Insight Guide: Taiwan

The Insight Guide to Taiwan is an excellent work, but needs to be used along with another work such as the Lonely Planet Guide, which has more practical information.

This is a good alternative guide. No, it isn't packed with penetrating insights into Taiwan's unqiue culture nor would it suffice on a huandao luxing (round island trip). Rather it is a supplementary guide filled with lovely photgraphs, very good maps, and lots of introductory blurbs. A good second choice for a book, or a first choice for those coming just for a short time.

Beside many detailed maps and interesting photos, this book also contains wonderful essays showing the authors' "inside" knowledge of Taiwan's history and culture, apparently written by expat residents who have lived in Taiwan for many years. Information such as hiking excursions or setting up a cell phone account is very useful, but the book will benefit from a lot more Chinese characters and more tone markings of the Chinese language.

After combing the major bookstores in the Metro Detroit area, there are no travel guides to be found on Taiwan, until I found this one, and it is fantastic!Why not, it is from the Discovery Channel people!I did find only one other guide on Taiwan, but nowhere near the quality of this one.I had bought a guide on St. Petersburg, Russia from the DK company, and I loved it. But most of the well known companies like DK, Fodor, Knoff, I don't believe publish one on Taiwan.I am glad that the Insight people did, I am thourougly impressed. I will check them out from now on, when looking for travel guides for other countries!YA!