General
Fodor’s
Fodor’s How to Pack
Fodor’s How to Pack by Laurel Cardone, copyright 1997 would be of more value if it better reflected the exigencies of post 9/11 travel. Carry-on luggage is much more of a pain given the limitations on carrying liquids and gels, the often much longer lines at security and longer distances between security and boarding, and the competition for overhead bin space – especially in coach class on airlines that charge for checked luggage. Long gone are the days of a front-of-cabin closet in which you could hang your garment bag.
Europe
France
Paris to the Past
Paris to the Past, Traveling Through French History by Train by Ina Caro (944) provides a series of day trips by train in and around Paris. (The most distant trips are via the TGV, France’s main high-speed train.) The chapters are chronologically arranged, starting with Saint-Dennis and the Middle Ages and ending with Chantilly and the Restoration in the first half of the nineteenth century. There are nods to the artists and architects responsible for the facades visited, but the focus is on the histories of the notable individuals who funded or otherwise facilitated their construction. Personally when it comes to older historical sights I’m much more interested in anthropology and engineering – the mechanics of daily living and the crafts that made living easier. The difference between head-type and heart-type tourism? Note that the only (non-text) illustrations in this book are the small maps fronting each section.
The sweet life in Paris
The sweet life in Paris: delicious adventures in the world’s most glorious — and perplexing — city by David Lebovitz provides an amusing look at contemporary living in Paris from the point of view of a foodie from Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto (specifically the long-time pastry chef at Chez Panisse, the seminal California Cuisine restaurant). (See the Books on Cooking post for a review of his book My Paris Kitchen.) Each chapter concludes with a couple of recipes, and the appendix includes a totally awesome source list. On my subsequent visit to Paris, I very appreciatively made my way through chocolate shops and culinary supply stores based on his recommendations. Two words: Patrick Roger. The best. They now also have a shop in Brussels, another center for bonbons.
Rough Guide
The Rough Guide to First-Time Europe
The Rough Guide to First-Time Europe though geared to the budget, backpacking traveler offers useful general travel advice followed by brief summaries of the logistics of travel in each European country. In common with the other Rough Guides, the font is small and the sidebars are on a hard to read light orange background.
Fodor’s
The Complete Guide to European Cruises
The Complete Guide to European Cruises is an okay resource if you are interested in an ocean-going visit to Europe in which the focus is on the time spent on the ship rather than on land. In contrast, river cruising puts the focus on the daily excursions – the ship is a convenience as a floating, mobile hotel rather than a destination in and of itself. Because the river cruise ships are much smaller and are traveling inland, the ports and the passing scenery are much more scenic and varied.
Asia
The Rough Guide to First-Time Asia by Lesley Reader, copyright February 2010. Focus on low-budget, solo traveler – but does include some useful advice for all travelers. The side-bar boxes are hard to read with a small font size (6 point?) on a pale ocher background.
China Survival Guide by Larry and Qin Herzberg, copyright 2011. Some useful insights strung together with sometimes overly chatty and slightly smarmy personal anecdotes. As two American-based professors of the Chinese language – one of whom grew up in Beijing – who generally visit China in the company of groups of students, they are both qualified and unqualified to advise monolingual North American baby boomer tourists.
Cruising / Caribbean
Permanent Passenger : My Life on a Cruise Ship by Micha Berman, copyright 2007. A slim memoir that starts out well with a motivating and methodical job search prior to college graduation but then gets annoyingly egotistical and repetitive.