Customer Reviews

Kat Tracking Through Paris: A Guide to Black Paris

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Before I first went to Paris in July of 2002, I tracked this book down. I was sooo glad I was able to get this book, because it was my own personal information guide. I meet some wonderful people and had some great experiences in Paris at places I would have never known to go to if it were not for Kat. I went back again in October 2002 with my trusty pocket sized tour guide. Once again, Kats directions and recommendation are right on point. Thanks Kat, for giving me life long memories. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who plans to take a trip to Paris. Make sure you check out Percy's Place and BoJangles, great food, funky fun!!!

I think this book is wonderful..It gives you specifics as how to do things like take the Metro, where to say, etc. I have used this book and have met the author and taken one of her trips to Paris. Everything is accurate. You cannot get lost with this book. I highly recommend purchasing this book for your first or second trip to Paris. By using the book you will seem more like a native instead of a tourist.

Before I first went to Paris in July of 2002, I tracked this book down. I was sooo glad I was able to get this book, because it was my own personal information guide. I meet some wonderful people and had some great experiences in Paris at places I would have never known to go to if it were not for Kat. I went back again in October 2002 with my trusty pocket sized tour guide. Once again, Kats directions and recommendation are right on point. Thanks Kat, for giving me life long memories. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who plans to take a trip to Paris. Make sure you check out Percy's Place and BoJangles, great food, funky fun!!!

I do not want to insult any of the other reviewers, but they must be personal friends of the author. This was a useless book as well as a waste of my money. I purchased it specifically because it professed to give a black perspective on Paris. You could do better researching on the internet yourself. As a travel book of any kind, it was a poor excuse. Do not waste your money. Purchase a traditional travel guide for a lot less and a lot more info.

If (and that's a BIG IF) this suuuper-slim book(let) contains any unique kernels of information, they are certainly not worth your hard-earned $20. The price is especially ridiculous when you consider that there are books three times as thick, with glossy photos and a real wealth of information about Paris overall, that cost less even before any discounts. I was sorely, sorely disappointed in this book, and I am returning it first thing Monday morning. I turned around and bought the Eyewitness guide instead, which gave me some real insight into Paris as a whole, and then for that black/African-American/African angle, I did some research on the Internet, which led me to find out about the Goutte d'Or neighborhood and various restaurants of interest.

As much as I griped about the price, I think even if this book were priced in the $7 - $10 range, I would still give it one star or at the most, two stars. There is simply not enough information in here for it to be much of a guide at all.

I have not traveled to Paris yet and never really got excited about going. After reading Kat's book, it has opened my eyes to wanting to go and see all of the exciting places as described in her book. For people that don't travel, we need a little push and what better than to read a book based on her true to life experiences in her travels. Well, that's good enough for me. I'm going to Paris next year - with Ms. Kat.

The overview, descriptions and museum and tour content are great. The insight into getting around and customs were also excellent. However since this book was published there are quite a few clubs/restaurants mentioned in this book that have either moved or closed.

This was my first trip to Paris, in June 2010. Of all of the guidebooks I had looked at, this was absolutely the most useful and well-written, especially in helping me to figure out how to find my way around the city and navigating the Metro system. I kid you not -- every time I started to panic with Metro anxiety, I was able to calm myself down by telling myself, okay, remember page 15 -- Kat said it's not that complicated -- it's just like identifying the Fremont/Richmond train on BART (being from the San Francisco Bay Area, that was an analogy I could relate to).

I am wondering what book Joan M read??!! It could NOT have been Kat Tracking Through Paris.....an easy-to-read and even easier-to-follow Guide to Black Paris. As the founder of BLACK PARIS TOURS and an ex-pat who has lived in and loved Paris for 11 years, I recommend reading Kat Tracking to all of my tour clients preparing to come to Paris -- anxious to find and explore the culture and cuisine of contemporary Black Paris. I appreciate the annual updates Kat Tracking provides. I'm amazed when folks come to Paris looking for restaurants and night clubs that have been closed for YEARS. But not if they have read KAT TRACKING first! Kat Tracking Through Paris is the perfect sized, light weight travel companion to throw in your purse or back pocket and hit the streets to adventure, good food and fun in Black Paris!!!!!!

Some Paris travel guidebooks (both general and black culture-specific) provide practical and historical information before taking readers on colorful strolls around the world's most beloved city, and that approach is fine. Others take readers on walks through Paris neighborhoods while imparting the information, which is also fine. Because there is room on the savvy traveler's bookshelf for more than one or two kinds of Paris travel guides, I purchased Kat Tracking Through Paris: A Guide to Black Paris, and added it to my bookshelf. This travel guide transports readers directly to the information it offers. I highly recommend it.

Kat Tracking Through Paris provides concise, easily accessible entries that are chock-full of information, and not just about the great touristy monuments and navigating one's way around the City of Light. It also offers information on particular African American, West Indian, and African restaurants; plus selected hotels with reasonable rates (some black-owned, some not), where famous black writers, visual artists, and musicians from history lived. Additionally it gives readers information about famous cafés, some of which were the haunts of writers like James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Poet Ted Joans, and others. It steers travelers who are interested in the nightlife scene to the Hip Hop, Reggae, and R&B clubs. It leads Jazz devotees to a number of historically famous Jazz clubs that are still open and popular today.

I took Kat Tracking Through Paris with me on my most recent visit to Paris. The book's size and format made it convenient for me to either pack it into my carry-on luggage or slip it into my tote bag. I chose to slip it into my tote. While using this guidebook in Paris, I found it expedient not to have to consult an index or wade through superfluous pages in order to locate the exact information I needed. Kat Tracking Through Paris is well organized, full of information, and user friendly. It is a valuable travel resource!


Reviewed by
Vee Garcia, Author of
the Paris & Jazz Novels,
FORBIDDEN CIRCLES and
THE JAZZ FLOWER