Once again jim and I are of like minds...thank you for that Jim!
My age being what it is (63), and having been schooled by severe and very strict Franciscan nuns, in a relatively poor Catholic school as a young child during the late 1950s and early 1960s, I learned to respect and even revere printed books, all printed books. I was imbued with the certain knowledge that all books are good, knowledge is good, knowledge can be powerful, and the printed word serves as the foundation for all of Western Civilization.
Over the decades, I found these statements to be largely true. Even "trash literature" has its' place. Learning about historical events where books were burned or otherwise destroyed simply for the ideas or knowledge they contained, or who wrote the book, was always, to my thinking, a moral wrong, a serious sin if you will...
Consequently, even now, in my 60s, I regard it as flat-out wrong to destroy any book, for any reason, not accidental. So, each time I read about fellow pilgrims tearing out pages from a
Brierley or any other guide to shave some weight, I cringe.
I think this is the wrong way to go about reducing weight. Certainly there is some other item that can be left out of your packing, reduced in size, or quantity to achieve the same weight-reducing result. But, some of us beg you, NEVER damage the book!
The simple and logical answer to this is for Mr.
Brierley, and I know he lurks on this Forum and is known to many of us, to commission two versions of each of his guides. He already does this, the full-on version and the maps only version.
All that I, and folks like Jim (jmcarp) plead for is an ever-more useful maps-only version. We would opine that simply including the half-page or so per stage (on average) description wth phone numbers and addresses (including e-mail) of where to stay, eat, shop, and obtain services would be a perfect marriage. Personally, I do not care what he charges for this. The relative value far surpasses the cost.
I usually buy both versions anyway, the most updated versions, early each calendar year, before I leave on Camino, if I am walking all or a portion of the routes he covers. I customarily leave the maps-only version for my family to follow along and to get an idea of where I am and where I am headed. I take the full-on version with me.
The "left-behind" folks have the Internet to do any research they might want to do at any time. I need more information conveniently in my hiking pants cargo pocket. However, I would, and ask Jim says, much prefer a more thorough maps-only guide.
Perhaps Mr.
Brierley could simply change the name of the Maps-only guide to the "Pilgrim's Hip-Pocket Guide to the Camino (x)" and the name of the full-on guide to the "Comprehensive Guide to the Camino (x)."
"Pretty Please" Mr.
Brierley?!
If any of my colleague pilgrims out there can get this thread to
John Brierley, please do so.
I hope this helps the dialog.
