Books to read

[Deloresgardella]

I know there was a thread about some books to read before an Baltic Cruise but I can't find it. :confused: Could anyone please help me out. I love researching as much as possible before going. :confused: I know one of the books was by Forbes. :) Thank you

Delores

[dcl1710]

If you want the "do your own thing" buy the Rick Steves books. We used the Eyewitness Travel books and they were great. You can find them on Amazon. These books cover what the cities offer - museums, churches, and places to visit as opposed to Fodors/Frommers which help to find where to eat and sleep. Hope this helps!

[dbh62ark]

Are you asking about travel guides or about books to aid in learning about the history of the Baltics?

 

Having used all of the various travel guides over the years, I found the new Frommers Scandinavia to be the most helpful travel book for that area. The walking tours and information on the attractions are great. The Rick Steves Scandinavia guide is not nearly as extensive, so I don't like it much but do recommend his walking tour for Tallinn because it's hard to find good guidebook information for Tallinn. I like the EyeWitness guide books for the illustrations, but I find them impractical because the detailed information is so dated. However, I did buy the EyeWitness guide for St. Petersburg because we used a guide for practical information there, so I did like that EyeWitness book because I didn't need to rely on the information in the book. I've used the Frommers Scandinavia guide twice for independent sightseeing in the Baltics, and you can't go wrong with that one.

 

I did a lot of research and read two books on Russia in preparation for our cruise, and it definitely added to the enjoyment of the trip. I belong to a book club and enjoy reading various types of fiction, so I looked for books that read like novels and were enjoyable to read. "Nicholas and Alexandra" by Robert Massie and "Catherine the Great" by Henri Troyat were both great books. My husband also read "Peter the Great" by Robert Massie and loved it too.

 

I also went to the library and found some wonderful videos and DVDs on the Hermitage and the Romanovs, and I thoroughly enjoyed those too. St. Petersburg is an amazing place, and you won't regret getting some background to familiarize yourself before you go.

 

Here's links to the books I mentioned and some reviews by readers.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764578251/qid=1130186150/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5367494-4612833?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157912433X/ref=lpr_g_1/002-5367494-4612833?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452011205/ref=lpr_g_1/002-5367494-4612833?v=glance&s=books

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[dbh62ark]

P.S. If you check out Fodors and Frommers, you'll find that they offer a lot more than places to eat & sleep! The sections on the attractions are extensive and offer a lot of helpful and detailed information. Check them out and you'll see for yourself.

[Deloresgardella]

Thanks everyone for all of your help. I wrote the names of the books down. Will put it on my Christmas list unless I get it before. I have been to Russia sailed the rivers from Moscow to St.Petersburg so am not as interested in them as I am the other towns. I spent three days in both cities. Saw many museums, castles and cathedrals. Both cities very interesting. Thanks again for your help.

Delores

[Willsot]

I like to read and I read Russian-based books for months prior to our Baltic cruise. The only travel guide I purchased and took with us on the cruise was the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide to St. Petersburg (2004). It was an excellent resource. I read two historical pieces, Stalin's biography by Edvard Radzinsky (1996) and The Last Tsar (1993) by the same author.

For fun fiction, I really enjoyed The Amber Room (2003) and The Romanov Prophecy (2005) by Steve Berry. I re-read two of my favorite cold war Russian novels, The Charm School (1988) by Nelson DeMille and Gorky Park (1981) by Martin Cruz Smith. All of these books are available in paperback.

[Sea Day Cruiser]

Russka : The Novel of Russia is by Edward Rutherford. I bought it years ago and just got around to reading it on my last cruise. It's almost 1000 pages and hard going in parts, but there's a lot of Russian history there. I found it fascinating. The author also wrote other historical novels: Sarum: The Novel of England and London: The Novel. All are available in paperback from Amazon.com.

[caroleS]

I know there was a thread about some books to read before an Baltic Cruise but I can't find it. :confused: Could anyone please help me out. I love researching as much as possible before going. :confused: I know one of the books was by Forbes. :) Thank you

Delores

Hi Delores,

Fodors and Frommers are excellent books for the general cruise, and also John Lawrence the Cruise Director has written a book on St Petersburg - well 2 books in one really - The Romanovs and Story of an Imperial City. He has also put together a DVD of the Port talks that he gives on board, unfortunately we didn't find out about this until we were on board, it would have been invaluable to have had it before we left. You can get the book and the DVD from his web site http://www.johnlawrencecd.com

Carole

[Hawaiian Eye]

I had read Rick Steve's Scandanavia Guide and Frommers.

 

There's a TON of info right here if you go back several pages worth of threads. Also many people here post links to pictures of their travels and you get a glimpse of what you'll see when you get there.

 

:cool:

[sunprincess]

Delores,

 

I purchased 2 books.

Frommers Scandanavia

DK Eyewitness Travel Guide St. Petersburg

 

To be honest I loved the DK book, brought it along with me. I also have one from a trip to Prague.

 

The Frommers book I looked at, but, never read it cover to cover.

 

Good Luck!

 

Cathy

[JodiBB]

We also used Rick Steve's Scandanavia, which covered every port, except St. Petersburg. It was wonderful and made independent sight-seeing for all those countries a snap.

[NancyIL]

I enjoyed Rick Steves' Scandinavia and The Eyewitness Guide to St. Petersburg. While I'm sure the Frommers Scandinavia was much more detailed, Rick Steves' book was perfect for a one-day stop in each port.