Rating: 
Summary: Lots of $$$ saving tips mixed in with sardonic anecdotes
Review: I'm mostly impressed with Peter Greenberg's "The Travel Detective", but first I'll get my gripe out of the way: The back cover provides a bulleted list of insider secrets you'll learn from reading this book. While these "secrets" are all covered in the book, a couple are given such an incomplete treatment that you might not find what you're looking for:
· Which coach seats on which planes are better than first class: Some airplane types on about half a dozen airlines are covered. However, I'm an Alaska Airlines frequent flier and could not find my airline nor the planes I fly on.
· Which cruise-ship brochures lie: This is not even close to an all-inclusive list.
Also, Greenberg does not cover train or bus travel.
There IS a lot of useful information, but it's intermixed with anecdotes, many of them Greenberg's humorous tales of grievances with airlines, hotels (like the one who charged him for receiving a FedEx package), and rental car companies. Some reviewers complain about Greenberg's sardonic writing style, but I find Greenberg's tales of his predicaments both outrageously funny and informative. While every reader will have a different level of travel knowledge and savvy, there's so much information in the book that I think the vast majority of readers would learn something useful and money saving. In addition to the topics on the back cover, Greenberg covers the hazards of putting dogs and cats in a plane's cargo section, airport scams, things to look for when choosing a hotel room, the most economical way to make phone calls from a hotel, rental car rip-offs, helpful travel and weather related websites, and much more. I found the back-to-back ticket concept especially ingenious, but Greenberg cautions the reader that this strategy can result in being bumped from your flight if the airline finds out about it. Some complain that the information in the book is dated since September 11, 2001. At a September 2002, Seattle-area book lecture, Greenberg said everything in the book still applies. Well, almost everything applies, even in the air travel section, although Greenberg's comments on the safest place to sit on the plane in the event of a hijacking sound awfully flip, and of course the packing tips for carry-on bags need updating. Also, some airlines will no longer allow you board a plane for for no extra charge later in the day if you miss your flight. If you don't mind a smart-allecky writing style, there's a lot of useful travel information in "The Travel Detective".
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money--his bad timing makes matters worse
Review: One thing that stuck me is the bad timing. I'm sure he would not have written the book with such a smug tone especially regarding security issues after 9/11. He suggests having another unknown passenger carry your extra carry on bags (you are not allow to bring on) and that security will not be an issue if you are going on the same plane--HOW DO THEY KNOW THAT FOR SURE!
He has such a smart-ass tone to the book it becomes increasingly annoying and ruins much of the little value in has. I expected so much more about cruises. The well-traveled person would get very little out of this book. He spends page upon page speaking of things like confusion of airport codes when he does not cover other actual important areas well or at all. I am more than half way through the book and for the first time in my life I want to stop reading as I beginning to dislike this author. I have nothing to do with the travel industry other than being a frequent traveler. Others may have some retribution in mind for this man but I just don't like the book. We is a bragger that seems to take so much enjoyment he gets out of publicly sticking it to companies that may deserve it but not in such a joyful manner. He smugly tells of how he used to book loads of seats in his youth to make certain he could get on the plane as a standby passenger. He has already referred to the "Star Wars" bar scene three or four times, I guess he has little depth in movies or that is the only one he owns. His arrogance comes out loud and clear and what could have been an average book based on the value and information in it now just is annoying and hardly worth the extra star I gave it. Buyer beware.
Rating: 
Summary: 95% worthless
Review: Given the massive changes in airline policies and security since 9/11, the vast majority of the advice in this book is no longer applicable. Greenberg focuses so much on flying - almost 240 of the book's 375 or so pages of content - that you'd think there was nothing more to travel than the flight. There's also a bizarre jump from an abbreviated pet-friendly lodging section (a whopping two paragraphs) smack into the middle of a discussion on how to get the best deal on a hotel room. Clearly, whoever edited this cut a big chunk out, and deprived the reader of who-knows-how-much information. There are some useful tips and hints in here, but not enough to justify owning it.
Rating:
Summary: Too Much Schtick
Review: If you would like to read Peter Greenberg's stand up act, get this book. If you are looking for clear, concise travel tips, keep looking. Reading this book, it feels like jokes outnumber useful tips 10 to 1. The first 10 pages are Jay Leno's take on traveling!?!? That's not what I call useful travel tips.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of time for anyone with travel experience
Review: If you have very little travel experience you may be able to get something out of this book but for the rest of the world it is a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Stop Complaining
Review: There are quite a few good tips in the book, but all of them could have been combined into two chapters. The author seems to ramble on about all of his travel problems, things that have happened to him. That's great if you show us an example, but not a third of each chapter. Also, there is a lot of redundent info. For instance, the chapter about crusie lines buying used boats and renaming them and saying "New to our fleet" as to inply that the ship is brand new not an old ship. He goes through about 30 examples of this.. One would have been enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Basic Advice !!
Review: What a great book of secrets, tricks and advice!! Now more than ever it is important to be mentally prepared before taking that next trip to Grandma's, the board meeting or dream trip to Fiji. In conversational laymen's terms, Peter Greenberg spells out the ins and outs of traveling less stressfully and how to speak to those we deal with in the travel industry! Bravo Mr. Greenberg!
Rating:
Summary: It Paid for Itself
Review: I'm almost reluctant to promote this book, because I won't be able to feel like a savvy, in-the-know traveller if everyone can buy the secrets. Greenberg's book may be somewhat incomplete, and offer some less-than-useful information, but I saved [money] the first time I booked a ticket using his advice, so that's good enough for me. I'm inclined to wonder if, in the days of loyal-customer clubs, Greenberg's tips for getting upgrades and other preferential treatment really benefit the occasional traveller. Still, just reading the book evokes globetrotting dreams, so it's worth reading even if it's not often used.
Rating: 
Summary: Readers must be detectives to find useful information
Review: This book spent many weeks during 2001 on the best seller lists. To see what the hype was all about, I finally checked the book out from my local library. I urge you to do the same before making a committment to buy it. When I first opened the book, I went right to the Index to see what Peter wrote about courier flights, one of my favorite topics. I was pleasantly surprised that he wrote a few pages about that topic, since it was listed as appearing on 5 pages. However, there was really less than one page of courier information and none of it was useful; the rest of the 5 pages was for Bereavement fares. My guess is that the Indexer made a mistake. So, now disappointed with the lack of information about courier flights, I decided to start from the beginning. In the first few pages, Peter tells us that he gave "The Savvy Traveler" his moniker and relates a story about Jay Leno sleeping with candy in his ear. Lovely! Do you love good stories? Peter spins long-winded tales throughout this book. You have to be your own detective to find the helpful items hidden within the stories. If you would rather be informed than entertained, then skip this book. Reviewed December 2001 by Charles McCool
Rating:
Summary: Save your money
Review: It's people like Greenberg that give travellers a bad name. Pity the poor travel professionals that have to deal with people like this. It's the travellers that he pokes fun of that subsidize his offensive tactics.
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