Fodor's Exploring Israel

This is more a text driven guide. This was my supplement to the Eyewitness Travel Israel and The Holy Land. It contained alot of information that was useful. Also check out their online message boards. I have to comment to the previous reviewer's comment about Aroma coffee shops. By the time we got to Jerusalem I was fiending for some Starbuck's sicnce it had been a bit chilly in Israel. We were pleasantly surprised how good Aroma was. And if you drink it there they serve you in actual coffee cups and plate. We loved it! So check them out if you go!

This is NOT the Fodor's Israel guide. It's the supplement with historic, cultural, and political coverage. As such it's a fascinating read with lots of spashy colored photos. It's easy to get confused, but this a SUPPLEMENT to the Fodor's guide! It does not contain info about attractions or logistics and isn't intended to. It's laid out by time periods, regions, and topic (such as who the people are.) Even for someone who's been there before, I found details I didn't know. It enhanced my trip beyond the short paragraph summaries every guide book has for each attraction, and lead me to notice items I wouldn't have otherwise. ...such as the demographic diversity, and more understanding of the religious hodgepodge of people. The layout of the history, as a reference, helped me make more sense of sites I'd seen, since there is an endless array of history in that country. For the cultural aspects I was familar with, most of the info is reasonably accurate. There's always room for argument with everything, but mostly they do a nice job of summing up topics. It appears to have a Christian editorship based on some of the information focus on Crusades and such, but not offensively so. It doesn't attempt to cover Arab angles all that much (on the modern history), and could be argued with, but it does talk respectfully when it does. (As for the inaccuracies... The short topic summaries sometimes used classic but is superficial "history lines" that aren't very accurate. For instance, comments that the founders were aethists, which doesn't begin to understand their relationship to the religion. But only a knowledgeable reader will absorb or notice this within, the intense amount of info presented in a small space.) What's striking is that it's easy to read and absorb a lot in compact wording. The photos make it fun. There's something very well designed about the layout and intensity of research that makes it... much more interesting than the usual "picture travel books" that are fluffy. It's a very fun supplement, and you'll get to look at and understand more than you would, with the straight guidebooks' with their info about sites and logistics.

I have used Fodor's guides before and have always found them most useful. I particularly like the suggested walks which allow you to explore at your own pace without having to be led around in an awful tour group. This particular guide is most informative and gives an excellent view of what to see in Israel and when you can see it. It also gives a good historical viewpoint of this very troubled land.

I found it most balanced and useful of similar books about Israel. I visited Israel many times and plan to live there, so all topics are very acute to me. Things I kept in my mind as most secret, essential and grain about Israel I found in this book written clearly and openly.I was amazed of this book.

I am not a traveller, but now that I know there are books like this out there, I believe I have more desire to travel. I studied this book before, during and now after my trip to Israel. Customs, money, scripture, directions on even walking through Jerusalem were found in the book...I used it daily on my pilgrimege and still do read and look things up, just to remember my trip. Next time it's FODOR'S for me!!! I highly recommend this book. Pictures and maps are as great as the information on where to shop...WONDERFUL!!! GO FOR IT!!!!