Customer Reviews

City Smart St. Louis (City Smart Guidebook St Louis)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In general I like travel guides written by natives of the area, but often they don't tell the whole story to the visitor. Such is the case with this book. There are lots of off-beat sidebars and native perspective. While it contained lots of good information and "inside scoop" it also falls short in some respects. For example, many restaurants and other attractions are described as being on "the hill" and there is even a sidebar that explains the culture of "the hill" yet no where in the book was the geographical location of "the hill" given. Hotels, restaurants, etc. are also categorized by neighborhood which is an idea I LOVE, and there are descriptions of what type of environment comprises each area, yet there are no maps or other descriptions to tell you the boundaries of these neighborhoods.

Another area in which this book fails miserably is in the maps. They would be OK if they were ACCURATE. They are not -- in fact the location of several restaurants on the restaurant map are flat-out wrong, and the map of Forest Park was misleading at best. It also seems that a book of this publication date would have noted the extensive renovation, redesign, and road construction in Forest Park that was years in the planning and which is in the first year of a multi-year project. The Jewel Box is closed for all of 2002. Given the lack of signage in the park itself as well as the many construction-blocked routes, an accurate, detailed map would have been invaluable. As it was I got LOST and spent an hour wandering around on foot before reaching my destination.

Finally, this is a 100% positive book. I'm sure that made the tourism board in St. Louis happy, but I appreciate a guidebook that has the guts to say, "XYZ is not worth a visit because ...." I also got the feeling the author ran out of steam with a lot of descriptions and couldn't think of anything to say beyond a generic thumbnail.

So, since I never buy only one guide book to an area I was happy with what I got out of this book, but was also glad I had another guidebook and an excellent map with me as well.

Jody Feldman's guide to St. Louis is well-written, comprehensive and interesting. Feldman, a St. Louis native, includes everything from hotels & restaurants to sporting events & night life. Interesting factoids are interspersed throughout and a brief history of the city is also included.

A very helpful feature is added to this second edition: website addresses for almost every listing. This book was published in the spring of 2000 and at the time, it was very clearly up-to-date - it even mentions the Rams' Super Bowl victory in the winter of 2000.

If you're a tourist looking to visit St. Louis, this is definitely the book you want to take with you.

Ms. Feldman does a fine job in capturing some of St. Louis' more sublime features. She writes this book as only someone who loves the area and has lived there for a long time can.

My family and I use this to find out about some of the lesser-known (at least to those not from St. Louis) attractions in the St. Louis metro area. For example, we were able to track down a real pumpkin patch so that my son could pick out his own pumpkins for Halloween. Also, we learned about the Butterfly House, an amazing climate-controlled "greenhouse" that houses several colorful species of butterflies.

Ms. Feldman also gives tips on getting around St. Louis, discusses the variety of restaurants available, and spends significant time discussing evening activities such as plays, opera, and nightclubs.

This book was instrumental in helping us dive in and enjoy what St. Louis has to offer. I appreciated the author's insight into St. Louis. She added opinions and insight that readers will not find in other city guides.

I moved to St. Louis about 1 year ago, and I bought this book to get myself familiarized with lovely St. Louis. Becauise of this book, I've known restaurants and places that many locals have never heard of. I still use the book as a reference when looking for something else to do, read on a restaurant, or when out of town guests come.

If you will visit St. Louis for some time, get this great little book. If you live here, then get this book and pay tribute to where you live!

CITY SMART: ST. LOUIS is a great book describing both the Missouri and Illinois Sides of the St. Louis Area. It tells you where the best restaurants, shopping malls, museums, neighborhoods, and transportation are. However, being that it was written in 2000, some information needs to be taken like the humor in AMERICAN WEDDING, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELLING PANTS, HARVARD MAN, DRIVE ME CRAZY, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, 13 GOING ON 30, GARFIELD: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES, or DATE MOVIE, because many statistics have changed since then. Even so, this is still a wonderful book to own.