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Traveling
Nature: Alabama
 Monroeville, AL: The Search For Harper Lee's Maycomb
ASIN:0738502049
Our Price: $18.99
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: A must have for all Mockingbird fans!!
Comments: While on a trip to the beach, I stopped off in Monroeville to visit the Mockingbird shrine. While there, I bought this book at the museum and was SO excited about the information that was found in it. There are so many similarities between the fictional Maycomb and the Monroeville in which Nelle Harper Lee grew up! For example, Monroeville, like Maycomb, had a strange citizen who got into trouble with the law when he was young and was locked up in his house by his father for years. This young man was never seen outside his house again and was considered a phantom by the town children, including Nelle Lee. The book will be a delight to all fans of the novel. I also strongly recommend a trip to Monroeville -- it will be well worth the time and effort for any true fan. |
 Cruising Guide to the Northern Gulf Coast: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
ASIN:1565543416
Our Price: $22.40
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 Alabama Off the Beaten Path, 5th : A Guide to Unique Places
ASIN:0762710217
Our Price: $10.36
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 Alabama Atlas and Gazetteer
ASIN:0899332749
Our Price: $13.97
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Alabama Atlas
Comments: This atlas is very comprehensive and adds new insight into local geography. My father-in-law lives in remote Cleburne County and visiting is always a challenge to find your way. Even he learned names for the roads he drives that are not posted anywhere but in this volume. The details are wonderful and this provides nearly all necessary maps to navigate the state. |
 Best Bike Rides in the South: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia (Best Bike Rides Series)
ASIN:1564409872
Our Price: $13.95
Customer's Rating: 3
Summary: Bike Rides in the South, yes, but "Best"? Probably not...
Comments: I recently carried this book along for a driving trip (carrying bicycles) that my daughter and I took down the Southern Atlantic coast (NC, SC, GA), veering to north central Florida before turning around for home. The book was ok, but only for pointing us in a general direction and then mapping out our own rides from there. The maps are relatively easy to follow and they do a good job categorizing the type of rides from Rambles up to Challenges, but I found myself wanting more 'challenge' on the Cruises and Rambles and less 'challenge' for the Classics and Challenges. Perhaps it's just a matter of personal preference. Our first stop was Jekyll Island, GA. We were not too pleased to learn that the Jekyll Island Ramble, noted as "an excellent bike ride for the entire family", was in reality a highly dangerous path (~3 ft. wide) shared with other cyclists and pedestrians coming and going from both directions. Was appalled to read the island maps and literature strongly suggesting that cyclists stay off the real roads and on these hazardous paths. My daughter and I ignored that suggestion for the most part, but still had to navigate around a few cyclists riding on the left side of the road so to stay with their riding partners who had opted to stay on the path. I understand why some people might prefer or be attracted to bicycle paths. However, I think that ALL bicycle riders would do well to understand that the basic rules of cycling are pretty much the same as the rules of the road for drivers. IMO, if people would ride with this awareness, there would be very little need to sequester cyclists (or cyclists to sequester themselves) onto choked and dangerous little paths with pedestrians as is the case on Jekyll Island. The marsh and harbor side of the island was very quiet and sparsely traveled as compared to the ocean/beach side. We did follow the bike path for a bit because it veered away from the road and was very scenic. Our next stop was St. Augustine, FL. Car traffic along A1A was far too heavy and the streets way too narrow to even attempt the St. Augustine Ramble - my 12 year old is a good road rider, but easily overwhelmed. To sandwich her between all those cars would have been cruel and unthinkable. We did walk down St. Georges Street, but I can't imagine attempting to cycle through all that pedestrian traffic as the book suggests. I was tempted to snatch a few of the children on scooters and scold them for weaving in and out so closely among the walkers - what the heck were their parents thinking, or were they thinking??On to North Central Florida, location of the Suwannee River Classic ride. No way was my short-legged 12 year old going to ride 98 miles, but to our good fortune, most of the country roads in that area were lightly trafficked by motor vehicles so that we were able to tailor our riding distances accordingly. Falling Creek Falls was a very lovely and scenic stop and not one that would normally be found by most tourists. I wished that the book had highlighted more of the gorgeous fresh water springs in that area and/or mapped some rides to them. The one listed, Ichetucknee Springs, was a pretty place, but not particularly bicycle friendly. People might do well to pick up the Bicycle Facilities Map for North Central Florida at any of the tourism offices - I thought it listed a better and more extensive range of rides and intend to return one day to explore them more thoroghly.We wound up back on the NC coast to finish off our vacation. By then it was the weekend. I would NOT suggest doing the Cape Fear Challenge ride on a weekend day, even to my worst enemy. I'm not sure when would be the best time to do a ride like this. 421S on the front end of this trip is always car-packed. One must also watch out for hwy 133N on the backside. On Saturdays and Sundays, this is a 2 lane road with NO shoulders heavily trafficked by pickup trucks and SUVs towing big boats on trailers. An early morning weekday jaunt down 133N to Orton Plantation and the Brunswick Historic Site might be quite pleasant, however. Do remember your bug spray as the book suggests! The biting flies and 'no-see-umms' are already thick as of this posting - late April. We stayed in Southport and this area is close to 'home' territory to me. We didn't attempt the Cape Fear Challenge, tho I ran into two cylists who had tried unsuccessfully to cyle out 133N and back. I rode Bald Head Island (all golf-carts, no cars) with my daughter on Saturday and then took a lone early Sunday morning jaunt from Southport to Oak Island - very pleasant!To sum it up, this is not the worst book of rides, but not the best either. I do appreciate that the book was helpful in providing a little direction for us to head towards, even though we tailored and altered most of the listed rides to suit our own riding style and abilities. |
 Back Home: Journeys Through Mobile
ASIN:0817310452
Our Price: $20.97
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: a good book for anyone, anywhere, not just in Mobile
Comments: This is a brilliant book. Hoffman draws fascinating portraits of a barrage of characters from in and around Mobile, and also ex-Mobilians. I am from Long Island, New York, and this was an incredibly readable, vastly enjoyable, slice of life from a different part of the country. Hoffman is a talented journalist and top-notch writer. He gives turns the local into the universal, while vividly analyzing a small cross section of the world. |
 Fodor's USA Road Guide: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee (Fodor's Road Guide Usa. Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, tennesseE)
ASIN:0679005056
Our Price: $12.60
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 Alabama Birds
ASIN:1583551301
Our Price: $5.95
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 Compass American Guides Gulf South: Louisiana, Southern Mississippi, and the Gulf Coast of Alabama (Compass American Guides)
ASIN:0679005331
Our Price: $14.70
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: A sweet browsing on a winter's day
Comments: I picked up the new Compass American Guide: Gulf South to plan a trip to a warmer climate. Outside the snow was blowing, but I was swept up in the fun and informative narrative by Ms. Bultman and associates. I definately plan a Mardi Gras visit to New Orleans for next year, and D. Fran Morley's "Confessions of a Fairhope Transplant" made me want to pack up and move to her charming little town tomorrow! For now I'll have to settle for a visit but the hard part will be chosing a spot. Natchez and the River Road? Cajun country? Fairhope? From a practical point of view, the book's restaurant and hotel/motel listings are quite complete, and I love the fact that it really tells it like it is in regard to places NOT to visit. The Compass Guides are called "insider's guides," and that's really true here. It's like getting great tips from old friends who know a place inside and out. |
 Alabama Trails
ASIN:0817306900
Our Price: $12.57
Customer's Rating: 4
Summary: Good book to orient yourself on many trails in Alabama
Comments: Probably the best, if not the only, book availiable on trails in the state. I have met Patricia and she is a very informed person on the state of our trails in the state. This book is a good book to carry with you in a backpack though it could have been a little smaller for better packing. If you plan on hiking any trails in AL, I recommend you buy this book first. |
 The Barefoot Fisherman's Guide to the Emerald Coast: From Gulf Shore, Alabama, to Apalachicola, Florida
ASIN:1575870932
Our Price: $8.76
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Forty very special spots to fish
Comments: In The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast, Gregory Dew reveals forty very special spots to fish along the Gulf Shores, Alabama, to Apalachicola, Florida. Also included for the angler is a wealth of sound advice on rigging an outfit, basic angling techniques, special fishing techniques, picking a prime location (considering tides, currents, wind, water, and geography), fish species and habitats, even local recipes! The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast is enhanced further with a chapter dedicated to resource websites, addresses, telephone numbers, tackle shops, and selected fishing charters. If you are planning a fishing trip anywhere along this spectacular Gulf of Mexico shoreline, begin with browsing through Gregory Dew's The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast! |
 Stars Fell on Alabama
ASIN:081731072X
Our Price: $13.97
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Book of immense influence, still fresh after 65 years
Comments: Before Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, Carl Carmer took a train from New York to Alabama to become a college professor, writing of a strange country he visited and returned from, as different as another planet for his known world. He roamed and wrote of the cornwhisky- swilling backwatersof Alabama and the rough-hewn urban centers like Birmingham during the 20s and early 30s -- the time of the Scottsboro boys, the Klux Klan in its first great revival, deep oral and cultural traditions among Alabama African Americans including the title, inspiration for the 30s pop song about a meteor shower more than a century before.. The Civil War veteran turned murderer of U.S. marshals and religious zealot -- lynched to avoid a trial and certain execution -- before Jim Jones and Waco.The great outlaws and train robbers, Rube Burrow and Railroad Bill, one white, the other black and so feared his body was displayed in several cities to prove he was dead. A period piece -- the N word is used-- it also paints a picture of a complex and diverse black community, its cultural and folk roots, its white relationships. Many Alabama natives, including this expatriate, would not know these tales but for Carmer who returned to New York to write about that state and area for decades more But his Alabama is Sleepy Hollow with a bite like "Two-toed Tom" the 15 foot gator trapped in a pond by stalkers only to find him surfacing in a nearby pond, devouring a 12 year old child, decades before scientists learned of the ancient underwater tunnels of the reptiles. Tom moved on to become a legend in Florida where he's still talked about just as Carmer's retelling of the great tales lives on in Alabama, too often without his name attached. Sometimes a bizarre mixture of charm and horror, and perhaps a bit of hyperbole, Stars Fell on Alabama is one of those Academic reprints that reminds us the past is never so simple as we might dream and that the man with manners is to be as feared as the trainrobber with a gun |
 Gulfcoast Seashore Life : Alabama to Texas
ASIN:1583551425
Our Price: $5.95
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 Away for the Weekend, Southeast: Great Getaways for Every Season in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
ASIN:0609807765
Our Price: $11.90
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Away for the Weekend: Southeast
Comments: Anyone living in the Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) will find this travel book to be a practical and useful tool. The author, Eleanor Berman, pairs seasonal activities and local attractions with various locales. For me, this opened my eyes to the many enjoyable short trips my family and I can take without going too far from home. The book contains telephone numbers, driving directions and suggestions for accommodations and restaurants that I likely would never have discovered on my own. My family and I have stayed in several of the book's recommended bed and breakfasts and have been delighted. I keep this book handy to refer to for travel ideas. I reccommend it highly as a thorough and "user friendly" guide to travel in the Southeast. |
 Alabama Canoe Rides and Float Trips: A Detailed Guide to the Cahaba and 25 Other Creeks and Rivers of Alabama Plus Put-Ins, Take-Outs, and General I
ASIN:0817303340
Our Price: $10.47
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: A true CLASSIC
Comments: The maps in this book are worth the purchase price alone. The book was origionally published in the mid 1970s, so some of the information about put in and take out points is out of date. The rivers and streams themselves have changed very little, so the detailed maps in the book will give you a blow-by-blow description of what to expect on you adventure. While there is a lot of information about the Cahaba River, none of the other Alabama rivers and streams are neglected...the Cahaba River is just a great river to canoe, and it rightfully claims an appropriate amount of space in the book.I purchased this book before I ever baught a canoe, and it has helped me to enjoy trips down the Cahaba Rive, the Sipsey Fork, the Little Fork, and the Mulberry Fork to name a few.If you own a canoe and live in Alabama (or are just interested in the subject), BUY THIS BOOK. |
 Hike America Alabama: An Atlas of Alabama's Greatest Hiking Adventures
ASIN:0762708433
Our Price: $12.57
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: A State of Wonderful Hiking Surprises
Comments: The state of Alabama is a natural wonder. From clear gulf waters kissed by blindingly beautiful white sand beaches, to rugged canyons and graceful mountains, Alabama truly has it all. Joe Cuhaj's book "Hike America: Alabama," covers enough trailblazing experiences in this well written and easy to follow guidebook to last a lifetime. The maps are clearly drawn and the text contains a wealth of information on everything from the local flora and fauna to the best restaurants in the area. Particularily nice are the individual hike profile maps, side elevation of the trail that can tell the novice more about the roughness of the terrain in a glance than squinting at a contour map all day. This is not the first book on hiking Alabama trails that I have bought, but it is by far the best. |
 Seeing Historic Alabama: Fifteen Guided Tours
ASIN:0817307907
Our Price: $24.95
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 Beachcomber's Guide to Gulf Coast Marine Life: Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
ASIN:0872011860
Our Price: $16.95
Customer's Rating: 4
Summary: Hard to find a Copy
Comments: I have mixed emotions about this book, it is very informative on many levels but falls short on many more. I was thinking that it would be about things frequently seen from the beach but it includes a lot of info the layman will probably never need. This includes info (I personally appreciated) about planktonic animals, mieofauna and epifauna, in general a bunch of small animals most people will never notice. Not to say that they shouldn't have been included! They are very important to understanding the ecology of the areas discussed. See what I mean about mixed emotions? I like the way that the book grouped things by community; oyster reef, seagrass bed, mud bottom, etc. A hearty appendix that linked things by taxonomic group would have been nice though. Illustrations where copious but a tad bit simple. In the price range the line drawings could have been better, or supplemented by black and white illustrations. Also curious was the listing of only invertebrates until the end, then the authors jumped over everything and threw in a chapter on sea turtles??? What about the rest of the marine vertebrates? Why include the turtles without the fish and marine mammals? Kind of lopsided.If you see this book lying around it is certainly worth having. I'm still using it to flip back and explore certain areas. I wouldn't get to hung up on finding a copy, unless you're really trying to own everything on gulf coast marine life. |
 Paddling Alabama
ASIN:0762721928
Our Price: $11.17
|
 Alabama Off the Beaten Path, 6th : A Guide to Unique Places
ASIN:0762727918
Our Price: $11.16
|
The Barefoot Fisherman's Guide to the Emerald Coast: From Gulf Shore, Alabama, to Apalachicola, Florida
ASIN:1575870932
Our Price: $8.76
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Forty very special spots to fish
Comments: In The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast, Gregory Dew reveals forty very special spots to fish along the Gulf Shores, Alabama, to Apalachicola, Florida. Also included for the angler is a wealth of sound advice on rigging an outfit, basic angling techniques, special fishing techniques, picking a prime location (considering tides, currents, wind, water, and geography), fish species and habitats, even local recipes! The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast is enhanced further with a chapter dedicated to resource websites, addresses, telephone numbers, tackle shops, and selected fishing charters. If you are planning a fishing trip anywhere along this spectacular Gulf of Mexico shoreline, begin with browsing through Gregory Dew's The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast! |
Stars Fell on Alabama
ASIN:081731072X
Our Price: $13.97
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Book of immense influence, still fresh after 65 years
Comments: Before Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, Carl Carmer took a train from New York to Alabama to become a college professor, writing of a strange country he visited and returned from, as different as another planet for his known world. He roamed and wrote of the cornwhisky- swilling backwatersof Alabama and the rough-hewn urban centers like Birmingham during the 20s and early 30s -- the time of the Scottsboro boys, the Klux Klan in its first great revival, deep oral and cultural traditions among Alabama African Americans including the title, inspiration for the 30s pop song about a meteor shower more than a century before.. The Civil War veteran turned murderer of U.S. marshals and religious zealot -- lynched to avoid a trial and certain execution -- before Jim Jones and Waco.The great outlaws and train robbers, Rube Burrow and Railroad Bill, one white, the other black and so feared his body was displayed in several cities to prove he was dead. A period piece -- the N word is used-- it also paints a picture of a complex and diverse black community, its cultural and folk roots, its white relationships. Many Alabama natives, including this expatriate, would not know these tales but for Carmer who returned to New York to write about that state and area for decades more But his Alabama is Sleepy Hollow with a bite like "Two-toed Tom" the 15 foot gator trapped in a pond by stalkers only to find him surfacing in a nearby pond, devouring a 12 year old child, decades before scientists learned of the ancient underwater tunnels of the reptiles. Tom moved on to become a legend in Florida where he's still talked about just as Carmer's retelling of the great tales lives on in Alabama, too often without his name attached. Sometimes a bizarre mixture of charm and horror, and perhaps a bit of hyperbole, Stars Fell on Alabama is one of those Academic reprints that reminds us the past is never so simple as we might dream and that the man with manners is to be as feared as the trainrobber with a gun |
Gulfcoast Seashore Life : Alabama to Texas
ASIN:1583551425
Our Price: $5.95
|
Away for the Weekend, Southeast: Great Getaways for Every Season in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
ASIN:0609807765
Our Price: $11.90
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Away for the Weekend: Southeast
Comments: Anyone living in the Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) will find this travel book to be a practical and useful tool. The author, Eleanor Berman, pairs seasonal activities and local attractions with various locales. For me, this opened my eyes to the many enjoyable short trips my family and I can take without going too far from home. The book contains telephone numbers, driving directions and suggestions for accommodations and restaurants that I likely would never have discovered on my own. My family and I have stayed in several of the book's recommended bed and breakfasts and have been delighted. I keep this book handy to refer to for travel ideas. I reccommend it highly as a thorough and "user friendly" guide to travel in the Southeast. |
Alabama Canoe Rides and Float Trips: A Detailed Guide to the Cahaba and 25 Other Creeks and Rivers of Alabama Plus Put-Ins, Take-Outs, and General I
ASIN:0817303340
Our Price: $10.47
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: A true CLASSIC
Comments: The maps in this book are worth the purchase price alone. The book was origionally published in the mid 1970s, so some of the information about put in and take out points is out of date. The rivers and streams themselves have changed very little, so the detailed maps in the book will give you a blow-by-blow description of what to expect on you adventure. While there is a lot of information about the Cahaba River, none of the other Alabama rivers and streams are neglected...the Cahaba River is just a great river to canoe, and it rightfully claims an appropriate amount of space in the book.I purchased this book before I ever baught a canoe, and it has helped me to enjoy trips down the Cahaba Rive, the Sipsey Fork, the Little Fork, and the Mulberry Fork to name a few.If you own a canoe and live in Alabama (or are just interested in the subject), BUY THIS BOOK. |
Hike America Alabama: An Atlas of Alabama's Greatest Hiking Adventures
ASIN:0762708433
Our Price: $12.57
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: A State of Wonderful Hiking Surprises
Comments: The state of Alabama is a natural wonder. From clear gulf waters kissed by blindingly beautiful white sand beaches, to rugged canyons and graceful mountains, Alabama truly has it all. Joe Cuhaj's book "Hike America: Alabama," covers enough trailblazing experiences in this well written and easy to follow guidebook to last a lifetime. The maps are clearly drawn and the text contains a wealth of information on everything from the local flora and fauna to the best restaurants in the area. Particularily nice are the individual hike profile maps, side elevation of the trail that can tell the novice more about the roughness of the terrain in a glance than squinting at a contour map all day. This is not the first book on hiking Alabama trails that I have bought, but it is by far the best. |
Seeing Historic Alabama: Fifteen Guided Tours
ASIN:0817307907
Our Price: $24.95
|
Beachcomber's Guide to Gulf Coast Marine Life: Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
ASIN:0872011860
Our Price: $16.95
Customer's Rating: 4
Summary: Hard to find a Copy
Comments: I have mixed emotions about this book, it is very informative on many levels but falls short on many more. I was thinking that it would be about things frequently seen from the beach but it includes a lot of info the layman will probably never need. This includes info (I personally appreciated) about planktonic animals, mieofauna and epifauna, in general a bunch of small animals most people will never notice. Not to say that they shouldn't have been included! They are very important to understanding the ecology of the areas discussed. See what I mean about mixed emotions? I like the way that the book grouped things by community; oyster reef, seagrass bed, mud bottom, etc. A hearty appendix that linked things by taxonomic group would have been nice though. Illustrations where copious but a tad bit simple. In the price range the line drawings could have been better, or supplemented by black and white illustrations. Also curious was the listing of only invertebrates until the end, then the authors jumped over everything and threw in a chapter on sea turtles??? What about the rest of the marine vertebrates? Why include the turtles without the fish and marine mammals? Kind of lopsided.If you see this book lying around it is certainly worth having. I'm still using it to flip back and explore certain areas. I wouldn't get to hung up on finding a copy, unless you're really trying to own everything on gulf coast marine life. |
Paddling Alabama
ASIN:0762721928
Our Price: $11.17
|
Alabama Off the Beaten Path, 6th : A Guide to Unique Places
ASIN:0762727918
Our Price: $11.16
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