City Smart: St. Louis

CITY SMART: ST. LOUIS is a great book describing both the Missouri and Illinois Sides of the St. Louis Area. It tells you where the best restaurants, shopping malls, museums, neighborhoods, and transportation are. However, being that it was written in 2000, some information needs to be taken like the humor in AMERICAN WEDDING, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELLING PANTS, HARVARD MAN, DRIVE ME CRAZY, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, 13 GOING ON 30, GARFIELD: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES, or DATE MOVIE, because many statistics have changed since then. Even so, this is still a wonderful book to own.

Ms. Feldman does a fine job in capturing some of St. Louis' more sublime features. She writes this book as only someone who loves the area and has lived there for a long time can. My family and I use this to find out about some of the lesser-known (at least to those not from St. Louis) attractions in the St. Louis metro area. For example, we were able to track down a real pumpkin patch so that my son could pick out his own pumpkins for Halloween. Also, we learned about the Butterfly House, an amazing climate-controlled "greenhouse" that houses several colorful species of butterflies. Ms. Feldman also gives tips on getting around St. Louis, discusses the variety of restaurants available, and spends significant time discussing evening activities such as plays, opera, and nightclubs. This book was instrumental in helping us dive in and enjoy what St. Louis has to offer. I appreciated the author's insight into St. Louis. She added opinions and insight that readers will not find in other city guides.

I moved to St. Louis about 1 year ago, and I bought this book to get myself familiarized with lovely St. Louis. Becauise of this book, I've known restaurants and places that many locals have never heard of. I still use the book as a reference when looking for something else to do, read on a restaurant, or when out of town guests come. If you will visit St. Louis for some time, get this great little book. If you live here, then get this book and pay tribute to where you live!

Jody Feldman's guide to St. Louis is well-written, comprehensive and interesting. Feldman, a St. Louis native, includes everything from hotels & restaurants to sporting events & night life. Interesting factoids are interspersed throughout and a brief history of the city is also included.A very helpful feature is added to this second edition: website addresses for almost every listing. This book was published in the spring of 2000 and at the time, it was very clearly up-to-date - it even mentions the Rams' Super Bowl victory in the winter of 2000.If you're a tourist looking to visit St. Louis, this is definitely the book you want to take with you.