PICK OF THE WEEK
“Michael Shapiro’s Internet Travel Planner”
(Globe Pequot, $18.95)
We’ve seen other books that have tried to pass themselves off as guides to travel Web sites. The reason we haven’t mentioned any of them before now is that they were laundry lists: a line-up of destinations followed by several www.ecteteras.coms. They provided scant, or in some cases zero, information about what the sites contain, no commentary about how much of your time each site is worth. Ah, but this title truly is a guide. It does include the laundry list of sites, but only as the closing appendix to a book that first takes you by the mouse and, click by click, teaches you to use the Internet in general and to conduct travel research in particular. “Michael Shapiro’s Internet Travel Planner” puts a big how-to in front of on-line procedures for: renting a car or motorcycle, managing frequent-flier accounts, finding airport maps or foreign language schools, comparing hotel prices, reading restaurant menus, participating in travel auctions or swapping homes. Open the book to almost any of its 280 pages, an you’ll see color pictures of a diversity of actual travel Web pages (such as those for MapQuest, Sushi World Guide and the New York subway system), thoughtful analysis (such as when Priceline.com is and is not a good deal) and insider gossip (such as the restaurant comments that didn’t get printed in Zagat). The whole is written in easy to understand English — not computerese — and divided by color-coded headlines and other attractive visual elements.
SPORTING GUIDES
“The Cayman Islands Dive Guide”
(Abbeville Press, $24.95)
This may be the nearest thing to a dive you’re likely to experience on dry land. After an introduction to general diving etiquette and safety precautions, and to the Caymans themselves, this book goes overboard and down to the business of 30 dive sites. Each site gets four pages, the first two spreading open to a three-dimensional illustration of the site in full color, with depth markings in feet and meters and a suggested dive route among the coral formations indicated by a twisting ribbon of arrows. The second two-page spread shows color photos of marine life and aqua-scapes pertinent to that particular dive site, accompanied by text that explains it all. Maps locate each dive site in reference to above-water landmarks. It’s a little like having a dive instructor at your elbow as you read, for the material was edited by the Diving Science and Technology Corp., a corporate affiliate of PADI, the organization that accredits scuba divers. The book concludes with color drawings of Caymans coral and fish. It would have been a nice touch if they had included a waterproof “dive card” for identifying the fish; it could have doubled as a bookmark. Other titles available for the Caribbean, Florida Keys, Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea. (800-ART-BOOK)
MAPS
“Zagat Map 2000: New York City Restaurants”
(Zagat, $5.95)
A writer I worked with a few years ago started his travel story about New York something like this: “The best view of Manhattan is across a dinner plate.” Following that logic, the best map of New York, then, would be the one that leads you to the table. Zagat has been doing that for years, of course. But this new map series provides what the famous guide books can’t: a grid that shows a restaurant’s location in relationship to major attractions such as Grand Central Terminal, the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center. Unfold the Zagat map, and one side shows all of Manhattan from the Central Park Reservoir all the way to the State Island Ferry Terminal. The map’s margins are reserved for an alphabetical list of major restaurants, with address, phone and Zagat’s familiar numerical ratings for food, decor and service and the estimated cost of dinner for one with drink and tip. Each establishment listed is assigned its own number, corresponding to its location on the map. And each restaurant is color-coded by its predominant cuisine. On the flip side, the guide zooms in on the neighborhoods — with maps for areas such as the East Village, Murray Hill, the West 40s — to include some of the smaller, off-the-beaten-track eateries that so spice the dish that is Manhattan. Other Zagat restaurant maps are available for Chicago and Los Angeles. (800-333-3421)
“The Amsterdam Mapguide”
(Penguin, $8.95)
Whether you’re willing to admit this or not, the question you most want to ask about Amsterdam is: “Where’s the red-light district?” It must be the Dutch port’s most whispered facet. But they’re not giving away its location in this booklet. The district isn’t mentioned under the Museums and Art Galleries list, though the Erotic Museum, the Sex Museum and the Torture Museum are. The district isn’t mentioned under Shopping either, though the prostitutes display themselves, literally, in shop windows. The district is not even listed under Entertainment (reserved for everything else from opera to discos) or under Places of Interest (as castles, churches and the Heineken brewery are). No, this is a good, solid map printed in pleasing colors and legible type. It maps the locations of the Anne Frank House, the Rembrandt House, the flower market, the Van Gogh Museum, the canal boats and the “skinny bridge.” It just doesn’t tell you what you really want to know.
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Contact Resourceful Traveler in care of Toni Stroud at tstroud@tribune.com.
