Negative Positive
Title: Packed With Info, Yet a Lively Read All the Way!
Review: Mark Elliott's guidebook is more than the bare-bones "here's where you can stay and eat" sort of volume. Sure, he gives you all of that necessary information (prices, best value, etc.) but the true worth of this book lies in the pleasure reading it. Let's face it: If you're not planning on visiting a certain destination, you'd never pick up, much less buy, a guidebook on that locale. But Mark writes very well, with a sure-handed knowledge of the history and cultures that he comes across, and effortlessly works it into his background descriptions. The book is actually fun to read, and I suspect that if Richard Burton (not the actor!) were alive today, he'd pretty much be writing the same sort of thing. Don't know if I myself will ever make it to Azerbaijan, but I came away from reading this book -- actually reading! -- feeling like it's one of the places I'd really like to see in this world.Baku or bust!
Is the review positive or negative? 