Lonely Planet North Africa: Travel Survival Kit

This 700-page guidebook dates back to 1995, covering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. As a result, it is inevitably out-of-date: much has changed in the countries of North Africa, in their situation and in facilities for the traveler, especially in Libya and Algeria. Some sections on how to get around etc. are surely out-of-date. Yet, this book remains a truly essential tool for anyone traveling to, or simply interested in, North Africa. The sections on culture and society are tremendously useful and extremely well-written, including a beautiful coloured-photographs section on Moroccan Arts & Crafts. In terms of travel, this remains the only Lonely Planet guidebook covering Algeria (with over 90 pages on the country !), and is recommendable for anyone wishing to travel to that country. For the collector of guidebooks, this is a masterpiece, densely filled with information, and superbly researched and written. For the practical-minded traveler simply going to Morocco, Tunisia or Libya, however, LP guidebooks exist for those three individual countries, and may be a better - if heavier - choice. Nevertheless, it should be stressed: this books remains a great achievement, in Lonely Planet's great successes in covering the world.