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Books Related to St Petersburg THOMAS COOK Publishing - ISBN: 1841577553
not so good - Rated
OK, it's not completely wrong, it still tells you a bunch of useful things, but I think it's the worst guidebook I've seen. In brief, it's crammed with outright mistakes (e.g. innocent factual errors like 'St.Petersburg was Russia's capital for 300 years' - but worse than this are misspelt place names or incorrect transport information) or outdated information (like telling you to visit the 'best coffeshop in town' which has in fact been closed for a couple of years). Some of the errors are funny (e.g. the author insists that most local drivers are drunk and drive on illegal licences - what a rubbish!), but others are more dangerous, like recommending one the priciest restaurants in town as a place to have an inexpensive meal or telling you not to use local ATMs for money withdrawals and recommending to use travellers cheques instead - complete rubbish, ATMs are the best way to convert you foreign money into roubles, while getting your cheques cashed will usually be expensive hassle.
In brief, you will be very silly to rely on this book (especially if this is your first time over there), as it is (1) very short and (2) gives lots of incorrect information. So don't go for the small pocket size and low price, consider a different source of information.
One word that is repeated (somewhat lovingly) from one page to another is 'vodka', which the author believes is the locals' favourite drink. While this may be true in some other parts of Russia, this is not so for St.Petersburgers, who can be seen more frequently with a glass of lager or gin'n'tonic - or, in fact, a cup of cappuccino, - in local cafes. Perhaps it was this obsession with Russia's age-old drink that prevented the author from putting the facts straight?
