Customer Reviews

Mobil Travel Guide Great Plains

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The newest incarnation of the classic Mobil Travel Guide is far inferior to the old guide format. Purse-sized and thin, the regional guidebooks have lost entire cities, state parks, and even some historical sites. Restaurant listings tend toward national chains, with local favorites deleted altogether. Even more outrageous: state maps are small and printed in grainy black and white making it difficult to locate interstate highways. Some state highways and mid-sized towns aren't even shown on the map! Had I realized the extent of the changes, I would not have purchased. Not recommended.

I'm glad I read the library's copy, because I wouldn't waste my money on this book. Everyone knows published guides can have errors, but the lazy editing of this 2010 edition is inexcusable. Bell's Amusement Park is listed as "What to See" in Tulsa, Oklahoma, though a quick internet search reveals that the park closed in 2006. This is an unreliable reference.

For years I've used the Mobil guides to plan my trips. I don't care that information is on the internet, it was always easier to use a guide, especially when they would flag a restaurant or hotel as "a good deal for the price." Over and over we would find that these flagged places were indeed very nice for the price.

Now Mobil has I guess been forced to reduce their information. Their sections on each city are much shorter and they no longer have their "good deal" flags. I had to still go back to a 1999 guide to find info I wanted!

Unfortunately because Mobil feels it can't keep publishing its long, in-depth guides because of the internet, the guides they are now producing are just about useless. They'd be better off just closing it down.