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Rating: 
Summary: A Very Good Guide to Canada
Review: A very good guide to Canada - last year ('97) I drove through middle and western Canada and this was the best of the three books I bought. Generally on-target descriptions and commentary of what's worth seeing and what's worth avoiding. More geared towards low and mid budgets.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Guide to Canada
Review: A very good guide to Canada - last year ('97) I drove through middle and western Canada and this was the best of the three books I bought. Generally on-target descriptions and commentary of what's worth seeing and what's worth avoiding. More geared towards low and mid budgets.
Rating:
Summary: Not the Best Guide
Review: Picking a Travel Book on Canada
If you visit a large bookstore in Canada where I live one can find a broad selection of Canada travel books, all written in English. There are two types of books: the general guides (described here) and then there are other guides on specific topics such as provinces (example Quebec), cities, parks, restaurants, mountain regions such as Banff/Lake Louise guide, etc.
If you want information on hiking or similar and are new to Canada then buy two books, i.e.: a general guide and then say if you are going to Banff or Vancouver or Toronto - then buy a second book on just that area, city or park. Otherwise you will be disappointed. General country guides cannot cover a 5000 km wide country (3500 miles) plus 10 provinces and all the numerous parks, cities, rivers, lodgings, restaurants, etc plus all the other activities in one guide. It is a mistake to expect that fine detail in one of these books.
So these books are general introductory books and good for general trip planning - but not every detail. I did a bit of research and have compared and ranked 7 of the current best known guides. Many of these publishers such as Fodors have other guides for hiking, parks, restaurants, etc. In any case these 7 books cover all of Canada, they have maps, cover the major cities, have subway or similar guides, some restaurant and lodging information, and cover some of the politics, history, attractions such as parks, lakes, etc. and industries in each region. I rank those guides higher that have everything, i.e.: good text descriptions combined with good maps, sketches, photos, trip planners, etc. I am less concerned about small details such as particular hotel and its nightly rate. For that check the internet. None of the books are bad.
Coincidentally all of these books cost approximately $17., and vary in size from 400 to 1136 pages. Here are the rankings.
1ST Place - Ranked Best Overall.
1. Lonely Planet Canada, 992 pages, 1.4 x 7.7 x 5", sales rank on Amazon.com 20,196, published October 2002. This book is rich in text, maps, and high quality color photos. Covers most of the country with lots of information. Best overall value.
2nd Place - Tied For Second
2. Michelin Green Guide Canada, 461 pages, 0.8 x 9.4 x 4.4", sales rank on Amazon.com 626,192, published June 1, 2003. This is a well made book with lots of maps and photos. Short but well written. Slim and best made and weather resistant covers - to some degree.
3. Canada - Eyewitness Travel Guide, 432 pages, 0.8 x 8.7 x 5.2', sales rank on Amazon.com 14,893, published September 2003. Has the best photographs of any guide, acts as a souvenir instead of taking photos yourself. Stunning aerial photograph of Niagara Falls plus many more. Excellent history time lines and cut away photographs. I put it second choice only because it is just 432 pages. Best photos and other visuals.
4. Baedeker's Canada, 640 pages, 1.3 x 7.6 x 4.9", sales rank on Amazon.com 792,753, published December 1, 1999. This book is similar to Lonely Planet, but 1/3 smaller and now a bit dated. Since all he books listed here cost $17, I prefer the bigger and more up to date Lonely Planet or the Michelin Guide or Eyewitness Travel with better photos.
5. Fodor's See It Canada, 1st Edition, 400 pages, 0.8 x 9.1 x 5.3", Amazon.com sales rank 1,703,104, published June 1, 2004. Most recent available guide in this group (see 6 below), good maps and photos, large font with a slight cartoon feel and shortest of the group. Do not confuse with Fodor's 1000 page food and lodging guide.
3rd Place
6. Rough Guide Canada 5th Edition, 1136 pages, 1.4 x 7.8 x 5.1", Amazon.com sales rank 991,800, published June 22, 2004. Most text only information for the dollar. Lots of information and descriptions. Does not convey the scenic grandeur - no photos to speak of, but it has maps. I prefer the Lonely Planet because it has text plus good photos.
4th Place
7. Frommer's Canada ( Frommer's Complete), 828 pages, 1.6 x 8.6 x 5.1", Amazon.com sales rank 1,038,793, published May 17, 2004. Frommer has a number of books - this is the complete Canada guide. In any case it is similar to #6, the Rough Guide, but shorter.
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