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Rating: 
Summary: Let's Go Get Another Guidebook
Review: I am currently traveling and living in the middle east and have seen the strengths and weaknesses of this book in action. You will want this guidebook because: 1) It is witty. 2) It lists prices. I think that is only fair, and the main reason I chose the book off the shelf some five months ago. However, there are many reasons why you would _not_ want this book. You would not want this book if you wanted a deeper and accurate understanding of Middle East culture, politics or history. You would not want this book if you wanted to travel in the West Bank or Gaza, or Cyprus for that matter. (One or two page descriptions of an entire country do not a guidebook make.) Many places I have visited seem not to have actually been visited by the authors, but the information more likely taken off a tourist brochure. This certainly rings true about Nazareth, from where I am based. (And I will be sending several comments and suggestions to the publishers) Some may argue with my interpretation of several comments made throughout the book, but the overall impression I got was that the authors of this guide were not particularly fond of Arabs in the first place, particularly when discussing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The more I read, the more disillusioned I became about the book's credibility and objectivity. Go ahead and get this book if you will be cruising through the major tourist sites, won't be concerning yourself with the background and history notes, and aren't all that interested in the people surrounding you. Otherwise, I much preferred Lonely Planet.
Rating:
Summary: Let's Go Get Another Guidebook
Review: I am currently traveling and living in the middle east and have seen the strengths and weaknesses of this book in action. You will want this guidebook because: 1) It is witty. 2) It lists prices. I think that is only fair, and the main reason I chose the book off the shelf some five months ago. However, there are many reasons why you would _not_ want this book. You would not want this book if you wanted a deeper and accurate understanding of Middle East culture, politics or history. You would not want this book if you wanted to travel in the West Bank or Gaza, or Cyprus for that matter. (One or two page descriptions of an entire country do not a guidebook make.) Many places I have visited seem not to have actually been visited by the authors, but the information more likely taken off a tourist brochure. This certainly rings true about Nazareth, from where I am based. (And I will be sending several comments and suggestions to the publishers) Some may argue with my interpretation of several comments made throughout the book, but the overall impression I got was that the authors of this guide were not particularly fond of Arabs in the first place, particularly when discussing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The more I read, the more disillusioned I became about the book's credibility and objectivity. Go ahead and get this book if you will be cruising through the major tourist sites, won't be concerning yourself with the background and history notes, and aren't all that interested in the people surrounding you. Otherwise, I much preferred Lonely Planet.
Rating: 
Summary: No Laughing Matter
Review: There is no doubt that this region of the world is an amazing one to travel. Furthermore, Let's Go Middle East is a somewhat useful guidebook. While its colorful language was amusing, I found that humor was no fair substitute for information. I used this book and Lonley Planet's Istanbul to Cairo guidebook for travelling through Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Egypt, and I found that in all places and on all accounts, not only did LP's book have more information, but also more accurate information than this Let's Go edition. Relative to its LP rival, the Let's Go Middle East was disorganized, and its dearth of maps and hotel and retaurant suggestions leave the traveller often empty handed when in unfamiliar territory. If you insist on travelling with this book (as I did) I would recommend supplementing its relative lack of useful information with its Lonely Planet counterpart.
Rating:
Summary: No Laughing Matter
Review: There is no doubt that this region of the world is an amazing one to travel. Furthermore, Let's Go Middle East is a somewhat useful guidebook. While its colorful language was amusing, I found that humor was no fair substitute for information. I used this book and Lonley Planet's Istanbul to Cairo guidebook for travelling through Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Egypt, and I found that in all places and on all accounts, not only did LP's book have more information, but also more accurate information than this Let's Go edition. Relative to its LP rival, the Let's Go Middle East was disorganized, and its dearth of maps and hotel and retaurant suggestions leave the traveller often empty handed when in unfamiliar territory. If you insist on travelling with this book (as I did) I would recommend supplementing its relative lack of useful information with its Lonely Planet counterpart.
Rating: 
Summary: indispensable, hilarious, unforgettable, 110% accurate
Review: You NEED this book, even if you're not going to the Middle East. This book is hilarious, accurate, easy to navigate, did I mention hilarious?, chock full of great info, I could go on and on. Publishing a guide to the Middle East is the greatest thing those wacky folks at Let's Go have ever done. I've traveled a lot (particularly in the Middle East) and used Let's Go occasionally, and let me tell you this is without a doubt the best guide to the region (and by far the funniest--I almost fell asleep trying to read the "what to see" section of lonely planet: middle east on a shoestring, while even the "accommodations" sections of let's go was hilarious). I have a business in Egypt and often travel around the country after taking care of my work, and this book has the absolute BEST coverage of Egypt of any guide on the market, and I've used them all--Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, Rough Guides, etc. No competition--Let's Go is really great in the Middle East, but in Egypt hands down they are tops. Info in the Middle East is always changing becuase the countries in it are always growing and developing, but this book consistently led me to the cheapest and cleanest hotels, the absolutely most delicious food this region has to offer (Cairo's "Food" section had me rolling on the floor laughing), and pointed out off-the-beaten-path sights, how to get to them, and had lots of cultural and historical info about them all. In the big cities it even told me where the best clubs and discos were, and it had lots of info on internet cafes in even the smallest desert towns--totally important--no other guide has that high quality information. Great great great! Coverage of the Gulf States (UAE, Oman) and Yemen is also awesome, and believe you me I've been all over those countries, and this book was right on. Order this book NOW! you can't afford not to!
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