Don’t get me wrong. I firmly believe in the power of travel guidebooks. Fodor’s. Frommer’s. Lonely Planet. Rick Steves. (If you’ve begun to wonder whether I have an absurd obsession with Mr. Steves, I’ll ‘fess up now. Yes. I do. And I’m not ashamed to admit it.) These books provide essential information for travelers, the “nuts and bolts”: maps, hotels, and attractions. However, they are sometimes out-of-date, particularly if you’re using a library edition of an old guidebook to plan a trip. It’s just the nature of the research, write, publish cycle.
