Good prep for a Southwest trip
598302
Well-researched and written, good if not outstanding photographs, nicely-organized with good key maps to locations, and worth having if exploring that fascinating state.
3837083
Great book with plenty of information to help plan your next excursion.
263465
This book was perfect for my needs.  It was compact, had a good map and gave me the information I needed for my vacation to Northern New Mexico.  It helped me plan out my days without overwhelming me with data.  The only thing I wouldn't rely on are the restaurant recommendations.  They were ok but I did research online for the top restaurants.
3812972
If you want to see the most and pack the most fun and adventure into a 7-14  day trip in the Southwest then this is the guidebook for you.  I lived and worked in this region for over 20 years.  I have led guided trips myself and I know what it takes to produce a good guidebook.
This guide would be most useful for a first timer trip or with someone with limited experience of the Southwest.  This SW covers an enormous expanse of land and a patchwork of governmental jurisdictions and cultures.  A person planning such a trip could easily get bogged down in planning and overwhelmed with choices that lead to a scaled down or inefficient trip. By using this guide travelers will maximize their time and energy while ensuring they don't miss anything including the best places to eat or a place to cool off in a refreshing creek after a long hike.  I believe that the Insider Tips sections alone will be worth more than the cost of this book. But the guide is not just for the newbies.  I myself have learned a few tips and suggestions which I cant wait to experience on my next trip to this magical landscape.

Tobey Tyler
3746470
My wife and I used this guide to prep for a week at Mesa Verde hoping for a brief overview of ancient puebloan roots and culture plus some basic archeological info related to Mesa Verde.  It definitely fulfilled this role, allowing us to get more enjoyment from our visit.  For more depth, breadth, and references, you'll want to target more "scholarly" works.  We've read several of these, which generally confirmed the condensed information provided by Skopec's guide.
The text is laced with an abundance of editing errors, which are a bit of a distraction.  Never-the-less it provided an excellent and quick background for our Mesa Verde visit and we have recommended it to others.  We'll take it along again for future Four Corners tours.
3424416
I like the way Rick Steves easy reading makes planning a trip so easy.  He has maps, descriptions and suggestions for short or long trips.
2494550
Steves has kept this concise, but with enough information a traveler can see why one should go to this region, and what the most important sights are.  Comments and suggestions about local customs and what to eat and drink will help the traveler maximize enjoyment while there.
1832897
This was about the best guidebook option I could find focusing on Mazatlan (and not Mexico in general). It was available free on-line, but I wanted to have a book to refer to more easily. It feels pretty informal, almost like a blog, but the necessary information was there and most of the author's descriptions seemed to match my experiences while there.
My only recommendation would be to add a few maps, and possibly to organize the restaurants by location as well as by price. Since many places in Mazatlan don't seem to have formal addresses it is hard to figure out where things are from verbal descriptions (particularly restaurants). It also took us a couple days before we realized that the green "Sabalo-Centro" bus going through the Zona Dorada was running a block away from the beach on an arterial. A bus map or even a more detailed neighborhood map of the Zona Dorada would have helped us to understand this. It also wasn't clear where to catch the "lancha" to Isla de las Piedras from the verbal description.
But, in general, this book was a great aid to our vacation.
916989
Good maps, pictures and route descriptions.  Actually got my wife to consider going along on some hikes (except for the parts about bears :-).

The only additional thing I would have liked to have seen is something about the weather (spring, fall, summer) and recommendations on what to bring along as far as clothes, gear, etc.
4778397
I was planning to hike the camino this summer and got this book in preparation. It is a great little guidebook and hopefully will not be too outdated by the time I actually get to use it. Frequently, I will pick it up at night before bed and read a random section describing the route and sights along the way. There is an app, but I like having the book.
1173164
I enjoyed using "Frommer's Cancun & the Yucatan 2012" to make plans for our coming December trip to Cozumel. The color pictures and map gave me a good sense of what things will look like, and the recommendations for activities, restaurants, and hotels helped us start planning.  Most of all, the realistic appraisals of cost/health/safety issues made the trip much easier to plan. So far, Frommer's has been a great aid in our planning.

The 392 page guide is divided into ten chapters:

The Best of the Yucatan, Tabasco & Chiapas (a quick guide to beaches, cultural and archaeological sites, active vacations, museums, shopping, nightlife, inexpensive inns and good restaurants)

The Yuctan, Tabasco & Chiapas in Depth (provides historical and cultural information as well as suggestions on when to go, where to stay and eat, and tours)

Suggested Yucatan Itineraries (suggests one and two week trips and discusses eco travel)

Cancun (explains where to stay, shop, and eat, suggests beaches and outdoor and nightlife activities)

Isla Mujeres & Cozumel (offers relevant websites, quick facts, and information on coral reefs)

The Riviera Maya & the Southern Caribbean Coast (includes the sites at Tulum and Coba, the Chinchorro Reef, and Playa del Carmen)

Merida, the Maya Interior & Chichen Itza (suggests websites, festivals, side trips, and hotels and provides information on the ruins of Chichen Itza)

Tabasco & Chiapas (explores Villahermosa, Palenque, San Cristobal de las Cases, and Tuxtla Gutierrez)

Planning Your Trip (offers suggestions for getting there and traveling once there, addresses health and safety concerns, gives tips on finding accommodations and on costs and the value of the peso/dollar)

Survival Spanish (provides helpful English-Spanish phrases and helpful dining terms).

Other than its inclusiveness, the strength of the guide lies in its detail:  there are hundreds of color photographs, exact prices, directions, and hours of operation  provided.  Hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs are evaluated and not just listed.  And detailed maps are provided.

I was fortunate to visit Costa Maya last December and everything I read in the guide rang true.  However, when I tried using one of the suggested websites for my coming Cozumel trip, it was no longer active. Others turned out not to provide all that much information. But then, that's the nature of internet sites; they come and go and often change day to day.

`Frommer's Cancun & the Yucatan' is a good place to start planning a trip to Caribbean Mexico and a good book to take along.
2478054
There's a lot of information packed in to this small book. I'm a native Californian, but that doesn't mean I don't need extra help when traveling. This book is for the Pacific Coast Highways which I'm familiar with, of course. We can all look at our GPS, but it's nice to have a good old fashioned map at times. A pull out map is included along with help on planning your trip, road trip ideas and destination information. There are suggestions for places to eat, sleep, highlights and don't miss sections. Recommended.
3889390
As usual, well-written and covers a wide range of material for the area, including shopping/hotels/dining for the urban visitors, and national and state parks for those looking for more natural phenomena. There are plenty of maps helping those visiting LA, San Diego, and Palm Springs, along with other portions of the area. The only change I'd recommend is the placement of the year on the spine, so those of us with a row of such Travel Guides on the shelf can quickly identify those that are out of date. Of course, I can just use a Sharpie to fix this oversight.
3125701
Just what I needed to get ready for driving from Texas to Nova Scotia in the fall; I have a Good Sam's membership and wouldn't leave home without this updated RV campground book. Canada is also covered, which is a plus for those going that far north. I had the 2015 version and was surprised how much had changed. I do wish this were spiral bound, however, because this is a thick  heavy book  and a bit difficult to manage, especially on the road. It has a wealth of information, not just on Good Sam but public campgrounds and non-Good Sam grounds too. well worth the price.
1867334
Excellent recipes and instructions with sources for ingredients identified for southwest dishes.
620652
Nice suggestions and map will make it easier to plan a trip.
4217509
I have been gathering information about backpacking for some time now and this is one of the better books I've come across because ti covers how to prep, suggestions on what to buy, even how to stay in shape with some basic stretching.  If you want a book that is fairly complete from end-to-end along with a set of good ideas for backpacking.. pick it up as it worked well for me... hopefully it will work well for you!