Publication Date:October 10, 2005 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days Condition:Ships from the US. Expected delivery 9-15 business days. Serving Book Lovers since 1980. Brand New!
Accurate, informative, well-written and thoroughDecember 11, 2008 Having used the Bradt guide to Tanzania a few years ago and found it infinitely superior to the Lonely Planet for that country, I was not at all surprised by the high standard of this book.
The author Philip Briggs is clearly passionate about Ethiopia -- memorably urging visitors to 'prepare to Ethiopiate' during their time there -- which helps. He balances amusing anecdotes about the potential hazards of travel (e.g. the bus ceremony (p.92) and 'Dust' (p. 132)) with the painstaking detail of the more mundane yet essential facts like the state of the showers in cheap hotels in Wukro.
Briggs is authoritative* throughout and I never once felt that he had cut any corners during the three weeks I spent relying upon it. Thoroughly recommended.
*The one exception was that the book didn't quite prepare my friend and I for the abysmal state of many of the major roads. The worst example was the principal trunk road from Dessie in the north to Addis which was appalling, largely unpaved and rock-strewn. There are Chinese contractors currently in the process of asphalting most of it but the project seemed a good few years away from completion (and the bus journey that the book said would take eight hours took nearly 14 as a result!)
Top guidebookSeptember 15, 2006 12 out of 13 found this review helpful
I've never come across such a brilliant guidebook as this for any country I've been to. Not only is it highly informative, dependable and up to date, as you would expect, but it is also very readable. Mr Briggs' writing style demonstrates a real affection for the country which you will hopefully share by the end of your stay. We certainly did.
