The Four Immigrants Manga : A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924 Review

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(More customer reviews)Henry Kiyama created this terrific book in the 1930's, chronicling the lives of four young Japanese immigrants and their struggle to find work and acceptance in San Francisco at the turn of the century. It was unearthed and translated into English, giving us all the rare privelege of a glimpse into the immigrant experience of that era. Drawn in a simple and lighthearted style and told with insight and depth, Kiyama, along with the rising popularity of Japanese Anime and Manga, reinforces the notion that comics are not just for kids anymore. A great read for a comic lover, a hyphenated-American or anyone interested in the multihued experience of our country.

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San Francisco As You Like It: 23 Tailor-Made Tours for Culture Vultures, Shopaholics, Neo-Bohemians, Famished Foodies, Savvy Natives & Everyone Else Review

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(More customer reviews)As a San Franciscan, this book is the perfect gift and/or inspiration to entertain friends, family or even yourself.
The author's approach orients the reader and eliminates the clutter of the average guide book. The book also has a nice balance between indoor and outdoor activities that you will be tempted to do over and over.
This is the perfect book for those looking for both the obvious and the obscure in San Francisco.

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Hidden San Francisco and Northern California: Including Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Yosemite, and Lake Tahoe (Hidden Travel) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book was one of the only ones we found that covered San Fran and other northern CA destinations. Very good overviews, but not a huge amount of detail, so you will need additional information on some of the destinations. For Ex, it lists the main hikes in Yosemite, but doesn't give details about how long, how hard, which ones are best, etc. Same with wineries - it lists them out, but doesn't do extensive reviews.

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Frommer's® San Francisco 2009 (Frommer's Complete) Review

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(More customer reviews)We spent only a couple of days in the SF area. As visitors who had not been here before, we found it very useful about which places to avoid (tourist traps) and which places to see. The restaurant guide was also very helpful, not just for SF but for the surrounding towns, like Sausalito. The hotel guide was limited, but helpful, as was the information about various neighborhoods. Overall, a great book to have on hand when planning your trip!

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Access San Francisco (Access Guides) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having been to SF a few times before (some years ago), I purchased this guide as my only guide for the city. I didn't want to carry a big heavy book on my weekend trip and, more often than not, I found myself without the information I needed. The typical questions any visitor might have go unanswered and the information is spotty. For instance, the author gives a list of the primary local radio stations, including the radio dial numbers for them, but fails to tell the reader what some of the primary city bus routes are that run in and out of the center of downtown. And yet, looking at the maps throughout the book, you'll see route numbers on many of the streets depicted, but these refer to bicycle routes, not buses. Really, how many tourists are even going to think about riding a bicycle through probably the hilliest city in the world? The most obvious thing that is lacking is any information about the one thing that any visitor wants to know about: the cable cars (there is mention of the oldstyle electric buses or trolleys). Look in the index under "cable cars", and you won't find it. The basics about the cable car system are missing: what the cable car routes are, where does one get on the cable car (I knew that you can get on one at any stop if it's not full - good luck), and how to pay for the cable car ride (the operater collects the fare or looks at your day pass just before the car leaves the stop).
The restaurant reviews are handy, but again, uneven. My companions were eager to go to Fisherman's Wharf (one place I knew to be such a tourist trap that it was best left unvisited) and have dinner. Once we were there, we found the guide lacking in any mention of the most obvious places to eat in the heart of the Wharf. The author mentions one restaurant, Alioto's, but discounts the rest as simply not worth going to. So we went to Fisherman's Grotto, which I was apprehensive about, but it wasn't bad, certainly not haute cuisine. We were all pleased with what we ordered. I tried the sand dabs, a type of small flat fish caught in the Bay, which were nicely prepared and very delicate: lightly floured and fried in a little butter.
On the plus side: the maps are very handy, and easy to read. I did like the way the book was sectioned-off into the different districts.
Overall, the book is best suited as a supplement to a more thorough guidebook, but not the primary source for your trip. I just can't see how anyone can write a guide book to any city and fail to give information about key places that most tourists will want to know about.

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With Access San Francisco, your visit will be an easy, enjoyable experience—Haight-Ashbury, Sausalito, and Lombard Street are at your fingertips.

San Francisco has been divided and organized into neighborhoods, so you know where you are and where you're headed.

Unique color-coded and numbered entries allow you to discover the best:


Hotels
Restaurants
Attractions
Shopping sights
Parks and Outdoor Spaces


Large, easy-to-read maps with entry numbers keyed to text ensure that you will instantly find what you must not miss.

Access is your indispensable walk-around guide to San Francisco. Our writers, who live in and love the city, will lead you by the hand down the remarkable streets, sharing the unforgettable sights and pointing out the undiscovered gems and all the majestic landmarks that only San Francisco has to offer.

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Play Around the Bay: A Guide to Bay Area Outings for Families with Young Children Review

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(More customer reviews)This book includes listings of every park, playground, museum and activity of interest to children 10 and under. As an adventurous mother of three, I couldn't live without my copy!

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Park? Playground? Zoo? Museum? Nature walk? The list of fun activities for parents and young children in the Bay Area can seem intimidatingly large. This handy guide takes the guesswork out of choosing. Developed by the San Francisco Mothers of Twins Club, Play Around the Bay presents a wealth of kid- and parent-tested activities in San Francisco and the surrounding areas. This new edition is updated with all the current information moms and dads need, from detailed descriptions to prices to driving directions.

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Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to And Living in the San Francisco Bay Area: Including San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, And Palo Alto (Newcomer's Handboks) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in the San Francisco Bay Area covers just about every aspect of living in and around San Francisco. I mean everything! Including "Moving and Storage," "Getting Settled," "Children and Education," "Sports and Recreation," "Transportation" and everything in between, this thick book answers almost any question about San Francisco.
The introduction to the book is just as cool: "San Francisco is the land of the 49er Gold Rush, the Great 1906 earthquake, and the missionary expeditions of the Spanish; it is the birthplace of Levi's jeans and home of the railroad tycoon Leland Stanford; it is host to one of the greatest feats of engineering, the Golden Gate Bridge, and as a cultural epicenter, it fueled the hippie flower-power revolution, gave rise to Rolling Stone magazine, and played host to beat generation poets." Geez, now I want to move to San Francisco!
This guide to "America's melting pot" provides information about the local lingo, so you will not feel too much like an out-of-towner. For example, "The Haight" is the famous Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, "The City," always capitalized, "is the way natives and local newspapers refer to San Francisco" and BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is "the under-and-above ground subway-style train network that connects the East Bay and peninsula with San Francisco."
This guide also provides detailed information concerning the many municipalities of San Francisco, including web sites, area codes, zip codes, post offices, police stations, emergency hospitals, libraries, public schools, community resources and public transportation. The "Cultural Life" section is also pretty cool, providing tons of information about film festivals, music, theater, ballet and dance, restaurants, nightclubs, comedy, art, museums and anything else you can think of. San Francisco is one cool town, and this book is undoubtedly the perfect guide to moving there!

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Top 10 San Francisco. Jeffrey Kennedy (Eyewitness Top 10) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've tried a lot of different travel books and thought that I would try yet another new one for when my girlfriend came to visit me in San Francisco. I found the guide to lack sophistication and I didn't like the organization of the top ten lists. However, the map at the rear of the book was very good and the illustrations are nice. I'd say that it was better than having nothing but if I could do it again I probably would have purchased a different guide.

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"DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide San Francisco" will lead you straight to the very best of this waterfront city. Whether you're looking for the liveliest bars and clubs, the best day trips to the Bay Area or the best restaurants or shopping malls in San Francisco; this guide is your perfect pocket-sized companion. Rely on dozens of Top 10 lists - from the Top 10 architectural highlights and Top 10 outdoor activities, to the Top 10 children's attractions, there's even a list of the Top 10 things to avoid. The guide is divided by area: Oceanfront; The North Shoreline; Central Neighbourhoods; and, Southern Neighbourhoods and Downtown. You'll find restaurant reviews for every area, as well as recommendations for luxury hotels, bars and places to shop. Plus, you'll find the insider knowledge every visitor needs to explore every corner of San Francisco effortlessly in the "DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide San Francisco" with its free pull-out map. "DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide San Francisco" shows you what others only tell you.

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The Unofficial Guide to San Francisco (Unofficial Guides) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've bought several of the Unofficial Guides and they are my first choice in travel books. The rating system for hotels, restaurants, and attractions makes it very easy to compare one to the other and choose whatever is appropriate for your needs. More importantly, they are upfront about what to avoid. We all know about the "best" things to see and do from the other travel guides. The Unofficial Guides let you know what's a waste of time and/or money, as well as giving you tips on how to get the best out of the "best". I buy the Unofficial Guides to get the nitty gritty on areas of town to avoid due to high crime, lack of public transportation, etc. This helps me pick a hotel in a decent area and time my sightseeing trips accordingly. Very straight forward and easy to read. I hope the authors someday write Unofficial Guides to European cities as well!!

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Hotels, motels and inns ranked and rated for value and quality, plus proven strategies for getting the best deals
"Best of" listings giving candid opinions on things ranging from bagels to baguettes, five-star hotels to the best views of San Francisco and Bay Area by night
Driving and walking tours of the city's top neighborhoods
The straight truth on all the attractions, from Alcatraz to the Golden Gate Bridge
The best day trips in the surrounding Bay Area and beyond, including the Wine Country

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Top 10 San Francisco (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE) Review

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(More customer reviews)Nice concise book, easy to take with you as you sight-see. Hits all the top places to see. Great purchase!

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DK Eyewitness Top 10 Guides make any destination accessible by offering dozens of lists of the 10 best restaurants, bars, neighborhoods, hotels, local attractions, and much more. With insider tips for every visitor, the Top 10 series offers inside knowledge, and now contains a pull-out map and guide that includes fold-out maps of city metro systems, useful phone numbers, and 60 great ideas on how to spend your day.

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San Francisco & Northern California (Eyewitness Travel Guides) Review

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(More customer reviews)I live in SF and this truly is a fabulous book! I press it into the hands of all my guests (from France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada..) and they are off to explore the town!
Among the wonderful characteristics of this book are the following:
1. ILLUSTRATIONS (several detailed pictures per page)
2. History of SF (illustrated and hitting major points)
3. Overview of city by District
4. In depth guide (broken down by district: Chinatown, Financial District, Golden Gate Park)
5. Suggested walking tours (illustrated paths and what to see while walking)
6. Attention to detail (such as rub lions at the entry gate to Chinatown for good luck..)
7. In Depth coverage of Major attractions (museums, Alcatraz, Yerba Buena Gardens) which consists of a diagram of the complex, an identification of each building and a sampling of the art, prison cell, etc, found in the respective buildings.
8. Event guide (found on p. 46-49) that details major events happening annually in San Francisco (organized by month) accompanied with a temperature/ rainfall guide (but always pack a jacket for SF). Events include: North Beach Festival, Bay to Breakers, Cherry Blossom Festival, SF International Film Festival and the like.
9. Nearby attractions: book also talks about Sausalito, Berkeley, Yosemite Park
10. Where & What to Eat: covers famous dishes & restaurants of SF - for the trendy spots you'll have to go on citysearch and look under SF b/c the trendy spots constantly change
This is the first recommendation I've made b/c this book truly is the most used in my library. All whom I have lent it to rave about the detailed pictures and hidden facts about SF.
Eyewitness travel guides are a WONDERFUL series known for MANY pictures and in-depth coverage. Lonely Planet is also a good choice but I prefer guides with pictures. My friends (who also live in SF) borrow this book when they have friends and family visiting b/c you can easily select things to do (walks, ferry rides, restaurant tastings, etc.) by just flipping through pages. Moreover, by simply looking through the book, you are already learning about the place you will visit, and you will be able to quickly find your way around the attractions...
In addition, you might want to visit the SF Chronicle's website for local events. Moving here? That's why I first bought the book. For movers I would also recommend the website Craigslist.
Either way, enjoy the city and Remember: ALWAYS bring a jacket because the fog can roll in anytime to make even an August day FREEZING cold... (that's why tourist shops sell fleeces year-round)

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Recognized the world over by frequent flyers and armchair travelers alike, Eyewitness Travel Guides are the most colorful and comprehensive guides on the market. With beautifully commissioned photographs and spectacular 3-D aerial views revealing the charm of each destination, these amazing travel guides show what others only tell. Includes beautiful new full-color photos, illustrations, and enhanced maps Extensive information on local customs, currency, medical services, and transportation New "Discovering" feature helps decide which regions are best suited to the trip.The Best Just Keeps Getting Better!

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Lonely Planet San Francisco (City Travel Guide) Review

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(More customer reviews)very helpful. Restaurant recomendations were all excelent. I like how the reviews of places have some spunk to them. Only complaint: no bus map (these are free everywhere anyway though)

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Garmin GPSMAP 76 Waterproof Handheld GPS Review

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(More customer reviews)Before my GPS purchase, I considered a number of Magellan units in addition to some in the Garmin E Trex series. I finally decided on the Garmin Map76.
In addition to being relatively easy to use, I preferred the slightly larger screen of the Map76 over the other units. Since I was purchasing the unit to use while sea kayaking, I found the screen on the Map76 was much easier to read in the sunlight than the smaller screens on the E-Trex models. In addition, you can upload map data into this unit. (Although the unit includes a basemap, Garmin also manufactures a number of optional mapping products which cover roads, waterways and topographical features in more detail). For kayaking, I use the optional BlueCharts which is essentially like having Nautical maps at your fingertips. (These are sold by regions and tend to be a bit expensive however).
The tide station/prediction feature on the Map76 was also an important deciding factor. With this unit, you have the ability to get tidal predictions for virtually anywhere in the US at your fingertips.
The Map76 often receives criticism on the low amount of memory for uploading map data. The tradeoff however is that it also drains the battery power at a slower rate than those that boast more memory. (I also considered the GPS Map76S which has an added electronic compass and more memory, however after a trial use from a friend's, I found the Map76S unit to drain battery power far too quickly for my intended use. The Map76S was also about $100 more in cost). Although the Map76S was a slightly upgraded Map76, I didn't feel the extra features of the 76S were worth the added cost, especially with the faster rate of the battery drain.
I've logged over 500 miles of sea kayaking with this unit and am very satisfied with its performance. I find the memory capability in the Map76 is adequate for uploading maps for day trips and the balance with the battery drain is also sufficient.
Although it is waterproof, I highly suggest a transparent waterproof bag for using while kayaking to avoid salt water condensation corroding the battery leads.
Garmin also offers toll free phone and email technical support for their units and software.
This unit makes a great paddling partner.

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The GPSMAP 76 adds an Americas basemap and 8 megabytes (MB) of map storage space to the other outstanding features of the mariner-friendly 76-series navigators.
The GPSMAP 76 adds an Americas basemap and 8 megabytes (MB) of map storage space to the other outstanding features of the mariner-friendly 76-series navigators.

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