No comments about Chicago & Vicinity Regional (Rand McNally Folded Map: Cities).

No comments about Chicagoland Seven County Large Type Atlas (American Map Chicagoland Illinois, Seven County Atlas).

5 comments about Not For Tourists Guide 2009 to Chicago (Not for Tourists Guidebook).

1. I bought this book for friends who moved to Chicago and when I paged through it, I realized that is was NOT what I was looking for. Don't let the "edgy" cover deceive you-- this is, pure and simply, a MAP BOOK. I just returned the book and ended up gifting the other 2 books we ordered for them: walking guide (I think it was called) to Chicago and a 2009 restaurant and bar guide. Both for "explorers" of Chicago, not researchers.
   
   NFT should be called: Map Addict's Map-Book of Chicago. There are maps and more maps of various areas in Chicago with a small list in the margin of each (if you are lucky) of a few places in the area-- no descriptions or reviews of the areas or the places listed... just little maps and little lists... um...have fun! If you are looking to buy a house "somewhere", find a friend's place who lives "somewhere" or see if there is a restaurant that exists "somewhere" near where you broke down or got lost, this is for you unless, of course, you have an iphone. I recommend you make a query on the internet or at AAA instead of buying this book. Oh and it is "sturdy" soft cover, so if you DO like maps and use it often-- it is sure to fall apart.



2. This handy and highly portable guide does have a lot of maps -- maps for every single neighborhood in Chicago. And while a GPS might be more practical once you are actually out and about, these maps are invaluable for helping to chart your course. No other city guide covers the entire city of Chicago border to border (it also includes Evanston, Skokie, and Oak Park). Restaurants and shops and nightlife are all suggestions by people who actually live and work in the neighborhoods. And the book is very sturdy. I've used it faithfully over the years (and I've lived inChicago fro 20 years) and never had a book fall apart on me. I've also used Atlanta (found a great soul food restaurant off the beaten track that I'd have never known about otherwise), in New York, and in Los Angeles (where the maps are especially useful). Great for people new to a city, visitors, people who live in the suburbs but come in for work or special events, and for those city dwellers who enjoy urban exploration.



3. I bought this book on recommendation from a coworker before moving to Chicago. I've been commuting from Milwaukee for now, but will be moving here soon. This book has been invaluable when searching for apartments. Its helped to look at the distance to my work, train lines, restaurants, night life and more when deciding on an area to live.
   
   This review is a bit premature as I haven't moved to Chicago yet, but for anyone who is considering a move to Chicago I highly suggest you get this.
   
   Once I make the move and utilize the book more, I'll update this review with my final thoughts.



4. Great book; has a lot of information that is very useful to a first time explorer in Chicago; good maps and easy index help a confused first timer navigate buses, trains, and walking paths through the city



5. Highly useful, especially for those relocating to Chicago. However, to access all this excellent information, you'll have to navigate through various typos (e.g., for East Lakeview, "Boystown due to its highly visable gay community"). Visable?

1 comments about City Walks: Chicago: 50 Adventures On Foot.

1. The product was new and still in it's orginal packaging. The cards include many interesting places to walk and explore. We are looking forward to seeing parts of Chicago on foot.

5 comments about Moleskine City Notebook Chicago.

1. A++ product, cool little sections to write in names of stores, restaurants and attractions....pockets, maps, stickers....everything you could want in a personalized travel book.
   
   One issue: The maps, although are made to fit inside this compact book, are tiny and difficult to read. On the bright side, the book contains transparency sheets that you can lay over maps and mark up with routes, directions or destination points--cool!



2. It's a satisfying and convenient size. Most of the notebook is blank pages, or sections that may be labelled however you wish, making it quite flexible. I especially like the detailed maps and the street guide.
   
   However, neither the maps nor the street guide for Chicago includes the grid system! Even if visitors may not take the time, nor really need, to understand the numbering system, the city guides seem like they are as much geared toward residents as tourists.



3. the idea is nice but the maps are not that good, a pullout map would be much better. may sections are useless...let's say id not buy it if i could go back.



4. I bought this as a gift for a new Chicagoland transplant. She has found it very handy. Another great piece from the Moleskin brand.



5. This book has good maps of the different neighborhoods as well as the train routes. Lots of room to make notes and reminders. Wonderful way to write down memories of your trip.

5 comments about Illinois Atlas and Gazetteer (Fifth Edition).

1. Bought this for my sister who lives and works in the greater Chicago area...she wanted navigation on her phone and this was a much better and much cheaper solution. Unlike navigation systems it lets you see the whole area and the surrounding raods. We use this same series in the Austin Area too and love it.



2. This is the atlas I recommend for finding back roads and hiking trails. These guides are very detailed because they are written for each individual state. Hawaii's map pages are 1:84,000 scale and parts of Alaska can have 1:1,1,400,000 scale. Visit http://delorme.com and you can get information on map scales and elevations for the state you're interested in.
   
   I can thank this book for the best 4th of July I ever had. We live in Washington State. Everyone knows that camping is very crowded over the 4th. It was in this book that I found Lost Lake. It's a small lake tucked into the mountains off highway 12 near Mt. Rainier. Lost Lake is off the beaten path and our atlas showed us the way to get there. Not only did we find Lost Lake but we had a waterfront campsite and I caught my limit of rainbow trout. There are many more lakes that we will explore next summer using this atlas. Visit our blog at www.radiodirectoryvagabonds.blogspot.com - and you can see Lost Lake and the beautiful campsite we found. The book is great for armchair journeys, finding boat launches, streams, and public hunting and fishing grounds. This is great for trip planning and treasuring hunting for the perfect campsite!
   
   Ken Fritz author of The United States Radio Directory: A Traveler's Favorite Companion 2008-2009



3. Gazetteers from DeLorme are exceptional. I like the detail and ease of use. The only thing I wish they still did is to list what state parks have cabin rentals and the amenities provided. I have an old DeLorme gazetteer that provides this information.



4. These map books are great to have when traveling even though you might have mapped your route online and have a GPS. They give a great big picture quickly if you need the big picture or need to reroute. I have worn out my old 12 year old ones and wanted to get up to date one. I wouldn't be without them.



5. I like this atlas because it gives accurate map descriptions. The back of the atlas is a reference index that tells you what page to turn to for quick look. Haven't found any mistakes. One feature that's missing is a zoomed in map for the major cities. All in all, not bad.

5 comments about Streetwise Downtown Chicago Map - Laminated Street Map of Downtown Chicago, Illinois.

1. I gave this as a college graduation gift to an individual that was moving to chicago. They love it!



2. Generally speaking Streetwise products are amongst my top recommendations for the tourist or newcomer to a city. Like others, this one provides good details about the location of key landmarks, is easy to read, and holds up under exposure to the elements.
   
   However, for reasons unknown, the orientation of the map is off by 90 degrees, putting the lake (which is on the east) in what would typically be the "north" side of the map. For someone who has a natural feel for where "north" is at any time, and has been using normal maps for multiple decades, this makes orienting oneself unnecessarily difficult. I'm sure someone thought they were getting more real estate or something, but that simply isn't true--it is just a question of which way the text is oriented. If they could clean this up in a future edition, they could count on me to buy a new copy.



3. We were going to Chicago for tourism. For us this map wasn't very useful because things like the Lincoln Park Zoo, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium were off the map. If I could do it over I would have bought the regular Chicago map instead of the downtown. Maybe if you purchased both maps the Downtown one would be more useful.



4. will use this alot on our next trip to Chicago. Wish print was a little bit bigger tho.



5. It was not what I was looking for ( needed something bigger and more detailed), but I sent it back and got full refund. Smooth transaction.

No comments about Frommer's Chicago 2010 (Frommer's Complete).

1 comments about Not for Tourists Guide to 2010 Chicago (Not for Tourists Guidebook).

1. Lots of info,maps and well-categorized pretty easy to focus in on details by interest and area.In most ways,the book does live up to it's promise.The one real issue is the font.The books' printing is SO SMALL that it is nothing short of irritating.Map names are so small as to be almost illegible.While I recommend the book for it's info,I give it equally negative rating on it's ridiculously tiny print.

5 comments about Streetwise Chicago Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Chicago, Illinois - Folding pocket size travel map with CTA, Metra map (Streetwise (Streetwise Maps)).

1. I recently purchased this map for a summer trip to Chicago. Although we had other devices it was this map that got us in and out of the city everyday. We found it to be very accurate and easy to use, we preferred it over the map that was provided at the hotel and it was awesome for the theatre district. We liked it so much we purchased Artwise for our gallery visits and loved that also. very convenient and accurate!



2. make sure you have the newest version of this map. the city changes so quickly that older maps become irrelevant. i walked the city with my boyfriend and the 2008 streetwise and we loved it. very easy to read and the 3-Ds of buildings was so helpful in a big, congested city. one time we thought we were lost but then looked at the map and realized that we were at the back side of the Chicago Museum of Art. we would have gone back to our hotel if we hadn't been able to figure out what street the entrance was on.
   
   excellent map, only one with 3-D building details and current public transit info. get the 2008 edition, it is the most current of all the maps per the concierege at our hotel.



3. This is a fantastic map. I have used Streetwise maps when I have traveled other cities in the past. I found it to be incredibly helpful in getting around the city to see all the sites. It is clearly marked and compact to fit easily in my pocket. The transit information in the text is a great feature. It also held up amazingly in all types of weather I experienced. If you are going to Chicago I highly recommend this map.



4. I live in Chicago but often have visitors. Sometimes I can't show them around and I give them this map. They find it extremely useful for getting around the city especially when using public transportation even when they own a phone that has access to the web because it highlights the points of interests as well as serving as a map.



5. I like this map, but I thought "CTA" would include bus routes. We never drive to Chicago, and depend on city buses to get around. For a general map, with points of interest, and commuter rail, this is a nice map. I'll just have to pick up a free bus map when we go again.