Customer Reviews

A Marmac Guide to Dallas

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This book is the perfect example of what can happen when publisher's deadlines rush the author, resulting in a poor end product. Further, the editing in this guide seems to be sorely lacking. The book is full of gramattical errors and irregular sentences, many in broken English.

All of these problems could be overlooked if the guide accomplished what it claims. One glaring example of the haphazard organization of this work is the utter lack of clearly useful information and the inclusion of near worthless facts. For example, the "New Residents" section of the guide includes an odd commentary on Texas' Concealed Carry law while information relating to cable, phone, and internet service is absent. In the "Restaurants" section, there is only one Tex-Mex restaurant listed. That's right; one Tex-Mex restaurant merits listing in a city that is 40% hispanic, with a higher number of restaurants per capita than any other city in America.

Then, there are the factual errors. The guide states that teenagers who get driver's licenses in Texas can only drive to and from home, and then, only when someone over 21 is riding with them. If only this were the case. The fact that this is factually incorrect is excusable; the fact that this is included in a guide to Dallas is utterly incomprehensible.

Finally, the author of this guide seems to have a very negative opinion of Dallas. Whether this is a byass of the author or the intent of the Atlanta-based publisher is unknown. However, when the author states or quotes that Dallas is an "ugly city," that Dallas has "severe racial problems," and that Dallas is "utterly flat," it should indicate that perhaps someone with a more neutral stance should write a guide to the city.

This is a very comprehensive guide: it really disects Dallas. There is even a section on street names and their origins! I am very familiar with Dallas and was impressed with how well this guide gets Dallas, especially the shopping section, which quite frankly to Dallas natives is a full contact sport. The discriptions on Northpark and the Galleria, as well as Highland Park Village is very good. The section on hotels and restaurants is also excellent. I really can't think of an area not covered in this guide, whether you are on your first visit to Big D or a native, this guide will not disappoint and you'll learn a great deal about this singular city.