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INSIGHT GUIDE MONTREAL AND QUEBEC CITY: BOOK REVIEW

© Norman P. Goldman

There are many travel guides pertaining to Montreal, however, Insight Guide Montreal & Quebec City published by Lagenscheidt Publishers Inc is unique in that it includes many exquisite photos depicting the history, culture, soul and "joie de vivre" of Montréal.

It would definitely serve as an excellent compliment to many of the topics I have written about on this site.

I was quite impressed with the chapter dealing with the various eras of Montréal's history. The authors have very succinctly provided us with a window into Montréal's past without boring us with too many names and dates. They have understood the importance of history in appreciating Montréal's culture.

The location finder found on the front flap of the book will prove to be extremely beneficial to anyone who has never visited Montréal or even to those of us who may have missed some of the more interesting attractions.

Also the breakdown into sections such as important streets and squares, landmarks, parks and gardens, museums, churches and maps, will prove extremely helpful.

The maps are very detailed and they include numbers corresponding to main places of interest as set out in the Places section. For example, Place Jacques Cartier is given the number "1" as it is described as the heart of tourism. The map on the opposite side of the paragraph describing Place Jacques Cartier indicates by the number "1" where exactly this "must see" site is located. Incidentally, all maps are printed in clear beautiful colours.

I was quite interested in reading about the description of the various neighbourhoods of Montréal and especially Outremont, where I was born and lived for the first 28 years of my life.

However, I would have liked to have seen a photo of Outremont's famous theatre, as well as Outremont's City Hall. Both of which are landmarks of this suburb.

I would also like to point out that Outremont's public library is not located in a stately private residence, as the authors indicate. It is a new building that opened a few years ago.

The section dealing with politics should have been omitted, as this is too complex a topic to deal with in a travel guide. Furthermore, I found the rambling of the author and some of his statements either misleading or erroneous.

For example, in referring to Pierre E. Trudeau, the contributor to this section of the book indicates that the former Prime Minister of Canada was a professor of jurisprudence from Université de Laval.

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