Being a pretty busy person, and usually hating to read travel guides, I find that the DK Eyewitness Guides are the only ones I can stand reading - in fact, I find them enjoyable.

Their main force is that you don't have to imagine whether a destination would be something for you - the guide shows you what to expect, where others just tell you about it. That is the series' main force: They are very easily digestible.

That said, an Eyewitness Guide can't stand alone, so my wife usually acquires a Lonely Planet guide for the place, and I read the Eyewitness Guide, and the two complement each other nicely.

This guide to the US South West I bought in preparation for a vacation there, and although it had always been a dream destination for me, I can only say that I looked forward to it more and more for each time I read the book!

One has to know that the book covers quite a large area: The complete states of Arizona and New Mexico, as well as Southern Utah, the area around Las Vegas, and a little bit of Colorado. This means that for most people, myself included, there are parts of the book which doesn't apply at all to the trip one is planning. As an example, a rather large (in my opinion) section of 38 pages (or 17%) is dedicated to Las Vegas. For an area guide like this, it can't be any different - one just has to know this.

Although the overall quality of the book makes for a very attractive read, I still miss more detailed information, such as approximate entry fees. The area maps of the attractions could be better, too, as I often found myself wondering if a road marked on the map would be accessible to normal cars, or four-wheel drive only, etc.

Although I liked the book and found it a great preperatory tool, as a travel companion it leaves a lot to be desired: The maps aren't detailed enough and it's a little too evident that this is a first edition. There's just one too many errors to make you completely comfortable with it, but the errors are in the details, and for the large overview, it can't be beat.

My overall conclusion would seem to be, then, that it is a very attractive book that gives one a good general feel for the area.