Discovering Princeton: A Photographic Guide with Five Walking Tours by Wiebke Martens and Jennifer Jang is a photographic guide featuring five fully illustrated walking tours of the charming New Jersey town with seventeenth-century roots and the renowned university at its core. It explores the heart of Princeton University as well as its more modern sections; downtown Princeton, including some of its oldest neighborhoods; and the campuses of Princeton Theological Seminary and the Institute for Advanced Study. Each walk highlights the town's rich history, varied architecture, and a multitude of local attractions, ranging from museums and theaters to parks and playgrounds. For those who want to roam a bit farther, a host of ideas for short outings and longer excursions in the greater Princeton area are included.

Discovering Princeton: A Photographic Guide with Five Walking Tours is a visual interesting and informative book about the history and features of Princeton and the surrounding area. The walking tour guides and information about how and why specific buildings came to be, and how things have changed over the years was interesting and well organized. I enjoyed the look at the school, its buildings. The full-page images paired with informative captions make this guidebook something that will appeal to locals, guests and the families of potential students or alumni. I think the ideas for further excursions in the surrounding areas were particularly useful. The only downside is that much of the architecture and landscaping looks similar to other large universities- so as someone that has worked at or visited prestigious schools on a regular basis I found the images to be less interesting and unique than others that actually have a connection to Princeton. Too many colleges and universities have similar architecture, which means that the target audience for the book is very limited- but for those with a personal connection to Princeton and the area will certainly love it.

Discovering Princeton: A Photographic Guide with Five Walking Tours, by Wiebke Martens and Jennifer Jang is an aesthetically pleasing photography book.

In the Introduction, the authors shared, "We joined up, a historian and a photographer, both residents, to create a photographic guide. This journey has compelled us to traverse Princeton, in every season and at every time of day, to take the many images included in this book.... The captions also include helpful information for both guests and locals, such as tips on activities for kids, concert series, and annual events.... So if you find yourself in this town--for a day, a week, a year--our guide will help you to discover and enjoy Princeton."

While Princeton, New Jersey is the primary focus of this book, it also includes an overview of sites and attractions within a one-hour drive. This travel guidebook features intriguing photographs of historical sites, current landmarks, and various attractions, along with informative captions and maps of the walks.

This book is divided into the following chapters: Introduction, A Brief History of Princeton, Out and About in Princeton, Walk One: Historic University, Walk Two: Downtown Princeton, Walk Three: West Around Mercer Hill, Walk Four: The University in the Twenty-First Century, Walk Five: From Seminary to Institute, Attractions in Princeton and Beyond, History, Nature and Gardens, The Arts, Hiking, Biking and More, Local Food, The Sciences, Selected Bibliography, and Index.

Discovering Princeton is geared towards various ages, from young adults to older generations, and it's especially recommended for those interested in photography travel guidebooks.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This photographic guide features five fully illustrated walking tours of the charming New Jersey town with seventeenth-century roots and the renowned university at its core. Explore the heart of Princeton University as well as its more modern sections; downtown Princeton, including some of its oldest neighbourhoods; and the campuses of Princeton Theological Seminary and the Institute for Advanced Study. Each walk highlights the town's rich history, varied architecture, and a multitude of local attractions, ranging from museums and theatres to parks and playgrounds. For those who want to roam a bit farther, a host of ideas for short outings and longer excursions in the greater Princeton area are included. With compelling full-page images and informative captions, this unique guidebook will appeal to both locals and guests and makes an ideal gift or keepsake.

For someone who probably, will never do much more international travelling anymore.

I found this a delight and informative.

With beautiful photographs and 5 descriptive walking excursions, including the history of the university town of Princeton.

This would be suitable to grace anyone's coffee table.

Beautiful photography and well organized. Traditional photo journal with a little bit of history but sadly does not capture the spirit of place.

Princeton is more then just a school and town. Wiebke Martens has shown us the beauty of the place with this fascinating book. There are 5 walking tours in the book with a map leading you through, Each spot has a picture in the book as well so you know what you are looking for, then it gives a brief history of that particular spot.

At the first of the book it gives you a history of Princeton that is very interesting. Then you go through the pages of the walking tours. Then there is a section on attractions in and near Princeton. This is a great book for the student, resident, and the tourist to the area. One Picture shows the bridge from Pennsylvania to New Jersey at the Parks of Washington's Crossing. I have actually been across that bridge a few years ago while visiting my Brother In Law in Philly..

The photographs in this book are awesome. They were taken at different times during the year some you see fall leaves, some have snow, and so on. The book really makes you want to go see the areas in person. I really learned a lot from this book. I had it in my mind Princeton was just a college town with a bunch of buildings. The buildings themselves are works of art too.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

Having personally done a walking tour I enjoyed this very much, the descriptions are excellent and the photography captures the areas brilliantly, I especially loved the aerial shots.

A vast photo collection of Princeton and the surrounding areas.