The Best Historial Foundation For Travel in Britain.
581752
A good, fast read in preparation for travels in England. Lots of great stories anchored to the sites where they occurred. Narrative quality is good story telling. Rebecca Fraser is a good writer, albeit she has her favorite areas she expands on, it is all entertaining and highly informative. I studied English history in College where the books were as dry as the parchment they were transcribed from. Not the case with The Story of Britain. As a trained linguist I appreciate her attention to the transformations of language from Roman, Anglo Saxon, Dane and on.  These efforts offer understanding to names that carry such portions as "Shire." In addition, one cannot read the history of Britain without reference to the arts and great poems and literature. Fraser also creates a fine list of artifacts to visit in each period that expands the quality of any trip to Britain.
4495068
A great trip planning guide !
I read this book as well as James Herriot's Yorkshire for planning a two week trip there in October 2015. By using the great overview maps in each book it soon all became clear which destinations are worth seeking out. I really enjoyed the writing and photographs from the two persons who clearly love this area. As a landscape photographer I could hardly say more....you could use this as a beautiful coffee table conversation piece (as we used to say 40 years ago), or you could simply learn and enjoy the inherent charm within. My take is that a little English history overview would be a nice compliment to this book, if you plan to go to this lovely area..The writing and photos are very high quality; good work, lads.
1438886
I examined both this book and another similar work at my local bookstore and found this to be superior.  For me, the best feature is its detailed index of nearly every hamlet, village, town and city in Great Britain and Ireland.  My only criticism is that counties are not included as part of the identification in the index, e.g. I would have preferred, Windsor, Berkshire and not merely Windsor.
272084
I bought this book month before going to Switzerland. I read a little and decide to buy Swiss Pass Ticket and travel by train. It was great idea. The boks has a lot information about little towns which are on train route, historical facts and interesting stories. You can just travel by train and read info about almost every town or city you passing by. I think all Switzerland railway routes are desribed. Public and private railways.
I spent beautiful holidays using this travel guide, planned everything  and get a lot interesting information about Switzerland.
I recommend it to everyone who wants to know everything about Switzerland and its Railways.
1516856
A guide to each and every airfield in the UK that was used by Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain.

Following the regualr structure used by After the Battle magazine and its many and varied drill-downs on history, the book features then and now photos and text which describe how an airfield was used during the battle and - to put it bluntly - is it worth going to visit.

It is the concentration on this issue - what's there now - that made this book so valuable to me. Like many others I have an edition of The Battle of Britain - Then and Now; in my case it's the Mk. II. I had considered buying an updated edition many times to - ahead of a visit - to queue up which airfield I would go to. However, I never did. This was mainly because of cost. One has to acknowledge most of the data are unchanged from one version to another, so the hefty cost did not, at least to my mind, warrernt buying another.

So - with the very clear reminder of how Hawkinge went from a fully extant airfield to a glorious museum, but nonetheless a diminshed hidtoric site - I tried the Pen & Sword "Airfields of 11 Group' as a substitute. While good, I yearned for what AtB could have done.

And then, they did it.

I bought it and it is glorious!

I measure a book by what it tells me I don't know. This book achieves that in heaps.

Did you know there were two other Groups in the UK (Nos 9 and 14)? I didn't. While their location was on the edges of the aerial battlefield, I have never, ever, seen this referenced before.

But, here is the piece of information that left me gobsmacked. Just north of Heathrow lies the Heston Service Area, on the M4. During the war, it is a secondary airfield; some places to which units were diverted. Prior to the war, it had been a significant airport. In fact, it was where Chamberlain returned with the agreement selling out the Czechs. There is a photo in the book showing the spot where he stood, waving the agreement and intoning "...peace in our time."

History, living history.
4435925
Let me preface this review by saying that I am a British expat who has lived in the US for many years.  I am planning a trip back to Britain this year to revisit places I knew well as a child and to reacquaint myself with what is the "best of Britain".  We used Rick Steves extensively on a three month trip to Europe in 2007 and I consider myself a Rick Steves fan - until this book.
If you have never been to Britain before and have only a week to hit the highlights then this book might work for you.  If you are staying longer then he misses many of Britain's highlights while plowing through areas that would be left best unvisited.  One major example is his liking of Blackpool, a working class tourist resort on the northwest coast of England - think Coney Island.  He does not cover any part of Devon and Cornwall, home to Britain's best beaches, cliffs and moors.  There is nothing accidental about the fact that very many British holidaymakers visit those counties if they choose to stay in the country in summertime.  They go because those areas are exquisite and beautiful, and they have the best weather in Britain.
Steves devotes several pages to York but omits Chester and Canterbury.  These are major tourist destinations on anyone's schedule, similar to York but very different.
He also omits the southern part of Wales or northern Scotland.  In short if you can't get there conveniently by public transportation then it is not worth a mention, although he suggests that several areas of Britain do require a car.
I will have to buy other guide books for this trip as Steves just doesn't have it together for this book.  Grrr!
3495689
This book includes the most useful information about London. It's a great travel companion and the layout and maps are excellent
1078982
I have found these "Traveller's" series books to be excellent. I also have copies for France, Paris, Germany, and if there is one, will get it for my trip to Portugal in March 2016. Of course, I have recommended them to other traveling friends. I appreciate it as I get good historical background to the place I'm in.
546339
This is a hand fitting comprehensive guide, with all the info needed to plan travel. Several major city maps are included, along with guides to points of interest, and best ways to get to and from, times of operation, costs, etc. Rarely, they even advise 'skip this and do that'. Lodging and meals and some entertainments are rated reasonable, expensive or pricey. I have yet to find more than a dozen 'reasonables' in all of the UK. Maybe I missed more in the rest of Europe.

This is a great book if you're planning to travel. It's even a great book for the armchair traveler. Pictures and commentary make you feel as if you're already there.
974885
This a guide that is most useful to plan ahead and get recommendations suitable to the first traveler. Just wonderful!
4273275
I've lost track of how many times I've seen this excellent survey of the royal residences and the history there occurred therein. Sir Huw gives a wonderful commentary as he takes us to Buckingham Palance, the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, and many others, including the royal yacht Britannia. Well researched and well executed, "Treasures of the British Crown" entertains as it instructs. I'll be ordering a new copy myself very soon!
4084777
Fedor's has been most diligent in updating its traditional line of guide books.  They've kept the famous and very useful rating system for attractions, hotels, and places to eat, but added more pictures, maps, diagrams, and a format that features bite-sized chunks of information and lots of website addresses.  This "Fodor's 2016 Guide to London" is a wonderful resource for London, still one of the great cities of the world, with hundreds of years of history on display in buildings, monuments, and museums, along with the most up-to-date culture, art, shopping and entertainment available anywhere in the world.

The guide opens with an introduction to London, then tours the various neighborhoods for their individuals attractions.  Later chapters address where to eat, where to stay, and where to find the shopping, art, and entertainment.  The concluding segments include tips on traveling around the great metropolis, including a diagram of "the tube" and  a pull-out map of the city.  This guide is pretty close to one stop shopping for planning.  Anyone willing to invest a little time can put together a great visit.  London is an expensive place and planning ahead will likely be rewarded in both time and money.  This reviewer especially appreciated reading the many options on offer for touristing; there really is something for everyone.  Highly recommended.
1447027
This is the finest and most accurate book on Castles in Scotland you will  find. Complete with photographs and illustrations, Martin Coventry gives  the reader an accurate historical-to-present story, complete with over 290  pages of locations and contacts, of almost every Castle in Scotland. Mr  Coventry is considered by many as Scotlands foremost authority on anything  to do with Castles in Scotland. As the producer and paranormal investigator  for the Adventures Beyond series, I had the opportunity to meet and  interview Mr. Coventry in person. It was partly due to his recommendation  that we decided on investigating what is reported to be the most Haunted  and evil castle in all of Europe, Hermitage Castle. Mr. Coventry prides  himself on being as accurate as possible and has done immense research on  every Castle he lists in his books. This book is an excellent informational  tool as well as an indepth guide book.
Anyone interested in Castles in  Europe or planning a visit to Scotland needs to get a copy of this book.  Mr. Coventry also puts out a smaller handbook of Haunted Castles and  locations called, 'A WEE GUIDE to The Haunted Castles of Scotland', which  deals specifically with those castles reported as being Haunted.  This book  is a must for those interested in the medieval fortresses which are rich in  history and shrouded in legend and mystery. This book provided Adventures  Beyond with accurate hard to find historical and factual background  information on both of the Castles we investigated in our documentaries,  Threave Castle, in Castle Douglas and Hermitage Castle in the South of  Scotland.  Well worth it at twice the price.
1819038
I have traveled to England a dozen times and I own current editions of 12 different guidebooks. This is far and away the best. It has the most useful information in the easiest-to-use format. For one thing it has all the travel planning facts you need. In addition, the destinations are described with writing that is evocative, imaginative and accurate. The recommendations are reliable and I was never steered wrong in selecting lodgings and restaurants. Before I found this book, I had to combine four different guidebooks to get all the information that's included in this one. From a veteran traveler, I highly recommend the Lonely Planet guide.
3713247
I have visited London every year for the past 15 years.  Because of that, I thought I had really seen so much that I was worried about my month long visit this past January.  That is, until I found this book.  So much history, fun facts, and locations that I would've never considered visiting or seeing lay in these pages, that I decided to only bring this book as my guide.

He presents this guide in a way that makes you want to learn more.

Since this time, I have purchased all of us books and look forward to returning to the UK to check out all of the interesting places he describes.
3935324
I love to travel by armchair, and Frommers Greece Day by Day, gives me an outstanding holiday every time I open it. Its 700 pages are loaded with color photos and information and trivia that make me come away knowing that eventually I want to hold that book in my hand as I travel to the island. (Once I'm there, this heavy guidebook would remain in the hotel room by day, to be studied again each evening.)

Because I am rarely able to travel, I have to pick my holidays carefully, and I love using travel guides to make my decisions.  Frommers' guide has really sold me on Greece.  There are so many details, so much history and lore in the pages that this guide quickly put Greece on my short list.

Plenty of attention is paid to the cities, but even more is paid to the coast and smaller islands, detailing where to find ruins, museums, food and fun. You'll find so much information here that your only problem will be picking your ideal itinerary from all the choices presented.
455234
While visiting London during summer, I went on a tour featuring British Rock'n'Roll history, people and places. The tour in itself is a must for almost everyone that ever listened to British rock bands in their life, and the tour guide was using this book as a prop. Back in the States, I purchased the book, and it is an excellent read, complementing the places I've seen with a lot of detail. Even if you'll never make it to London or you intend to visit in the near future, this book would provide a plethora of information about many places of interest. By reading it, you'll realize how many of our cultural icons originated, lived, performed, died in this amazing city that is London.