No one travel guide can serve as an all encompassing travel planner, but the 18th edition of Fodor's "Pacific Northwest" does a very good job of covering the basics and then some.
The book is divided so there is a separate discussion of each area of interest. Thus, there are chapters on Portland, the Oregon Coast, Willamette Valley, the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood, Central Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, Eastern Oregon, Seattle, Seattle Environs, The Puget Sound and San Juan Islands, Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Yakima River Valley, Eastern Washington, and Vancouver and Victoria.
Each chapter is logically organized. For example, the chapter on Seattle begins with a rundown of the "top reasons" to go to Seattle, followed by a general orientation of the area, how to get around, when to go and a detailed discussion of what to see in each part of the city. I have been an occasional visitor to Seattle and environs, and this guide provides everything you need to know for comprehensive sightseeing. There are also suggestions of where to eat divided by area, with several restaurants highlighted as a "Fodor's Choice," and even restaurant suggestions when "dining with kids." There are also lodging suggestions divided by area, again with some recommended as "Fodor's Choice." No list of the restaurant and lodging suggestions in a large city can be comprehensive and the suggestions in this book are no exception. For example, there are many hotels in the South Lake Union - Queen Anne area and I have stayed at several good hotels there, but not at either of the two hotels Fodor suggests in this area. There are about a dozen hotel recommendations for downtown Seattle and more for other areas, so a reader has a good chance of finding a suitable choice, if he is limiting himself only to the recommendations in this book.
The book also has maps of selected areas and interesting color photographs. I have regularly used Fodor travel books with great success and this volume is current and lives up to the Fodor standards. My suggestion is, however, that when using any travel guide, including this one, a traveler should consult other travel resources to supplement the information in this book, especially with regard to restaurant and hotel recommendations.