There are of course many editions of Burns's poetry available, but sadly most mass-market editions seem more concerned with perpetuating some kind of twee, Brigadoony version of Burns and Scotland. Of the ostensibly scholarly paperback editions of Burns, however, I have not seen anything that comes close to Andrew Noble and Patrick Scott Hogg's for comprehensiveness, annotation, and context. Noble's introduction is brilliant and takes great care to rehabilitate Burns's image by taking him out of the hands of St. Andrew's Society sentimentality and resituating the poet in the political and social climate of his time. Burns was politically radical, sexually promiscuous, and intellectually engaged...all qualities that are effaced by the defanged, Burns supper bardie image that has been so popular with many Scots and Scottish-Americans alike. If you're seriously interested in Burns as a man and a poet, this is the edition you should own. If you want something to dust off once a year on January 25th (along with your kilt, sporran, and bagpipes), go buy one of the editions with the tartan cover.

In this uniformly clear and incisive volume (the third in Brand Blanshard's landmark trilogy in defense of reason), the twentieth century's greatest philosophical rationalist carefully examines the claims of religion in the light of reason (including its claims that something other than reason may provide an ultimate standard of truth). Entering sympathetically but critically into the thought of great religious thinkers in the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions, Blanshard concludes that whatever legitimate content religion may have, the claims of reason as ultimate arbiter of truth cannot be compromised.

This conclusion does _not_, Blanshard insists, remove the whole of religion. He conceives religion as the response of the "whole man" to whatever he regards as ultimately true and important, and he finds much in Christian tradition that is worthy of a rationalist's praise. And in the volume's final, positive section, "The Faith of a Rationalist," Blanshard sets out in detail what he thinks we may and may not accept from received religious tradition.

The concept of "God" is one that he finds we must at least attenuate; he finds that while he can profess belief in an "Absolute" (roughly, all of reality regarded as a logically and causally coherent whole), this Absolute does not share enough features with the "God" of traditional theism that Blanshard feels able to retain that word as a description of his own quasitheistic belief. Nevertheless he also does not argue for scrapping the concept completely, and his disagreements with more traditional theists are always presented with the utmost generosity.

Despite its fairly explicit focus on Christianity, this brilliant work also presents a model for budding nontheists in other traditions who seek to take a similarly sympathetic-yet-critical approach to, say, Judaism or Islam. For Blanshard, the primacy of reason does not involve wholesale rejection of religion as inherently "irrational." Indeed, he concludes that reason, properly conceived, has been the unadmitted architect of religion all along, and that taking it seriously is precisely the way to transform our world for the better.

Blanshard, in short, takes the service of reason as his own religion. His thorough account should be read by anyone who takes either reason or religion with the seriousness such topics deserve.

Come on Lonely Planet - give us a new version

It's a good book, very handy if you're going to Central Asia in 1996. Four years later, however, it ain't worth squat.

Until recently, few westerners have ventured into the former Soviet republics of Central Asia; but there is a lot to see here: the Registan of Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Alamaty, the fading Aral sea, and remote (and possibly dangerous) Tajikistan. While some of the travel information is dated, this is the most comprehensive of the guidebooks to this area that is available. So, if you venture on the Golden Road to Samarkand, this is the one to take!

I just got back from a month in Mexico. The book was probably quite impressive back in the early 90's. However, many of the hotels and restaurants listed in the book have gotten so much business that they have lost what good attributes they originally had. Also, many of the prices quoted in the book were way off. The book prices were frequently one-half what the concierge or waiter quoted. The peso has not changed enough for a 5 dollar hotel room to become 12 or 15. Perhaps that is the risk one finds with any guidebook.

Museum hours were consistently incorrect, especially for Mondays, weekends and evenings.

This book might keep you out of trouble, but it is not the guide for a budget traveler.

Lonely planet guides are absolutely invaluable for the independant adventurous budget-minded traveler, and LP Mexico is no exception. Included are informative sections on pre-departure info, cultural tips, etc. I travelled extensively throughout Mexico with the 5th edition last year, and it really got me to explore some of the remote places I otherwise wouldn't have found- such as the silver towns of Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Taxco. Plus, out of the way beaches, hard-to-find ruins, centotes, you name it. They're covered. Don't borrow you'r friend's old dog-eared copy of the 3rd of 4th edition. Spend the money on the latest edition, because price info is almost always out of date within months after printing, and an older edition is usually hopelessly out of date. I found myself disregarding their accommodations recommendations, because once a place finds its way into the LP Guide, their visitor traffic usually increases exponentially, the staff gets surly, and prices go up. If you're just going to Cancun, Mazatlan, etc, skip this book, but if you're not afraid to venture out into the 'real mexico', grab it.

I have just returned to Norway after backpacking around in Latin America for a year (of course accompanied by the Lonely Planet book). I do not claim to be an expert, but I do know what I am looking for in a travel guide.

The Mexico guide is a good, complete guide. Filled with information, history and beautiful pictures about almost every corner of this gorgeous country. Reading the whole book gives you a good update on your history and geography knowledge! (Something to do if you are trekking around by bus like I did!)

I have always been satisfied with the LP guides. The information given is good, just what you need to get around. The only negative with this book (and the reason I give it 4 and not 5 stars) is that it was completely outdated on prices etc. Another thing (that goes for most of the travel guides) is that many of the hotels that are listed in the book has gotten so much (too much?) business so that the service is down to a minimum. This we found especially in Isla Mujeres where the price was the double of what the book said, and really lousy customer service, if any.

I made the mistake of trying to travel in Brazil with this book. The new editions come out every couple of years or so, but really don't get updated much, which becomes obvious if you try to use the book extensively. Hotels are listed which closed years ago. Maps are next to impossible to use as they show only hotels and restuarants, not landmarks. Half a page will get devoted to the Carmen Miranda museum in Rio de Janeiro, which is freqented only by people who have read about it in LP, is next to impossible to find, and contains next to no history about her, and no artifacts apart from a couple of dresses. After a couple weeks of frustration (thankfully rescued with e-mail advice from Brasilian friends) trying to travel round Brasil with this book, a traveller I met gave me the Footprints guide, which is much more helpful.

The conventional wisdom is that you can't go wrong with Lonely Planet guide, but this Brazil guide proves otherwise. The new 5th edition is little changed from the 4th, except for 1) the new Natural Brazil section. Most travelers will find this section too dry and uninteresting, while those really interested in nature will find it too superficial 2) $5.00 higher price tag.
Useful things, such as info on hotels, restaurants, entertainment, and prices are too often inaccurate. The most annoying aspect of this guide is that all prices are out of whack. LP translated prices (some of which were probably 5 years old) into US dollars when the real was 2.2 per dollar. Now it is about 3.5.
All this raises doubts of whether or not the authors actually went to Brazil to update this edition and not just slapped on a new cover and threw in a new useless section. So, if you have the 4th edition, keep using it. If not, look into buying either the Footprints or the Rough guides. The high popularity of LP is another reason to go with something else. When you go to places recommended by LP, you are very likely to run into hordes of other backpackers clutching their LP guides like bibles and afraid to make a step on their own. On a positive note, the LP guide does have useful info about Brazil's history, economy, culture, society, film and literature.

I lost count of the number of errors in this book. They printed the wrong dates for Carnaval Samba Parades, the prices are in USD rather than in local currency - all wrong by an average 30%, as well. Hotels and restaurants are listed that closed long before the January 2002 publication date, and it's obvious that they haven't been to Brasilia in years - citing it as `treeless` - which I`m sure it was twenty years ago, but not today.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend a better Brazil guide because I don't have any experience with any others, but I enjoyed ceremoniously burning this book when I left Brazil.

The most disappointing is that other Lonely Planet Guidebooks (I have used 5 other ones) far exceed the standards that this one set.