May 2023 MBR The Travel Shelf

The Travel Shelf

Perfect Day Chicago
Wendy Altschuler
Reedy Press
PO Box 5131, St. Louis, MO 63139
www.reedypress.com
9781681064352, $27.00, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Day-Chicago-Wendy-Altschuler/dp/1681064359

Synopsis: Chicago is a city of neighborhoods renowned for its skyscrapers, Lake Michigan beaches, parks, museums, sports teams, and live entertainment. And the food? Chicago is a non-stop buffet of gut-busting chow festivals celebrating everything from barbecue to deep-dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs (layered with mustard, never ketchup), and jibarito sandwiches.

While it's easy to whittle away the day discovering the Art Institute of Chicago, Navy Pier's Centennial Wheel, and Cloud Gate at Millennium Park, it's also rewarding to experience the lesser-known charms, some that are completely free of charge. But with so many incredible options, how could you possibly make the most of just one day in town?

Allow "Perfect Day Chicago" Grab-and-Go Itineraries for Everyone" by Wendy Altschler to add the ideal daily itineraries to your next visit. Follow along for a day or string together a few for a well curated week in the Windy City. See tucked-away gems like Oz Park, the Chicago Cultural Center's Tiffany dome, the Violet Hour speakeasy, or Humboldt Park's 55-foot steel Puerto Rican flags. Hunt down the resting places of famous Chicagoans at Graceland or spend the day marveling at the street art in the Wabash Arts Corridor.

With over two decades residing and exploring in Chicagoland, travel author Wendy Altschuler has delved deep into Chicago's communities and laid it all out in "Perfect Day Chicago". Let her extensive knowledge of the city she loves be your guide to a unique day in a city with limitless potential for adventure.

Critique: Cram packed with information about things to do, see and experience in the great and diverse metropolitan city of Chicago, Illinois, "Perfect Day Chicago" is the perfect guide for memorable, enjoyable, and informative visits to the Windy City. Ideal for on-site visitors and with a great deal to offer native born residents as well, "Perfect Day Chicago" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library American Travel Guide reference collections.

Editorial Note: Wendy Altschuler (https://www.wendyaltschuler.org) is a seasoned travel writer, focusing on adventure and the outdoors, with words published in print and web publications that include Forbes, TripSavvy, Fodor's Travel, Modern Luxury, Parents, Matador Network, Real Simple, Yoga Magazine, SheKnows, The Daily Meal, Chicago Sun-Times, and more. Her love of travel began with a year of volunteer service with Americorps, followed by study abroad in India and a position as an itinerary writer for a luxury travel company. She can be followed on Instagram: @wendyaltschuler

Islamic Cairo in Maps: Finding the Monuments
Yasser M. Ayad
American University in Cairo Press
200 Park Avenue, Suite 1700, New York, NY 10166
www.aucpress.com
9781649031112, $12.95, PB, 104pp

https://www.amazon.com/Islamic-Cairo-Maps-Finding-Monuments/dp/1649031114

Synopsis: With the publication of "Islamic Cairo in Maps: Finding the Monuments", Yasser M. Ayad provides on-site visitors with a portable, easy-to-use map guide helps you locate over seven hundred Islamic-era monuments in Cairo's historic core, stretching from the city's northern walls all the way southward to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun and the Citadel, and beyond to Coptic Cairo, which includes monuments that pre-date Islamic rule

Clearly divided into six digestible main sections, the first five contain clusters of monuments, while the sixth covers structures scattered all around the old Cairene urban fabric.

The clear, uncluttered cartographic style of "Islamic Cairo in Maps: Finding the Monuments" makes finding where you want to go a pleasure, and the maps are accompanied by a comprehensive index of monuments that gives their dates where known, their location referenced to their corresponding map pages, and a timeline of key periods and dynasties.

Attractively designed in full color and including over twenty photographs of key monuments, "Islamic Cairo in Maps: Finding the Monuments" is guide that is conveniently packed into a slim 104 pages -- making it handy enough to take anywhere and great for planning and remembering excursions. It is not only an ideal companion for the city's visitors and residents but an invaluable resource for historians, writers, and students.

Critique: Easily portable, illustrated with beautiful full color photographs, and perfect for planning travel itineraries, "Islamic Cairo in Maps: Finding the Monuments" is exceptionally 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Egyptian Travel Guide collections.

Editorial Note: Yasser Ayad is a professor of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Egypt, he earned a BSc in architectural engineering and an MSc in environmental studies from Alexandria University. He started building an interest in digital mapping and geographic information during his studies in Egypt and continued this passion through his Environmental Planning Ph.D. work at University of Montreal, Canada, and his professional and academic career at Clarion University.

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