Best Guidebook for historical/cultural/architecture etc

[waveprof]

We are trying to limit not carrying too many, or too heavy of a guidebook, but we are trying to find the one that is the best combination of good maps but, more than anything, gives a good cultural, historical, and architectural background to what we will be walking by. We own a couple of english guidebooks already (not planning on taking all of them), but my wife (a Spanish professor) speaks fluent Spanish and French, as well as some Basque (though not enough to read an entire guidebook), so we are open to a guidebook in a different language if one of those has more information. Any thoughts?

 

[scruffy1]

There is only one, the best, most comprehensive and well, they have been there many times with people who have no idea, Its large bulky and heavy but the book organizes your visit in every place from Valcarlos to Leon from SJPP to Santiago-"The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago" by David Gtlitz and his wife Linda Kay Davidson. The Camino is not Disneyland, you should understand some tiny bit of what you are experiencing seeing and feeling.

 

[waveprof]

There is only one, the best, most comprehensive and well, they have been there many times with people who have no idea, Its large bulky and heavy but the book organizes your visit in every place from Valcarlos to Leon from SJPP to Santiago-"The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago" by David Gtlitz and his wife Linda Kay Davidson. The Camino is not Disneyland, you should understand some tiny bit of what you are experiencing seeing and feeling.

As an academic married to an academic, I am really tempted by this book and respect what it sets out to do (so I have, by no means, ruled it out). My only concern is the praciticality of it. It is 431 pages and is not an adequate guide for refugios, routes, food, etc----which is not a problem in and of itself, but does mean that besides carrying a 431 page book we'd also have to carry another guide book. Since we are already going to be slightly heavier packed (I'm having to carry some of my mother's gear), this is certainly not ideal. Is there another guide book that has better than average information on such topics while still serving as a very strong practical guidebook? This one definitely looks worth reading either way, but I also know if I read it before (and don't take it) I won't remember things exactly correctly. And I'm leery of carrying this big of a book plus another one. I might just do that, but those are my concerns.....

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The Alison Raju Cicerone guide had enough historical detail for me.

 

[peregrina2000]

I carried the Gitlitz/Davidson book on my first Camino in 2000, and found that in some cases it was just an overwhelming amount of information to digest (almost 10 pages just on the Burgos cathedral), but in many instances it alerted me to places (particularly romanesque churches, hidden away) that I would have never seen without the book. I haven't carried it with me in any subsequent years, but looking at it again right now makes me think that the next time I go back to the Frances, I will take it with me. It was in that book that I learned of the amazing mozarabic church of San Miguel de la Escalada, about 20 kms off the camino, where I have since been twice and it takes your breath away. And so many other things.

Tough decision, because it is a BIG book. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[CaminoJohn]

The Pilgrimage Road is really the best! On my first Camino I read it through before I.left, and each evening I read about the day ahead picking the sites I wanted to see. The paper of the book is a newsprint type and lighter thn normal book paper. I would use the margins as a journal. On my second Camino I.bought a new copy and removed the first 54 pages which details the route from Somport which I wasn't walking. I also took out the timeline and bibliography at the back, about another 40 pages! Then each day I would remove the stage of the Camino. I finished. Both methods worked for me!

 

[Milepost99]

With the time and money invested in this trip, I want the information in the "big book" while I am on pilgrimage, so I have removed the part not dealing with Camino Frances, the covers and some of the index. All that's left to go are the 3/4 inch margins.

 

[kimscamino]

I too would like to bring The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago on my camino so I checked and found that it is available both as a Nook book from Barnes & Noble and a Kindle ebook from Amazon. Taking an electronic reader would allow you to take other books, such as a practical guide book, as well. If you have an iPad or iPhone, apps for Nook and Kindle are also available.

Buen Camino!
Kim

 

[waveprof]

I too would like to bring The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago on my camino so I checked and found that it is available both as a Nook book from Barnes & Noble and a Kindle ebook from Amazon. Taking an electronic reader would allow you to take other books, such as a practical guide book, as well. If you have an iPad or iPhone, apps for Nook and Kindle are also available.

Buen Camino!
Kim

Really good idea. Being an English professor and a Spanish Professor (my wife), we are too bound to paper books and never even think about digital (even though we certainly should). This is a good idea.

We aren't taking our iPhones (or any cell phones), and we don't own Nook or Kindle (though we could get one). We do have an iPod touch (which is essentially an iPhone without phone service, and only has internet when wifi is available). Could we download the books onto that? Or do we need to get a Nook/Kindle?

It's kind of funny that stepping back into the middle ages (or the 19th century depending on your camino politics) might force us into the 21st century in this way :mrgreen:

 

[Dave Courtenay]

I was going to mention the e reader option, I have a 7'' Kindle Fire HD and its great, Very clear plus you can use skype etc if you want to keep in touch with others

Dave

 

[Kitsambler]

Yes, any Kindle ebook can be downloaded to the app on your other devices. I would have to assume the Nook works similarly. I get cross-eyed at the notion of reading such a big book on such a small device, however.

Those Kindle Fire models are not a good choice for pilgrim walkers, as they are heavier and have shorter battery life. The black-and-white models with keyboards are the lightest, longest-lasting Kindle: 8 oz without the cover. And you can carry 3000 books! Meaning both the Pilgrim Road and the Cicerone guide.

 

[Dave Courtenay]

Yes, any Kindle ebook can be downloaded to the app on your other devices. I would have to assume the Nook works similarly. I get cross-eyed at the notion of reading such a big book on such a small device, however.

Those Kindle Fire models are not a good choice for pilgrim walkers, as they are heavier and have shorter battery life. The black-and-white models with keyboards are the lightest, longest-lasting Kindle: 8 oz without the cover. And you can carry 3000 books! Meaning both the Pilgrim Road and the Cicerone guide.

You can Zoom the page out so you can have the text as big as you want and as they come either 7'' or 8.9'' they are not that different from a book in size, My kindle battery lasts a good time, hours either way and takes a short time to charge, I am sure that e readers like the nook are better for just reading as their screens are not as shiny but they are more limited in what they can do but then again are cheaper so you have choices
Dave

 

[Thengel1]

Sometimes I need to be reminded of what century I live in. The last week or two, I had been casting glances at my paper copy of the book, reminding myself I needed to either a) read through it and take notes (the difficulty being it is pretty dry material if you not actually there to see the places the book is talking about) or b) go through the tedious process of scanning it. And yet I had already decided to bring an iPad with me.

Well, that is one problem solved anyway.

 

[Kitsambler]

Yes, any Kindle ebook can be downloaded to the app on your other devices.

You can Zoom the page out so you can have the text as big as you want and as they come either 7'' or 8.9'' they are not that different from a book in size,
Dave

The reference that was making me cross-eyed was to reading a 413-page book on an iPod touch. That's quite a small screen.

 

[William Marques]

I would take a different path with a normal guide like the Brierley one with maps plus "The Road to Santiago de Compostela - The Architectural Guide" by Michael Jacobs. Both are small books and the Jacobs book gives much detail on the buildings on the route.

I would also read Walter Starkie's The Road to Santiago before you leave or after you return for a perspective on walking the route before and after WW2.

 

[CaminoJohn]

Great news from the American Pilgrim's newsletter!

"The classic guidebook The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The
Complete Cultural Handbook is now available as an e-book,
making it available for an electronic tablet and some
phones. Although its primary subject matter is the history
of each area and its art and architecture, it also covers
geology, flora & fauna and provides useful reference guides
to the saints, a historic timeline, and an informative “Arts
of the Road” guide to architectural styles.
David M. Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson
The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural
Handbook
St.Martin’s Press, 2000."

 

[Yallah]

Have a look at the sample chapter of the book we recently published, and see if it is the kind of historical info you are looking for:

http://www.hikingthecamino.com/book

The book has topographical maps, comprehensive accommodations and town amenity information, route descriptions, and we tried to cover the most interesting and relevant historical information without it being overwhelmingly comprehensive.

An e-book is in the works currently and should be available by mid to late summer.