Lonely Planet Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan (Lonely Planet Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, 2nd Ed)

Rating:
Summary: slightly better than the last book
Review: I had been anticipating the new LP guide for Armenia for quite awhile. I must admit
that when I finally got it I was disappointed. It is better than the last one, but that's not saying much. The information is OK, but not extensive. There are barely any photos, so you don't really get a good feel for any of the places. The maps are so small that you need a magnifying glass to read them. And, the 6 pages dedicated
to Karabagh just doesn't cut it!

Rating:
Summary: Good book, but....
Review: I used the guidebook in all 3 countries within one month of its publication, and found it to be accurate for the most part. However, the authors seemed to be under orders to write glowing reports on anything considered mildly worthwhile to visit. Many of these places were not particularly noteworthy, and after awhile we took each raving description with a grain of salt. For some of the most spectacular sites (Davit Gareja and Kazbegi, both in Georgia) the book really should have included maps. The descriptions of both struck me as being second or third hand, as if the authors themselves had not taken any of the trails they described.