The Rough Guide to the USA

A remarkably complete -- and compact -- travel guide to the entire United States. I scrutinized pages for two cities I know intimately (New Haven, CT, and Seattle, WA) and one I just visited (Palm Springs, CA) and can honestly say that this book does a very good job of capturing the essential feeling of each place, and of describing the high and low points of each locale. As is inevitable for such a copious compendium, there are entries for establishments that have gone out of business (The Unicorn and Costermonger), or entries I wished they had included (The Museum of Toasters). But on the whole, it's hard to imagine a more comprehensive and useful volume for the perennially peripatetic US traveler. Two suitcases up, up, and away!