Ask Arthur Frommer: And Travel Better, Cheaper, Smarter (Paperback)
Amazon.com Review
- Organized by travel topic
- More than 500 entries
- Each entry is a short, digestible take–no longer than a page.
- 250 b&w photos
- Arthur’s style is personable and engaged–his personality shines through
Amazon Exclusive: Q&A with Author Arthur Frommer
 |
Q: How has technology changed the travel landscape in the last 50 years?
A: It has given us the tools to be our own travel agents. By devoting a small effort to ferret out the best airfare and hotel search engines, we can snare bargains and discounts in travel that used to go unused. We can lower the cost of travel—and thus travel more frequently.
Q: What is your favorite travel destination and how many times have you been there?
A: Paris leads the list; I can’t get enough of it (have vacationed there dozens of times). I find it occupies the frontiers of art and culture, history and cuisine, political discourse and literary events. The Parisians have become excellent, courteous hosts (contrary to a popular misconception), and the city itself is, to me, a place of enchantment that never grows stale. A runner-up: the island of Bali.
Q: You seem to be unhappy with many aspects of the American travel industry. What bothers you most, and why?
A: The shortness of the vacation time enjoyed by average Americans; we urgently need legislation mandating a minimum of three weeks per year of paid leave; the failure of our newspapers, magazines and television outlets to provide Americans with useful facts about affordable travel, in place of their fascination with deluxe facilities that only the wealthy can enjoy; the mindless quality of so many vacation resorts and tours that treat their guests as ignoramuses. I’ve devoted much of my travel career to disclosing the reverse of what most of the commercial travel industry recommends.
Q: What are the top destinations for travel within the United States? Where do you recommend that we go for our vacations?
A: First and foremost, the U.S. National Parks, especially Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Great Smokey Mountains. Second, I recommend the non-tourist neighborhoods of New York, especially its world of provocative, mind-enlarging, off-Broadway theaters. Third, Boston, New Orleans and San Francisco, the Oregon coast, the southwest coast of Florida (especially Sanibel Island and its “Ding” Darling Nature Preserve). There are many more.
Q: How has the current economic climate changed the way we travel?
A: It has forced us to consider the use of “alternative” lodgings in place of standard (and far more expensive) hotels: guesthouses and B&Bs, hostels, student residences, convents and monasteries, vacation homes and apartments in resort areas, vacation “exchanges” (you live in their apartment or home while they live in yours), the extra rooms and beds offered by “hospitality clubs”. By using such facilities, you not only save money but enjoy a far more authentic travel experience among actual residents. And I am proud that the Frommer guides have always devoted more attention to these excellent alternative accommodations than any other travel book series.
Product Description
“Arthur Frommer is still dispensing practical advice to travelers.” -USA Today
“Written in Frommer’s trademark light and conversational tone , [Ask Arthur Frommer] covers more than 800 topics, from packing quandaries to the best airport-food options, all arranged alphabetically for easy reference. Each entry is brief, informative, and entertaining. -American Way magazine
“Packed with practical advice for budget travel…Frommer’s strong opinions and conversational writing style make the book a fun, easy read.” –About.com
“Reading [Ask Arthur Frommer] is like having dinner — and a glass of wine and then coffee and dessert — with the world’s best travel advisor.” -Jeanne Leblanc, Courant.com
“Arthur has a unique perspective on the changes that have take place over the past 50 years. This book is packed with everything from airfares and lodging to vacations for nudist and vegans.” -Tripso.com
–This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
Buy Ask Arthur Frommer: And Travel Better, Cheaper, Smarter (Paperback) at Amazon
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not useful
I was hoping for more details but the book glosses over topics in general and offered no information I couldn’t get elsewhere on the internet.
1.0 out of 5 stars
I wouldn’t trust Frommer….
Considering Mr. Frommer recently called legal open carry Arizonan resident “thugs”, and saying that would cause him to boycott the state, I would have to question his judgment in…
Actually, contrary to another review I have read on this site, this book is one of the most plain-talking, no-holds-barred travel books I’ve ever laid my hands on. This guy isn’t afraid to say stuff that could get him in trouble with the rest of the travel industry. Like this, on page 410: TripAdvisor.com is “virtually useless” and its rankings “have no value at all.” On page 76, he says modern cruise ships look like they were “gigantic, metallic, orgone boxes of the sort envisioned in the 1920s by hallucinating psychologists.” (That description is pretty hilarious. But then he goes on to tell you how to get a discount on one.) On p. 450, he calls for a wholesale change of guard at the Department of Homeland Security for the sake of the country’s future! It’s very fast-moving, with fact after fact coming right at you in between those opinions, and lots of websites worth bookmarking, so if you can’t find something to use on one page, the next page is likely to help, and what’s more, you get the feeling he really has tried all the things he’s writing about. The book is chatty and dishy at times, and always opinionated, but no one can argue that this guy doesn’t know his stuff. I don’t know any other book that has all these details in one place. For example, Frommer’s book mentions an airfare booking website called Yapta twice and it takes three pages to explain the ins and outs. I also have Peter Greenberg’s recent book, and he gives Yapta just five lines. There’s simply more meat here. There’s also an index in this book, which makes finding what I need really easy.
1.0 out of 5 stars
believe in the second amendment?
It would seem that Mr. Frommer does not. Now, a person may certainly have whatever political views he or she wishes, but Mr.
Anyone who is considering buying this book should understand that it is basically a reformat of Arthur’s blog, available at [...] The blog entries have been sorted into categories, lightly edited by his staff, formatted and printed. There is value to having them printed on paper and bound, but basically the same material has been available online. Arthur’s blog is an exceptionally fine one, but because it is a blog, the material in it (and thus the book) is not comprehensive and can feel a bit disjointed. The book doesn’t have the same clear sense of theme and purpose as Arthur’s old book The New World of Travel. Also, the time window for some entries’ relevance is limited, which becomes noticeable in a printed book with its longer shelf life. That said, there is much of value in this book and the writing is often excellent.
I am disappointed in some of the reviews on this page. It would be more honest if Mr. Cochran would mention that he works for Frommer and has written guidebooks under the Pauline Frommer line. Mr. Brosnahan could mention that he is the former author of Lonely Planet’s Turkey guidebook. Mr. Kvidt is connected with Beat of Hawaii, a web site that Frommer has repeatedly plugged on his blog. There is nothing wrong with these people writing reviews, but notice that all of them have a promotional feel to them, like the back cover of a book, and don’t really describe the book honestly. It is very ironic that both Beat of Hawaii and Frommer’s blog have spoken out very strongly against insider reviews on Trip Advisor that don’t disclose reviewers’ actual interests, and that Mr. Kvidt has then gone ahead and posted just such a review on this site!
On my first trip to Europe in 1966, of course I used Arthur Frommer’s Europe on $5 a Day–as did every other American traveler I saw during that trip.
Over a half century after first publishing his world-changing guidebook, Mr Frommer is still going strong, publishing books, magazine articles, a nationally-syndicated newspaper column and radio program, and even a popular blog.
I think I can safely say that there is no one in the entire world who knows more about travel than Arthur Frommer.
It’s not merely that he knows the best places to go, the most enjoyable things to see and do, and the tedious tourist traps to avoid. More importantly, he continues to steadfastly advocate the kinds of travel that educate, edify, inspire and delight.
Far from “It’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium,” the Frommer traveler actually does go off the beaten path–even along the route of that path. Unaware travelers will be browsing the touristy souvenir shops on the main square while those following Frommer’s advice will be in an artisan’s workshop only a few blocks away enjoying a thoroughly authentic and unforgettable local experience.
Well, then. Imagine taking that half-century-plus of travel wisdom and experience and distilling it into one 484-page book. That’s what Frommer has done with Ask Arthur Frommer & travel better, cheaper, smarter: the ultimate travel guide that answers every major question.
No matter where you’ve been, no matter where you’ll go, Ask Arthur Frommer can truly help you to travel “better, cheaper, smarter.” It contains a wealth of up-to-date insider tips on how to get the lowest fares on flights, ships and trains; exhaustive and detailed information on the best accommodations worldwide and how to get them for the best price; adventure and special-interest trips and treks throughout the world; shopping and saving anywhere at all; how to get the most and best from travel industry agents and staff; and a shopping list of great destinations from Amsterdam through Turkey to Vietnam and even Washington, DC.
The benefit is obvious: you can’t possible know all this, I can’t either, so the book is a no-brainer buy. It pays for itself by Page 10.
Surprisingly, the book’s best feature is not its encyclopedic, practical and highly useful tips and information. The book’s best feature is Frommer himself: candid, eloquent, entertaining, enthusiastic, opinionated and outspoken, Frommer revels in his role as advocate for honest, down-to-earth, life-enhancing travel far removed from the Mandarin-elitist, photo-stylist $1000+-a-night vacations described in breathless prose by the glossy travel magazines.
Frommer made the point in his very first book: budget travel, in which one engages the world and truly learns about, is superior to luxury travel in which the real world–and its infinite beauty–is kept at a “safe” distance and one’s preconceptions and prejudices are never questioned, let alone challenged.
If you love travel–as you must if you are contemplating a trip to Turkey–you’ll find Ask Arthur Frommer to be a priceless encyclopedia of on-the-road wisdom, and a worthy “bible” of the aware travelers’ creed.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great resources and tips
I subscribe to Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel and this was a very good compilation of resources and tips. Kind of like a “best of”.
5.0 out of 5 stars
What I Found in This Book
I run my own travel blog which I’m not going to mention not to make this review sound like a self promotion.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A travel authority at the top of his game
This latest book from Frommer is a treasure trove of valuable information. Even as a professional travel writer, I’m constantly learning from Frommer about insider secrets (like…
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
Really enjoyed this book. Was surprised by the amount of new information since I’m constantly reading travel info. Would highly recommend.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frommer’s latest and bestest!
I agree heartily with Cochran, Schwartz, and other previous reviewers here, that this is Frommer at his best — which means it’s the savviest, most knowledgeable, and handsomely…
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quick delivery of book in excellent condition
I ordered this book for a friend for a fast-approaching birthday. It arrived quickly and was in excellent, brand new condition — a perfect gift!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frommer’s best
This is Arthur Frommer’s best work, in my opinion, because it’s his voice and it contains much more than the usual guide book, even the usual Frommer — tours, hotels, airline…