You'd be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive, engrossing and just plain fun-to-read guidebook than the Eyewitness Travel Guide: Ireland. Spilling over with all sorts of useful information for the traveler, you'll find three-dimensional drawings, floor plans, detailed neighborhood maps with a street-finder index, and even historical timelines. Broken into several sections (including "Introducing Ireland," "Region by Region," "Traveler's Needs," and "Survival Guide"), the guide paints a complete picture of the country. Readers will especially love the hundreds of color photos of everything from the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare to the Connemara landscape of County Galway to out-of-the-way pubs and street-by-street illustrated city walks (Dublin's Southeast walk takes in famed landmarks such as Trinity College, St. Stephen's Green and the Shelbourne Hotel). You'll also find listings for Aran sweaters, Waterford crystal, and Celtic recordings. --Jill Fergus


From Library Journal
This compact, handsomely illustrated guide to Ireland opens with a general overview of the island's history and culture. The tour of the country begins in Dublin, then circles south and west, ending up in Belfast. At the back of the book are sections on lodging, food, shopping, and other practical information. It is similar in style, content, and price to Knopf Guides: Ireland, published in July 1995. Eyewitness Travel Guides claim to be "the guides that show what others only tell you." This volume does seem to have slightly more illustrations than the Knopf guide (as well as more hotel and restaurant listings), but its paper cover will not be as durable as Knopf's vinyl cover, and it is a bit heavier to carry. Still, this is a thorough guide that travelers, especially those off-the-beaten track, will find most useful. Recommended for public libraries.Mary C. Kalfatovic, Telesec Lib. Svcs., Washington, D.C.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Eyewitness Travel Guides are the original illustrated travel guidebooks-and they're still the best. Since 1993, the Eyewitness brand has established itself as one of the industry leaders, with sales of more than 6.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. Featuring more than 70 worldwide destinations, new titles are being added to the best-selling Eyewitness Travel Guides series each year. In 2003, to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Eyewitness Travel Guides, DK is re-launching the entire series, fully updated, and with a brand-new look.