Bailey's introduction to Colonial Williamsburg struck me and unique and charming and stands as lovely testament to fan of the project and the decoration of those who keep it running.

At first glance you might be expecting a historic love story, and in a way it is. Debra Bailey fell in love with history and Colonial Williamsburg as a child and never stopped. From her first visit in 1965 when she and her sister explored on their own for a day, (life was so much more simple and safer then) to today she always finds something new to explore. This book is a guide for anyone interested in exploring the historic capitol or simply a history buff. Lots of ideas for keeping young children happy to more sedate visits for older visitors. Great reference guide from an area resident who is familiar with the town. I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I did not really enjoy A Colonial Williamsburg Love Affair: Tales, Takes, and Tips from a Lifetime of Visits. I give it two stars.

I wanted to like this book a lot. Colonial Williamsburg is one of the more unique places on the East coast and, also being a professed history-nerd like the author, I thought it would talk more about the history of the site and the modern issues that they are dealing with like dropping attendance, the Super Bowl ad controversy, and more. While the author does a good job describing the site and the many programs that it offers, it felt a lot more like a 200 page advertisement for CW instead. I understand that they author loves CW, but she glosses over a lot of stuff in favor of talking about her favorite tour or even the announcer's voice instead of really going in depth on other things.

I think that this should be considered more of a biography or memoir than a non-fiction book.

The tips in the back are helpful, but due to the nature of CW, some probably won't be valid for too long (buildings close and programs change all the time). Either way, it was an ok read.

This short but delightful book is Bailey's love letter to Colonial Williamsburg. A self-professed history geek and science fan, Bailey has been going to "CW," as she calls it throughout the book, since she was a small child, vividly recalling in the first chapter the day in 1965 she, aged ten, and her older sister were left alone to explore the colonial area while her parents were at the pottery shop. (Yes, back in the 60s it was perfectly safe to do this if your kids followed the rules and knew to run for help if accosted by strangers—do I envy her!)

In subsequent chapters she talks about different trips, some with her family (one year they stayed at one of the Williamsburg houses) and later with her husband. As she got older, she enjoyed doing things she would have eschewed as a child: going to the art galleries, or taking time out to relax at a spa. She takes us from the Governor's Palace to the House of Burgesses to the different restaurants and into the various homes and shops, and, in one chapter, talks about how the methods of restoring the buildings and cataloging the artifacts have changed from the 1930s to modern times (in the 1930s they were strictly interested in restoring the businesses and threw the artifacts away!).

I'm not sure if anyone else but those interested in historical recreations, colonial history, or specifically Colonial Williamsburg itself would really be a fan of this book, but if any one of these categories are intriguing to you, you will probably enjoy this memoir. Keep in mind it's not a guidebook, or a be-all end-all reference to Williamsburg, but one woman's personal affection for a magical place in her childhood that continued to provide her with special memories for the rest of her life.

At the end of the book Bailey provides suggested things to see in CW as well as a bibliography of books about the restored area.

Having visited CW many times myself, this book was a nice trip down memory lane. The author is very very descriptive, to the point that after reading this book, you wouldn't actually have to go visit. Many of the tips and tricks were things we'd figured out in the past, but things that your first-timer wouldn't know....so this would be very helpful for that segment of the population. There were, however, a few tidbits that we picked up for our next visit!