Lonely Planet Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, 1st Ed)

Rating:
Summary: unsuccessful attempt, needs more work, buy Elliott instead!
Review: This is the first guide to represent all three caucasian nations in one book. However it does not take into account the sensitivity of some of the issues among the three nations and could have been much more accurate. Nagorno Karabakh is still de jure a part of Azerbaijan and including it in armenian section contributes even more to widening the gap between the two nations. Nagorno Karabakh indeed is a very sensitive subject and i would urge the unsophisticated visitor to do some extensive research prior to making conclusions. I am not surprised to find the armenian reviewer insulting the Georgian and the Azeri one. What can you do: armenian extreme national chauvinism blinds them. Indeed, if you look at the map of caucasus and do some research you will notice that armenia has problems with each one of its neighbors except for Iran. This is the kind of discussion that LP book leads us towards and to avoid it i urge everyone interested in the region to turn to Elliot book.

Rating:
Summary: Another dent in LP's reputation
Review: Very poor from start to finish ! The last 10 years LP has published several very average books. I used to like LP a lot but I now prefer Rough Guide, Trailblazer or Footprint. I think LP's main mistake with this book was that they wanted to publish a guide to this region at all costs, just to fill the blank spots on their world map. How were these authors selected ? Many would do a better job. LP books used to be written by fellow travellers who knew what other travellers were looking for when travelling. Why are there e.g. so few (cheap)hotels listed ? I found an affordable place to stay in every town I visited. With a little bit of effort, the practical information would have been much better. Leave this book at home, better buy Mark Elliot's book for Azerbaijan (and Georgia) or the Bradt guide to Georgia (Burford) or consult Raffi Kojian's excellent website for Armenia.