Drives, Getaways, & Camping for You and Your Dog, USA

Rating:
Summary: Please Spend Your Money on Your Dog and Not on This Book
Review: I'm returning the copy I bought as a Christmas gift. I ordered this paperback, believing it would be helpful in planning trips for my husband and myself with our Border Collie. I was mistaken. This amaturish volume of 214 typewriter-xeroxed pages has many listings, to be sure (it "covers" the entire US), but it is neither comprehensive nor remotely interesting. There is a useless, 6-inch-wide xeroxed map of the US, showing major cities, which for some reason is outlined, by hand, with a fat marking pen. The listings are alphabetical, by state, and start out telling what the state capitol is and giving one phone number for tourist information (data that is easily obtainable online). Then comes a couple (2 to 4) of "scenic drives" listings. Here's an example from my state, Texas: "In East Texas, drive Rt 87 which runs throgh (sic) green forests with beautiful lakes." Descriptive, huh? Then comes the section, "Parks, Forests, Camping." Another excerpt from Texas: "Guadalupe Mts. National Park. This is a rugged wilderness area. Information, contact 915-828-3251." In fairness, every other listing or so has some tagged on sentence about dogs, like, "Dog allowed on leash," or "Keep dog on leash," or "No dog allowed, bus tours given." Next section is "Places to Explore/Things to Do," with listings that average a sentence or two like this: "Rockport. Another seaside town with attractions, park, Fulton Mansion which is a historical structure." And the last section in each state listing called, "Motel Type Accomodations." For Texas, 18 cities are listed, and then 2 or 3 motels and phone numbers. No descriptions, no information, just random motels (Comfort Inn, Motel 6, Super 8) and phone numbers. I guess it's OK to bring your dogs to these motels, but the book doesn't say that. Please, save your money . . . don't buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: A good idea, but...
Review: Martin's Drives, Getaways & Camping For You & Your Dog, USA, 1999-2000 is a unique travel guide for dog lovers that offers a state-by-state guide for places to see, things to do, scenic drives, historic sites, parks & forests, camping, recreation areas, and motels. This guide is ideal regardless of the size, breed, or number of dogs that accompany the vacationer or business traveler. Highly recommended for all dog owners, this handy, highly recommended reference and planning guide also includes dog travel tips and canine first aid information.

Rating:
Summary: A good idea, but...
Review: This book _seemed_ like a good idea. I travel a great deal with my beagle and wanted something that would help identify places to go with him. However, this book is basically worthless. I did not learn anything new, or that I could not have picked up elsewhere in a more comprehensive form. I also checked some places where I specifically know you can (or cannot) take dogs and found the information to be wrong. The presentation was also amateurish, with quite a few typos. This lack of effort in compiling the information, plus lack of concern for the final presentation, makes it very apparent that I do not want this for my bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Money
Review: We purchased this book hoping it would have some interesting information re: places to go and to stay with our dog. Believe us, it doesn't. The book provides a state by state list, and under Indiana (our home state) it has the city of Indianapolis listed as a place to take your dog. A city? Downtown? And it gave the mall as a place of interest. I'm pretty sure that the Circle Center Mall doesn't allow dogs, whether on a lead or not!

Better to take your money, grab a lighter, and set it on fire than waste it on this book. Who publishes this stuff?