Customer Reviews

Moon South Carolina (Moon Handbooks)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book provides excellent information on the sites, restaurants, accomodations, and history of South Carolina. I enjoyed reading it immensely because not only was it was humorous and well written, but it has a lot of interesting historical details and unique suggestions for things to see and do.

If you're looking for a guidebook that's witty while informative, this is it! After a casual read even armchair tourists will be planning a visit to South Carolina. For you experienced travelers, this guide will get you in the know--painlessly. Recommended!

I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting to know more about South Carolina. It's got all the information you could want, lots of interesting background, and on top of that, it's a joy to read. Sigalas cracks me up all through this book. Seriously, my wife came in a half-a-dozen times while I was reading to ask me why I was laughing so hard; she couldn't believe I was reading a travel book. A good read even if you're not going to S.C., and a great book to bring along if you are. It's like traveling with a friend who knows all the spots and has a good sense of humor.

If you're touring South Carolina, Sigalas knows it's probably for one of the following reasons:

Myrtle Beach
Historic plantations and houses
Small town getaways
Food

That's what you get here. It's very well done and irreverent, sometimes humorously so. There's enough sophistication to this guide to keep amateur historians and architects happy, but it is by no means a complete catalog of historic landmarks and locations. Rather, we're really talking about the highlights. The thing I like most about this guide is its attention to small towns off the beaten path which make for pleasant discoveries. It encourages you to find the time for places like York, Georgetown and Camden, for example. The thing I like least about it is its very summary coverage of the State's greatest place, Charleston. While Sigalas does a lovely spread of Columbia, he concentrates his attention on the far south-eastern tip of the peninsula in Charleston. Forgivable, I'd say, since there are many, many resources that cover Charleston more thoroughly.

A lot of fun to read. I've just finished the first chapter and I already feel like an expert on the state.

So far, I had never bought a tourist guide. Maybe it's because I never traveled before just for the pleasure of traveling, for the excitement associated to discovering new people, new places, new cultures. When I decided to spend my week of vacation last August in Charleston, South Carolina, I supposed that, to make the most of it, I should get a guide. After taking a look at the different guides of South Carolina and Charleston in my local bookstore, reading the online reviews at Amazon.com, and listening to the advices of Dary, a good friend and a seasoned traveler, I decided for Moon's South Carolina. And I wasn't disappointed. The book provided me with an excellent background on history, culture and geography. Also, as some people already pointed out in other reviews, the author is funny, so the reading is most pleasant. But what really caught me was the feeling that he was talking directly to me, that he was by my side. While I was enjoying a peaceful walk in the old streets of Charleston, the book helped me to understand better and, as a consequence, to experience more deeply the beauty of the Old South. But I'm digressing. If you are looking for a guide to South Carolina, this one definitely will work. Accurate information, plenty of details, many places to visit. In summary, a good investment. I think that my visit would had been much poorer without the help of Sigalas's book.

There are other, individual guide books for the Grand Strand and for Charleston that cover each respective area in much greater detail. I found the other guides to be indespensable, whereas Moon is a great fun read, but not nearly as useful.