Extracts from reviews:

From the website www.motorcaravanning.co.uk:

'A motorcaravanning miscellany to inform, inspire and entertain...' Also claiming to be 'The motorcaravanning book to end all motorcaravanning books!' David sent us a copy of this new book to review, and while I'm only just getting started on it I must say that it really does inform, inspire and entertain as claimed. I'm always deeply suspicious of anything described as a 'miscellany' but this book is no jumble of unrelated jottings - instead there is a steady flow of useful information graded nicely from start to finish and appealing at many different levels.

Nor is the information dry and indigestible as is so often the case, no, anyone with a real interest in motorcaravanning will find this book a really good read. Some of the material is clearly aimed at the novice but there's plenty here for readers at all levels of motorcaravanning experience. Some may find the unusual format a little difficult at first since there are really four books here, 'basics', 'ideas', 'articles' and a 'travelog' all running along side by side. Fortunately David had the good sense to realise that this format needed a really clear layout for readers to follow without getting lost and has successfully divided his volume into the four themes. The great advantage of this approach, once you get used to it, is that readers can dip into the book for a short read on any motorcaravanning topic in any one of the four themes. Equally you can use it as a reference volume since all the topics are easily found and are obviously more or less 'advanced'.

It will be a while before I put this one down - and when I do it's going in the 'van to travel round with us so that we can regularly dip into some more of that inspiring and entertaining information!

From The Caravan Club magazine:

An occasional contributor to this magazine, David Berry has also written the authoritative Motorcaravan Handbook. His latest weighty tome, The Recreational Nomad is no less than four books in one, amounting to a miscellany of motorcaravanning. David has his own publishing company, so it was no problem for him to get his unusual format into print: it's a landscape A4 paperback with its pages sub-divided into two A5s. Each A5 page is devoted to a different topic that flows through the book, so you might open it at, say pages 148-9 to find the left- hand page divided into two, 'The Basics' and 'The Ideas', while the right-hand page begins 'A Magazine Article' in double-page spread format, which the author previously had published in Motorcaravan Motorhome Monthly. (Some pages carry 'A Motorcaravan Log' instead.) So this one spread covers some of the technicalities of receiving TV programmes on site, ideas for sourcing your TV hook-up connection cable and an article on using a portable computer in your motorcaravan. Turn a few pages and the topics have changed to checking in at a Caravan Club site, levelling your vehicle and touring around Scotland, a few more pages and fresh topics again. David variously discusses the choice and purchase of his three motorhomes, hiring and touring abroad including the USA. Then there are personalisation ideas and he takes close looks at a number of sites at home (mainly Caravan Club) and abroad. As the front cover promises, it is a miscellany to inform, inspire and entertain.

At a hefty 300 pages plus cover, it's a bit of a handful for bedtime reading but it is copiously illustrated with over 650 black-and-white photographs and diagrams.

From a web site for Motorhome Owners:

I am very impressed with this book and I feel it is well worth recommending. It is really four books in one:

The Basics- good basic advice for the newcomer and useful information for the more experienced.
The Ideas - with around 150 suggestions and tips to improve motorcaravanning enjoyment.
Magazine Articles - which the author has published,
A Motorcaravan Log - providing ideas for travel and amusement, taken from the author's ten years of motorcaravanning.

With 300 A4 pages and over 650 photographs it is suitable for all, can be easily browsed whenever you want to, it can be used as a reference or it can be read seriously. The format of the books needs getting used to, but I easily accomplished this and I found it even added to my joy of browsing.

This review in Motorcaravan Motorhome Monthly (MMM) is, in places, rather out of tune with the foregoing!

This is quite a tome - weighty in both senses. As the author, David Berry, says in his foreword, it is really four books in one; that is, the content falls into four distinct categories. And that is where the trouble starts. If the four sections followed one another, that would have been fine; but, as it is, David has chosen an enterprising format in which each two page spread contains a column or two of each section. This is confusing, to say the least, and distracting and difficult to follow to boot. Now that I have aired that opinion, let's turn to the content.

I'm glad to say that I found a fair amount of valuable content. The first section, Basics, will be helpful to anyone who has no experience of caravanning and is considering buying their first motorcaravan. It will be equally helpful to the novice. The topics covered are choosing, buying, owning, and driving a 'van; the various services (gas, electricity, water), and kitchens. Treatment is jargon-free and comprehensive; and, anyway, there is a full glossary of motorcaravan - related terms at the back of the book. This will go far towards demystifying the subject for newcomers and beginners.

Section two, Ideas, is a compendium of DIY projects, large and small, that David has carried out on his own succession of 'vans. Many of these have been published in MMM. A contents list for this section allows a specific idea to be found quickly.

Section three consists of reproductions of the author's many magazine articles on motorcaravanning. I feel that their likely interest and usefulness to readers varies widely. The majority are technical, like amplified Ideas. Some are on travel, including RV rental in the USA.

Section four is David's own Motorcaravan Log - extracts from his records of ten years of motorcaravanning. My view is that a personal diary, if it is to make absorbing reading, has to recount some exceptional events or to be from an uncommonly skilled pen. However, if you are looking for ideas on where to visit (and surely the majority of us only ever get near to a tiny fraction of attractive destinations we have noted), this section might provide some. I consider most of this section does not stand up to reproduction - especially the photographs. The pictures, all black and white, are the most disappointing aspect of the book. Reproductions of advertisements, book covers, and the like, being second or third 'generation' from the original, have unavoidably deteriorated. Of the author's own photographs, I rate half the reproductions as muddy, with low contrast and poor definition. More's the pity, because pictures create the first crucial impression when a book is first opened. I wonder whether all the plentiful pictures serve a purpose. Was there really a need to include two almost identical photos on successive pages (25 and 27)? In places, the typeface used for captions is very similar to that used for the text, and the layout of some pages makes it necessary to read carefully to distinguish which is which.

In conclusion, can I recommend the book? Without doubt, the Basics section in particular would be worth the considerable price to a potential first-time buyer. Similarly, the Ideas could repay the book's cost for the owner who likes to personalise and improve the convenience of their 'van.

Ah well! You can't please all of the people all of the time!!

To restore some credibility for the book, here are two letters from satisfied readers:

Dear Mr.Berry,

Thank you for sending me your wonderful book "The Recreational Nomad". Although I have not had time to read it all yet, (I should have bought two copies, I have to battle with my wife in order to read it at all) what I have read is most interesting and informative and well worth the asking fee. (Cheque enclosed) My wife and I have just purchased a Hymer 644, and intend to winter in France and Spain. As we are complete novices in all aspects of motorhome matters, it is books such as yours that we rely on for inspiration and guidance, for which you have my utmost admiration. I hope we will have as many happy years as you have undoubtedly had, and look forward with some fear and trepidation, but also, the excitement of a completely new way of life. Again, many thanks for all your hard work; I am sure a great many people will derive a great deal of pleasure and information from your book.

Best Regards,

... Apologies for the lack of communication in the past few weeks ... I only recently got to open my copy of TRN (it had arrived whilst we were away) and had the time to browse. Well! I think the layout is just fine. It only takes a few moments to work out how items follow through the pages and in fact I found myself constantly moving from one article to another, back and forth, as I came across new information that I wished to read. Perhaps the MMM reviewer had limited time to write his article and didn't take to this unusual means of reading a book? Certainly TRN is packed with ideas, useful information, interesting articles and DIY projects aplenty, it had me (a hardened camper-van owner, traveller & DIY-er!) engrossed for a long time. For a newcomer to motorcaravanning it must be fascinating and akin to a bible ... When I get back to normal and have dealt with a horrendous backlog of paperwork (where does it all come from? It secretly breeds while I'm away!) I intend to write to MMM to say what I think about TRN, but will they print it?

Best regards

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