Usa: The Rough Guide, Third Edition (3rd ed) [Paperback]

Samantha Cook (Author), Tim Perry (Author), Jamie Jensen (Author), Greg Ward (Author), Mick Sinclair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996 | Series: 3rd ed

Now updated, this bestselling travel guide provides complete coverage of all American cities, including reviews of hotels, bars, restaurants, national parks, seaside resorts, highways, byways, and more. Also provided is insightful commentary on the people who have shaped the U.S.--from Abe Lincoln to Elvis Presley. "You'll find the best America has to offer".--Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A remarkably complete -- and compact -- travel guide to the entire United States. I scrutinized pages for two cities I know intimately (New Haven, CT, and Seattle, WA) and one I just visited (Palm Springs, CA) and can honestly say that this book does a very good job of capturing the essential feeling of each place, and of describing the high and low points of each locale. As is inevitable for such a copious compendium, there are entries for establishments that have gone out of business (The Unicorn and Costermonger), or entries I wished they had included (The Museum of Toasters). But on the whole, it's hard to imagine a more comprehensive and useful volume for the perennially peripatetic US traveler. Two suitcases up, up, and away!

Review

Authoritative and opinionated, this series can't be beat. -- Chicago Tribune

Product Details

• Paperback: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 3 edition (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185828161X
• ISBN-13: 978-1858281612
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,598,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Missing some crucial information, October 8, 2000

By 

Stephan Schmidt-Tank (Stuttgart, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to USA (Rough Guides) (Paperback)

I just completed a 2 month trip through the US and Canada. I'm afraid to say that the Rough Guide was not always very helpful in the process. It does contain all the basic information on a lot of places, all right. And I guess it is to be expected that some of it is quite superficial as you cannot not cover everything. However, the book has some important shortcomings:

- Maps are few and poor. More often than not I found that major streets were missing, making orientation a hassle. So you have to juggle the guidebook and a separate map when walking through cities or driving around. Also, it would be very helpful to mark the recommendations on the maps in the book (which is rather rarely done), so you don't spend hours locating the addresses on the map.

- The guide does not always indicate price ranges for restaurant recommendations (especially in large cities). It is quite annoying if you travel across town to a restaurant (and spend some time on it if you don't have a car) to find that the dishes are... and up. For budget travelers, this guide might be difficult to swallow.

- There's some inaccurate info on hostels and their opening times. So you need to call ahead before you end up in front of closed doors. Also, price ranges for motels are way off.

- There is no section on dangers and annoyances for cities, a section that could be very helpful (although it sometimes warns of some dangerous areas in the text).

Also, the rough Guide might want to consider a better binding, as the book came apart after six weeks of usage. Overall, next time I'd rather go for another guide than this for a trip to the US.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars still one of the best USA guidebooks, May 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rough Guide to USA (Rough Guides) (Paperback)

I just upgraded my old copy of the USA Rough Guide to the 2000 edition, because I think it's still one of the best USA guidebooks around. If you're visiting just one area of the US, you will find more detailed information in other books, but for those who want to travel all over the country, this guide contains a ton of information for a low price.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book and forget Internet., January 16, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Usa: The Rough Guide, Fourth Edition (4th Edition) (Paperback)

Before I became aware of Rough Guides, I used a lot of time (and money) searching for information about travelling in USA on the internet. After this discovery was almost no need for that. The quality of the information is high. The authors have a very critical attitude to what they the write about.

Enjoy this book.