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Summary: Review of
Review: I've never seen this edition, but I hope this edition is better than the previous one.
That wouldn't be that hard - the last one was pretty much useless
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Summary: Uneven and not the best option for any of the 3 countries
Review: It seems likely that the reason people buy this book is simply because it's Lonely Planet and because the much better travel guide options for individual countries don't seem to pop up easily when you search this site. However it's worth persevering. For Georgia the Roger Rosen book "Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus" is good on architecture and photos, but Tim Burford's recently updated Bradt Guide is more practical. For Azerbaijan Mark Elliott's Azerbaijan with Georgia book (Trailblazer) gets great reviews (see also Amazon.co.uk) but for some reason is hidden around 75th when you search Amazon.com with the key word Azerbaijan. It has about 140 maps and loads of practical detail. For Armenia the best resource is altogether free (Rediscover Armenia Guidebook - download in sections from [website]) though you can buy the whole thing pre printed via Amazon or in situ.
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Summary: Feeble
Review: Knowing that I would be in Armenia for a week's time, I bought this to take along (in spite of the warning reviews I had read from other readers)as there seemed nothing else. Now that I think of it, this book, at least the Armenian section, added little; much was inaccurate or wrong (NW never has flown there, nor KLM). Fine new hotels like the Hotel Yerevan are not even listed. The scant 3-paragraph on the Armenian Church is superficial, silly and condescending (suggesting pagan customs and ignoring the gallant witness of 1,700 years). In both Georgia and Armenia, the Church is a major factor and cannot be dismissed in 3 casual paragraphs.
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Summary: Out dated information
Review: Lonely Planet fumbled on this one...much of the information is out dated. The Armenia and Karabagh sections are particularly weak. There are more comprehensive books for this region with better maps and business information. Try again LP.
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Summary: To Raffi Meneshian
Review: the book poor it is could not have information you have requested, due to the fact that that information is unexistant. and in general: can we have a rest from overstretching Armenian nationalistic historical views like yours portraying the rest of the world as a cultural periphery of the "Great Armenia"?
Just on one issue: and Georgian Alphabet was created by King Pharnavaz in III BC. (Georgian not Armenian, through I am sure Maneshains will manage to trace his roots into Armenia, just like they do with 100% of great people in the region and maybe 80% in the world).
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Summary: Pretty sad attempt
Review: The Georgia section very weak. No cheap accommodation at all listed though there is plenty in Tbilisi. Next to no maps of towns. For Georgia buy Bradt book. For Azerbaijan buy Trailblazer. Both much better.
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Summary: Nice packaging, but lots of errors
Review: The guide is well packaged, and is easy to use. One won't have difficulty locating information on, say, visas, or local foods. But the book reads as if it was written by several different people who didn't review each other's notes. There's contradictory information, and much of the data for Armenia is wrong. They have the wrong telephone area code for Yerevan, Armenia, for example. They suggest trying restaurants that are in fact closed. I guess it's not bad for a first try, but I was disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Generally awful
Review: The Lonely Planet Guide to "Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan" is the first mainstream travel guide to the physically beautiful South Caucasus Region of the world. Who, but Lonely Planet, would tackle such an interesting, volatile, and ultimately majestic part of the world. The book is split into four separate sections (the three Republics and the Armenian Region of Nagorno Karabagh). It follows a fairly standard Lonely Planet formula of being an attractive asthetic product complete with pictures, a language guide, and history. That being said, I believe that the book needs a mixture of tweaking and more insight in some areas. The one glaring problem with the book is the lack of information provided in the Armenian section. The Georgian section of the book has nearly double the coverage of Armenia. This may be attributed to the fact that one of the authors penning the Georgian section, Keti Japaridze, is an ethnic Georgian. My guess is that she had a bit more insight, and ultimately material, to offer in this book. Even so, the Georgian section fails to give credit where credit is due. For instance, the inventor of the Georgian alphabet, an Armenian named Mesrop Mashtots is not mentioned as being the architect of the Georgian alphabet. (He also invented the Armenian and Ethiopian alphabets). Nor is there any mention of Armenians being the main influence for their church architecture and much of their folk art. This exclusion of proper historical perspective may be attributed to an author writing for the "home team" as they say. Otherwise, the entry is an entertaining travel guide to one of the more picturesque countries one may ever visit. As mentioned before, the Armenia section is scant. A mere 54 pages, it covers the basics yet lacks any real depth to make it compelling stuff. It touches all the bases and has some useful information in terms of all the things that one would expect from a guidebook including food, lodging, attractions, and modes of transportation. However, it comes up short compared the lengthy Georgian section. In any event, it is the only guidebook out there on this ancient nation and I suspect in future editions more will be added. Perhaps an Armenian could be used as a consultant to provide more insight and attractions in a country that boasts the culture, history,and scenery as their trademarks. In my opinion, Armenia is the most majestic location of the three Republics with the least to worry about in terms of safety, accessability, or hospitality. Azerbaijan is given ample coverage, but once again succumbs to a lack of any real historican accuracy in it's overview. The least friendly or appealing of the three destinations, Azerbaijan nevertheless is an interesting place to visit. The guide keeps pointing out fact about " Azeri history and its people" as if they as an ethnicity go back before the early 1900's. This, of course is inaccurate. The ethnicity know as Azeri's or Azerbaijan for that matter, never existed before the creation of the Soviet Republic in 1923. Knowing this, some of the historical excerpts are preposterous. However, as with the Armenian section, it is a first attempt to promote and present the Caucasus as a destination spot for travellers. From that perspective, the Azerbaijani section is adequate to good. This book is a good start for people interested in a truly facinating look at three unique countries. Some serious historical oversights and omissions hinder this book. It seems the Armenians get slighted in this edition terms of content and historical accuracy when dealing with presence and influents in both Georgian and Azerbiajani culture. ( Armenians had a prominent role in the architectural and cultural advancement of both Baku and Tblisi). However, these things usually happen in first editions of lands never really explored in mainstream travel books. So, I can cut these folks some slack. Nevertheless, this book is better than what we previously had, which was nothing. Updated on 5-18-02: To my critics on this books published in this section, particulary Mr. Fuad and the person dubiously named Khaka: "I am usually pretty open minded and fair when it comes to either a historical debate or a challenge, but, seeing as though you can't string together two words that are either spelled correctly or even pass the basic guidelines of competantcy, I'll leave you be. Also, the problem with people such as yourself (whoever you are) is that you can't seem to fathom the idea of historical accuracy. Now run along Khaka (I bet it sucks to have a name like that) and Fuad. "
Rating: 
Summary: A bit thin...
Review: This guide book follows the standard Lonely Planet format of providing not only information about the country, but a wide selection of accommodation and tips for the independent traveller. In my opinion, it does a fair job. The book, however, has to compare to other guide books on the same region. And there are a few very good ones around, e.g. Roger Rosen and the Bradt book on Georgia, which did better. I found the book rather thin. It is full of useful facts, but failed to convey the magic of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. A good guide makes people who do not know the country at all want to go there. This one doesn't. Perhaps it would be better to beef it up a little in the next edition rather than concentrate only on listing towns.
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Summary: very pro-armenian
Review: this is a nice book for foreigners, but very pro-armenian in every issue concerning Azerbaijan and it's territorial integrity.
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