Background:

My wife and I are making a trip to the Los Angeles area from November 4-15, so I decided to check out travel books that cover Southern California from the library.

OK, so why would I need to check out travel books when I grew up in Southern California? Well, it will be 20 years on February 7th since moving from there, so there has been a lot of changes, plus I am traveling with my wife and she wants to see things that I would have never gone to when I lived there.

Moon Handbooks:

For those of you not familiar with Moon Handbooks, they are a product of Avalon Publishing and their books cover many states plus some major national parks. They also have several international handbooks to help you get more out of your next vacation.

What’s Inside:

Section 1:

Discovering Southern California:

1. Planning Your Trip
2. Touring Movieland
3. Classic L.A. Drives
4. Sideways into Wine Country
5. Getting Some Kicks on Route 66
6. Desert Flowers

Section 2:

Explore Southern California

1. Greater Los Angeles
2. Pasadena and Vicinity
3. Downtown Los Angeles
4. Hollywood and Vicinity
5. Beverly Hills and Vicinity
6. Los Angeles Coast
7. Orange County
8. San Diego County
9. The Deserts
10. Inland Empire
11. Up the Central Coast

Section 3:

Know Southern California

1. The Land
2. History
3. Politics and Economy
4. The People
5. Entertainment and Shopping
6. Recreation
7. Accommodations and Food
8. Information and Services
9. Transportation
10. Suggested Reading

Some of the sections are broken up into subsections of areas but all include the following information: exploring the area, historical background, arts and entertainment, practicalities (food, lodging and transportation) and other sources of information.

My Thoughts:

Positives:

Since I first discovered the Handbook series back in 1999, I have purchased several of them (although the Southern California one is from the Library) and have used them extensively in our travels. They provide great information on traveling in the region covered.

One of the handbooks I had issues with was the Idaho one because the author seemed to care more about injecting his politics into the book instead of giving us the information we where looking for. In the Southern California book however, the author keeps his political comments to the section on politics except where it has something major to do with the sight being described (such as the Richard Nixon Library).

Another positive the book has going for it is that the book does not try to gloss over or ignore the bad points making it hype for the local visitor’s bureau. I have found that many travel books will not discuss the “bad” areas, however the Southern California Handbook does mention areas where tourist should not be especially after dark, and mentions areas that are best left unexplored.

The best thing about the book is its detail. Once going through the book you will have a thorough knowledge of Southern California and be able to plan a great vacation.

Negatives:

There are only a couple of minor downsides in the book and they in no way distract from the quality of the information giving.

The first minor negative is that there are some spots that are missing from the book. I noticed that some minor attractions are not noted. For example I noticed that some minor museums that I have read about in other sources are not included in the book.

The other minor negative on the book is the lodging and restaurants listings. Because these books are not updated on a yearly basis some restaurants and lodging establishments will change. However, in most of the other Handbooks the authors try to list all the restaurants and lodging facilities in the area while the Southern California book only gives brief information some of them.

Overall:

Overall, the Southern California Handbooks is the most complete source of tourist information for the Southern California region. If your planning a trip to Southern California pick up a copy of this book or check it out from the library like I did. You will come away with enough information to make your trip a journey to remember.

Book Information:

Moon Handbooks
Avalon Publications
ISBN-10: 1-56691-659-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-56691-659-2
List Price: 21.95
Author: Kim Weir

Other Handbooks Reviewed:

Idaho Handbook






Recommended: Yes