Guide to the Jersey Shore, 6th

Rating:
Summary: Good information at the time it was published, but .....
Review: The previous reviewer seems to forget that the book was published in 1994 when the websites that s/he is looking for weren't in existence. A lot of good information is contained in the book, but it is in need of an update. I'm looking forward to getting my copy of the 2003 edition.

Rating:
Summary: Save your money
Review: This book offers a survey of the Jersey coastal region, as the subtitle states, from Sandy Hook to Cape May. Much of what's here is information that can be found on the various shore websites. But, oddly enough, there are no Internet pages listed in the book; all the links are snail mail or telephone. It's easy to understand that some sites are transient and not worth commiting to paper, but official state or municipality web sites should be mentioned.

The presentation of the material is very uneven; Cape May and Atlantic City each get an entire chapter, as do Monmouth County ("The Inland Shore") and The Pine Barrens. The latter two are interesting, of course, but really "off topic" of the stated intention of the book. The author spends a lot of time discussing individual casinos in AC in great detail, but skims over stuff like, say, the Wildwood Boardwalk (which gets only a few measley pages in comparison.) And of course, a few things are missing entirely...such as West Wildwood.

A lot of pages are wasted on sections like "How not to die in the sun" (my paraphrase), which is common sense material, and again, off topic. And in general, the author takes a very patronizing tone with his audience. Every time a sand dune is mentioned, there is a discussion about how you shouldn't walk on them, pick the grass, yada yada. All this is important and useful...the first time. After that, it makes you feel like you wasted money. Also, the author has serious class issues that pop up in discussions of towns like Deal and Rumson. The basic message presented is something along the lines of "ahh...you don't want to go there...it's too classy." Puh-Lease.

In short, the book reads like bad propaganda aimed at grade-schoolers.

On the plus side, there are some interesting historical notes, such as the importance of various Shore towns in WWII development and defense, the history of Cape May, and some famous fires and storms. But no pictures, though. I suppose if you've never been to the Jersey shore, and you're scared of your own shadow, this book may be useful. Otherwise, save your money: buy a map, surf the web. It's not that hard.