August 2023 MBR The Travel Shelf

The Travel Shelf

Soul of Amsterdam
Benoit Zante
Jonglez Publishing
https://jonglezpublishing.com
9782361954666, $14.95, PB, 144pp

https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Amsterdam-guide-exceptional-experiences/dp/2361954664

Synopsis: With the publication of "Soul of Amsterdam: A guide to 30 exceptional experiences" by journalist Benoit Zane, the on-site visitor and armchair traveler can sneak into the Westerpark community gardens, taste the best appeltaart in the Jordaan district, sleep amid the canals, eat herring at the water's edge, go bargain hunting at Europe's largest flea market, enjoy craft beer in the shadow of a windmill, take a dip in the Amstel, or put down your bags in a green oasis, and more! This is a beautifully illustrated guide showcasing the multiple facets of Amrsterday -- a capital at the heart of Europe that (in the author's words) is capable of reinventing itself and surprising us.

"Soul of Amsterday" is part of the 'Soul of' series is a new approach to travelling that's all about wandering around, chance encounters, and unforgettable experiences. Guidebooks that unlock the hidden doors of a city, find its pulse and delve into every last nook and cranny to uncover its soul. Every guide in the "Soul of" collection includes: The 30 best experiences a city has to offer; Interviews with those who give the city its spirit; Original illustrations that capture the city's soul

Critique: Lovely, informative, exceptional, 'user friendly' in both organization and presentation, "Soul of Amsterdam: A guide to 30 exceptional experiences" will prove to be a welcome and enduringly appreciated addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library European Travel Guide collections -- and a 'must have' travel guide for business or recreational visitors to the unique and ancient city of Amsterdam.

Editorial Note: Benoit Zante (https://muckrack.com/benoit-zante) is a journalist and trend-spotter, who explores his adopted city of Amsterdam at length in order to discover the multiple facets of this capital, at the heart of Europe, that is capable of reinventing itself by surprising us.

Secret Dolomites
Andrea Rizzato
Jonglez Publishing
https://jonglezpublishing.com
9782361956240, $21.95, PB, 496pp

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Dolomites-guides-Andrea-Rizzato/dp/2361956241

Synopsis: What are dolomites?

A dolomite is a rock that defies the laws of gravity, petrified bishops, dwarfs, gnomes and an elephant, caves, ravines and mysterious portals, breathtaking views of the highest rock walls of the range, a forgotten and enchanting forest, lost bivouacs on high, secluded plateaus, solitary hermitages, stone books in an open-air library, the trails of Mesolithic hunters, a glacier between blood-red rock walls and another with a bewitching turquoise gaze, via ferratas to travel along in solitude, unknown and unnamed summits on topographic maps, fabled spirits of the air!

They are magnificent formations that can be found in ephemeral lakes, in mountain meadows, in rocky labyrinths hidden behind rock walls, in ancient mining villages and abandoned hamlets, in the prison of the Turks in the Dolomites, in a proglacial lake.

Critique: "Secret Dolomites" by Andrea Rizzato is part of the Jonglez Publishing 'Secret Guides' series. Profusely illustrated throughout in full color, "Secret Dolomites" is the ideal and informative itinerary travel guide resource for the truly adventurous who hold a special interest in this often breath-taking geological phenomena. Compact and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Secret Dolomites" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Travel Guide collections.

Editorial Note: With 30 years of experience in the Alpine region, Andrea Rizzato is the author of numerous hiking and ski-mountaineering guides, and also contributes to the main magazines specialising in outdoor activities. Having mostly travelled and photographed the less known and less used routes, he prefers the wilder parts of the mountains that offer a sense of communion with nature. He is also an academic member of GISM, the Italian Association of Mountain Writers. The author is himself a guide on the routes described in this book.

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