Preface<br > "There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which<br >so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn."<br > --Dr. Samuel Johnson， 1709-1784<br >We couldn t agree more. Fine food， a lovely room， and the<br >hospitality of a great innkeeper can be the high points of any<br >journey. Few pleasures of the road compare with waking in<br >a pleasant country inn surrounded by the comforts of a gent-<br >ler age. Few meals are as satisfying as a splendid breakfast<br >(with fresh blueberry muffins， perhaps， or a basket of flaky<br >croissants) delivered to your table by a cheerful and attentive<br >host. Few destinations are as comforting on a business trip<br >as a small but elegant hotel that somehow manages to antici-<br >pate your every need.<br > Such pure， old-fashioned pampering--in all its many fasci-<br >nating incarnations--is the subject of America s WonderfulLittle<br >Hotels andlnns， now in its fifth edition. Once again， this col-<br >lection of more than 600 smaller hotels and inns is published<br >in two volumes， one for travelers east of the Mississippi， and<br >one for those visiting the West.<br > Five years ago， when the first edition of America s Wonderful<br >