A Field Guide to Roadside Technology Review

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(More customer reviews)Technology is everywhere in the man-made world and this little field guide should have been a useful item to have in the outdoors, it even has rounded corner pages so they won't get dog-eared when you stuff the book into the pocket of your LL Bean Penobscot Parka. Plenty of information, too, with each item nicely divided into five sections: Behaviour, Habitat, How it works, Unique characteristics and Interesting facts but I was disappointed with the book because one of the key elements, the photos, are really inadequate.
A clue to this is the front and back cover with nine color photos that are repeated inside but in black and white where they just look dull and grey. Printed in a fairly coarse screen doesn't help either. Also many of them are plainly too small even though there is plenty of page space. The choice of objects seems rather arbitrary also: page thirty-four describes a car exhaust plume, page seventy-one a storm drain cover or a gas station pump on page 114. Strangely airports get only these objects: VOR station, De-icing boot, Pitot tube, Vortex generator and Ground power unit. What happened to runway markers and approach lights or airport beacons, wind socks, localizer antennas for cockpit landing systems for instance?
The subject matter is such that there are few book dealing with technology in this way and Ed Sobey's attempt does invite comparison with Brian Hayes quite stunning Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape. This a is a large beautifully printed book with every photo in color, all with detailed captions, plenty of sidebars and it's very comprehensive. There is not too much to do with the look of technology that is not in Hayes book.


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Trekking in Ecuador Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently spent a month trekking in Ecuador with this guidebook and I would recommend it to anybody interested in hiking in this beautiful country. There is something for everyone with short dayhikes near travelling hubs, week long treks through remote mountains, hikes that end in hotsprings and hikes that take you in search of the elusive Ecuadorian wild orchid. This guidebook contains all the information you need to set out on your own and the hikes I did were unforgetable. I waited untill Quito to buy a guidebook so I could compare all the books available and I can say now that this is, by far, the best hiking guide for the country. I will be back in Ecuador to walk some more of the beautiful trails described in Trekking in Ecuador.

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The most up-to-date trekking guide to one of the world's most biodiverse nations. Includes a thorough introduction to Ecuador and its people.No-nonsense information on what to expect, preparations, and safety.Twenty-nine detailed trek descriptions, with 50 photos, 33 topographic maps, and 27 elevation profiles.Comprehensive appendices, including lists of trekking companies, emergency contacts, and conservation organizations.Ecuador's special appeal to trekkers, day-trippers, and nature lovers can be summed up in one word: accessibility. The country's unique combination of small size, exceptional geographic and biological diversity, and good transportation infrastructure places an outstanding variety of splendid natural experiences within easy reach of the adventurous visitor. Ecuador boasts more than forty-five protected natural areas, including national parks and private reserves, almost all of which offer trekking and day-hiking possibilities. Many longer treks span several natural regions, from the highlands down toward the Amazon jungle or coastal plain. Ecuador receives many visitors (approximately 500,000 a year), but as yet relatively few people come specifically to trek. Unlike well-known trekking venues such as Nepal, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, and Chile's Torres del Paine National Park, trails in Ecuador are never crowded and offer virtually unlimited scope for exploration. Trekking in Ecuador is easily combined with a visit to the country's more traditional destinations: the Galápagos Islands, colorful indigenous markets, Amazon jungle lodges or Pacific coast beaches.

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