Rating: 
Summary: Not a "Bible"
Review: I agree with some of the other customer review that this "guide" is far from one of the best. The information is sometimes wrong (unfortunately at the most inconvenient of times). In addition the book is hardly a "guide". The walking tours, for example, give you little information and simply plop you at a site. This is more of a handbook to accommpany a map. The book seems to inspire the kind of tourism where one looks, but does not realy try to understand the culture around you. The worst part about this book is that it is not arranged well. Each area you visit is arranged by "activity" like accommodation or food. This is particularly annoying in the Bangkok section, where one has to constantly flip from section to section in order to figure out anything about where you are in the area of town you are visiting. On the positive side, the recommendations of accomodation are decent. Overall though, I recommend to get another guide. Lonely planet has gone lazy.
Rating: 
Summary: First Choice IF you are going to Bangkok, Chang Mai or Rai
Review: Of the four guides that I recently took with me to Thailand: Thomas Cook's, Let's Go, Rough Guide and Lonely Planet, Lonely Planet Thailand has a few areas that makes it a top contender.
Its `Bangkok' section is better organized than the other guides and its Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai coverage is superb. It has an excellent section titled, "Facts about Thailand", that introduces you to this exotic country and its section "Facts for Visitors" (Visas, money, health etc.) maybe the best out in a Thailand guide. The accommodations recommendations are reliable and normally good. Both accommodation and restaurant prices are given in Bahts (much better than Rough Guides 1-9 numbers), but because the guide is slightly dated (2003) the information is about three years old by now and you will have to adjust the prices by at least 20%.
Bangkok is a huge sprawling city, much like Los Angeles, and this guide logically separates the six regions within the city that you are most likely to visit. You will find the map, hotel and restaurant recommendations and sites closer together than Rough Guide, but neither guide makes it easy to navigate this concrete jungle.
The maps in Lonely Planet are plentiful but more difficult to decipher than in the Rough Guide's maps. Good, easy to use maps are critical, especially when you are trying to find a recommended restaurant while the 95 degree heat saps your patience, the traffic and noise assaults your senses and your frustration grows with this guide. Becuase of the tiny, small print, the small 1/3 page map that is designed to covers 5 square miles of Bangkok you turn the book 360 degrees and scream (don't work your voice will not be heard amongst the din). This is a important area that needs tweaking.
Rough Guide (see my review) does a much better job with restaurant recommendations than Lonely Planet. This guide will list a restaurant and write something banal about the place, like "has Thai food" and leave it at that - "duh". Occasionally, the guide sticks out its neck and says something risqué like; "has good food". Seldom, does the guide commend a dish to try. "Rough Guide" both tells you why they recommended the restaurant, i.e. "relaxed riverfront eatery under bamboo shelters... marinated pork or chicken", and often tells you what dish you should try, "the chef's signature green peppercorn sauce served with steak, chicken or duck." This is what good "guides" are supposed to do, guide you. Another area that needs tweaking.
If you are going to go to Bangkok, Chang Mai or Chang Rai then this guide would be my first choice. If you are going throughout Thailand and will not spend time in Bangkok then consider Rough Guide first. Finally, if you are going to do the sun and surf (Southern Thailand) and not go north of Bangkok then `Lonely Planet Thailand's Islands and Beaches' is the book to have (see my review).
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as other LP Guides
Review: I have been an LP fan for several years, primarily based on the European guide books. However, I was quite disappointed with the poor organization of the content. It was always confusing to located the information I was seeking. The maps were also not to scale, which can be quite misleading in Bangkok where the city blocks are very, very long. I would look for a better book for Thailand...at least until its next revision.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing guidebook which fails to guide
Review: I have to say I found this guidebook extremely deficient. It defaults on the central obligation of a good guidebook - to provide, or attempt to proivde, vivid evocations of the character and attractions of a place to help the prospective traveller faced with thousands of choices narrow down his options and decide on where to go. The LP gave me no help at all in deciding where to go, because it quite simply utterly failed to provide any kind of description of places and locations. It's almost like the writers simply coulnd't be bothered to make the attempt.
Consequently it is virtually impossible to decide if a location is worthwhile visiting using this book. It's so frustrating to have the guidebook offer, in a very typical passage, that a town has a thriving lumber industry as the only bit of description of that town. What the....? How does this help decide if I want to go there or not? Perhaps some description of the natural beauty, character, feel, atmosphere, etc would be useful to potential visitors faced with a dizzying array of choices? Perhaps even an attempt, however feeble, to provide a vivid of evocation of a place and why I might want to visit there rather than somehwere else? But no, LP doesn't seem to think this is the function of a guidebook, where in my opinion this is nothing less than the central function of a good guidebook. The result is a dull, dry, verging on useless guidebook which is no help whatsoever on planning a trip.
I went to Thailand with the LP book and acidentally glanced at a Rough Guide in the bookstore. What a revelation! My entire trip was transformed. The RG had a fascinating section on motorcycle trouing the North of Thailand with wonderful descriptions of towns and scenery which immediately inspired me to take that trip. Using the LP I wasn't even aware of such possibilites!
I have to say you are much better off with a Rough Guide. LP has quite simply lost any edge it once had and is now a tired imitation of itself. It lacks passion, and the writing and sheer level of intelligence is far, far inferior to the RG.
The one good poin about LP is that the pratical information is indeed very well organized and presented, and quite accurate and thorough, outperforming Rough Guide in this respect.
Rating:
Summary: poorly designed
Review: I was really disappointed with the newest Thailand edition to the Lonely Planet series. This is a huge volume and is more a history lesson then a guidebook. Learning the history of your destination is great but that information is not necessary when carrying around a guide to find a place to eat. Many of the authors' recommendations are already outdated. The price ranges for places to eat or sleep are not accurate or sometimes not given at all. My main problem is the way this guide links the map to the text. In order to find out where a place is located, you must refer to several different pages when reading the map. Why can't the description of a restaurant also tell the map page and grid point without having to look on a separate index? Poorly designed and not easy to use when on the go. Keep this one on your bookshelf and take a smaller guidebook when traveling. I recommend the Time Out series as my favorite.
Rating: 
Summary: same old, same old
Review: I enjoy writing, but this crummy book isn't even worth the effort. I noticed that amazon.com removed the 9th edition book, and all the reviews that went with it, possibly to try to help Lonely Planet, which is truly a faint and sad shadow of it's former, ancient (1980's) self.
This book just repeats the same old info and "who cares?" attitude of the 9th edition.
What the heck ever happened to LP I don't know, but they have changed from an inspired company to a cynical company that appears to not care about anything much anymore.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: I just returned from 2 weeks in Samui/Ko Tao and a few days in Bangkok, both my first visits to Thailand. I've used many different Lonely Planet books before and bought the latest Thailand edition at Amazon two weeks before I went. I thought this edition was particularly good, well researched and also very accurate about local culture, what to see, and most importantly, how to get away from the common touristy stuff. The maps were accurate, and most of the descriptions about entertainment and lodging were right on the money. I wouldn't bother with the "Where to Eat" sections, it's more fun to just fine your own and in Thailand you can eat well for very cheap. The suggestions about adventure sports were very well written, in particular for Ko Tao and Samui. The language section was quite helpful as not only did it give translations I actually learned to use, but also provided the text in Thai, which was very handy. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip and using this edition. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Preachy guide for the conformist backpacker
Review: At several points while reading this guide, I was just stunned by the little mini-sermons offered to tourists: 1. Thou shalt have no plastic bottles before ye. This went on for a couple of columns, and I wondered just what planet the author came from. Other guidebooks show festoons of plastic bottles for sale in Rome, but we hear no complaints about Rome, here. No, the battle over one lousy plastic bottle becomes a battle for the reader's soul, here in vulnerable SE Asia. No hostages are taken! 2. Thou shalt have no monkey pets before ye. I just got back from a driving trip to Roi-Et from Chiang Mai, and, while we were passing through Nam Naaw National Park on the return, we turned off at a scenic view stop and discovered a marvellous view, plus a group of hill-tribe people living their lives, including a cute little monkey as a pet. The author of this guide would have the owner of the pet up before a court for cruelty, or something. There are other instances, just as crude, of the author electing to use his status as a guidebook author as a good opportunity to hector the reader with ALL of his various opinions. Done with wit, this can work, but there is nothing witty here. Alas!
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