Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126169 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781599290379
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

A full-color photo essay of Forks, Washington, for Twilight fans.
First, a disclaimer. I'm the author and need to clarify the editorial listing, which was written before the book's contents were finalized.

Obviously, the five-star listing I've "given" myself should be WHOLLY DISREGARDED. I would have preferred a neutral option, but that's not possible. So please realize the constraint under which my comments are written.

First, the book is not wholly my work. I realized that I needed help with this project, and so enlisted Mike Gurling, a former National Park ranger and currently the Visitor Center manager from the Forks Chamber of Commerce. Mike proofread every word several times to make sure the text was accurate--thanks, Mike--and opened up his photo files so I could have a more representative selection of images, which I could not capture in the one week I spent in Forks. The gorgeous cover photo, taken by Mike years before Stephenie Meyer began writing the Twilight Saga, is one of several dozen photos Mike contributed to the book. I am happy to be the one to showcase his considerable photo talents.

The book itself is in full color and also sports a map drawn by veteran Disney artist/Imagineer Tim Kirk; the map was colored by Laura Edwards, who is best known for her work as the prop artist for the HBO miniseries, John Adams.

There's three essays in the book: the first one talks about my impressions of small-town Forks, which in many ways reminds me of Williamsburg, Va., where I live: a close-knit community that makes strangers welcome. The second essay talks about Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight phenomenon. The third essay, "Forever Seventeen," talks about why the book has such an enduring appeal to women of all ages--it's a timeless romance story.

The photos that I took cover all the key points of interest in town that Twilighters would want to visit, from the Visitor Center to the hospital, the high school, the police station, the inn that serves as the Cullen home, the house that serves as Police Chief Swan's home, the retail store Dazzled by Twilight, the gorgeous LaPush beach (part of the Quileute Nation), and the mossy landscape of the nearby Hoh Rain Forest. The photos were mostly taken by day, though some were on a rainy evening.

On the assumption that some readers will use this book to navigate around town when visiting, the Tim Kirk map will be useful--it's detailed enough to allow for self-navigation. Each entry in the book, each major destination, has the phone number, web address, and other info, so if you need to contact that destination, you can do so.

There's an appendix with recommended web sources, as well. (Note: Stephenie Meyer has taken down her MySpace page, so disregard my listing in the book therein.)

On the book's production: The publisher is a small press that is well known for its quality art books, so the book's layout and design, by Arnie Fenner, is elegant and attractive. The matte paper stock shows off the photos beautifully, without glare, and allows for easy reading of the text, as well. The binding is smythe-sewn, which means the book will lay flat and will NOT fall apart under repeated readings--too many books these days are published with "perfect binding," which means the edges of the pages are held together by glue and not thread, so the book will fall apart. This book, with proper care, will outlast your lifetime.

The hardback had a smaller run than the paperback, so if you want the nicest edition, think about getting the hardback edition before it sells out. The paperback, at the Amazon price, is very attractively priced, I think.

If you've never been to Forks, this is your passport to the small town that Stephenie Meyer put on the map. And if you have been to Forks, the sights (and sites) in this book will certainly be familiar. In any event, I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

A Great Book and A Great Read
I just got this book today and fell in love with it. The photographs are amazing. But what I really loved was seeing and learning facts about all the key Twilight locations..like the Forks High School, Police Station and The Cullens House, just to name a few. If you can't take a visit to Forks, after reading this book you'll feel like you just went on a Twilight Tour. I highly recommend this book to any Twilight fan.

Twilight Tours
When my review copy of George Beahm's TWILIGHT TOURS arrived, the office staff took one look and immediately clamored to purchase the book (purportedly as gifts for "family members" who are fans of the series, but I suspect otherwise). And no wonder! The stunning photographs and the pervasive presence of Bella and Edward, sprinkled with the unique humor of Forks' citizens, comprise the most vivid armchair visit I've ever seen. The book is a balanced blend of romance, beauty and useful information, suitable for planning a visit or substituting for one. TWILIGHT TOURS' [[ASIN:1599290367 Twilight Tours: An Illustrated Guide to the Real Forks] quality and comprehensiveness outshine books at double the price; the erudite, haunting text is priceless.