If you like to drive, read this book. If you like nature, read this book. If you like to look at the pictures, read this book. This book and $20 for a tank of gas has become my favorite wedding/etc. present for friends. A wonderful coverage of the roads, the state they wind through and the minds of the authors and photojournalists.

Egyptian Mummies: Unraveling the Secrets of an Ancient Art written by Bob Brier is a book about the practice of human mummification, using paleopathology, we find out information of what happened in Egypt... the Egypt of the Pharaohs.

Not a single pharaoh's mummy had been discovered through most of the nineteenth century despite one hundred years of assiduous searching. All the pyramids had been robbed long before, all the royal tombs had been thoroughly looted... at least as far as anyone knew, or was saying. Yet someone was not saying, because in the 1870's spectacular objects once belonging to pharaohs began to appear on ht antiquities market, harbingers of a great find.

This book is about the Egyptology complete with historical context of ancient Egyptian culture. Replete with stories of grave robberies and stolen mummies, as well as accounts of trial and successes of archaeologists who pieced together the puzzles and unlocked the riddles of the land of the pyramids and the Sphinx. This book has the most complete analysis of the art of mummification ever written, with a comprehensive listing and description of the known royal mummies, their subsequent unwrappings, X-rays, and CAT scans... also, where are they housed now.

This book, in all rights, is a detailed look at what a mummy is. Not only were they of humans but there are mummies of cats, dogs, birds and cattle. What ever the pharaoh needed in the after-life. The narrative is free flowing and will keep you reading as it is very interestingly written. Engaging to the point that you want to know more as the book proceeds till the ending.

The research in this book was all in preparation for the mummification of a human body. From ancient records and the exanination of mummies, that have been pieced together from the basic mummification process.

To the light-hearted side there is a chapter on how the movies have treated mummies from Boris Karloff to abbot and Constello and the Marvel Comics characters... leaving the old adage one can't always judge a mummy by its wrappings. One thing of note that I found very interesting was a price list for mummification in this book from ancient times and linen clothe was the most expensive item on the list, then the jackel-head death mask worn by the embalmer/ priest in his role as Anubis, the god of the embalming. I can only conclude that a new mask was used for each embalming.

This book gives a good detailed descriptionof the embalming process and can get quite graphic, so be forewarned. I found the book to be fascinating, nonetheless.

This book is great fun and full of fascinating little details. It covers the process of mummification and interesting info about the history of Egyptology. I loved the stories about the archaeological finds at Saqqara and Deir el Bahri. My one complaint is the last chapter, which is a lame summary of mummies in modern fiction.

More than any Egyptologist Bob Brier knows mummies.The book opens with a polite rejection by his university to perform a
mummification on a human body based on ancient sources. Since the publication of the book Brier and a team of doctors has perfomed the procedure to determine if those descriptions were accurate. They were.
Brier's uses the mummy as a centerpiece to give us an overview of ancient Egyptian religion, culture and history. In later chapters the mummy as a pop icon in film and other media in modern times are discussed. Brier's writes in a lively style with the ocassional tongue in cheek that prevents the subject from ever becoming dull or boring. If you are looking for a book on mummies that also gives you a great introduction to ancient Egypt then you can do no better than this.

We only had one day on our tight vacation schedule to visit one of the Disney parks. The book helped us choose which (Disneyland Park) and helped us see the most we could. It was not a crowded day, but as such, the park hours were only 10am to 7pm so we didn't have much time. We followed the book's one day plan almost exactly, and everything was just as the book predicted it would be! We never waited in line for more than 20 minutes for anything. We knew the right times to get fastpass for rides, like Splash Mountain, where we waited about 5 minutes with our fastpass, while the line was estimated a 1.5 hours! Other rides we didn't have to use fastpass because we went at the right time and beat the lines. We also liked the ratings for age groups for individual rides, which helped us figure out what to skip and what not to miss. I have used Birnbaum's book for Disneyworld, and I found this book easier to use for making your plan of attack.

Note that it also has a chapter on Universal Studios, and I'm pretty sure Birnbaum's doesn't.

Complete and up-to-date! Covers Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Includes hotel and restaurant ratings. The guides for getting the most out of your trip to Disneyland are worth the price of the book alone. Of course, you don't have to follow the guides exactly. But, by reading them through they give you great insight into how to maximize your time in the park and see what you what to see in the time you have ... even with crowds. I wish I had this book on my previous trips. I know they would have seemed a lot less frustrating and harried. If you are going to Disneyland, do yourself a favor and get this book. It's worth its weight in gold.

Complete and up-to-date! Covers Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Includes hotel and restaurant ratings. The guides for getting the most out of your trip to Disneyland are worth the price of the book alone. Of course, you don't have to follow the guides exactly. But, by reading them through they give you great insight into how to maximize your time in the park and see what you what to see in the time you have ... even with crowds. I wish I had this book on my previous trips. I know they would have seemed a lot less frustrating and harried

I had been to Disneyland twice before I found this book so I can tell you first hand what a differnce this book makes in trip planning and in making your day at DL the most complete. The book covers every ride and attraction at DL. It has great information on the local hotels. It has goobs of information on going to DL with kids of all ages. If you are not experienced at doing DL, then get this book. Because of the information in this book you'll be able to see and do twice as much especially on busy days at the park. If you are going to Disneyland, do yourself a favor and get this book. It's worth its weight in gold. 5 stars at least!

Most maps are very useful. There are a couple muskie waters that, while included, do not contain depths, indication of bottom, etc. Individual articles are written by seasoned professionals and are sure to be appreciated by the beginning or experienced angler.

i believe that this book covered almost all of the main muskie lakes in wisconsin. Of those lakes it gave great advice on how to fish the lake for a beginner. I am not a beggining muskie hunter but i use the book as my first reference when i'm going to a new lake that i have not fished yet. This book tells me what kind of structure that the lakes muskie key in on at certain times of the year. It also tells fisherman what baits seem to work better on the lakes and what is the muskies main forage. this will then allow the fisherman to try and match their lure colors to the forage fish. I have read the book many times and have been able to match up a strategy from a lake that i have not even fished to the lake that i am going to fish. This book has allowed me to catch a good number of muskie that i don't think i would have caught. Thanks!

matt

I'm in the middle of planning my WDW vacation and this book has been indispensable! It's given me a feeling of confidence about navigating "the world" and my choices of where to stay etc. If you read the reviews of the individual attractions you'll see that the authors really enjoy WDW! Everything a friend or family member has recommended to us has been included in this book.

The in depth look at each ride/attraction, hotel and restaurant in WDW is amazing. The realistic but humorous tone is great, I read the entire book cover to cover even parts that don't apply to me (the sections for people traveling with children for example).

If possible I'm even MORE excited about this trip than I was before I read "The Guide"

Update: 8/16/01 Now that I've been to Disney and back I can honestly say that this book was indispensable! We used the tour plans (the "one Day" plan for Magic Kingdom, MGM and Epcot) and they worked like a charm! Avoiding parks on early entry days let us ride many "Main" attractions 2+ times! I can't reccomend this book enough! Just remember it IS a guide not a "rulebook' you aren't required to follow every suggestion exactly. I know I would have been lost without this book both literaly and figuratively.

I haven't read the latest edition, but I just returned (as of 5 days ago) from Disney World with a well-worn version of the previous edition. Every review from hotel, to age appropriateness, to rides and inside secrets proved its weight in gold. Each ride was described in detail, included any warnings (motion sickness, frightening aspects, etc.), a star rating guide for a variety of age groups (preschool, grade school, teens, adults, seniors), along with an overall review and letters from readers. The rides and attractions ratings were dead-on accurate and when we doubted a warning from the book and went anyway, we soon regretted it. Conversely, all of the recommendations were highlights of our trip. Restaurants were rated by overall value, price, service, and food quality. While they seemed a little on the harsh side (we loved the Cinderella Castle restaurant), they were very accurate in their suggestions. I neglected to listen to all the money-saving advice, and now regret that I didn't follow the instructions to the "t." From the initial planning to the final day, this will be an indispensable tool and a cheap ticket to your sanity. Skip the official line-- this is infinitely better.

For some families a trip to Walt Disney World is an annual ritual, for others it is a one-time rite of passage. For all who go, it is a big-ticket vacation destination with seemingly limitless choices of lodging, attractions, dining, and entertainment. This encyclopedic guide provides you with all the information you need to make the most of your time and money. Their recommendations are based on their own staff's experience as well as surveys of Disney vacationers and Unofficial Guide readers.

I wish I could give more than five stars to the vacation planning chapters of the book. Monthly attendance data plus subjective pros and cons of visiting during each season helped us decide when to go; detailed reviews of hotels within and outside the "World" helped us decide where to stay; an outline of all the available ticketing options helped us determine what sort of park admission to buy. All in all we saved hundreds of dollars - and planned a more suitable vacation for our family - as compared to following the advice of friends and co-workers.

The chapters pertaining to each park rate four to five stars. Each ride, show, or attraction is described in detail and given a star rating for each of several age groups. Careful attention is paid to factors affecting how long you will wait in line. The author provides touring plans designed to get you to as many of the "best" attractions as possible with the least amount of waiting in line; 1-day and 2-day touring plans for families with and without young children are provided for the Magic Kingdom. Occasionally the reviews are a bit idiosyncratic but on the whole they let you know what not to miss - and what to pass up with no regrets. The guide also includes chapters on Universal Orlando and Sea World.

The chapters reviewing Disney dining deserve four stars. Again, the coverage is vast and detailed, with reviews not only of restaurants in and out of the "World" but even of counter-service (i.e., fast food) within the "World." You will either shake your head and roll your eyes at the hints for landing a breakfast reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table, or you will rush to synchronize your clocks with Disney reservation center time and start warming up your dialing fingers. I agree with other reviewers that the restaurant reviews are overly harsh and discount the extent to which a sit-down meal in some Disney restaurants can be an attraction unto itself. There is also no index to table-service restaurants in each park.

This guide contains far more information than any one traveler is going to need, and at least some of it will seem like common sense - but one person's common sense is another's startling revelation. As with any guidebook some information will be out of date; some specific issues noted by prior reviewers have been corrected in the 2003 edition. If you are a true believer in Disney magic you might not like the blunt tone of the author's remarks. However, if you are a Disney skeptic, a novice, or simply a vacationer trying to get the most out of a big-deal vacation, the Unofficial Guide is an excellent resource.

The author seems to have a love/hate relationship with Disney World which can get in the way of this guidebook -- for example, for a ride that's not even open yet (book states "not open at press time"), the review states that "you'd think the collective imagination ... of Disney ... (would) come up with something a little more creative" and "children...won't appreciate the long wait for this slow-loading ride." But it's not even open yet!! If you're traveling with children, you'll find Walt Disney World With Kids, 2003 by Kim Wright Wiley much more helpful. And don't kid yourself into thinking you'll tote this "pocket-sized" book around the parks with you -- it's too big, too heavy, and you'll use the maps and guides that they give out at the parks (for free).

I call this the "travel version" of Sehlinger's "Unofficial Guide to WDW". The difference is one is a planning guide, while "Mini Mickey" holds just enough insightful information to use while you are already at WDW. The same "battle" plans for a variety of touring desires are included. These plans have saved my family hours of time a day from having to stand in line, and this is beyond the time that Disney's Fast Pass now saves.

The information is blunt and its pull no punches style is intended to make your vacation run well with the true "insider" information, not the PR information that Disney feeds another series of guide books.

This book fits well into my fanny pack, and I can quickly access the information and plans to keep well ahead of the crowds. I include this book in all of my WDW travel plans, and also give it to friends and family as a present to help them keep their WDW vacations sane and stress free.

I compared Mini Mickey to the full sized Unofficial guide 2000, and here are the differences. There are star ratings on hotels and restaurants, but Sehlinger eliminated the paragraph descriptions on each hotel and restaurant. That's the main way he took the bulk out of the book for a pocket sized edition. If a traveler does his homework before traveling to Florida, he will already know what hotel he wants to stay in, and have a general idea what pricy restaurants he wants to try. Go to your local library and review the full-sized edition for lodging and dining details. Buy this Mini Mickey to take with you to the park, and you will have relieved yourself of some valuable weight and bulk.

Mini Mickey still has all the detailed descriptions of each attraction. The only real weakness I see is that Sehlinger rates some of the simulation rides and roller coasters as 3 stars for preschoolers, when they won't even make the height requirement. These rides aren't appropriate for preschoolers anyway. I think Sehlinger has a tendency to overlook the special needs of our youngest children. Any parent can read the description and realize that the ride is too intense for their little guys and disregard the star ratings.

Missing from the 2000 edition is a description of Disney's new Fast Pass. Guests can use their tickets to get a 'reservation' time to go to the front of certain popular rides. That way they can enjoy other areas of the park while they wait. The only catch is that they can only reserve one ride at a time.

Also missing is the fact that Bear in the Big Blue House has a live stage show at MGM Studios. That's a big plus for parents of toddlers like myself. My grilfriend went to MGM Studios last February (2000) and was surprised to find Bear! Disney is always changing their parks to keep them fresh, and it seems that this development missed the press time.

Brier, who wrote the wonderful MURDER OF TUTANKHAMEN, has written a book that is clearly dismissive of the religions and high culture of Egypt. In Brier's eyes, Egyptian religion was nothing but a silly lot of superstition. In fact, there is a highly symbolic nature to a great deal of Egyptian spritual thought that goes beyond a literal meaning of the hieroglyphs. Indeed, sounds were believe to hold vibratory magic, and anyone with sensitivity can read this in the hieroglypic texts. To read Brier, one would think that all they did was wear amulets to prevent illness and prepare disgusting mixtures for miraculous healing.

Surely, there were a large number of Egyptians who believed in all sorts of superstions, but Brier does not balance this fact with any of the many graceful, beautiful prayers that adorn the tombs. Surprisingly, good old Sir Wallis Budge summarizes Egyptian magic much better in his EGYPTIAN MAGIC. Budge has been considered outdated for many years, but his work still forms the basis of modern Egyptology.

All in all, this book was disappointing.

Lynn

The reader who gave this book a bad review probably didn't understand the nature of Egyptian magic in the first place, which could explain why nothing "worked" for him or her. Without the guidance of God behind it, Egyptian magic truly is nothing more than a few odd herbs and some mumbled phrases and it is indeed true that if you want to perform your heka without the touch of the source behind it, then you would do best to avoid this book.

For historical purposes, this is a very useful tome. For others, you may find this of some use as well. Brier is a touch sensational -- as always -- but he has a fondness of Egypt that comes through quite clear in his writing style and it's rather obvious that he loves the land of the pharaohs even if he himself does not completely understand it....

This book explains the various usage of Ancient Egyptian magic in medicine, hieroglyphs, spells, amulets and religious texts. The author, writing in a clear comprehensive style, demonstrates the importance of magic and its practice in this fascinating ancient civilization. It is an excellent introduction for a beginner's journey into the mystic of Ancient Egyptian magic.

Just go back from Louisville and used this book for EVERYTHING! Three years after it was published I was still able to use it to cram so much into my visit. I planned visits to historical sites, restaurants and points of interest every day with this guide. Two things you have to do when buying this edition is buy a good city map and call to make sure whatever restaurant you want to go to is still in business (only happened once). Louisville has so much to offer, great food, fun and so much history (2nd only to Boston for the number of historical sites). If you don't have a guide you will miss so many things!

James Nold and Bob Bahr's "The Insiders' Guide to Louisville" is crammed with interesting, honest and friendly information about the city they both love and call home. From restuarants to spectator sports, from nightlife to real estate, these authors offer an wonderfully imformative introduction to Louisville. On every couple of pages, they include "Insider Tips" to add personal advice to their guide book.

I was a little disapointed with the lack of maps. I would have liked to see numbered maps corresponding to the venues and places they discussed. So, if you are using this as your only guide, buy a city map, too!

On the whole, however, this is a knowledgable guide book filled with clear advice.

Timely, authoritative guide to exploring or just reading about this historic region. A must for those who have a day or weeks to seek out historic places.

I found this book to be quite interesting and informative. It discusses not only the trails themselves but their history. The physical descriptions of the trails are excellent, however I would have liked to see more detailed maps. It is a wonderful book to use as a reference.