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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The first 'all-in' guidebook to Serbia in English: Buy it!,
By
This review is from: Serbia: The Bradt Travel Guide (Paperback)
The book is authored by Laurence Mitchell and published as his first contribution to the Bradt guides. People in the know are aware of how difficult and complicated Serbia is, or what might be the problems the author had to solve while collecting data and checking out the situation on the spot. It is for this that the book should be additionally and particularly appreciated.Bradt's 'Serbia' is amazingly informative, surprisingly accurate and, most of all, supplied with well-judged and sincere comments. The text consists of 9 chapters, including background information on geography, history, Art and architecture, literature, even cinema and music. The author made use of additional 'boxes' in order to focus the reader's attention on some more important or interesting details, such as biographies of historical personalities, important historical events, local customs, offbeat or weird attractions and sights, and the like. Apart from an insight into literally all geographical regions of this country, the author offers a lot of helpful practical information and suggestions. After paging through this book one almost feels intimately knowledgeable with all aspects of Serbia: its history, the people and culture. Here are just two examples that ilustrate his charming writing sytle. Depicting a local town hotel somewhere inside Serbia, he writes: 'You cannot fail to notice this 3 star monstrosity in the centre of town... The carpets range from threadbare to completely worn out, and the eccentric and numerous light fittings, have clearly seen better days - I counted 13 in my room, 7 of which worked.' In case of the largest Belgrade's open-air market, Mitchell comments: "...Every imaginable type of food produce is sold here: vast piles of seasonal fruit, heaving mound peppers, rounds of cheese, hams, wooden tubs of 'kajmak', and enough garlic to dispatch any vampire straight back to Transylvania..." There is a large section on Belgrade, as well as several sections on different regions of Serbia, including the southern province of Kosovo. Laurence Mitchell explains both the past and the present-day situation in that southern province, starting with the following comment: "Kosova - if you are Albanian, Kosovo-Metohija if you are a Serb - even the name is a political issue. This troubled province remains at the heart of Serbian thinking and is a place of great spiritual importance for many Orthodox Serbs." On the other hand, we can see that some other guidebooks (such as the famous Blue Guide) cover "Albania and Kosovo" as a travel destination (!?). Twenty six well-drawn and vivid maps and plans attached to the text serve as both an illustration and information. The pictures are good and packed into 8 color pages, but in my opinion any guidebook should have more extensive photo material. In fact, a few additional photos scattered throughout the text (especially those of Belgrade's cosmopolitan face - Republic Square, pedestrian zone, open-air cafes) would have done the job. And, this would be my only criticism of the otherwise superb Mitchell's book. There are, of course, some errors in the book, but that was inevitably caused by such extensive and 'all-in' approach. Laurence Mitchell acknowledges that Serbia is currently not an ideally organized travel destination, but he also points out on a widely spread and erroneous viewpoint of many abroad which still prevails over the factual situation in the country. He writes in his 'Introduction': "Hopefully, I have rectified this situation to some extent with the publication of this guide. Serbia should get the recognition - and visitors - it deserves. Please visit Serbia, you know it makes sense." This book can be read on the coffee table at home, on the plane or train to Serbia, or (more effectively and with the best result) on the spot when you are about to explore the varied and somewhat contrasted facets of this Balkan country. Buy the book and accept the challenge it has to offer: visit Serbia and discover offbeat travel attractions you never knew existed!
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2nd edition of the best guidebook for Serbia: more informative, more correct and more interesting!,
By
This review is from: Serbia, 2nd (Bradt Travel Guide) (Paperback)
In the 2nd edition of his already excellent guidebook L. Mitchell has given a considerably enlarged, significantly improved and fully updated story about the country where I work as a licensed tourist guide and therefore I thought I knew it best.To my surprise, I was able to discover in this book not only a great deal of practical information mainly useful for visitors and tourists alike, but also some really amazing, less known and unfamiliar stories about the country and its people. The 2nd edition included expanded coverage on various background topics, such as Serbian cinema, literature and music, with boxes on Serbian personalities in these fields (for instance, Emir Kusturica or Ceca, an extravagant Balkan diva) as well as popular festivals like the annual Guca Trumpet Festival and EXIT. Many more boxes on subjects as diverse as the narrow gauge 'Sargan Eight' railway and curiosities like the 'Kremna Prophecies' and the 'Wild Man of Fruska Gora'. However, one of my favorite boxes is `Rocky comes to rescue of Serbian village' which really gives additional flavor to what is generally known or percieved about the Serbian mentality. More information are also given on natural history and National Parks in Serbia. I noticed as well that the author extended the listings, now including many of the new restaurants, cafes and bars and low-cost hostels that have opened for business in Belgrade in the last couple of years, along with privately run mid-range, luxury (`boutique') and hotels in the capital and beyond. Belgrade has recently become the capital of night life in the Balkans, attracting lots of young visitors from every corner of the world, and this fully annotated list will help them discover all the variety of day and night entertainment in Belgrade. Finally, an improved and correct use of Serbian terms (including some given in Cyrillic script with no mistakes) would be of special help to foreign visitors. Even if you are in possession of the 1st edition of the book, I would recommend that you buy the new one. It's much more informative than previous, has more correct information of any kind, offers a new design and is supplied with more photographs. And most of all, you are going to really enjoy reading it as a new book! A NOTE ON THE 3RD EDITION (07/2010) Here it is - the 3rd edition of the Bradt guide to Serbia! I received it from the UK several days ago! Everything I wanted to say about this book, I have already said in my reviews of former editions. It is important, however, to comment that city information for Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and Subotica (the four most visited spots in Serbia) have been brought thoroughly up to date in the new edition, which is important for a traveler (fully annotated lists of hotels, hostels, restaurants etc.). Also, the author put some new additions to the text, thus covering a few remaining, previously not included towns or attractions, like Knjazevac and Devil's Town. As an informed native and experienced professional tour guide I am once again surprised with the quality of this book which is, no doubt, a result of Laurence Mitchell's profound knowledge of Serbia and his passion for this country.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Indispensable guide to Serbia,
By GMO (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Serbia, 2nd (Bradt Travel Guide) (Paperback)
I purchased this guide book when I found out I would be visiting Serbia for business, mostly because it was the only guide to Serbia in English I could find. I was pleasantly surprised at the cultural background, political and social context, and historical perspective that this book provided. Before I even stepped on Serbian soil, I had a sense of what mysteries I was in store to explore. Repeatedly in my week visiting half of Serbia, my hosts would remark how I knew of little-known tidbits about this town, or that restaurant. Very impressive first impression and makes me want to check out other Bradt guides. If you're visiting Serbia, this is a MUST HAVE.
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