Rating: 
Summary: I liked it, I liked it ...
Review: As is apparent from other reviews in this thread, "The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook" by Gitlitz and Davidson elicits strong feelings, both pro and con. I personally found this book to be an invaluable reference while walking the pilgrimage route. However, I recognize how other individuals might differ in their assessment. First and foremost, it is essential to recognize what this book is NOT designed to do. The handbook is not a trail guide.
It does not list refuges or explain where to camp.
It does not tell you where to eat or what to pack.
If this is what you are looking for, find another book. With that said and done, the handbook did provide me with an extremely valuable reference in establishing a cultural context for the sites that I was visiting. I am not an expert in Romanesque architecture, nor do I know the lives of Roman Catholic saints well enough to recognize the major figures in a Retablo. I never had the opportunity to extensively study the history of the pilgrimage. Left to my own devices, I would most certainly never have read much in the way of medieval Spanish poetry. In all honesty, even after walking the pilgrimage route, I am still far from expert in all of these areas. However, the handbook did provide me with enough information that I was able to appreciate much more of the sites that I was visiting. As other individuals have noted, time for sightseeing is often short. I found the handbook to be extremely useful in prioritizing my time and determining which sites would be most interesting to visit. As an example, none of the other sources that I consulted noted the existence of the Blacksmith forge at Compludo which may very well have been my favorite part of the trip. Without the handbook, I would have never have visted half the church nor understood a quarter of what I was seeing. As I noted at the start of this posting, when it comes to the handbook, your mileage may vary. Each person has their own reason for traveling the Camino. If you aren't interested in cultural history or architectural reference, you might find it more useful to bring another reference. However, if you are interested in understanding the "why" behind what you're seeing, I think that you will find this reference as valuable as I did.
Rating:
Summary: The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handb
Review: David Gitlitz and Linda Davidson have compiled a remarkable handbook for all manner of pilgrims to Santiago. Whether you are a pilgrim traveling by car, horse, bike or foot, or a student of Spanish culture, this is the one work you must have to be able to appreciate the cultural context of the Road to Santiago. It is probably the only book written on the Road to Santiago during the past 500 years that would have been credible and interesting to the pilgrim of the Renaissance. In other words, the book's penetrating commentary on the many layers of medieval culture make "The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago" a book for the ages.
Rating:
Summary: The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handb
Review: David Gitlitz and Linda Davidson have compiled a remarkable handbook for all manner of pilgrims to Santiago. Whether you are a pilgrim traveling by car, horse, bike or foot, or a student of Spanish culture, this is the one work you must have to be able to appreciate the cultural context of the Road to Santiago. It is probably the only book written on the Road to Santiago during the past 500 years that would have been credible and interesting to the pilgrim of the Renaissance. In other words, the book's penetrating commentary on the many layers of medieval culture make "The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago" a book for the ages.
Rating:
Summary: THE definitive guide
Review: David Gitlitz and Linda Davidson have written a remarkable cultural handbook on the Road to Santiago. Basing the book on their own information gained from over a quarter of century of walks to Santiago, they have composed a text that is a must read for all manner of pilgrims to Santiago as well as any student of Spanish cultural history. It is also the one book written over the past 500 years that would have been both credible and interesting to pilgrims from the Renaissance. Examining layer after layer of medieval, Renaissance and modern culture from even the most obscure sites along the road, Gitlitz and Davidson make it possible to finally see the Road to Santiago for the rich cultural, social and religious experience that it is.
Rating:
Summary: The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago
Review: David Gitlitz and Linda Davidson have written a remarkable cultural handbook on the Road to Santiago. Basing the book on their own information gained from over a quarter of century of walks to Santiago, they have composed a text that is a must read for all manner of pilgrims to Santiago as well as any student of Spanish cultural history. It is also the one book written over the past 500 years that would have been both credible and interesting to pilgrims from the Renaissance. Examining layer after layer of medieval, Renaissance and modern culture from even the most obscure sites along the road, Gitlitz and Davidson make it possible to finally see the Road to Santiago for the rich cultural, social and religious experience that it is.
Rating:
Summary: The best reference on the Camino de Santiago.
Review: I bought this book in 2003 before embarking upon the Camino Frances. It turned out to be a marvelous multi-faceted reference. Due to weight considerations, I left it at home, instead of schlepping it 800 KM across Spain. Then, outside of Burgo de Ranero, I see THIS BOOK, waiting for me on a roadside bench. "That's my book!", I exclaim. Needless to say, it traveled with me the rest of the way to Santiago. Regardless of weight. If there's only one book you get about the culture, history and architecture of the Camino, this should be it. Buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: The foremost authority on Santiago de Compostela tells all
Review: I have just had the pleasure of attending a seminar by Linda Kay Davidson entitled "On the Road to Compostela," in which she narrated a two-hour slideshow of her five pilgrimages in Spain with her husband and several students. Much of the content of "The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago" was touched upon during the lecture: the religious background, various myths and legends, stories from the rural villages along the road, and the spiritual experience involved. One of my favourite moments was when Davidson asked, "What is a pilgrimage?" The audience was composed of various nationalities, religions and ethnic groups, but we all had ideas to offer. The third or fourth brave soul said that a pilgrimage was a religious experience. She continued her explanation and we arrived at the definition of a pilgrimage as a journey that takes one away from comforts and friends, a journey of self-discovery, and one that must be made on foot. She mentioned other secular pilgrimages: Graceland, the Alamo, and on a more sombre note, the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City and the former site of the World Trade Centre in New York City. A pilgrimage can extend to finding a deeper meaning in life, not necessarily of a religious nature, a pilgrimage as a voyage of discovery. I was fortunate to attend Linda Kay Davidson's seminar; I learned a great deal about pilgrimages in general and Santiago de Compostela, about the history of the region, the terrain, the rural towns and friendly townsfolk, cloistered nuns who had not seen the next village over and would never do so except by postcard, the architecture, from gothic to baroque, the sometimes humorous stories of saints' lives, the sombre roadside shrines for pilgrims who ultimately did not finish their journey. This is an excellent guide to Santiago de Compostela whether you are merely interested in reading more about the region or if you are planning a pilgrimage yourself. And if you have the chance to see Linda Kay Davidson in person, do so. She makes the journey a memorable one, taking time at the end of the seminar to show a brief slideshow with a medieval soundtrack and had us mentally create (or recreate) a pilgrimage of our own to Compostela. It was a fascinating experience and one I won't soon forget.
Rating: 
Summary: The Impractical Pilgrim's Guide
Review: I purchased this book after reading all of the rave reviews listed here, but don't be fooled as I was! I met many adventurous souls on the Camino, but none who would think to follow the bloated itinerary suggested by these authors. Apart from the lack of maps or accomodation information, some of their trail tips were so off base (i.e. suggestions for scenic detours that wound through industrial land) that I wonder if they even hiked the same path! There are much better guide books out there, but they are not readily available in this country. My suggestion is to wait and buy The Practical Pilgrim's Guide, relatively easy to find in Europe and available in several different languages. I picked up a copy midway through the Camino. While it is much thinner on the cultural and historical details (and thus easier to carry), all points of significant interest are treated with just enough detail, not the kind of overkill that Glitz and Davidson's book doles out. I dumped their book on the side of the road after it gave me its only practical use, as I had run out of toilet paper.
Rating: 
Summary: Very complete and entertaining book
Review: I was expecting to know something about the medieval heretic Prisciliano but the authors don't mention him. Prisciliano is, according to studies by Victoria Armesto, the real person buried in place of Santiago. Poor old Prisciliano will have to keep waiting in ostracism a little bit longer... Another thing: The cockleshells that symbolize the pilgrim. The authors don't mention the theory that relates it to the birth of Venus (see Botticelli's work).
Anyway, the book reads easily.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have
Review: In preparation for my first official pilgrimage to Compostela, I've sought out references from every possible fountain. Davidson and Gitlitz offer the consumate guide to the novice pilgrim, with plenty for the seasoned shell-bearer. This book is thorough in its detail, appealing in its prose and appetizing in its descriptions. Having lived in many of the places along the road, I've been critical of many of the books I've read as too heavy on the "Big C" culture: That which isn't really culture at all...just the obvious stereotype. This book is heavy on the "Little C" culture, as a book which delves into little-known asides which inspire the traveler to seek and find, and create a unique memory for themselves. It offers a variety of insights on history, lore, architecture, terrain, and other "bonuses". It's a quick read, but allows you enough of the whole to enitce you to explore and gain the rest on your own industry. Of all the guidebooks I've purchased, this is the ONLY one that will be travelling in my pack on the Road to Santiago.
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