This guidebook is actually fun to read, although it is lacking in more details you might be looking for. Great tips, and really interesting facts.

Looking through the pages, many helpful ideas can be obtained about traveling throughout Europe, however, most information presented is American centric, leaving those of us outside of the US in the dark when it comes to certain aspects of the information stated. I would probably say that this book would be exceptionally handy for an American tourist that is Europe bound, but not as useful to the majority of people living in the rest of the world.

If you want to travel by someones direction other then your own take a tour.
Rick Steve's could not be more opinionated if he wanted to and I have found him more wrong then right.
Take his idea of taking night trains , you only see the city you stop in and miss a lot of interesting countryside.
One of the best things about going some place new is the adventure not a preplanned programed trip using someones ideas that most likely don't fit your own.

If you are going to Europe you will find very many friendly people who are very willing to help you out.

Always remember to hold on to your luggage keep wallets in front pockets , use buckle or snap tight purses.
If you are on a train don't leave your luggage till the doors close and the train is moving.

Europe is full of good people just use common sense and be aware of your surroundings just like you would anywhere.

If I listened to "RICK" I never would have seen Heidelberg Germany and it turned out to be one of my favorite places !

This book is geared towards relatively affluent baby boomers. I say "relatively" because he advocates a lot of eating in restaurants and staying in B&Bs, which is not an inexpensive way to visit Europe. If you prefer to travel with a backpack and stay in hostels or other less expensive quarters (whether you're a baby boomer or not) this book has very few hints for traveling that way.

Check this out of the library before buying. He has some good info in the book, and his website is very informative, but his assumption that most Americans have bad manners when overseas wears thin after a while. He also makes a big deal about dressing/acting like the locals. Well, as soon as you open your mouth, they'll know you're not one, whatever you're wearing. And, watching any of his shows, you'll see people wearing American clothes everywhere--just like stores that used to be only in New York, San Francisco, Paris etc. are now in many local malls--you can find these stores in other countries, too.

Finally, I think he exaggerates somewhat the threat of thieves and scam artists overseas. Yes, you need to be careful of your money and travel documents because you can't just run home in 10 minutes and get things replaced, but you can be ripped off at home by pickpockets and scam artists too. Being aware of your surroundings is the best way to keep from being ripped off, at home or not.

I paid $5.50 for this. At that price I'm happy, but would not be at four times that price.

I like the Rick Steve's books very much. This one has the "best of" for the sites at the various European destinations for which he has individual books. Also, approx. half the book is his general advise, which is basically included in each of his books.

Buy the 2007 book at the cheap price. I doubt there's much new in the 2008 edition.

I bought this book thinking that it would be a great partner to my Lonely Planet guide but I was wrong. I used this book only a few times. The information wasn't extremely helpful for planning and there just was too much of it. The writing is interesting but it wasn't a necessary book to plan my trip. My cousin (who I traveled with) also had this book and felt the same way. We both left our copies at random hostels on our trip because they were just extra weight.