Thoughts on the Lonely Planet scandal: Guidebooks are a sham

Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.

I think guidebooks are valuable, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a guidebook author.

And I'm not talking about just bus schedules. A well-written guidebook can help change a traveler's first impression of a place and point out cultural details that they might miss. All ruins look the same until you read background info. A slick resort city like Cancun looks awful until you (by which I mean me) read a book like Cancun User's Guide. I've taken the attitude I learned from that book (don't blame Cancun for not having a pretty historic center--appreciate what's there) and used it in my own books...with attribution.

I could go on, but I'm in the middle of a research trip right now. I have much more to say about this whole Kohnstamm thing on my own blog, Roving Gastronome.

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