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Books Related to Central Asia Bradley Mayhew - ISBN: 1741046149
Useful, though some strange opinions - Rated
This was the most up-to-date (and indeed, pretty much the only) guidebook to the region that I could find. It's got all of the standard Lonely Planet features, and it is easy to find things and has a good balance of descriptive and factual information.
However, I found some of the opinions in it incomprehensible and would warn any reader to take them with a pinch of salt. One hotel described as being awful with tiny rooms turned out to be fantastic and one of the best places we stayed in. Likewise some of the sights are talked down inexplicably. There are also very few photographs.
In terms of size, it's certainly not as heavy as most multi-country guides, but is still far from pocket size. I managed to carry it around in my daypack without suffering too much. I would definitely recommend getting this book if you are travelling to the region, simply because information is so hard to come by, and in factual terms at least this is reasonably accurate.
This was very useful - Rated
This was a very useful book during my trip around Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Sometimes LP books can get very out of date, but in Central Asia things don't seem to change at the same pace as elsewhere.
The accommodation section in each location needs some updating as I found that a number of places listed didn't exist. I think there's a new edition coming out soon though.
New edition, much improved - Rated
Please be aware that all other reviews (so far) refer to what is really a completely different book. This one is pretty up to date, for example it covers post-Taliban Afghanistan. I would say this is the currently the most convenient way of acquiring certain basic modern information about these vast regions. Check it out. It should be in your local public library.
Lonely Planet : Central Asia (as applied to Kazakhstan) - Rated
I was mainly travelling in Kazakhstan and found this a useful guide forAlmaty, although there was limited information on the countryside. It wascertainly better than the equivalent Rough Guide although I believe itwould have benefitted from consulting women travellers as well as men. Themales in our party found few oversights in men-only situations whereassituations which would be encountered only by women (especiallydresscodes) were often overlooked leading to some awkward situations. Iwould advise people to check out the Lonely Planet bulletin board as wellfor up to date advice as I think this is a little dated.
LP hits the wrong note - this is prejudiced and outdated - Rated
I know it's hard to keep up with what seem like interminable change in Central Asia, but even this updated LP guide has little to distinguish it from its mid-90s edition. The defeatist and unadventurous attitude is a million miles away from the enthusiasm of most LPs and I couldn't quite understand the worth of printing a guide that hardly recommends anything! The Bradt guides are much better to this lesser known and understood region.
