1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must, September 29, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Hunter Travel Guides Catskills: Alive! (The Catskills Alive!) (Paperback)
As in previous guides by this author, information is arranged according to specific areas of the Catskills. Highlights of Sullivan, Ulster, Greene, and Delaware counties are listed systematically in helpful fashion. Anything travelers or tourists could possibly want or need to know about the Catskills has been researched by the author. In a style that feels like reminiscing with an old friend, Ms. Silverman shares insights on food, lodging, and points of interest both past and present. And if her directions don't help travelers find their way through rustic country on mountain roads, the author states law officers and locals are friendly and helpful to lost tourists.
Catskills history is fascinating. In addition to step by step guides for each county, readers will discover charming stories about famous visitors - a who's who of the past.
The Catskills and Hudson River Valley come alive, thanks to Francine Silverman's skill. With fresh air, clean water, and pristine forests, it would make a most appealing destination.
As was her previous guide book, Long Island Alive, this latest book is a must have for anyone planning a visit to the Catskills.
Laurel Johnson
Midwest Book Review
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An immense aid, September 29, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Hunter Travel Guides Catskills: Alive! (The Catskills Alive!) (Paperback)
Silverman, a veteran feature writer for newspapers and magazines, is an expert when it comes to providing the reader with the most up-to-date details pertaining to the Catskills.
The guidebook more than adequately dispels the often- heard misconception "there's nothing to do in the Catskills anymore."
Admirably fulfilling its objective of providing a comprehensive guide to the Catskills, Silverman pinpoints locations by dividing them into four areas- Sullivan, Ulster, Greene and Delaware.
Within these areas, the guidebook provides the reader with comprehensive listing and descriptions of places to stay, eat, and shop, attractions, museums, festivals, events, and other "goodies."
In a way, the book serves as an invitation for people to come and enjoy this beautiful area of New York State.
The introduction to the book sets the stage for the chapters that follow, giving a brief overview and explanation of the environment, forests, wildlife, contemporary Catskills, gambling, nightlife, getting around, driving, transportation services, where to stay and eat, shopping, seasonal considerations, guided trips, and brochures and publications.
Each of the chapters that follow describe in detail all of the above, and in addition provide some interesting tips, and "did you know facts."
As an example, Silverman informs us, Ostriches lack teeth but can painfully clamp down on your hand. Children should be warned to look and not touch.
The Kaaterskill Falls & Catskill Mountain House's guest list is a biographer's dream:
Alexander Graham Bell, Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain, Winslow Home and Tyronne Power.
Most of all, it was Thomas Cole, leader of the Hudson River School of Landscape painters, who popularized the region with his Catskill Mountain House and other paintings.
The book is also peppered with many other tidbits concerning the history of the hotels and bygone days, the Algonquin influence, community improvements, and works in progress that represent significant projects that may or may not materialize.
No doubt, this guidebook will be of immense aid to those who are contemplating a visit to the Catskills or perhaps those who vacation in the area but were not aware of its many attractions.
Silverman's profound knowledge gives the book a substance well beyond many Catskills' guidebooks.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond Dirty Dancing, February 13, 2004
This review is from: Hunter Travel Guides Catskills: Alive! (The Catskills Alive!) (Paperback)
Beyond Dirty Dancing
Francine Silverman's The Catskills Alive!, now in its second printing, brings the vivid mountain area of Southern New York to life for the casual or more discerning reader. The guidebook's narrative is interlaced with nostalgia, pointing out the great vitality of the Catskills in the 1950s and the current local proprietors' efforts to revive a somewhat ailing economy.
The Catskills Alive! is divided into chapters of the four counties spanning across the Catskills region. Silverman dedicates two entire sections to the numerous campgrounds and farm markets available there.
The Catskills Alive! is a great guide to have for an area whose advertising signs misrepresent what is still in business and what is not. Silverman has a rock-solid grasp on her subject matter as she sheds light on the history of grandiose hotels which have since been razed. In the case of the Leibowitz's Pine View Hotel, for example, the building has been turned into a correctional facility. These little facts make her book an easy and interesting read.
Even sports fans can find something of interest in Silverman's book. Each chapter offers useful information on sports facilities, golf courses, fitness studios, bird watching, and the like. She offers noteworthy trivia such as famous faces who have graced the landscape, drawing the area closer to the reader's heart even as he or she is geographically miles and miles away. I highly recommend The Catskills Alive! for anyone who wants to learn beyond what you see in movies such as "Walk on the Moon" and "Dirty Dancing".
Christine Louise Hohlbaum, American author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff, is a freelance writer living near Munich with her husband and two children. Visit her Web site at http://www.diaryofamother.com
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