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Rating: 
Summary: Outdated but still useful
Review: First and foremost, it is important to know that Myanmar is an extremely unpredictable place. Things do happen overnight. Laws can change suddenly. Exchange rates fluctuate daily (esp. unauthorized money exchange rate) With the promotion of tourism in Yangon and Mandalay in the late 1990s early 2000 (Visit Myanmar Year), new hotels were being built and home owners converted their houses to "guest houses" to accomodate tourists. Sadly, Myanmar did not receive as many tourists they would have liked or even predicted. Hence, guest houses shut down. Hotels are now typically empty. The Burmese economy is very volatile. Small (private) buinesses can go out of business, and can be shut down by the government w/o notice. I guess my point is that it would be really hard to write a tourist guide book for Myanmar that would seem up-to-date. I am glad that lonely planet has continued to write Myanmar travel book while others like Fodors have stopped. Best (if you could afford) is to hire a guide while in Yangon. The book is still an excellent resource for figuring out where to go and what to see, as well as what you are seeing. Just don't rely on things like train schedule, rates, hotels to find, etc. I still admire Lonely Planet for trying.
Rating: 
Summary: Essential - but always be sure to get the latest edition.
Review: I don't know if or when any of you is going to find himself / herself in this particular area, but anyway here it is...This is the latest edition (8th) that was released only about a year ago. Things really changed in this edition compared to its predecessor; more authors are involved and new and updated information is added (though many sections remain). Important note: When it comes to Myanmar, things can change for better or worse overnight due to the nature of the ruling government, while some other things tend to stay the same. Especially here, pay close attention to all the small details given in the chapters "Facts for the visitor", "Getting there and away" and "Getting around" - they matter greatly. ============================================================= As a whole, the guide will be a valuable asset for you if you're planning on traveling there, and there is absolutely no doubt whether to buy it or not - it's an essential purchase. To a great extent it will help you plan your budget, your destinations, how to get there and when, what to bring and so forth. You should know that there are some beautiful places to visit in the country. One of them, the Shwedagon Paya in Yangon, strikes me as one of the most beautiful man made structures in the world. Imagine a 100 meters high Stupa (Buddhist religious monument), all covered with golden leaves, set on top of a hill, in the center of smaller golden temples and Buddha statues. The sight was breathtaking and alone was worth coming. Another famous place, yet less astounding, is Bagan, the city of Stupas in the north. There you can find numerous Stupas some of which were built more than 1000 ago. And yes, almost in every city and town you will see at least one golden Stupa (that immensely contradict the poverty of the people) that give Myanmar the name "The Golden Land". The tagline on the cover of this book is "should you go?" It is misleading due to the fact that the answer they give inside is "yes". If you want to go - go, the political status is not of your concern, you're a traveler not a world freedom fighter. You wouldn't help the local people by avoiding the country - they benefit from your staying there - and that is all that you should care about. Nevertheless, the authors don't really prepare you for the level of poverty you're going to meet there (the same way another author hasn't done in the Cambodia book yet); this is one of the poorest countries in the world and that's why you should always be careful and never trust anybody - they're there for your money (mostly). I really don't like, after being around, the attitude of "the locals are so nice and we can learn so much from them"; some of them are really nice and helpful, but others are nice because you spend your money there and it's downright blatant. Expect it; don't fall for it and BE CAREFUL of forced and immediate friendliness. Remember that as a tourist you're regarded as very rich and compared to them you are. I want to mention the fact that as a traveler and a guest you will receive the best services even in budget hotels - they treated my friend and me like royalty in each and every hotel, and that was something we really enjoyed and appreciated. It's the best service all over South East Asia, and it does say something about the people as a nation. I hope their days of freedom will come soon. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Totally surreal!
Review: I have visited Burma with this book recently and I m pretty sure that this book can misguide a lot of people who wants to go to Burma like I m. As soon as you arrive to the airport you will be forced to change your money(i.e 300 USD) with goverment exchange counter whether you want to spend your cash or not. They are not unexchangeable so that means U will have to spend all your 300 usd before you leave Burma.
The authors of this book did not really show the reality of Burma as a matter of a fact, most of their topics are sugar coated! SO BEWARE AND MAKE SURE U DO ALOT OF RESEARCH BEFORE U GO!
Rating: 
Summary: Not helpful
Review: I just came back from Myanmar. This guidebook is hopelessly outdated in regard to practical information. It is at least 10 years behind on current conditions which are constantly changing. The only useful information is concerning sightseeing but even that is inaccurate. The problem is that there is no other current guidebook in print.For hotels use the internet directrooms.com, asiarooms.com or asiahotels.com.
Rating:
Summary: As good as it gets (under the circumstances)
Review: I toured Myanmar in January of 2005 using the 2002 edition. I discovered the new edition of 2004 too late. Still, the older version was quite serviceable--so good one hotel proprietor offered a substantial discount if I would leave the book with him when I left the country; he had never read so much information about his homeland before, and the book is unavailable in Burma(and a little seditious). I think some of the negative reviews above are a bit finicky. Any experienced tourist knows to check the internet just before his trip to get the latest on hotels, exchange rates and the like. No book can keep up with those protean details. You get a guidebook to guide you through the basics. Most of us go to places like Burma to see what has been there for 100s of years and not to find the latest in accomodations. Any hotel will have the information you need on further transportation. I would, however, like to see what Eyewitness does, one day, with Myanmar, but until then, any recent edition of LP is indispensible for touring the Golden Land.
Rating:
Summary: Hopelessly outdated and frequently just wrong
Review: I'm currently on a round the world trip. So I've read a lot of guidebooks. And this is the most outdated and frequently simply wrong guidebook I've come accross (I visited Myanmar in January 2004). Of course I realize that e.g. prices go up, service might go down, owners change etc.. But this guidebooks has almost been more miss then hit. I've been to guesthouses where the architecture of the place was so completely different from what the LP described that it's simply impossible that the author was there! On top of that there are tons of things where the LP is simply outdated to the point of being useless: In Yangon and Mandalay busses leave from different places then described, all of the country markets are open at different days etc. etc..
Btw: You can NOT cash travellers cheques or use your visa card in Myanmar and you do not have to change money into FEC any longer.
Rating:
Summary: Update not realy update
Review: Lonely Planet published this updated version in September 2002. I have visited Myanmar in August 2003 (a very good experience!), and found the guidebook only usefull for the descriptions of places to visit (although even there some interesting places are not mentioned in the guide), and the maps. For places to stay and eat, the guide is completely outdated. For instance, new hotels have started business long before 2002, that are not mentioned in the guide. It looks like the 2002 "update" mainly concerned the (important) political situation.
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