review for some other readers passing by this page. It is about the different lifes and happenings of the members of a Maori family, mainly three women of the family, and the story spins around in time, in past and present. This is the second book I have read written by Patricia Grace and I'm lokking forward to reading some more of her work. I like her style so much, the way she can express so many feelings; you get into the story and the main caracters as you read the book, and you wish it didn't come to an end.

this is a great book to rea

This is a great insider's look into San Francisco. Whether you live in the city, or are just there for the weekend it is a must have. The shops/restaurants are all broken down by area, and there are maps that will get you anywhere. There are so many unique places in San Francisco, and this guide has scouted them out for you. It would make a great stocking stuffer.

Get ready for this visual journey. There is no other guide book like it. I love the pictures, I love the descriptions, I love learning about the people behind their businesses. If you're looking for a new way to look at an old city - this is your book.

The Crown Guide takes a very different spin on a City Guide. It gives insight into various types of truly unique businesses in the City that are not the standard trendy places so often frequented by the SF crowds. From delectible new bars restaurants, to unique shoe and clothing boutiques, to creative home stores, the Crown Guide has selected excellent places to check out. Adorned with great color photos of these unique establishments and their owners, you get a great sense of what each one offers. As a San Francisco native who likes to try out all the interesting places in town, I've found several cool new places I was unaware of and have been pleasantly surprised with those I've visited so far. For those daring tourists who want to get to know SF beyond Fisherman's Warf and the Cable Cars, a definite must!