Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Seattle & Portland, 1st Edition (Irreverent) [Hardcover]

Jim Gullo (Author), Balliett (Author), Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Series: Irreverent Guides | Publication Date: October 8, 1999

"Like being taken around by a savvy local." —The New York Times "Little fluff and lots of fun." —Boston Globe "Hipper and savvier than other guides." —Diversion magazine Are you tired of cliché-ridden guidebooks packed with promotional fluff? Then move over to the Irreverent Guides—the travel series that no tourist board would dare to recommend. Look inside for the lowdown on:

• Hotels that make you glad it rains all the time
• What Seattle envies about Portland, and why Portland wishes it could be more like its northern neighbor
• Must-see places like the Portland grade school that serves excellent pizza and beer, and the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat
• Where to rub elbows with Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and their minions of Microsoft millionaires
• How to dress down to fit in with the "Aggressively Plain" Northwest fashion scene
• And much more!

Frommer's. The Name You Can Trust. Find us online at www.frommers.com

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

For readers who are tired of the promotional fluff and brochure-speak that characterize most travel guides, heres a fresh voice. The Irreverent Guides offer an insiders perspective on each destinations, and take a fun, honest look at everything they review. Its not every day you open a guidebook to find categories such as:

*Most overrated museums

*Weirdest bunch of public statuary

*Bars where you can hear yourself think

*Where the supermodels eat and where they dont

*Eurotrashiest hotels

*Hotels for people who hate conventioneers

*Luscious love nests and lavender lodgings

*Restaurants that dont live up to the hype

*Swingin supper clubs with attitude

The Irreverent Guides give you the lowdown, the inside story. They have nothing to sell but the truth, which includes a balance of good and bad. They praise, they trash, they weigh, and leave the final decision up to the reader. Our writers take a special pleasure in leading you where other guides fear to tread.

About the Author

When not gushing over his adopted hometown of Seattle or visiting Portland, author and journalist Jim Gullo travels the world writing magazine articles on food, sports, and culture.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 1 edition (October 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028634500
• ISBN-13: 978-0028634500
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,702,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting if somewhat elusive book, July 24, 2000

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Seattle & Portland, 1st Edition (Irreverent) (Hardcover)

Though I appreciated its humor, this book was a little lacking on some of the basic necessities in living in Portland. The sections dedicated to parks and recreation, for example, don't mention as much as you would want. On the other hand, it gives excellent background, trivia, and local interest facts. It's a fun book, but if you want something a little meatier, I recommend the City Smart Guidebook of Portland by Linda Nygaard.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you want a quality Portland guidebook, this is NOT it..., March 15, 2002

By 

Auramor (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Seattle & Portland, 1st Edition (Irreverent) (Hardcover)

I very recently relocated to Portland, and getting prepared for my move I went searching for guidebooks. Since the title word "Irreverent" caught my eye, I was thinking this book would be a great "insider's look" to Portland and its quirks.

Now that I am living in Portland, I found that this text lacks severely in the "insider's look" aspect. I would especially NOT recommend this for younger people like myself. This "insider's look" is definitely not geared towards my generation. For example, the flannel and torn up jeans look is so outdated, yet the author writes about Portland fashion like it's a crime to not look like you just rolled out of bed. For much better insider's info, pick up a free Willamette Week when you get to Portland.

This guidebook does have its merits. It is written more personally than many guidebooks, it's easy to follow, and it has its humorous moments. However, you can find better (and free) technical info (where to stay, how to get where you want to go, best bets for visitors, etc.) at the Portland visitor's website, or at Pioneer Square in downtown Portland. For a good guidebook for "Generation X", and those about to relocate to the Pacific Northwest, I would highly recommend Best Places Portland. It provides much more detail and I find that the price guidelines are super helpful for people like me living on a limited budget.

Had I relied solely on Frommer's Irreverent Guide to guide me through Portland, I believe I would have been completely lost upon getting here. Save your money for a movie and a beer at a McMenamins theater.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Irreverent? More Like Irritating..., February 4, 2002

By 

Kristopher C. Brown (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Seattle & Portland, 1st Edition (Irreverent) (Hardcover)

Being a long-time Seattle-dweller, and even longer-time Western Washington native, this book irritates me. The author hasn't spent enough time in Seattle to truly appreciate the wonderful things about the city, not to mention he consistently dates both himself and the text by referring to events/people/places that are no longer in rapid use in the Seattle vernacular/mindset. Seattle is about MORE than coffee, grunge (ugh.. could that irritating phase have passed more quickly?), Microsoft, Boeing and rain. I'd recommend the Fodor's and Lonely Planet series to anyone who really wants a good feel for the city. Fodor's may be snooty, but at leats it's up-to-date instead of dated.