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 enlarge | Author: Andrew Doughty
Publisher: Wizard Publications Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $11.01
You Save: $5.94 (35%)
New (16) Used (3) from $11.01
Rating:  245 reviews
Sales Rank: 2160
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5th
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 308
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 098146100X
Dewey Decimal Number: 919.6910442
EAN: 9780981461007
ASIN: 098146100X
Publication Date: May 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Blue Tide of Roaming Tourists -- The Blue Guard? December 10, 2007
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
These books have created a new (sub)species of Hawaii tourist - the intrepid rental car driver clutching a little blue book. Like Mao's Red Guard waving their small copies of Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, this breed is an unstoppable (and sometimes destructive) wave of energy, pushing into heretofore rarely visited areas of the island to spread the "Revealed" doctrine: "It IS safe to leave the big resorts behind! You CAN hike around to find beautiful spots!" In doing so, this book and its thundering herd has shifted the balance of local culture. No longer are dirty looks and angry hand-lettered signs sufficient to keep the mobs at bay. These books, rightly or wrongly, says you can go, and so office-workers on holiday from Tulsa and Minneapolis now troop where formerly only the initiated dared venture. In doing so, this new breed may inadvertently force resolution of long running land disputes -- or even force state and local governments to actually maintain/clean/protect sites and lands in their care. Can one haphazardly written series of guidebooks accomplish all this? It's a moot question - it already has.
I have used the Maui and Big Island books during visits to these islands, and have largely enjoyed them. First, these books are worth the money simply for the excellent maps - these are easy to read and show you just where to go. Second, these books are worth the money for describing numerous beautiful locations that simply aren't described elsewhere. This is not to say that these locations aren't crowded - just that you find a lot of blue-book waving zealots when you get there.
Negatives:
(1) The books are written in an eccentric and verbose style in search of an editor. The authors never met an aside, anecdote, pun or parenthetical that they didn't like. I imagine Doughty and Friedman as affable locals I'd like to have a drink with, but that I'd equally like to escape from after three or four drinks. These two have an axe to grind or a story to tell about pretty much everything. The reader will be informed that of the authors got stung by a bee while singing on a motorcycle, receive blow-by-blow accounts of visits to certain restaurants and hotels, receive harangues on big government, etc. This results in guidebooks at least twice as long as necessary. Some of the verbosity is fun - these are guides telling us about their home. Some of the verbosity creates guidebooks at least twice as long as necessary.
(2) Another issue is the confusing organization. There is a main section describing an area, and then segregated sections describing hikes, "adventures" and other activities. If you're doing a hike that's also an adventure, you may need all three sections -- and three maps -- to navigate to the area.
(3) The restaurant reviews are dispensable. The authors seem to love fancy meals at expensive resorts, beachside bars, and coffee shops. They cover the places that you would find anyway - stalwarts with big signs and parking lots. They throw in a few local places, but have missed a lot of gems along the way.
(4) Since a lot of the information is meant to be "insider" and therefore cutting edge, much information is out of date. We searched in vain for several defunct restaurants and have found that the access situation for some areas has changed. As changes do not seem to be reflected by new editions, it may be that the sheer amount of information included in these books may be too daunting to keep up to date.
Putting these negatives aside, these guides are valuable for the new visitor, so much so that it really does create a different species of traveler. Hawaii has its own brand of protectionist local culture. When you go to certain areas and get out of your shiny late-model rental car, you are almost certain to get a few hard looks and may see a few unwelcoming signs. It is very, very helpful to have a chatty, friendly guidebook telling you that yes, you can be at that spot and yes, this is public land. By the by, I have no idea if all the information about public access and public lands is correct - and I have heard elsewhere that it is not.
Great Guide Book December 7, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
We used this book on our 1st trip to the Big Island and it was very helpful. We were able to see, do and eat wonderful things thanks to this very well put together book.
A Must-Read Book for Visiting Hawaii December 6, 2007
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you are going to the Big Island of Hawaii then you REALLY need this book. I found this book amazingly helpful when we visited Hawaii on the Pride of America. I saw MANY people on this island carrying the same book with them.
The Big Island - known as Hawaii, not to be confused with the entire state of Hawaii - is a gorgeous location. It contains the southernmost point in the entire United States. It has black beaches that large sea turtles come up onto, where you can stand a few feet away. It has an active volcano that you can walk on! Many of these things are not clearly labeled with signs.
That's where this book comes in. You are given precise, step by step directions about how to get somewhere, with the exact mile marker to look for and things to watch out for. You're told that you should NOT pay a parking fee in location xxx because the person there is just a huckster trying to get your cash. You're told to be careful of vandals in spot yyyy because it's known for having cars broken into. These are really valuable things for a tourist to know, that they would otherwise have no idea about.
I found the information here just incredible. It meant that our day on the island was planned out very well and we saw exactly what I wanted to see, with plenty of time in between spots. We knew what direction to travel Volcano National Park in. We knew to bring flashlights in the lava tube!! That one tip alone was WELL worth the price of the book. Everyone else did NOT bring a flashlight and literally hundreds of people watched us as we went into the dark depths of the unlit lava tube, wishing they could come along too. If they'd had the book and read it, they would have known about the flashlights.
The book is good about letting you know what is legal and what is NOT. We most definitely never went on private property or anything like that. The book even warns you about dangerous swimming conditions and advises you when to stay out of the water.
Now, some might have the complaint that "well without that book, only 3 people would find the southernmost point - and now 30 people could find it with the book, so that ruined it for me". By that logic, websites shouldn't talk about locations either. Heck, nobody should talk about locations. Which leads to the question of, how would *anybody* find out about a location then? Is the aim to have nobody at all in the entire world visit the Southernmost Point in the US? Is it bad if people who want to go somewhere, go somewhere?
This is a big island. It's the size of Connecticut. Everybody has different interests. If 30 people all love sea turtles, then I say all 30 people should know how to find the sea turtles and enjoy their vacation with the sea turtles. Heck, you had to fly thousands of miles to get TO this island, and you had to pay for the lodging either here or on the cruise ship. To say after all of that effort that only "certain people" should be able to go to spot X and that the others shouldn't know about it seems really unfair to me. Every one of us humans has the right to enjoy a natural beauty and this book helps us all make an informed decision about what to see.
A must-have book if you're going to this island!
Best Out There November 30, 2007
If you want something informative, clear and concise, without hype, these books are well worth your time. Maps are good, photography is excellent and any advice is right on. They have hidden secrets about the islands that some of the locals might not appreciate. But, I do know of a certain hidden slippery slide on Kauai . . . . . . Highly recommended.
Great Guidebook November 24, 2007
This book came highly recommended and rightfully so. It was lots of great 'insider tips' to the big island and helped us fully enjoy our stay in Hawaii.
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