The few pictures are quite nice but there are no vistas to admire
351281
The few pictures are quite nice but there are no vistas to admire.  The book, however, is a textbook.  The author states that Chanticleer does not identify individual plants because the garden is for pleasure, not a classroom.  However, the book is a textbook, not a book to read and enjoy for pleasure.  Having lived in the Delaware Valley for a long time and having visited Chanticleer on many, many occasions, I had hoped that the book would be a reminder of the physical beauty of the place now that I have relocated to another part of the country.  Funny thing, on my visits post publication date, I never saw anything about the existence of the book at the entry kiosk at Chanticleer.  Do you think that may be due to the fact that it's a text book and contrary to the pleasure garden goal?  Longwood does a much better job in this particular respect.  I wanted to pass this book along to friends to encourage them to visit Chanticleer when they travel to the Delaware Valley.  The book jacket is the best picture for that purpose.
2223377
Ignore the strange text (there's very little of it) and enjoy the incredible pictures, many of snakes one is unlikely to ever see elsewhere.
4256250
It is easy to read with beautiful pictures of Microfinance clients and some statistical data, but certainly not good enough to learn what Microdredit is all about.
4436746
Most of the photos here are from only a small number of locations -- mostly tourist hotels or homes owned by foreigners or wealthy Arabs.  Because of this, the style depicted isn't terribly Egyptian, but sort of a quasi-orientalist fantasy.  Virtually all of the interiors in this book could be from Morocco, or Los Angeles for that matter.  Still, it's well-produced, inexpensive, and worth a look if you're more interested in style and less in authenticity.
1507897
Maybe some folks will not see the point of putting photos in a travel guide since they are going there in person. But to me photos make the book (and the place) seem much more exciting, plus really help me decide which specific sites or sights to visit. While this book seems really great in other respects, it sure is lacking in photos.

Also, if you plan to bicycle around England, which seems pretty appealing to me, I'd get a different book at least for to actually carry on your trip. This book has very little info specifically tuned for cyclists, and as good as it might be otherwise you probably don't want to carry along two books on such a trip.
217225
I bought this along with a camera for a kitty - the pictures in the book aren't really that remarkable.
373782
Beautiful photos but it's all similar photos kind of boring after the second page, it's not even a good portfolio
3084519
This has some really nice pages, others are just blow-ups of parts of other pictures.  Some are too tiny to color
2747148
fringe view, not sure i buy it.  some good shots of the city
105083
I wish I had been able to preview the book before purchasing.  I went ahead and purchased due to the rave reviews and due to the recommendation found in the Well-Trained Mind forums.

Pros:  The pictures are bright and interesting.  It is written at a level that my five-year-old can understand the information being read aloud. The pictures are adequate to capture and keep her interest.

Cons:  I am disappointed in how little history is actually presented in some areas where evolution receives around 100 pages worth of attention.  I don't have a problem with evolution but perhaps it could have received a little less attention and more attention could have been paid in updating at least a little history from the year 2000.  I wish the events of September 11th were included but apparently no updates have been made since 2001.  My copy has a copyright of 2006, so I find the omission of the events such as September 11th, the wars In Iraq and Afghanistan, etc., to leave a huge gap in our world's history.  I am also not crazy about the mention of global warming as being a serious issue (at least global warming has finally been proven to be a hoax), so I will I be skipping over that section.  I am also not crazy about how Christians (especially Catholics) are painted to be violent and intolerant of anyone who happened to disagree with them, so I will make sure to point my daughter to different viewpoints on these and other subjects, as well. I understand that this an encyclopedia of world history, but I really wish there had been a bit more attention given to the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, not just a scant paragraph that barely even mentions it.

Overall:  I am not in love with this text but, in the absence of finding anything better at this point, I am trying to live with it.
53544
The photography is nothing earthshattering and it does not seek to make "art" out of the cars. In some ways this is disappointing, but in other ways the utilitarian pictures suit the nature of the cars being photographed and provide nice detail. These cars are, after all, not Gullwings. The history given is meaningful to owners and collectors, and with the pictures would be useful in restoration projects.
1893019
If you want written history, there isn't much here.  But the pictures of the county are nice.
840101
This book is primarily a compendium of color photographs of the SS UNITED STATES.  Most are of the ship tied up to a pier, or entering and leaving port in New York and Southampton.  Also included are a number of shots taken on board while underway.  Surprisingly given the age of the photos and the fact some were extracted from movie film, their basic quality is quite good.  Color photographs of the SS UNITED STATES are fairly rare, and this book fills a large void.  It would have been nice to have some pictures of the ship at sea operating at high speed, but this is not a significant shortcoming.

The text is very limited and consists of a brief overview of the ship's history, some abtracted log entries during trials, and a listing of the voyages during the active life of the ship.  The photo captions are comprehensive.

The author perpetuates the myth that the SS UNITED STATES was capable of steaming at 43 knots, through the use of an out of context engineering log book entry.  Her top sustained speed was between 38 and 39 knots subtracting the effects of wind, waves, and currents, and she had nowhere near the power required to reach anything substantially higher than this.

This is a book well worth having if you have a specific interest in the SS UNITED STATES or passenger liners in general.
1627797
just photos ...no how to do...I can see photos on the internet free
4353446
I was really looking forward to this book but found myself disappointed while looking/reading through it.  Almost all of the pictures are too close up to really get a feel for the whole outdoor area or to get ideas from the pictures.  I'd say at least 75 percent of the pictures were underwhelming because they were just too close up.  I think if they would have just changed that one thing about the book/pictures, it would have been an amazing coffee table book and been more inspirational to get ideas from.
The written part of the book was very interesting and the remaining photos were deserving of a 5-star review.
2560859
I have collected antique photographs for 25 years, and these are nothing unusual.  The author admits these men in the photos are probably not romantically inclined.  In about half of the photographs, the subjects aren't even touching.  Others show a hand on a shoulder or legs or arms touching.  There are a few rare photos of hand holding, but more in a fraternal fashion than a romantic fashion.  The subjects are of average looks and attire.  I think there are better photos, but more expensive photos, that could have made a much more interesting book.
4735534
You'd think that a NatGeo publication would come with gorgeous pictures. Not so. Here is a book about 100 places to take your kids to and there is not one single photograph. It provides interesting but brief narratives on discrete places across the globe. Really discrete - like Gion in Kyoto. The text does provide adequate description of these places but an actual snapshot to go along with the text snapshots would have been ideal.