Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century (Eastern European Literature) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Europeana -Patrik Ourednik
At the end of Europeana Ourednik observes that, "memory is renewed wheras history removes the legitimacy of the living past by fixing it in time." I say observes because hardly in this unique work could I say that Ourednik writes, yet, at the same time, his observations have such ringing aesthetic dignity to them that this is undoubtedly a work of art rather than a textbook or any other expository chuck at history. Ourednik has created a memorial rather than a museum, living in the flux of memory rather than the stronghold of history. His observations are so quick and poignant that they are more caustic than nauseating (MTV) and more unsettling than tedious (CNN). I compare him to television not because he resembles it, but because he comes close to what in television is possible yet rarely attained.
Ourednik attends detailed horrors and tongue-in-cheek sidebars with the same cool, glib composure, for example, "Above the entrance to the Buchenwald concentration camp was the sign EVERYONE GETS WHAT HE DESERVES." A note that is read so quickly and so deeply ensconced in a two-page paragraph that it is almost glossed over. But it's not. Rather than glossing over these thousand and one facts, it is the unpartisan details that gloss over the reader, showering us in horror and humor alike. The potency of the Buchenwald sign is given no precedence over, "And no one wanted to be poor anymore and everyone wanted to have a refrigerator and a cordless telephone and a dog and a cat and a tortoise and a vibrator and take part in sports and attend psychoanalysis."
or,
"And young people looked toward the future and the wind ruffled the ears of corn and the sun rose on the horizon."
And the book reads in about two maniacal hours.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century (Eastern European Literature)

Click here for more information about Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century (Eastern European Literature)

Read More...

The Rough Guide to Europe On A Budget Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I travel to Europe a couple times a year for business -without a corporate budget! I needed a guide book that would help me find reasonable places to stay and the main sites to see in various European countries during my trips. (I rarely go to the same city twice.)
The Rough Guides are GREAT guide books. They are not for the backpacker crowd like Lonely Planet tends to be, nor the rich. Rough Guides cater to that middle crowd - me. Their single country or city guides go into great detail on each location. Don't miss these guidebooks if you are traveling extensively in one country. However, that's too much for my 2-3 day visits. That's where the "Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget" comes in.
The Guide covers 30 countries and appears to be an update of the The Rough Guide to Europe 2006 (Rough Guide Travel Guides). It gives a brief history, tips on culture, hotel and dining recommendations. It lists details on the top sightseeing sites. The photos and maps are better than many other publishers' single-country guide books. On my recent trips I found I was just as informed as my colleagues who invested (weight being a larger consideration than cost) in a single country guidebook.
"The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget" has plenty of information for the business or limited time traveler. If you are going to spend a week in a country sightseeing upgrade to a single country guidebook.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Rough Guide to Europe On A Budget

"The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget" is the ultimate guide to exploring this fascinating continent on a shoestring, with coverage of all the top sights, the clearest mapping of any guide and handy hints on how to save money. You can discover the highlights of Europe, from the vibrant capitals of London, Paris and Rome to the great outdoors, whether skiing in the Alps, hiking in the Tatras or surfing on the Portuguese coast. You can read about Europe's great attractions from the Sistine Chapel in Rome to the Aya Sofia in Istanbul. And with coverage of four new countries - Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and Bosnia-Hercegovina, "The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget" is more comprehensive than ever before. You can find practical advice on travelling around Europe, whether by InterRail, Eurail or bus, and what to see and do in each country. With up-to-date descriptions of the best hostels and budget hotels in Europe, bars in Europe, cafes, cheap restaurants, and European shopping and festivals this guide is the budget-conscious traveller's must have item for European trips.

Click here for more information about The Rough Guide to Europe On A Budget

Read More...

Lonely Planet France (Full Color Country Travel Guide) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've made >20 visits to France all together. Here are my reviews of the best guides....to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.
Frommer's
These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.
Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.
Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide
MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the Metro. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the center of the city.
Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!
Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.
Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)
Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Lonely Planet France (Full Color Country Travel Guide)

'France seduces travelers with its unfalteringly familiar culture woven around its café terraces, village-square markets and lace-curtained bistros with their plat du jour chalked on the board." - Nicola Williams, Lonely Planet writerOur PromiseYou can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it.Inside This Book'10 months of research in France13 authors137 mapsThousands of calories consumedInspirational photosClear, easy-to-use mapsPull-out city map3D plans of iconic sightsComprehensive planning toolsSpecial features

Click here for more information about Lonely Planet France (Full Color Country Travel Guide)

Read More...