Rating: 
Summary: Still A Handy Tool For an Ex-Pat
Review: Although I have been living in Taiwan for nearly 16 months, I still take LP Taiwan Guide along for weekend trips, and even jaunts to nearby cities, regardless of how many times I've visited.
The information is vast, for major urban areas as well as more out of the way locales. Also, the brief Chinese/English dictionary at the end of the book proves an invaluable tool. Even with a rudimentary knowledge of Chinese, simply pointing to Mandrin characters saves time and a lot of headaches.
LP Taiwan is a must for brief vistors as well as long term residents.
Rating: 
Summary: A step up...from some others
Review: As an American who spent many years in Taiwan, I found this book to offer little to no insight into Taiwan at all. A far better source for anyone who wants to learn about this wonderful island NATION (not renegade province of China) "Culture Shock -Taiwan." In Tapiei, Taiwan you can also buy a lot of great travel books at Caves Books that are published by local publishers in English ("Formassan Odyssey" is GREAT!!!) The cultural information presented in this "Lonely Planet" guide is pretty out of date (my Taiwanese in-laws had a good laugh at some of the information presented), and the many of the destinations offered are VERY tourist centered. If you are looking for a starting point this book is OK, but if you want to learn about Taiwan, or really experience Taiwan today there are far better sources. For a Lonely Planet guide this book is a shame. A new version is needed badly. No matter what, DO GO TO TAIWAN, it is a great place!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Worthless for anyone who wants to see the REAL Taiwan!
Review: As an American who spent many years in Taiwan, I found this book to offer little to no insight into Taiwan at all. A far better source for anyone who wants to learn about this wonderful island NATION (not renegade province of China) "Culture Shock -Taiwan." In Tapiei, Taiwan you can also buy a lot of great travel books at Caves Books that are published by local publishers in English ("Formassan Odyssey" is GREAT!!!) The cultural information presented in this "Lonely Planet" guide is pretty out of date (my Taiwanese in-laws had a good laugh at some of the information presented), and the many of the destinations offered are VERY tourist centered. If you are looking for a starting point this book is OK, but if you want to learn about Taiwan, or really experience Taiwan today there are far better sources. For a Lonely Planet guide this book is a shame. A new version is needed badly. No matter what, DO GO TO TAIWAN, it is a great place!!!
Rating:
Summary: Do you like McDonalds?
Review: I couldn't help but feel disapppointed in this book. It really seems to miss the point of foreign travel. For example, in the section on Taipei there are 23 listings for Western restaurants and only 13 for Chinese restaurants. Taipei is one of the best cities in the world for Chinese food, and the writer could only manage 13. This seems terribly unbalanced to me. To make it worse, some of the western restaurants introduced are Planet Hollywood (yeah, I went to Taipei to get the Hollywood experience), TGI Friday's, McDonald's and Subway (which in the author's own words, "needs no introduction" -- my point exactly). I went to Taiwan for the food, so this was a big shortcoming in my point of view. Another point , he only lists two teahouses and both are in (or near) a museum. He gives the excuse that teahouses are always closing all the time (of course that didn't stop him from listing a lot of nightclubs). It just seems like he wasn't interested in researching teahouses. He just couldn't be bothered. Also, he writes very little about the excellent night markets. In fact he devotes an equal amount of space to tell us about food courts. Come on!
It's sad, really. I've used a lot of Lonely Planet guides with good results before, which is why I bought this one without looking at it. However, I can't recommend this one unless your idea of a good vacation in Taipei is eating at TGI Friday's, having coffee at Starbucks, and going to a club (why are you going to Taipei? You can do that at home.) Well, to explain why I gave it two stars instead of one, the transportation and hotel information is useful, so I couldn't bring myself to trash it completely.
Rating:
Summary: Do you like McDonalds?
Review: I couldn't help but feel disapppointed in this book. It really seems to miss the point of foreign travel. For example, in the section on Taipei there are 23 listings for Western restaurants and only 13 for Chinese restaurants. Taipei is one of the best cities in the world for Chinese food, and the writer could only manage 13. This seems terribly unbalanced to me. To make it worse, some of the western restaurants introduced are Planet Hollywood (yeah, I went to Taipei to get the Hollywood experience), TGI Friday's, McDonald's and Subway (which in the author's own words, "needs no introduction" -- my point exactly). I went to Taiwan for the food, so this was a big shortcoming in my point of view. Another point , he only lists two teahouses and both are in (or near) a museum. He gives the excuse that teahouses are always closing all the time (of course that didn't stop him from listing a lot of nightclubs). It just seems like he wasn't interested in researching teahouses. He just couldn't be bothered. Also, he writes very little about the excellent night markets. In fact he devotes an equal amount of space to tell us about food courts. Come on!
It's sad, really. I've used a lot of Lonely Planet guides with good results before, which is why I bought this one without looking at it. However, I can't recommend this one unless your idea of a good vacation in Taipei is eating at TGI Friday's, having coffee at Starbucks, and going to a club (why are you going to Taipei? You can do that at home.) Well, to explain why I gave it two stars instead of one, the transportation and hotel information is useful, so I couldn't bring myself to trash it completely.
Rating: 
Summary: Love foodcourts?
Review: I have to begin by admitting that I love to hate the tone of some Lonely Planet guides--an edition for Japan from the early 1990s distinguished itself by one of author's disdain for touring Japan!
That being said, Robert Storey's take on Taiwan (where I've been living for the past year or so) is remarkable for its general laziness. Many examples have been noted in other online reviews, but it's worth mentioning some of them again: the overwhelming focus on "ex-pat" hangouts, the author's love of foodcourts located next to train stations, and the compulsive need to mention that we can find McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway, and so on in Taiwan's major urban centers.
What's left behind in all this is the astonishing beauty of parts of Taiwan, the compexity of its history and its social formations, and the genuine warmth of its people.
To Lonely Planet: please find someone who actually cares about this place to research and write an edition that Taiwan and its visitors deserve!
Rating:
Summary: May not be as bad as the other reviewers suggest.
Review: I just spent about 6 days in Taipei, and I brought this book with me. Yes, most of the sights mentioned in the book are pretty tourist oriented, but that may be because there is not much else to see (in Taipei, at least). My relatives, who live in Taipei, laughed when I mentioned some of the sights listed in the book. But when I asked them for other recommendations on what to see, they really didn't have any suggestions. Also, I think the section on conduct and behavior is absolutely dead on. The author isn't exaggerating when he says that there is a long sequence of insisting and refusing when exchanging gifts or doing something of that nature. I have witnessed countless times my parents (who are from Taiwan) and my aunt/uncle argue for literally 10 minutes about who should pay for a dinner bill. I give the book only four stars, though, because it doesn't really tell you how to get to various places. It wasn't a problem for me, because I had relatives take me to the various sights. But if I had been on my own, then I would have had a lot more difficulty. In addition, it is now 2004, so this book, which was published in 2001, may be starting to get out of date. Looking at older editions of the book, it appears that Lonely Planet Taiwan gets updated only once every 3 years.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I never imagined that Lonely Planet Taiwan could be so bad, but it indeed is. For instance, maps in the book are useless, and the Taipei metro direction is unclear and useless. And I cannot understand why the author says " For sth really special you can try Haagen Daz." I didn;t belive the previous reviews, and now I learned how bad it is. If you need more information, lots of Taiwanese websites provide very useful information. You can just go to Taiwanese consular office website and find the links.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best LP
Review: I stayed 2 weeks in Taipei and area using this book. I found it to be a care-free adventure, with information on everything I needed, or where to find it. If you do not speak chinese, do yourself a favour and buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Even my (Taiwanese) mother was impressed...
Review: I used this book on my last trip to Taiwan and found it very handy as an American-born Chinese (ABC) wanting to learn more about my heritage. My mother was quite impressed with the author's insights into Taiwanese society, including pop culture, how funerals are handled, gift-giving, and how places are named (only happy places!)
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