I wonder how long books like The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget will last in this digital world. (Rough Guides, 978-1-84353-994-0) Even though it’s a compact 5 x 7 3/4, it feels a bit dinosaur-ish at nearly two pounds.

Not that the information is excessive, or even burdensome. I love the short histories of the nations and the cities. The sidebars about things like “Taking a Bath in Budapest” or “Hiking in the Tatras.” There are language basics, maps galore, emergency numbers, and activities inside and out.

Maybe my reserve is for the olden days of travelers who needed, who really used an all-purpose guide to Europe. It may have started out a brick, but by the end of the trip, it looked more like the sole of a shoe, frayed and worn softly open.

I’m also thinking that I’d rather have this kind of information on digital device. For people who travel a lot or extensively, why not a yearly subscription to Rough Guides that allow access (and input) to guides around the world. The guides could be downloaded at any WiFi spot and stored on the device until the next download. Wouldn’t you love to have photos and info about what the Ko Tarutao looks like today, not a year ago when the guide went to press?


Phil and Carol White still have the traveling chops in Live Your Road Trip Dream: Travel for a Year for the Cost of Staying Home (RLI Press, 978-0-9752928-3-9). A concise book, designed with a sense of fresh air and no strings, the couple start with a how-to of financing, then cover planning, staying in touch, emergencies, and returning home. The last half of their book details week by week their own experiment.

 
If you’re planning a trip to Egypt or Greece this summer, check out University of California’s Dictionaries of Civilization (978-0-520-25648-4, 978-0-520-25647-7). While not exactly travel guides, you’ll want to have them with you for the plane, the airport, busses, hotels, boat. Sensationally illustrated, they cover the people, state, religion, daily life, “The World of the Dead,” and monuments. Maps, museums, chronologies, a bibliography, and an index are also included.