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Books : National Geographic Driving Guide to America, Pacific Northwest
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Rating: 
- Excellent
The National Geographic Driving Guides are guides to Blue Highways, i.e., non-freeways. They are perfect for people who want to get back to the "real" America. Since they are written by different authors, they vary in quality.
Of the ones that I have read, this one is the best. The author, Bob Devine, loves the Northwest, and has done an excellent job of ferreting out a lot of great sights to see and things to do. He also writes clearly.
I was particularly interested in the sections on Alaska, because I was trying to figure out whether it would be interesting to me (I am not an outdoorsman), and if I do visit it, how to structure the trip. After reading this book, I decided that there were a lot of interesting things to do and see in the Anchorage area and decided to fly directly into there.
Other good books in this series are the ones for Pennsylvania/New York, and Texas. The only bad one I've come across is the one for California.
Rating:
- National Geographic's Pacific Northwest Driving Guide
This book was disappointing. Although it boasts the, as always, lovely National Geographic photographs, the information and the writing are dated. It needs to be updated, at least.
Rating: - The Guide for People on the Go
This guide is well structured, the chapters on the states are color-coded and make it easy to find trips for the state you're interested in. I liked the classification with stars for locations - the reader knows at a glance which trip offers a lot of "must-sees" and/or interesting places to visit. And because it is a National Geographic guide, it also features lots of beautiful photographs.
The guide is ideal for people who are on a schedule, and would still like to get the most out of a short trip. However, it does NOT offer tips on accomodation or restaurants. Although the appendix lists 800-numbers for hotel & motel chains, this isn't helpful when you plan to stay overnight in, let's say, Ritzville, WA, because there is no information which, if any hotels/motels are in that town.
People who are looking for in-depth travel information would be better off with another guide. But if you don't want to carry a heavy book around or spend hours reading up on your destination, and you're just looking for hands-on tips on where to go, I would recommend this guide.
- ExcellentThe National Geographic Driving Guides are guides to Blue Highways, i.e., non-freeways. They are perfect for people who want to get back to the "real" America. Since they are written by different authors, they vary in quality.
Of the ones that I have read, this one is the best. The author, Bob Devine, loves the Northwest, and has done an excellent job of ferreting out a lot of great sights to see and things to do. He also writes clearly.
I was particularly interested in the sections on Alaska, because I was trying to figure out whether it would be interesting to me (I am not an outdoorsman), and if I do visit it, how to structure the trip. After reading this book, I decided that there were a lot of interesting things to do and see in the Anchorage area and decided to fly directly into there.
Other good books in this series are the ones for Pennsylvania/New York, and Texas. The only bad one I've come across is the one for California.
Rating:
- National Geographic's Pacific Northwest Driving GuideThis book was disappointing. Although it boasts the, as always, lovely National Geographic photographs, the information and the writing are dated. It needs to be updated, at least.
Rating:
- The Guide for People on the GoThis guide is well structured, the chapters on the states are color-coded and make it easy to find trips for the state you're interested in. I liked the classification with stars for locations - the reader knows at a glance which trip offers a lot of "must-sees" and/or interesting places to visit. And because it is a National Geographic guide, it also features lots of beautiful photographs.
The guide is ideal for people who are on a schedule, and would still like to get the most out of a short trip. However, it does NOT offer tips on accomodation or restaurants. Although the appendix lists 800-numbers for hotel & motel chains, this isn't helpful when you plan to stay overnight in, let's say, Ritzville, WA, because there is no information which, if any hotels/motels are in that town.
People who are looking for in-depth travel information would be better off with another guide. But if you don't want to carry a heavy book around or spend hours reading up on your destination, and you're just looking for hands-on tips on where to go, I would recommend this guide.