Rough Guides
1 Disappointed
First-Time Around the World is a book that is quite comprehensive in scope but less than comprehensive in detail. The author is obviously an experienced world traveler and quite qualified to write such a book, however, if you met with Doug Lansky for a couple of hours, you probably wouldn't be discussing most of the items contained in the first 200 pages of the book. This section could have been written by any travel writer or even lifted from another guidebook as it covers general travel information. The next 100 pages gives a very broad overview of eight sections of the world. There are many headings with one paragraph explanations of a generic nature. I hope that Doug Lansky eventually writes a book that gives the reader more of his expertise and specifically deals with around-the-world travel.
2 Fantastic Book
This is a fantastic book. The material is well organized in separate chapters for specific topics and is FULL of useful information. I've read many travel and "how to" books that give you basics and vague concepts but this book gets very specific and tells you exactly how to plan and where to get the information. Also, the book's presentation is one of the best I've seen with full color pages in the front section and multicolor pages throughout, it is very pleasant to read. A must have for the long term (1 month to 1 year) traveler.
3 Good help, but nothing earthshattering
This book is different than most guide books in that it is specifically about travelling around the world. However, there is nothing in it that you can't find in any world travel guides. ALSO, it might be helpful to know that this is written from a British perspective rather than an American one.
4 this is the BEST book!
My husband and I are planning an extensive around-the-world trip for next year. While we are travel-savvy, we have never done this type of trip. Also, we are in our 30s, so we aren't doing a true "backpacker" trip, nor will it be luxury travel, it will be somewhere in the middle. This book is a MUST for anyone planning an extensive trip. It gives you the lowdown on a hundred topics, from medical/health, insurance, etc to basic overviews of the different regions and countries. It gave us a LOT to think about, and has me doing further research on issues that I had never even thought about. A MUST READ!!
5 Know-how for roads more and less traveled
Everythign in here is stuff you could figure out after a hundred hours on the internet, networking in a few dozen traveler ghettos and spending a few years lugging way too much, uh, luggage, but chances are your globetrotting will go farther, cheaper and (if you're smart about it) slower than if you had to figure it all out from scratch. Lots of emphasis on getting off the tourist trail and out interacting with local culture, written by a guy who's been doing just that for nearly a decade...
