Discover Balboa Park: A complete guide to America's greatest urban park

by Pamela Crooks

Octavo, [9in/23cm], paperbound with pictorial covers, 221. illustrated with color plates and b-w halftones. Folding map in rear pouch

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crooks' book follows the standard format for a travel guide. She ambitiously compares Balboa Park to Disneyland in the front matter, pointing out that it's far cheaper than Disneyland (and by inference, at least as engaging.) I dearly love Balboa Park, but omitting the Zoo, it seems far fetched to compare the two. Still, Balboa Park has a lot to offer, and I've spent a lot of time there without knowing much about its history, art and architecture. Most of the book will be useless to a San Diego resident. These chapters cover basics like travel, parking, etc. But Chapter 1 provides a tidy history of the park, and Chapter 9 covers the history of the architecture and edifices in greater detail. I think her coverage here is very appropriate for a travel book, and hitting the main avenues and sites, but extending the reach out to the geographical periphery of the Marston House. I would recommend this is a very introductory look at Balboa's past, but as a travel guide it is already outdated.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needs updating, but good data.