Vienna (Lonely Planet Vienna)
by Lonely Planet Publications
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lonely Planet PublicationsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09
ISBN: 1741041996
Number of pages: 250
Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications
Book Reviews of Vienna (Lonely Planet Vienna)
Book Review: New format messes up a classic
Summary: 2 Stars
I've long been a Lonely Planet fan, never thinking twice about buying the appropriate Lonely Planet book whenever I travel. However, the new format and emphasis of the LP guides has made me re-think my commitment.
Specifically, the "Fact for the Visitor" section has been greatly reduced, and moved under the confusingly titled "Directory" section. Unfortunately, this is difficult to locate because the Table of Contents has been bowdlerized from the former detailed breakdown into a simple section listing. If you want to find a specific piece of information, you now have to guess which section it might be hiding in (as in "Directory" -- which is almost nothing like a directory), then flip the to beginning of that section for the more detailed contents.
The new, less coherent, structure is frustrating enough, but when you get each section, you find it very hard to read. One of the first things that you learn about graphic design and publishing is that sans serif typefaces are difficult to read for long passages and should only be used sparingly. The new guides have turned this on its head, and now very light sans serif faces are used almost everywhere (contrast this with earlier editions where sans serif is only used for headings). I find it difficult to read for more than a few paragraphs, which is very annoying.
Being able to locate, and read the information are the two most fundamental things a guidebook needs to have, and these new editions really fail.
Which raises the biggest problem of all -- LP seems to be changing its emphasis from a guide which provided lots of useful information to the budget traveler as well as the higher end independent traveler. The new guide really de-emphasizes the budget traveler, in favor of being a generic, middle of the road guide. Which, from someone who looks to get the most from his travel dollar, is extremely disappointing. In contrast with my second edition copy of this guide, the fourth edition lists half as many budget accommodations, and twice as many mid-range to expensive ones.
On the plus side, the maps *finally* include a grid, making it much easier to find locations on them.
On the whole though, LP has taken the guides I've loved for years, and made them much less valuable to me. In the future, I'll be shopping around for guides, instead of knowing that I can trust LP without a second thought.
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