"Free Internet Marketing for Small Business" ebook out now

Free Internet Marketing for Small Business, by Fran West and Hilary Thompson, is an ebook full of practical tips for sole proprietors, home-based operators and small to medium enterprises.

It is a "must have" for anyone who is starting up a new business or trying to attract more clients/customers to an existing business.

Written in an easy to read and understand style, this ebook is an invaluable how-to manual with loads of illustrations and templates.

Testimonials

“I think your eBook will be most helpful to get all the Indie business owners out there started on internet marketing. It was all very clear and most importantly the links worked, making it easy to navigate. As an independent international publisher we already make use of some of your recommendations, but are pleased to know about all the others. We tend to cover just some of the ones you suggest because we are often just under overwhelm most of the time, what with all the other vital tasks that have to be covered. You make it easy for your readers to choose their own favourite tools and make an easy start on this most important activity.”

Robin Beck, Managing Director/Owner, Kima Global Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa, www.kimabooks.com

“Well done ladies. Simple, clear and easy to read. Our company is in the midst of a marketing facelift … change in strategy, website, brochure … work in progress. It is strange how at times things we need fall into our lap … it really is a lot about timing! I needed to be pointed to read the Google+ Guides to Business.”

Michelle Bassanesi, Resource Broker, Chief Operations/Financial Officer, Event Services, Rome, Italy, www.eventservices.it

“There's a lot of excellent information in these pages. The internet and modern communications have advanced beyond all recognition in the last 10 years or so, and your book gives an excellent overview of the techniques for marketing a small business in the 21st Century. There are many free resources that can help to make the difference between success and failure as a small business starts out. I've never really got to grips with Pinterest or Vimeo, but your book led me to the relevant information in a click! As a result I'm getting some ideas about how I might incorporate them into my site.”

Jon Fryer, Proprietor, Coffee Berry, Sheffield, UK, coffeeberry.org.uk

“This is an excellent resource that has been crying out to be written. My congratulations to the authors for their clear and detailed instructions that will appeal to the most nervous or unsure new business owners who wish to gain maximum exposure for their enterprises. You are led through the process by means of screen shots taken directly from the most relevant websites. Each stage has working links to the pertinent pages so the value of each practical suggestion can be checked immediately. Where there is cost involved for extra services from those sites, this is clearly pointed out, but you may never need the extras. When the authors say "free" they mean "free." I recommend this eBook without reservation.”

Penney Hughes, Special Education/Early Intervention Teacher, Adelaide, South Australia

“This book saved me hours of research time, and with the explanations of how sites work, it saved me even more time by trying to work out how to use them.”

Annie Waddington-Feather, Freelance Writer and Communications Consultant, Adelaide, South Australia, www.wadders.co.uk

“I have been waiting for a book like this for over 30 years, it debunks the myth that IT specialists are the only people who can teach us this medium. It is easy to follow and for a person like me it unlocks the mysteries of some of the software I have difficulty understanding how to use. Well done to the authors for such a great initiative, may I wish you all the success you deserve.”

Ken Wood, Interventionist, Optimist, Educator, Adelaide, South Australia, www.kenwoodspeaking.com.au/

“Free Internet Marketing for Small Business gives me practical information based on practical experience. Parted the waves for me through the ocean of free internet marketing opportunities deep enough to drown me - and which I couldn't spare the time to explore. Now I have my own easy-to-follow internet marketing bible. Thank you Fran and Hilary.”

Peter Nicholls, Australia's People Gardener - Growing Better People, Adelaide, South Australia, www.australiaspeoplegardener.com.au

“This is great! I can't believe how many great ideas are packed into this little e-book. It covers a wide range of internet promotion techniques and sites, and the screen shots show you exactly what to do. Even if you have never used the Internet to promote your business, this book gives you everything you need to make a start. Best of all, the authors walk their talk and talk their walk - you can easily adapt what they've done to suit your own needs.”

Shelley Dunstone, Innovation in Strategy, Adelaide, South Australia, www.legalcircles.com

To purchase at $9.95 go to:

Rules aren’t always meant to be broken

"Rules aren't always meant to be broken" is a chapter in my book, Plane Reflections: about life and a flight around Australia's coast, and a topic for one of my newsletters. Worth bearing in mind.

Pilot your life newsletter no. 23: Rules aren't always meant to be broken from Fran West

Welcome to issue no. 23 of Pilot your life. May 2011

Just recently I’ve viewed a few movies where the main characters have “broken all the rules” and triumphed. However, real life doesn’t always work that way. Here’s a passage from my book, Plane Reflections: about life and a flight around Australia’s coast, which illustrates the potential hazards if some rules are broken.

“Rules aren’t always meant to be broken

There are more rules up in the air than on the ground. You don’t just jump in a plane and take off because you can get into a lot of trouble if you don’t read your charts properly.

There are a lot of Prohibited, Restricted and Danger Areas (PRDs), some of which need to be avoided if they are active, and there is also civil and military controlled airspace.

Some areas are for training or transitting and this applies to planes, helicopters, gliders, float planes, military jets, parachuting, aerobatics etc. Other areas need to be avoided when active for bombing, flares, rifles, lasers, gunnery, blasting, high velocity gas discharge etc.

Quite a lot of things end up in the atmosphere and planes don’t want to be in the air at the wrong time. If you read the documents and obtain weather reports with the PRDs before flying, then safety is assured.

Controlled airspace is one place where you don’t do your own thing without obtaining a clearance (asking permission) first. Planes etc. need to be kept separate from one another to avoid collisions. This is easier in airspace where the control tower has aircraft on radar but in other areas it’s up to the pilot to keep watch and maintain separation.

Along the coast there are military areas where planes can transit by set routes. This suited me in many instances because the routes flew over the ocean anyway.

On one occasion I obtained a clearance to fly along the coast at 1,500 feet. I was on radar, transmitting the designated transponder code, and while I was flying through the area I must have been concentrating on the camera and not on the altimeter and I had gradually descended. The control tower promptly told me to climb back to 1,500 feet. Just as well I did because not long after, a military helicopter came in from the ocean and flew beneath me towards the land.

Imagine what would have happened if I had kept descending and the helicopter had been climbing! A good lesson learnt that day!

So every time you come across a rule which you consider unnecessary, think very carefully before you break it. The rule may well have been designed for your own protection!”

Rainbow Bridge To Monument Valley: Making The Modern Old West

Rainbow Bridge To Monument Valley: Making The Modern Old West, by Thomas J. Harvey looks to be an interesting read if you can get past the cover. Stunning photo of one of the Mittens in Monument Valley.

I just had to visit Monument Valley after seeing the Red Bull Air Race on TV. No wonder so many movies have been made in this area. Flying over Rainbow Bridge in the early morning was also one of the highlights of my trip to the Southwest. Put this area on your bucket list. A bit of reading beforehand, like this book, wouldn't go astray to add to the appreciation of these significant places.



Rainbow Bridge to Monument Valley: Making the Modern Old West

The Colorado River Plateau is home to two of the best-known landscapes in the world: Rainbow Bridge in southern Utah and Monument Valley on the Utah-Arizona border. Twentieth-century popular culture made these places icons of the American West, and advertising continues to exploit their significance today. In "Rainbow Bridge to Monument Valley," Thomas J. Harvey artfully tells how Navajos and Anglo-Americans created fabrics of meaning out of this stunning desert landscape, space that western novelist Zane Grey called "the storehouse of unlived years," where a rugged, more authentic life beckoned.

Reviews
"Thomas J. Harvey's work on the Utah-Arizona border region . . . will stake out new intellectual terrain for scholars seeking to explore the relationship between geography, cultural nationalism, and Occidentalism in twentieth-century America. . . . Harvey shows quite clearly how layers of meaning continue to be attached to the region and how modern mythmaking is perpetuated."Carter Jones Meyer co-author of "Selling the Indian: Commercializing and Appropriating American Indian Cultures".

Travel Australia: Find Out How

Travel Australia, published by Reader's Digest (Australia) Pty Ltd, looks to be the ideal companion for planning a trip around Australia. I used several of these type of books to plan my flight around the coast of Australia and detours inland to even more beauty spots. Check it out.



Travel Australia

It's a vibrant mix of road maps and essential touring information with beautiful photography. It includes over 200 crystal-clear, up-to-date road maps of the entire country plus 98 town and city maps, route-planning maps and trip diagrams to make planning your trip a breeze.

Fran's Backpack - Travel Photography

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Travel Photography, by Steve Davey.

Many of the visitors to this site come via clicking on "images" in the search engines. For those who want to know more about taking their own images check out this book.


Travel Photography

"Footprint Travel Photography" is going to change the way that you travel. Written by acclaimed author and photographer of 'Unforgettable Places to see Before you Die' Steve Davey, it covers everything that you need to know about travel photography including preparation, exploring with a camera, all of the technical stuff as well as hints and tips about virtually every travel photography scenario. There is even a comprehensive section on post-processing your pictures using some of the most popular computer software, and tips on making money from your photography.Whatever camera you use and whatever your level this book is packed with information for you. There are Pro-Tips, information about shooting in RAW format, as well as specific information for users of film SLRs, digital compacts as well as Digital SLRs. Broken down by technique and photography style, rather than destination, the layout of this book makes it easy for you to decide what kind of picture you're trying to take and find, at a glance, the right techniques for you. As well as taking pictures, this book will inspire you to head out and see the world. Packed with inspirational pictures and anecdotes from Steve's years on the road, this book is a call to get out and explore.

How to Pilot Your Business and Navigate Your Way to Success - Ebook

"How to Pilot Your Business and Navigate Your Way to Success" is now available as a downloadable ebook.

Here's some information.

"In this guide you will find ten pointers for piloting your business and navigating your way to success. These pointers are based on Fran’s flying experiences both as a pilot and as a passenger.

Fran West has certainly achieved success following her dreams and reaching her goals. She is an award-winning pilot, adventurer, author, photographer and motivational speaker.




After a radical career change in 1999, Fran became the first woman pilot to fly a light aircraft around the coast of mainland Australia and Tasmania during Oz Flight ’99.

With a background in management, local and state government, and small business, she’s observed that there are many parallels between flying and business. Fran’s lived the adventures, learnt lessons from them and put those lessons into practice.

Now she wants others to share in and benefit from her knowledge and experience. So, use these pointers to help you to be successful and your business to soar."

Review:
"Fran West has used the metaphor of flying a plane around Australia as a beautiful way of illustrating how to achieve your goals in life; whether business or personal.
Her photos are stunning and her dedication to achieving her own goals is admirable. We need more role models in this world like Fran."
Hilary Thompson
The Out and About Therapist
http://www.theoutandabouttherapist.com

How to pilot your business and navigate your way to success

Ebook $9.95

Once payment is received, "How to pilot your business and navigate your way to success" will be emailed to you.

How to Pilot Your Business and Navigate Your Way to Success - Ebook

"How to Pilot Your Business and Navigate Your Way to Success" is now available as a downloadable ebook.

Here's some information.

"In this guide you will find ten pointers for piloting your business and navigating your way to success. These pointers are based on Fran’s flying experiences both as a pilot and as a passenger.

Fran West has certainly achieved success following her dreams and reaching her goals. She is an award-winning pilot, adventurer, author, photographer and motivational speaker.




After a radical career change in 1999, Fran became the first woman pilot to fly a light aircraft around the coast of mainland Australia and Tasmania during Oz Flight ’99.

With a background in management, local and state government, and small business, she’s observed that there are many parallels between flying and business. Fran’s lived the adventures, learnt lessons from them and put those lessons into practice.

Now she wants others to share in and benefit from her knowledge and experience. So, use these pointers to help you to be successful and your business to soar."

How to pilot your business and navigate your way to success

Ebook $9.95

Once payment is received, "How to pilot your business and navigate your way to success" will be emailed to you.

Review:
“Fran West is an inspiration! In this e-book she takes you on a journey that few people would dare to make in their lifetime – and from it, draws out ten valuable lessons for achieving success in business and life. Fran encourages you to set goals beyond what you think is possible, and to work towards them step by step. When you see what Fran accomplished, just by having the ambition, setting her goals and persevering, it makes you realize that you too can achieve much more in life. It’s worth reading the book simply for the story and the beautiful photos – it’s a remarkable adventure. But it’s not just about Fran’s journey – the principles that she’s extracted from the experience constitute wise advice for anyone who wants to make the most of what life has to offer.”

Shelley Dunstone
Win in a world without precedent
Web: www.shelleydunstone.com
Web: www.legalcircles.com

Fran's Backpack - Allen Brown's English Castles [Paperback]

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Allen Brown's English Castles [Paperback].

I've just returned from a trip to the UK and on the list of things to see were of course castles. This book looks interesting.

Click on the ad for more information.

Review
Anyone with any interest in castles should own and read this book. CASEMATEA good solid book, full of interesting information, which has to be a must for anyone writing or researching the subject of castles. MEDIEVAL HISTORY

Product Description
Castle studies have been shaped and defined over the past half-century by the work of R. Allen Brown. His classic English Castles, renamed here to acknowledge its definitive approach to the subject, has never been superseded by other more recent studies, and is still the foundation study of the English, and Welsh, castles built between the Norman Conquest and the mid 1500s. As the subject evolved, so too did this book, and for the most recent edition a considerable amount of French comparative material was added, though it remains essentially a study of English castles. For Allen Brown, castles were fortified residences (or residential fortresses), and developed, from European precursors, to support political and social realities as the Norman and Angevin kings secured their realm. Once these political ends had been largely met, the castle and castle-building entered a period of decline, and domestic and military interests went in opposite directions. This book, with numerous photographs and plans, remains the outstanding guide to the origins, purpose and identity of the great castles of England and Wales.

How to Pilot Your Business and Navigate Your Way to Success - Ebook

"How to Pilot Your Business and Navigate Your Way to Success" is now available as a downloadable ebook.

Here's the information from www.lulu.com.

"In this guide you will find ten pointers for piloting your business and navigating your way to success. These pointers are based on Fran’s flying experiences both as a pilot and as a passenger.

Fran West has certainly achieved success following her dreams and reaching her goals. She is an award-winning pilot, adventurer, author, photographer and motivational speaker.

After a radical career change in 1999, Fran became the first woman pilot to fly a light aircraft around the coast of mainland Australia and Tasmania during Oz Flight ’99.

With a background in management, local and state government, and small business, she’s observed that there are many parallels between flying and business. Fran’s lived the adventures, learnt lessons from them and put those lessons into practice.

Now she wants others to share in and benefit from her knowledge and experience. So, use these pointers to help you to be successful and your business to soar."

Click here to purchase a copy of "How to pilot your business and navigate your way to success" for only $9.95.

Review:

This ebook has a number of strong features:

• The simplicity of its language and the avoidance of business jargon
• It recognizes that when you bite off more than you can chew in business (as you will), success requires you to simply chew harder!
• I like the analogy of the coastline being like business – ups and downs, smooth patches and constantly changing
• The book reflects life experiences, rather than management textbooks
• The importance of taking time out to reflect. Sometimes its necessary to slow down in order to go faster
• The fact that negative experiences can be turned into positive outcomes
• That life is what happens while you are making your plans

Dripping with life’s experiences and their relevance to business development.

Peter Nicholls
Australia’s People Gardener
Website: www.workleisure.com
Blog: http://www.workleisure.com/enjoy-being-you-blog.html
Twitter: @enjoybeingyou

Fran's Backpack - Locomotives of Australia: 1850s to 2010

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Locomotives of Australia: 1850s to 2010 [Hardcover].

Click on the ad for more information.

Product Description
The first edition of this book appeared as a 272 page work three decades ago, its main aim being to provide a potted examination of the multiplicity of steam, diesel and electric locomotives that have graced this country from 1854. Since this first humble appearance, the book has grown in content, photography and style, and examining in some detail the massive technological changes that have swept onto the Australian locomotive scene. With an up-to-date map of the nations rail system and photographs provided by some of the nations more dedicated photographers, this book continues to provide a concise profile of the country's diversified motive power in what is the largest railway book yet produced in this country.

Fran's Backpack - Digital Exposure Handbook

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Digital Exposure Handbook [Paperback].

You can never have too many photography books. Even if you think you know it all, seeing someone else's view of the world through a lens can still be an eye opener if not a pleasure.

Click on the ad for more information.

Product Description
“Exposure is the heartbeat of photography… If you try to overlook this key fundamental, your photography will never realize its full creative potential.” That’s the compelling message of this extraordinary tutorial. It explains why automatic settings limit the digital camera’s artistic possibilities, and shows with a gallery of spectacular examples how technically “incorrect” exposures achieve dramatic effects—creating bold silhouettes or blazing highlights, manipulating depth of field, blurring to give the sense of motion, or freezing fast action. This exhaustive state-of-the-art manual covers all aspects of its subject, from the basics of metering and the use of flash and filters, to the four-thirds system and exposure in the digital darkroom.

About the Author
Ross Hoddinott (www.rosshoddinott.co.uk) is a professional photographer specialising in nature photography. He regularly contributes to photography magazines including Outdoor Photography. Ross's previous books for Photographer's Institute Press include Digital Macro Photography (9781861085306) and he lives in Bude, Cornwall

Fran's Backpack - The Fearless Flier's Handbook: Learning to Beat the Fear of Flying with the Experts from the Qantas Clinic

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is The Fearless Flier's Handbook: Learning to Beat the Fear of Flying with the Experts from the Qantas Clinic [Paperback].

Click on the ad for more information.

Product Description
As many as one in five people is afraid of flying. For some, the fear is so paralyzing that they have never boarded a plane. For others, flying is a necessary evil-they'll do it because they have to, but it's torture. They white-knuckle their way through the flights they have to take or avoid air travel and miss out on promotions, business opportunities, and the thrill of visiting new places with friends and family. This book provides a sensible, tested alternative, with proven strategies that have helped hundreds of people overcome their fears and head happily skyward.Based on the Australian airline Qantas's world-renowned "Fearless Fliers" course, THE FEARLESS FLIER'S HANDBOOK is filled with soothing facts and step-by-step exercises for turning fear into calm and confidence.

About the Author
Debbie Seaman is a freelance journalist who writes about travel and the creative side of the advertising business. She currently contributes to People, the New York Times travel section, and Advertising Age's Creativity magazine. She first wrote about her recovery in the Fearless Flyers program in an article in the New York Times.

Fran's Backpack - Digital SLR Expert: Landscapes: Essential Advice from the Pros

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Digital SLR Expert: Landscapes: Essential Advice from the Pros [Hardcover].

Even though I'm a photographer I always want to find ways of improving my skills in taking landscape photos. You can never stop learning, no matter what level you are.

Click on the ad for more information.

Product Description
The first title in a new photography series presents a comprehensive guide to taking fantastic landscape photographs using the digital SLR.This guide provides subject-specific advice from five leading professional landscape photographers.It features beautifully displayed, breathtaking photography from Darwin Wiggett, David Noton, William Neill, Tom Mackie and Tony Worobiec.Covering both in-camera and photoshop techniques in-depth, "Digital SLR Expert: Landscapes" is as practical as it is stunning.

Fran's Backpack - Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds [Hardcover].

I've picked this book because it's about war time flying.

My interest in aviation was sparked by reading my cousin John's books about fliers during World War II, not the Vietnam War. It was his collection that inspired me to take up flying later on.

Unfortunately, John never lived to see me become a pilot because he died at age 23 when I was only 3 years old. He flew with the Citizen's Air Force out of Parafield Airport near Adelaide. I also now use this airport sometimes when I fly.

John died in a car accident, not a plane accident. It must run in the family that pilots have car accidents (I've had two which haven't been caused by me) not plane accidents. So flying is safer than driving!

Click on the ad for more information.

Product Description
The widely anticipated memoir of legendary ace American fighter pilot, Robin Olds

Robin Olds was a larger-than-life hero with a towering personality. A graduate of West Point and an inductee in the National College Football Hall of Fame for his All-American performance for Army, Olds was one of the toughest college football players at the time. In WWII, Olds quickly became a top fighter pilot and squadron commander by the age of 22—and an ace with 12 aerial victories.
But it was in Vietnam where the man became a legend. He arrived in 1966 to find a dejected group of pilots and motivated them by placing himself on the flight schedule under officers junior to himself, then challenging them to train him properly because he would soon be leading them. Proving he wasn’t a WWII retread, he led the wing with aggressiveness, scoring another four confirmed kills, becoming a rare triple ace.
Olds (who retired a brigadier general and died in 2007) was a unique individual whose personal story is one of the most eagerly anticipated military books of the year.

Fran's Backpack - Lonely Planet Fiji

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Lonely Planet Fiji (Country Guide) [Paperback].

I've been to Fiji twice. Both times have been different but beautiful in their own ways.

The first time was touring by hire car and this way gave freedom to go to the villages in the countryside and not just sightsee, or shop, around the main towns. The people are just so friendly and that's part of the attraction. The hotel offered heaps of different activities - tennis, golf, deep sea fishing, shore fishing (caught a few poor souls and threw them back), and had my first try at a Fun Tiger catamaran. Not bad for a person that's more at home in the air than on the water.

The second time was to go on a cruise through the Yasawa Islands. Now that's a tropical Paradise. The ship cruised at night mostly and then stopped off at the various islands to explore, meet the people, go for walks, do activities like snorkelling and wind surfing, or just laze around on the beaches with picture post card views. The water is crystal clear and stunning shades of blue and green. Keeping track of the days was a bit hard though because the cruise took people away from their everyday hustle and bustle. Food for the soul.

Fiji - another recommended place to travel to.

Click on the ad for more information.

Product Description
Nobody knows Fiji like Lonely Planet, and our 8th edition offers the best of these island paradises. Whether that's surfing world-class breaks in the Mamanucas, island hopping in search of your perfect Yasawa beach, exploring the lush interior of Taveuni or discovering Suva's best nightspots - you decide.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.

In This Guide:
Sailing information for yachties and tips on how to join as crew
Color highlights help you plan your trip
Green Index to help make your travels ecofriendly

Fran's Backpack - Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe [Hardcover]

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe [Hardcover].

This is another National Geographic book and there's even a video clip on the product page - yum! Travel isn't just about the scenery but also the food - look, taste, smell and texture.

Click on the ad for more information.

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
For pure pleasure, few experiences are as satisfying as a chance to explore the world’s great culinary traditions and landmarks—and here, in the latest title of our popular series of illustrated travel gift books, you’ll find a fabulous itinerary of foods, dishes, markets, and restaurants worth traveling far and wide to savor.

On the menu is the best of the best from all over the globe: Tokyo’s freshest sushi; the spiciest Creole favorites in New Orleans; the finest vintages of the great French wineries; the juiciest cuts of beef in Argentina; and much, much more. You’ll sample the sophisticated dishes of fabled chefs and five-star restaurants, of course, but you’ll also discover the simpler pleasures of the side-street cafés that cater to local people and the classic specialties that give each region a distinctive flavor.

Every cuisine tells a unique story about its countryside, climate, and culture, and in these pages you’ll meet the men and women who transform nature’s bounty into a thousand gustatory delights. Hundreds of appetizing full-color illustrations evoke an extraordinary range of tastes and cooking techniques; a wide selection of recipes invites you to create as well as consume; sidebars give a wealth of entertaining information about additional sites to visit as well as the cultural importance of the featured food; while lively top ten lists cover topics from chocolate factories to champagne bars, from historic food markets to wedding feasts, harvest celebrations, and festive occasions of every kind. In addition, detailed practical travel information provides all the ingredients you’ll need to cook up a truly delicious experience for even the most demanding of traveling gourmets.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Top Ten New Year's Celebratory Feasts Around the World


Forget-the-Year Parties, Japan
Bonenkai, or forget-the-year, parties are occasions for workmates or groups of friends to celebrate the previous year’s successes and drown its failures. They usually take place in izakaya, taverns serving smallish Japanese dishes alongside drinks, or restaurants. Rigid protocol applies, at least until everyone is drunk; empty glasses are taboo.
Planning: Bonenkai parties take place throughout December; many people attend several. www.jnto.go.jp

New Year, or Spring Festival, China
On the eve of this 4,000-year-old lunar festival, families gather for a lavish reunion dinner. Common components are a chicken, symbolizing wholeness; black moss, indicating wealth; sticky cake, boding a sweet new year; and “longevity” noodles, eaten uncut. Dinner usually ends with a whole steamed fish, which is left unfinished to augur a new year of plenty.
Planning: Chinese New Year falls on varying dates in January and February. Wear red: it’s a lucky color. www.chinaodysseytours.com

Feast of the First Morning, Vietnam
An ancestor-worship festival, Tet Nguyen Dan (Feast of the First Morning) is also an occasion to entertain friends and family—and start the year auspiciously. Since even cooks relax for Tet, dishes are prepared ahead and include kho (a tangy stew flavored with caramel and fish sauce), banh chung (sticky pork and mung-bean rice cakes), and cu kieu (pickled spring onions).
Planning: Tet usually corresponds with Chinese New Year. Shops and markets close for up to three weeks. www.footprintsvietnam.com

White Month, Mongolia
Mongolia’s three-day lunar New Year festival, Tsagaan Sar (White Month), is celebrated at the junction of winter and spring. Bituuleg (New Year’s Eve dinner) stars a cooked sheep’s rump, accompanied by steamed meat dumplings, lamb patties, and flat biscuits, washed down with fermented mare’s milk and milk vodka.
Planning: The date varies from year to year. Mongolians prepare enough food for all-comers. Guests should bring presents. Packaged tours are available. www.mongoliatourism.gov.mn

New Year’s Eve, Russia
Feasting lavishly is at the core of Russia’s biggest festival as many Russians believe the new year will continue as it started. The evening proceeds with a succession of toasts made with vodka or Sovetskoye Shampanskoye (Soviet champagne). Typical dishes include caviar, smoked salmon, goose, and suckling pig. Many Russians also celebrate the Julian Old New Year on January 13-14.
Planning: Many restaurants arrange package tours. www.russia-travel.com

New Day, Iran
The 3,000-year-old Noruz (New Day) is a Zoroastrian, pre- Islamic festival that remains Iranians’ top holiday. Core to the rituals is the haft sin (seven s’s) spread—usually chosen from sabze (green shoots), samanu (wheat pudding), sib (apples), sohan (honey-and-nut brittle), senjed (jujube), sangak (flatbread), siyahdane (sesame seeds), sir (garlic), somaq (sumac), and serke (vinegar). But it is all display. On the eve itself, Iranians usually eat sabzi polo mahi, steamed rice with green herbs and fish.
Planning: Noruz corresponds with the vernal equinox (usually March 21).www.itto.org

New Year’s Eve, Piedmont, Italy
A large dinner (cenone) is common throughout northern Italy for New Year’s Eve, but few places take it to the same extremes as Piedmont, birthplace of the Slow Food movement. Expect a dozen antipasti, boiled homemade sausages with lentils, at least three other main courses, and several desserts, including panettone and hazelnut cake.
Planning: For an authentic rural experience, enjoy home-cooked food in a family atmosphere at a farmhouse. www.piedmont.worldweb.com

New Year’s Eve, Spain
Spaniards devour a grape with each midnight chime. Most people celebrate at home, but large public festivities in Barcelona’s Plaza Catalunya see people assemble with grapes and cava (sparkling white wine) before a night’s clubbing.
Planning: Peeled, unseeded grapes are easier to swallow rapidly. www.barcelonaturisme.com

New Year’s Eve, the Netherlands
Although restrained in their consumption of pastries for most of the year, Netherlanders abandon all prudence on New Year’s Eve, when dinner ends with deep-fried appelflappen (apple turnovers), appelbeignets (battered apple rings), and oliebollen (doughnuts). They usually toast the new year with champagne.
Planning: Some restaurants and hotels organize special dinners as part of a package, often including accomodation. www.holland.com

Hogmanay, Scotland
On New Year’s Eve, called Hogmanay in Scotland, most rituals, such as first-footing (visiting) friends and neighbors after midnight, are home-based. Key among the food traditions is a Scottish steak pie, often ordered in advance from butchers, alongside black bun and clootie dumpling—both rich fruitcakes—and shortbread.
Planning: In Edinburgh, the Hogmanay Food Fair or upscale butchers, such as John Saunderson, are good places to stock up on goodies. www.edinburgh.org, www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk

Fran's Backpack - National Geographic Complete National Parks of the United States

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is National Geographic Complete National Parks of the United States [Bargain Price] [Hardcover].

I'm still working my way through USA national parks and National Geographic books are excellent.

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Product Description
Year after year, hundreds of millions of visitors spend more than a billion hours enjoying the magnificent, astonishingly diverse realm overseen by America’s National Park Service. And the National Geographic Society has been involved with this forward-looking, environmentally-minded department from the very beginning.

This extensive travel planner covers not just the 58 official National Parks but also the nearly 350 additional properties in the Park Service’s domain. The premier Parks are described in detail, but equal attention is given to the National Monuments, Memorials, Preserves, Historic Sites, Battlefields, Cemeteries, and Seashores, not to mention a network of "National Trails" and even the intriguingly referred to "Affiliated Areas." From Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, from the hallowed ground of Gettysburg National Military Park to the Pacific waters shrouding Hawaii’s U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, this catalog spans American history and territory both, with practical advice on how to reach each park, when to go, and what to do there.

About the Author
Mel White has written or contributed to more than 15 National Geographic books, including the two-volume Guide to Birdwatching Sites and the Guide to America’s Outdoors: Southwest, and has contributed more than 50 articles to the Society’s magazines, National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler.

Fran's Backpack - Australia (Eyewitness Travel Guides) [Paperback]

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Australia (Eyewitness Travel Guides) [Paperback].

This guide is great for visitors to Australia but it's also very handy for Australians too.

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Amazon.com Review
As the name implies, the Eyewitness Travel Guides bring you the world in full living color. In the Australia edition, each information-packed page is splashed with enticing photographs of the people, animals, plants, rock formations, deserts, and ocean vistas that make the country Down Under famous the world over. On the practical side, there are thousands of details to help you find your way to the must-see spots, plus full-color maps and useful at-a-glance tables that make it easy to sort through and locate food and accommodation choices.
The introduction offers an overview of Australia's world-heritage sites, aboriginal culture and art, artists and writers, wines, surfing and beach culture, climate, annual events, flora and fauna, landscape, as well as a detailed history section. --Kathryn True --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review
...You feel, looking at them, as if you could close the book and step into the street. -- Contra Costa Times

...considered to be the world's best travel resource to over 30 destinations around the world, make it easier to plan a splendid vacation. -- North American Press Syndication

A new breed of guidebook. -- Travel & Leisure

Both novice and experienced travelers will be captivated. -- US News & World Report

Each book is a visual as well as informational feast about a particular place. -- The New York Times

Easily the best city guides available today. -- PLAYBOY

Encyclopedic in scope, it's meant to be used before, during, and after your stay. -- Travel & Leisure

It has an authority and clarity that make it indispensable on the road. But the illustrations are so good that it could also provide hours of armchair diversions. -- The New York Times New Service

The best travel guides ever. -- Sky Magazine -Delta In flight Magazine

The most graphically exciting and visually pleasing series on the market. -- Chicago Tribune

Want to know where to get a great espresso on your way to the Uffizi? Or how much to tip a hotel maid in New York City? Try these travel guides, each an intricate trove of 3-D aerial views, landmark floor plans, color photos and essential eating, shopping and entertainment info. With titles covering Paris, Prague, and London, these pocket-sized guides are like a Michelangelo fresco: deliriously rich in detail. -- People Magazine

Fran's Backpack - National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs [Hardcover]

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs [Hardcover].

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National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs takes readers on a spectacular visual journey through some of the most stunning photographs to be found in National Geographic's famed Image Collection. Award-winning photographer Annie Griffiths culled the images to reflect the many variations on the universal theme of beauty. Chapters are organized around the aesthetic concepts that create beauty in a photograph: Light, Composition, Moment (Gesture and Emotion), Motion, Palette, and Wonder.

Beyond the introduction and brief essays about each featured concept, the text is light. The photographs speak for themselves, enhanced by lyrical quotes from scholars and poets. In the chapter on Light, for example, we read these words of whimsical wisdom from songwriter Leonard Cohen: "Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the lights get in." And then the images flow, of light entering scenes via windows, clouds, and spotlights, from above, alongside, and behind, casting radiance upon young ballerinas and weathered men, into groves of autumn trees and island-dotted seas, revealing everything it touches to be beautiful beyond expectation.

To illuminate the theme of Wonder, Griffiths chose a wish from Andre Bazin: "If I had influence with the good fairy...I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life." This thought is juxtaposed with an exquisite vision in white, a frame filled with the snowy-pure dots and rays of a bird's fan tail. And on it goes, picture after tantalizing picture, alive with wondrous beauty.

When she created National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs, Annie Griffiths set two goals: to maximize visual delight, and to create a book unique in the world of publishing--one in which many of the photographs could be purchased as prints. She has succeeded on both counts. Many of these stunning images are available for order, and there can be no doubt as to the visual delight. You must open this book for yourself, and take in its radiant beauty.

Fran's Backpack - In a Sunburned Country [Paperback]

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is In a Sunburned Country [Paperback].

Always interesting to find what other people think about your own country. Bill is a humourist and I agree that Australia is an interesting place too.

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Amazon.com Review
Bill Bryson follows his Appalachian amble, A Walk in the Woods, with the story of his exploits in Australia, where A-bombs go off unnoticed, prime ministers disappear into the surf, and cheery citizens coexist with the world's deadliest creatures: toxic caterpillars, aggressive seashells, crocodiles, sharks, snakes, and the deadliest of them all, the dreaded box jellyfish. And that's just the beginning, as Bryson treks through sunbaked deserts and up endless coastlines, crisscrossing the "under-discovered" Down Under in search of all things interesting.
Bryson, who could make a pile of dirt compelling--and yes, Australia is mostly dirt--finds no shortage of curiosities. When he isn't dodging Portuguese man-of-wars or considering the virtues of the remarkable platypus, he visits southwest Gippsland, home of the world's largest earthworms (up to 12 feet in length). He discovers that Australia, which began nationhood as a prison, contains the longest straight stretch of railroad track in the world (297 miles), as well as the world's largest monolith (the majestic Uluru) and largest living thing (the Great Barrier Reef). He finds ridiculous place names: "Mullumbimby Ewylamartup, Jiggalong, and the supremely satisfying Tittybong," and manages to catch a cricket game on the radio, which is like

listening to two men sitting in a rowboat on a large, placid lake on a day when the fish aren't biting; it's like having a nap without losing consciousness. It actually helps not to know quite what's going on. In such a rarefied world of contentment and inactivity, comprehension would become a distraction.
"You see," Bryson observes, "Australia is an interesting place. It truly is. And that really is all I'm saying." Of course, Bryson--who is as much a travel writer here as a humorist, naturalist, and historian--says much more, and does so with generous amounts of wit and hilarity. Australia may be "mostly empty and a long way away," but it's a little closer now. --Rob McDonald --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


From Publishers Weekly
With the Olympics approaching, books on Australia abound. Still, Bryson's lively take is a welcome recess from packaged, staid guides. The author of A Walk in the Woods draws readers in campfire-style, relating wacky anecdotes and random facts gathered on multiple trips down under, all the while lightening the statistics with infusions of whimsical humor. Arranged loosely by region, the book bounces between Canberra and Melbourne, the Outback and the Gold Coast, showing Bryson alone and with partners in tow. His unrelenting insistence that Australia is the most dangerous place on earth ("If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback") spins off dozens of tales involving jellyfish, spiders and the world's 10 most poisonous snakes. Pitfalls aside, Bryson revels in the beauty of this country, home to ravishing beaches and countless unique species ("80% of all that lives in Australia, plant and animal, lives nowhere else"). He glorifies the country, alternating between awe, reverence and fear, and he expresses these sentiments with frankness and candor, via truly funny prose and a conversational pace that is at once unhurried and captivating. Peppered with seemingly irrelevant (albeit amusing) yarns, this work is a delight to read, whether or not a trip to the continent is planned. First serial to Outside magazine; BOMC selection. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.