London (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
by Michael Leapman, Roger Williams
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Book Reviews of London (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
Book Review: Not as good as other DK guides
Summary: 3 Stars
I like DK Books. Their wonderful pictures and diagrams are real strengths and I would buy this particular London book again.
However it was written so long ago and has been so poorly patched its practical text is not suitable for the people I bought it for. The advice about traveler's checks with the patch about using your credit card to get a cash advance from an ATM is quite a bit off. Digital camera owners need to be told to look at their charger and see if it works at 240; that tells them whether to get a voltage transformer or only a plug adapter. Oyster cards are a confusing convenience that can save real money and time if you stay more than a few days. These practical things need to be written up properly.
A brief reference to vibrant Canary Wharf and the superb Dockland's museum was not added very well. The photo on page 236 must have been taken before the first American edition in 1993. For perhaps 5 years you have been able take a tour that walks across the top of Tower Bridge; do readers want to be told that is a change from what the book used to say? Goddard's pie shop, which gets as much coverage as Docklands - Canary Wharf, is closed. Have the editors heard of Ben Franklin's house?
"Annually Revised" it says. There is evidence of many revisions and repairs; that is true. However this 2007 edition is not good enough to be your main guide book. Read it with some skepticism.
Book Review: Absolutely the best in its category.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have sworn by the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides for Florence and Rome in the past, and the Eyewitness Travel Guide for London is absolutely up to their standard. Other commenters are correct that the DK Guides aren't exactly in-depth, but they do provide cogent, engaging thumbnail sketches that make informative starting points for reasonably curious, adventurous travelers. The excellent color photographs give you a taste of a city's feel and look (I've been to London twice before, so I can vouch for the verisimilitude of the pictures in the London Guide). I also appreciate the detailed and extensive street maps at the back of each guide. (In the case of the DK London Guide, I find its maps much easier to understand and follow than the famous A-Z Maps, which I find cluttered and confusing). The DK London Guide is great in giving you sketches of each section of London, and what is to be found there. The breakout sections for such landmarks as Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and the British Museum are extremely helpful to tourists who want to know at a glance the particular points of interest. The sections on local customs, the Tube, guided walks, and restaurants in or near the Theatre District also are invaluable. When I head to London this summer, the DK Guide will be the only London guide I take with me.Book Review: Not worth it
Summary: 2 Stars
CAUTION: Do not pick up an Eyewitness Travel Guide unless you are prepared to take a huge hit on your savings account and buy a plane ticket. Any and all of these books make your mouth water for the beautiful and exotic places featured within the pages.
Now that the commerical is over, we'll get down to what I didn't like.
The pictures are amazing and beautiful and inspiring, but that's more or less where this book's assets end. If you're looking for information, pick up Frommer's instead. There are very brief travel helps in the back of the book, but if you had to be stranded in London with one guide book, you'd be foolish (and lost) if you chose this one. The travel information and survival tips are kept at a bare minimum, and even information on the sights and sites mentioned or pictured in the book are lacking. Think National Geographic captions.
If you're planning a trip, it's worth checking this book out of the library to help you make a list of all the beautiful places you want to see, but if you want to know the best place to stand for the Changing of the Guard or where to find cheap food that resembles food, find another book.
Book Review: Eyewitness Travel Guides are the Best!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have preferred the Eyewitness Travel guides for years because they are full of colorful photos of the different areas where one might travel. This one will go with me to London soon and I've already appreciated reading about the particular neighborhood where I will be staying.
The Eyewitness guides always do an excellent job of providing important maps of the transportation systems in each area and the cost of each system. I especially love the suggested agendas proposing how to spend a single day in a specific area fitting in attractions, where to lunch and what to see along the way and the historical guideline, as well. Very well done.
These guides, and London is no disappointment, are so visually interesting and colorfully published that I fail to understand why other guides seem to get more attention when they are flat and boring. While providing much of the same information, I've not found other guides to be as useful or as much fun to use.
Book Review: Excellent travel guide with fantastic maps
Summary: 4 Stars
Sometimes the Eyewitness guides can be short on details because the emphasis is often on the pictures, but this is a very thorough, well-organized, and informative guide. One of its best features is the absolutely outstanding maps it has, which I found to be better than any other London guide (and I looked at a lot of them). The only reason I did not give it five stars is that it is not quite as thorough and informative as the Rough Guide (but that book lacks the excellent maps that this one has). I'm torn between this book and the Rough Guide, but I think the excellent maps in this book may give it a slight advantage.