Expert advice: There's More to a Guidebook Than Its Cover

Brand Name: Rule out obvious mismatches right away. The student authors at Let's Go, for example, won't have the time or budget to ferret out boutique hotels. If you're unsure of a brand's slant, scan the guide to your hometown-or a town you know particularly well-and note what kind of restaurants, hotels, and activities receive glowing reviews.

But finding a brand you're comfortable with is only the first step. "Individual books within a particular series can vary enormously in quality," warns Gordon McLachlan, author of The Rough Guide to Germany. Edition and Copyright: Maxine Cass, who has written for Thomas Cook Publishing and The Globe Pequot Press, immediately flips to a guide's copyright info. It's usually facing the title page, though sometimes publishers hide it near the back. Cass says that chances are a book that's just appeared on bookshelves "is already a year out of date," because of the ...