USA (Lonely Planet USA) [Paperback]

James Lyon (Author), Andrew Dean Nystrom (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lonely Planet USA | Publication Date: February 2002

Showcases the USA's amazing variety of landscape, peoples, food and music with an exhausting amount of outdoor activities to be found in its 50 states and four seasons. With 95 maps which let the traveller get their kicks on Route 66 and absolutely everywhere else.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1200 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 2nd edition (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1864503084
• ISBN-13: 978-1864503081
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,608,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the best Lonely Planet for travelling in the US, September 26, 2002

By 

"opaem" (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: USA (Lonely Planet USA) (Paperback)

I took several Lonely Planet guide books with me on a 6-week drive across the US, and I'm very glad I did. The *regional* volumes (Lonely Planet Southwest, Lonely Planet Deep South, and Lonely Planet California & Nevada in particular) pointed me to some interesting little spots that I never would have found on my own or with a more traditional guidebook -- small-town festivals, outstanding small museums, breathtaking spots in national parks that the tour buses don't visit, fun alterative driving routes through the mountains.

I also brought along this book, thinking it would be useful for the areas not covered in my other books. It wasn't. The entries for each city are so short that all it really offers is a brief history, the major tourist attractions and a couple of (often outdated) hotel/restaurant recommendatations.

I highly recommend the regional Lonely Planet guidebooks for US travel, but don't bother buying this one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New edition is better, December 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: USA (Lonely Planet USA) (Paperback)

I just wanted to point out that most of these poor reviews are based on the first edition. The new one is obviously more up to date and is more polished than the last edition.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars sparse information that is not accurate, October 9, 2003

By 

marc - See all my reviews

This review is from: USA (Lonely Planet USA) (Paperback)

We bought this book as a resource for a cross country trip. I browsed this book before purchasing, and the maps and national park info really sold me. I even looked up my area ( which is a tourist beach town ) to see what they had to say. I was not impressed, but I chalked that up to the fact that we live in a remote tourist area.

I have several major issues with this book, which are explained in the introduction ( If only I had read it before I bothered to pack this worthless book ).

The writers have not traveled to all of the towns, cities or regions in the book. You will find some actual travel advice for places they have visited. But even that is worthless, since they point you towards "trendy" spots that have long past gone out of favor.

The reference information is so dated that it is worthless. Prices and basic information is incorrect, and I have the revised edition. I would make advanced reservations based on advice in this book. Odds are they have never seen the place or even been to the town. ( they mention this fact in the introduction, I should have started at page one.).

The book lacks practical travel tips you really need in some regions of the US.