Moon Panama (Moon Handbooks)
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Moon Panama (Moon Handbooks) Paperback – January 29, 2013
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Editorial Reviews
Review
There are several well thought out itineraries available in the beginning of the book which are catalogued by length of stay and various interests....This is a must have book for those planning a trip to Panama. --Dave's Travel Corner, November, 2008
Friar provides great trips for travelers exploring his native Panama. This second edition includes tips such as the 14-day Outdoor Adventure and Six Days for History Buffs. --Planeta.com, December 2008 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Friar provides great trips for travelers exploring his native Panama. This second edition includes tips such as the 14-day Outdoor Adventure and Six Days for History Buffs. --Planeta.com, December 2008 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
William Friar grew up near the banks of the Panama Canal. Though an American citizen, he has lived much of his life overseas. Besides Panama, he has called Denmark, India, and the United Kingdom home, and he spends as much time as possible traveling. Moon Panama is Bill's third Panama-related book. The others are an ecotourist guide, Adventures in Nature: Panama, and a photo-essay book, Portrait of the Panama Canal. He also writes about England, San Francisco, and various bits of South America.
Bill began his writing career as a stringer for the metro desk of The New York Times, where he found that covering stabbings, shootings, blizzards, and hockey parades was surprisingly good training for travel writing. He has also worked as a rock music critic, technology news editor, human biology instructor, writing coach, fundraiser, software manual author, and reporter for three daily newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area. His current day job is press officer for the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Bill's work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Arizona Republic, Neuen Zürcher Zeitung, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, and Houston Chronicle, among other publications.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, Bill also holds master’s degrees in English and American literature from Stanford and in journalism from Columbia University. He lives in London with his wife.
Bill began his writing career as a stringer for the metro desk of The New York Times, where he found that covering stabbings, shootings, blizzards, and hockey parades was surprisingly good training for travel writing. He has also worked as a rock music critic, technology news editor, human biology instructor, writing coach, fundraiser, software manual author, and reporter for three daily newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area. His current day job is press officer for the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Bill's work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Arizona Republic, Neuen Zürcher Zeitung, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, and Houston Chronicle, among other publications.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, Bill also holds master’s degrees in English and American literature from Stanford and in journalism from Columbia University. He lives in London with his wife.
More About the Author
William Friar grew up near the banks of the Panama Canal. Though an American citizen, Bill has lived most of his life overseas. Besides Panama, he has called Denmark, India, and the United Kingdom home, and he spends as much time as possible traveling around the world.
He has written three Panama-related books: the guidebook Moon Handbooks: Panama (now in its third edition); an ecotourist guide, Adventures in Nature: Panama; and a photo-essay book, Portrait of the Panama Canal (now in its third edition). He also writes about England, San Francisco, and various bits of South America.
Bill began his writing career as a stringer for the metro desk of The New York Times, where he found that covering stabbings, shootings, blizzards, and hockey parades was surprisingly good training for travel writing. He has also worked as a rock-music critic, technology-news editor, human biology instructor, writing coach, fundraiser for a medical foundation and a university, software-manual author, and reporter for three daily newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bill's work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Arizona Republic, Neuen Zürcher Zeitung, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, Houston Chronicle, Budget Travel, and other publications.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, Bill also holds a Stanford MA in English and American literature and an MS in journalism from Columbia University. He lives in London with his wife, Karen.
He has written three Panama-related books: the guidebook Moon Handbooks: Panama (now in its third edition); an ecotourist guide, Adventures in Nature: Panama; and a photo-essay book, Portrait of the Panama Canal (now in its third edition). He also writes about England, San Francisco, and various bits of South America.
Bill began his writing career as a stringer for the metro desk of The New York Times, where he found that covering stabbings, shootings, blizzards, and hockey parades was surprisingly good training for travel writing. He has also worked as a rock-music critic, technology-news editor, human biology instructor, writing coach, fundraiser for a medical foundation and a university, software-manual author, and reporter for three daily newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bill's work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Arizona Republic, Neuen Zürcher Zeitung, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, Houston Chronicle, Budget Travel, and other publications.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, Bill also holds a Stanford MA in English and American literature and an MS in journalism from Columbia University. He lives in London with his wife, Karen.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 46 people found the following review helpful
By
Panama Hostel Owner
on May 16, 2009
Format: Paperback
1 Comment
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The Moon Guidebook is by far one of the most thoroughly researched, well organized guidebooks for Panama on the market right now. How do I know this? Well, as the owner of a backpacker hostel located in Panama I have met the writer on several occasions and have personally observed his careful fact checking and research methods. He is one of the few guidebook writers that actually speaks fluent Spanish, and this undoubtedly assists him in verifying current information and finding out about interesting things that other books may not be including. At the hostel, we have a reference library that includes most of the major guidebooks, and quite often our guests request the Moon guide-book.
A general comment about the use of Guidebooks. Guidebooks are "guides". They are NOT bibles. Travelers should assume that they will include outdated information and inaccuracies, no matter how recent they have been published. Things are changing constantly, ESPECIALLY in a country like Panama which is just beginning to BLOOM in terms of tourist venues.
On a personal note: As a hostel owner, I know the frustrations and confusions about how to please 100% of my guests due to all the differences in personal preferences. It's difficult to accept that there are always going to be a small percentage of guest complaints. But all we can do is focus on pleasing the 98% majority that see our vision and like our place. I assume that it is the same for a guidebook writer such as Mr. Friar who has obviously put a lot of time and care into the writing of his book and encourage him to keep up the good work in focusing on his majority!
A general comment about the use of Guidebooks. Guidebooks are "guides". They are NOT bibles. Travelers should assume that they will include outdated information and inaccuracies, no matter how recent they have been published. Things are changing constantly, ESPECIALLY in a country like Panama which is just beginning to BLOOM in terms of tourist venues.
On a personal note: As a hostel owner, I know the frustrations and confusions about how to please 100% of my guests due to all the differences in personal preferences. It's difficult to accept that there are always going to be a small percentage of guest complaints. But all we can do is focus on pleasing the 98% majority that see our vision and like our place. I assume that it is the same for a guidebook writer such as Mr. Friar who has obviously put a lot of time and care into the writing of his book and encourage him to keep up the good work in focusing on his majority!
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By
R. Marrero
on November 24, 2008
Format: Paperback
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This guidebook provides a very balanced & well put together information on the country. The author, being a "zonian" himself (one who grew up in the former Panama Canal Zone) & continues to spend time in the country, has a vast knowledge of the area. From the usual tourist areas to the people, history and culture; from the not so well known areas to do's & dont's, he covers it very well. What I like the most is that - unlike some other guides - he covers whatever is negative in a constructive manner without being overly critical. This latest edition includes a few more color pages at the beginning. A perfect companion to relocation guides like "Living in Panama" & "Choose Panama..." Bottom line...If there's room for only one Panama guidebook...look no further.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By
Mark
on February 13, 2012
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase
1 Comment
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We traveled to Panama this month, Moon guide in hand, and like always, would revisit some places we discovered and avoid others. The Moon guide, upon initial inspection (flipping pages and scanning) seemed excellent--written by a "native" and thorough. The author's humor, too was appreciated. However, upon actually reading details, his humor was more often sarcasm with a chip--he rarely had anything good to say about the country. For instance, he goes on about the dangers of Casco Viejo in Panama City, and if we weren't detained for other reasons, wouldn't have visited there at all--but Casco Viejo ended up being by far the most interesting and beautiful part of the city-- and we felt completely safe (unlike the areas the author recommended). The author completely wrote off the city of David--but the town had so much to offer to tourists and for a true sense of Panama. The author hailed Boquete, when it was just a tourist development pushing out native Panamanians. We disagreed with the author so often we began to rip out the too few pages with maps because we knew we'd never use it again. Very disappointing indeed. Of course, the book did a few things well, but with reflection I can just think of 1 place it revealed that we truly enjoyed (and I'm keeping it a secret). I've also used the Moon Chile guide and thought it wonderful, so this is not a judgement on all Moon guides, just this one.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By
Mary P. Coffey
on November 29, 2008
Format: Paperback
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Couldn't agree more with reviews by Rick Marrero and Bruce Hadley. Mr. Friar's obvious knowledge of Panama and his tremendous research makes this book, by far, the best out there for anyone traveling to Panama - whether it be their first visit or their tenth. This is not a dry reference book, by any means. Mr. Friar incorporates fact with humor, which makes reading a pleasure - even the lone traveler will manage a few smiles as he goes along. This is a "must have" in anyone's library.
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By
drumlinds
on December 21, 2008
Format: Paperback
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2 Comments
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First, let me say that I travel with a backpack by bus or train and that Rough Guides are my standard guidebook-of-choice. However, there is no Rough Guide to Panama, so my choices were a 4-year-old Rough Guide to all of Central America, a current Lonely Planet that everyone says was just re-released without updates, and the Moon Panama guide. This is the first time I've used a Moon guide and while it wasn't everything I was hoping for, I'm sure it's the best of the three options. I will, however, still opt for Rough Guides when they're available.
I agree with previous reviews - the author does love Panama. My big complaint with the book is that it's not super helpful for a traveler on a budget who's depending on the bus system to get around the country. The author did cover all forms of transportation (buses, taxis, driving and flying), but I only used buses, so I can't attest to how useful the information was. Regardless, I always found myself wanting to know a little more on how to get around by bus.
I really wanted a list of all the bus terminals, approximately how long it took to get from one to another, and how frequently buses ran between them, etc. - all in one place. For example, I went to Pedasi from Panama City, but in the Pedasi section, there was nothing to tell me how to get there from Panama City, only from the next-closest major town, so I had to piece it together working from section to section. The information was in the book, I just had to work for it.
Another specific complaint with the book: it says that the Eco Venao hostel in Playa Venao gives surfing lessons and rents boards. So I traveled way out of my way to go there and try surfing.Read more ›
I agree with previous reviews - the author does love Panama. My big complaint with the book is that it's not super helpful for a traveler on a budget who's depending on the bus system to get around the country. The author did cover all forms of transportation (buses, taxis, driving and flying), but I only used buses, so I can't attest to how useful the information was. Regardless, I always found myself wanting to know a little more on how to get around by bus.
I really wanted a list of all the bus terminals, approximately how long it took to get from one to another, and how frequently buses ran between them, etc. - all in one place. For example, I went to Pedasi from Panama City, but in the Pedasi section, there was nothing to tell me how to get there from Panama City, only from the next-closest major town, so I had to piece it together working from section to section. The information was in the book, I just had to work for it.
Another specific complaint with the book: it says that the Eco Venao hostel in Playa Venao gives surfing lessons and rents boards. So I traveled way out of my way to go there and try surfing.Read more ›
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