How To Europe vs. John Whitman, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Rough Guides.

Comparison of HOW TO EUROPE with similar concept books. This is a comparison of introductory Europe travel books produced by John Whitman, Rick Steves, Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, and John Bermont. When the subject of travel guidebooks for Europe comes up the first one that people think of is a traditional guidebook like Arthur Frommer's Europe on $5 a Day. This and similar books advise travelers on where to sleep, where to eat, and what to see and do. On the other hand, none of the books discussed below is a standard "guidebook." Instead, to a greater or lesser degree, each focuses on the unique infrastructure of Europe and how it affects independent budget travel. For example, Americans meet up with new experiences regarding trains, hotels, restaurants, telephones, the metric system, foreign currencies, pickpockets, and other topics where the picture in Europe differs markedly from American ways. The standard guidebooks skimp on discussing these differences in everyday things, if they mention them at all. That is why you need one of these books, especially if you are a first time traveler.
Rating	*Title* (linked) Author Publisher Date ISBN	Pages Size Word count Weight Images Maps	Comments
3 stars	*The Best European Travel Tips* John Whitman Harper Collins 1995 0-06-273394-X	272 pages 5¼"x8" Appx. 97,000 words 8.1 oz No illustrations. Sketched map.	This is a fairly comprehensive report and includes a good deal of information on eastern Europe. The book format is bulleted paragraph throughout and it is therefore not easy to read.
3 stars	*Europe Through the Back Door* Rick Steves Avalon Travel 2006~3 1-56691-808-1	656 pages 5½"x8½" 25 oz Appx. 210,000 words Appx 300 B/W photos. Crudely sketched maps.	Covers the basics but is incomplete on many topics. Has virtually nothing at all on eastern Europe. Most of his photos simply show anonomyous smiling faces, except for the few dozen pictures which are knock-offs from 1980s editions of my book, *How To Europe*. Back then Rick complimented me on my photos and asked me how I did it. I taught him, but I didn't give him permission to copy mine.
2 stars	*First Time Europe* Doug Lansky Rough Guides 2005 1-84353-407-X	358 pages 5"x7¾" 13.9 oz Appx. 140,000 words Tourist type photos. Good overview maps.	This is rather superficial coverage, spread too thin and prone to errors. For example, he advocates using the toilet on a parked train to save money in a pay toilet. Correction: using a toilet on a train parked in a station is prohibited. There is a lot of flippant and cocky-attitude material. The "Country Profiles" on 30 different countries with maps and data is very good.
3 stars	*Read This First: Europe* Paul Harding Lonely Planet 2000 1-86450-136-7	430 pages 5"x7¾" 16.6 oz Appx. 155,000 words Scenic photos. Excellent color maps.	It is a somewhat light introduction to Europe, even on the basics. It appears to be directed more at Australians than Americans. The back half of the book includes thumbnail descriptions and beautiful maps of 36 countries, including most of eastern Europe. This is excellent material, counterbalancing the front half.
4 stars	How To Europe: The Complete Travelers Handbook John Bermont Murphy & Broad 2003~1981 0-940792-69-9	470 pages 7"x10" 36 oz Appx. 220,000 words 345 captioned photos. Sketched map.	*How To Europe* covers more subjects and in more detail than any of the above. It has extensive coverage of eastern Europe. The hundreds of captioned photos set it apart and contribute strongly to making this a uniquely valuable book for first time visitors to Europe. See the table of contents and read 15 chapters free on line. The book is heavy, weighing in at over two pounds.
Notes: Star ratings are in the range of 1 to 5. There can always be worse and there can always be better so these are all in the range 2 to 4. Naturally I award my own book the highest rating. Else why would I publish? The information in this table is based on the actual books. I bought each one, and in fact I have purchased nearly all of the editions since the first publication date of each of these books. The book links take you to pages at Amazon.com where you can read more about each book, including publishers promo and independent reviews. You can also order the books. The author links take you to a corresponding web page (if I could find one) of each author's biography. Read about their background and qualifications. © James Broad 2007, 2004, 2003 Keywords for this web page: John Whitman The Best European Travel Tips Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door Doug Lansky First Time Europe Paul Harding Read This First: Europe John Bermont How To Europe: The Complete Travelers Handbook Home