travel

Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory

Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2010: There is, as everyone knows, no place in the world changing as fast, and at such scale, as China. Accounts of the upheaval can be breathless and even alarming, but Peter Hessler is the calmest and most companionable of correspondents. In his reporting for the New Yorker and in his books River Town, Oracle Bones, and now the superb Country Driving, he's observed the past 15 years of change with the patience and perspective--and necessary good humor--of an outsider who expects to be there for a while. In Country Driving, Hessler takes to the roads, as so many Chinese are doing now for the first time, driving on dirt tracks to the desert edges of the ancient empire and on brand-new highways to the mushrooming factory towns of the globalized boom. He's modest but intrepid--having taken to heart the national philosophy that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission--and an utterly enjoyable guide, with a humane and empathetic eye for the ambitions, the failures, and the comedy of a country in which everybody, it seems, is on the move, and no one is quite sure of the rules. --Tom Nissley

From the bestselling author of Oracle Bones and River Town comes the final book in his award-winning trilogy, on the human side of the economic revolution in China.

In the summer of 2001, Peter Hessler, the longtime Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, acquired his Chinese driver's license. For the next seven years, he traveled the country, tracking how the automobile and improved roads were transforming China. Hessler writes movingly of the average people—farmers, migrant workers, entrepreneurs—who have reshaped the nation during one of the most critical periods in its modern history.

Country Driving begins with Hessler's 7,000-mile trip across northern China, following the Great Wall, from the East China Sea to the Tibetan plateau. He investigates a historically important rural region being abandoned, as young people migrate to jobs in the southeast. Next Hessler spends six years in Sancha, a small farming village in the mountains north of Beijing, which changes dramatically after the local road is paved and the capital's auto boom brings new tourism. Finally, he turns his attention to urban China, researching development over a period of more than two years in Lishui, a small southeastern city where officials hope that a new government-built expressway will transform a farm region into a major industrial center.

Peter Hessler, whom The Wall Street Journal calls "one of the Western world's most thoughtful writers on modern China," deftly illuminates the vast, shifting landscape of a traditionally rural nation that, having once built walls against foreigners, is now building roads and factory towns that look to the outside world.

The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2010 (Unofficial Guides)

Test Your Disney Smarts!
Amazon-exclusive quiz from author Bob Sehlinger

1. Which restaurant has the best view at Walt Disney World? A. LakeView Restaurant, B. The California Grill, C. Cindarella’s Royal Table

2. Afternoon milkshakes for two kids will cost you: A. $5.72, B. $8.38, C. $12.59

3. Disney Kids’ Meals are available for children of what ages? A. 3-9, B. 3-11, C. Under 18

4. When is the best time to take the kids on Dumbo the Flying Elephant? A. Before 10 a.m. or after 9 p.m., B. Immediately following lunch, C. At exactly 3:15 p.m.

5. Which Disney theme park is five times the size as the Magic Kingdom? A. Disney’s Hollywood Studios, B. Epcot Center, C. Animal Kingdom

6. The best time to visit Walt Disney World is: A. On your child’s birthday, B. The day of your child’s final exam in math class, C. During the period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

Answers: 1)B, 2)B, 3)A, 4)A, 5)C, 6)A

Five Unofficial Ways to Prepare For Your Trip to Walt Disney World
Amazon-exclusive content from author Bob Sehlinger

1. Select the time of year for your visit: Walt Disney World is busiest Christmas Day through New Year’s Day. Thanksgiving weekend, the week of Washington’s birthday, the first full week of November, spring break for colleges, and the two weeks around Easter are also times when visitation can peak at 92,000 visitors in a single day. The park is far less crowded during the off season, but be advised that the parks often open late and close early during that time. You can find detailed charts and info on the best times to visit in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

2. Shape up: Visiting Disney World requires levels of industry and stamina more often associated with running marathons. As you plan your time at Disney World, consider your physical limitations. It’s exhausting to rise at dawn and run around a theme park for 8 to 12 hours day after day. Every Disney World vacation itinerary should include days when you don’t go to a theme park and days when you sleep in and take the morning off. Plan these to follow unusually long and arduous days.

3. Formulate your park plan: First-time visitors should see Epcot first; you’ll be able to enjoy it without having been preconditioned to think of Disney entertainment as solely fantasy or adventure. See Animal Kingdom second. Like Epcot, it’s educational, but its live animals provide a change of pace. Next, see Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which helps transition from the educational Epcot and Animal Kingdom to the fanciful Magic Kingdom. Also, because DHS is smaller, you won’t walk as much or stay as long. Save the Magic Kingdom for last; it’s the park that epitomizes Disney World for most visitors.

4. Create your touring plan: Which rides and attractions appeal most to you? What are you willing to forgo? Planning your day in advance can save you up to four hours of waiting time in line. We have developed a hierarchy of categories that will help you evaluate each ride and plan the best way to enjoy them all. For example, SUPER-HEADLINERS are the best attractions the theme park has to offer – and they usually have the longest lines. MINOR ATTRACTIONS are midway-type rides, small “dark” rides (cars on a track, zigzagging through the dark) and walk-through attractions—which can be a lot of fun, without the long wait. Remember that bigger and more elaborate doesn’t always mean better. See examples of touring plans (and create your own) in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

5. Getting hungry?: There are three lessons to learn before you dine in the parks. One: Theme-park restaurants rush their customers in order to make room for the next group of diners. If you want to linger over your expensive meal, don’t order your entire dinner at once. Order drinks. Study the menu while you sip, then order appetizers. Tell the waiter you need more time to decide among entrees. Order your main course only after appetizers have been served. Dawdle over dessert. Two: If you’re dining in a theme park and cost is an issue, make lunch your main meal. Entrees are similar to those on the dinner menu, but prices are significantly lower. Three: Disney adds a surcharge of $4 per adult and $2 per child to certain popular restaurants during weeks of peak attendance, including Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and in 2009 every day from Memorial Day through July 4.

• In 2008, combined Walt Disney World Resort© theme park attendance reached over 51 million, with the Magic Kingdom alone drawing over 17 million visitors. (Orlando Convention and Visitor Bureau)
• Despite signifcant downturns in the economy, Disney theme parks have maintained attendance rates and made gains in attendance at some parks.
• Walt Disney World Resort theme parks are rated best in the world. earning high marks for things outside of the traditional theme park experience. Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival, which takes place for six weeks every fall and showcases food from twenty-five countries, was rated by Forbes Traveler as one of the Best U.S. Food and Wine Festivals.

Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Maui Revealed)

USA Today calls it, "An authoritative and in-depth look at all that the island offers." The author is a resident who personally and anonymously reviews every facet of Maui. From restaurants to helicopter companies to scuba to beaches to trails, he sees it all and shows you the best Maui has to offer.

This all new fourth edition is the most comprehensive guidebook ever written for Maui. Hawai’i resident and best-selling author, Andrew Doughty, actually hikes all the trails, rides the boats, scuba dives the reefs, dines in the restaurants, reviews all the resorts, snorkels the coastline, explores the hidden waterfalls and shares all the secrets that he finds. Everything is reviewed anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Maui so exciting.

Rick Steves' Paris 2010

Rick Steves' Italy 2010 with map

The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed

The finest guidebook ever written for Kauai and the only one written by a writer who anonymously reviews the island. He visits every beach, restaurant, activity and trail on the island. The result is this comprehensive, humorous and easy-to-read full color guide that will lead you to more adventures than any other book. A must for travelers.

The finest guidebook ever written for Kaua’i. Now you can plan your best vacation-ever. This all new seventh edition is a candid, humorous guide to everything there is to see and do on the island. Best-selling author and longtime Hawai'i resident, Andrew Doughty, unlocks the secrets of an island so lush and diverse that many visitors never realize all that it has to offer. Explore with him as he reveals breathtaking trails, secluded beaches, pristine reefs, delicious places to dine, relaxing resorts, exciting waterfalls, colorful canyons and so much more. Every restaurant, activity provider, business and resort is reviewed personally and anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Kaua'i so exciting.



The most up-to-date and accurate information available anyplace with up-to-the-minute changes posted to our website



Frank, brutally honest reviews of restaurants, hotels and activities show you which companies really are the best...and which to avoid-no advertisements



Driving tours let you structure your trip your way, point out sights not to be missed along the way and are complemented by 100 spectacular color photographs



15 specially-created maps in an easy-to-follow format with mile markers-so you’ll always know where you are on the island



Clear, concise directions to those hard-to-find places such as deserted beaches, tropical jungles, hidden waterfalls, rugged scenic coastlines, freshwater lava pools and scores of other hidden gems listed nowhere else



Exclusive chapter on Kaua'i’s beaches with detailed descriptions including ocean safety



Unique Adventures chapter and over 60 pages of exciting activities from ATVs to ziplines



Fascinating sections on Hawai'i's history, culture, language and legends



Companion website with links to every business, events calendar, over 70 resort reviews complete with aerial photos-so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront



"The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook" covers it all-from the mile-high summit of Mt. Wai'ale'ale, to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Kaua'i visit. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a longtime kama'aina, you will find out more about Kaua'i from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook."

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes! (Food Network)

COOKBOOK: GUY FIERI: DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES:

The Complete Walt Disney World 2010

The Definitive Disney Handbook

On the heels of capturing eight national book awards, the best-selling Complete Walt Disney World series returns with The Complete Walt Disney World 2010. Now with more than 500 full-color photographs, this show-and-tell extravaganza rates and reviews nearly 700 attractions, restaurants, shops and hotels and offers hundreds of helpful tips.

New attraction coverage includes the refurbished Space Mountain, the revamped Hall of Presidents and the all-new American Idol Experience. As for planning your trip, illustrated articles make it easy to choose the right theme-park tickets, understand the Disney Dining Plan and save a lot of time and money. Young families in particular will find the book helpful, as the abundance of photos give children a way to read it with their parents. Eye-catching images show attractions, hotels, restaurants and more.

Award-Winning Advice

The only independent Disney guide ever honored by the Walt Disney Company, The Complete Walt Disney World is the winner of Disney's iParenting Media Award for Outstanding Family Product. Other honors include Travel Guide of the Year and Nonfiction Book of the Year.

Ten Features Found Only in The Complete Walt Disney World 2010:

1. What's New Learn everything that's new or different at Disney with a handy summary right at the front of the book.
2. Plan Perfect Theme Park Days New Planning Your Day sections let you learn the best days of the week to visit each park, the best rides for your unique children, and how long the lines will probably be at each attraction for every hour of the day.
3. Character Locators Love Tinker Bell? Cinderella? The Mad Hatter? These lists show exactly where to meet dozens of Disney stars at every theme park.
4. Become the Ultimate Disney World Gamer Insider tips help you rack up incredible scores at Disney's ride-through shooting arcades, including the new 3-D Toy Story Mania.
5. Lions, Tigers, Giraffes... Oh My! All-new Animal Kingdom wildlife guides feature fab photos and fascinating facts. Habitat maps make it easy to spot your favorite exotic creatures.
6. Dude Looks Like a Lady Interesting backstories, histories, science secrets, Fun Finds, Fun Facts (Tinker Bell is sometimes a man?) and Hidden Mickeys help make every attraction interesting for everyone in your group.
7. New Photo-Filled Shopping Guides See unique souvenirs sold at each theme park, know what they cost and where to find them. Learn which stores offer the best items for you.
8. Totally Awesome Water Park Tips Learn how to catch major air on Disney's water slides and win its downhill races. Helpful details about every pool, river and slide let you decide which ones are too wild--or mild--for your family.
9. See Your Room Before You Book It Don't just read about the Disney resort hotels, see what they look like! Over a hundred new hotel photos include landscapes, swimming pools and best of all, rooms. Expanded reviews include pool features such as slides and waterfalls and children's activities such as pirate-themed scavenger hunts. Comprehensive specs include when each hotel was last renovated and how far it is from each theme park. Learn about the three new Disney Vacation Club timeshares as well as non-Disney hotels such as the huge new Hilton next door and the rebuilt Holiday Inn at Downtown Disney.
10. Who Ya Gonna Call? Conveniently located on the book's last page, an expanded Walt Disney World telephone directory lists over 90 rarely published numbers, including those for medical and dental emergencies, Lost and Found, even Special Occasion Cakes.

Authors Julie and Mike Neal have been to Walt Disney World more than 1,400 times, and visit weekly. They live on Sanibel Island, Fla.

Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life

In this sequel to her New York Times bestsellers Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, the celebrated "bard of Tuscany" (New York Times) lyrically chronicles her continuing, two decades-long love affair with Tuscany's people, art, cuisine, and lifestyle.
 
Frances Mayes offers her readers a deeply personal memoir of her present-day life in Tuscany, encompassing both the changes she has experienced since Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany appeared, and sensuous, evocative reflections on the timeless beauty and vivid pleasures of Italian life. Among the themes Mayes explores are how her experience of Tuscany dramatically expanded when she renovated and became a part-time resident of a 13th century house with a stone roof in the mountains above Cortona, how life in the mountains introduced her to a "wilder" side of Tuscany--and with it a lively  engagement with Tuscany's mountain people. Throughout, she reveals the concrete joys of life in her adopted hill town, with particular attention to life in the piazza, the art of Luca Signorelli (Renaissance painter from Cortona), and the pastoral pleasures of feasting from her garden.  Moving always toward a deeper engagement, Mayes writes of Tuscan icons that have become for her storehouses of memory, of crucible moments from which bigger ideas emerged, and of the writing life she has enjoyed in the room where Under the Tuscan Sun began.
 
With more on the pleasures of life at Bramasole, the delights and challenges of living in Italy day-to-day and favorite recipes, Every Day in Tuscany is a passionate and inviting account of the richness and complexity of Italian life.

Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook

The finest guidebook ever written for the Big Island and the only one written by writers who anonymously review the island. They visit every beach, restaurant, activity and trail on the island. The result is this comprehensive, humorous and easy-to-read full color guide that will lead you to more adventures than any other book. A must for travelers.

This all-new fifth edition is a candid, humorous guide to everything there is to see and do on the Big Island to plan your best vacation--ever. Best-selling author and longtime Hawai'i resident, Andrew Doughty, unlocks the secrets of an island so vast and diverse that many visitors never realize all that it has to offer. Explore with him as he reveals breathtaking trails, secluded beaches, pristine reefs, delicious places to dine, relaxing resorts, an active volcano and so much more. Every restaurant, activity provider, business and resort is reviewed personally and anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes the Big Island so exciting.



• The most up-to-date and accurate information available anyplace with up-to-the-minute changes posted to our website



• Frank, brutally honest reviews of restaurants, hotels and activities show you which companies really are the best…and which to avoid--no advertisements



• Driving tours let you structure your trip your way, point out sights not to be missed along the way and are complemented by 120 spectacular color photographs



• 38 specially-created maps in an easy-to-follow format with mile markers—so you’ll always know where you are on the island



• Clear, concise directions to those hard-to-find places such as deserted black sand beaches, tropical rain forests, hidden waterfalls, the most dramatic part of the erupting volcano, freshwater lava pools (some volcanically heated) and scores of other hidden gems listed nowhere else



• 28 pages on Big Island’s beaches with detailed descriptions including ocean safety



• Exciting chapters on adventures, hiking and activities



• Fascinating sections on Hawai'i's history, culture, language and legends



• Companion website with links to every business, events calendar, over 80 resort reviews complete with aerial photos--so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront



"Hawaii The Big Island Revealed" covers it all--from the snow-covered top of Mauna Kea, to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Big Island visit. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a longtime kama'aina, you will find out more about the Big Island from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with "Hawaii The Big Island Revealed."