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Rating: 
Summary: An insiders guide, but a bit old
Review: I bought this book as it appeared to be the only guide that focused solely on general travel in the Southcentral region of Alaska. I didn't need information on Kotzebue or Nome or even Denali, so I thought this specialized guide would be better.The main strength of this book comes from Mr. McMurren's intimate familiarity with the area. This is shown in his very precise driving directions and little details like the names of the owners of various restaurants and hotels. But his familiarity may have caused him to leave out two things important to travelers: many location-specific items, and general Alaska travel info. These location-specific items would include suitability for children and the disabled, opening and closing dates/times, prices, availability of food, etc. A chapter on general info for any traveler to Alaska could have included best (and worst) dates to travel to the area, climate, general costs, general availability of hotels, a calendar of regional festivals, etc. Sure I could get this from the Internet, but I'd rather have it all in one place that I can carry with me. And speaking of the Internet, this book was last updated in 1995, so some of the information is out-of-date. There are no web sites or e-mail addresses listed for any of the businesses, agencies, or traveler's bureaus. Although a handy specialized guide to Southcentral Alaska, I'd recommend supplementing it with another, more up-to-date guide book, even if that one has a lot of info on parts of Alaska you don't plan to visit.
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