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Are Guidebooks Necessary?

The answer may surprise you! Well, only if you think the answer is "no, never, not under any circumstances." Memoirist Frank Wisner starts off strong, tempting us to "Throw the guidebooks away. Or burn them in protest." But what he really seems to want from us is that we talk to the locals a little. You know, the locals. The folks who supposedly always know the most darling little restaurant or the coziest little swimming hole. And who are always eager to share the tidbits of their quaint lives with inquisitive strangers.

We're still not sure why guidebooks prevent a thoughtful person from a heart-to-heart with a local or two. And as Lonely Planets head Tony Wheeler points out in his rebuttal,  you "don't want to miss the local tourist draw just because it's such a familiar part of the scenery that the locals don't even notice it any more."

Related Stories:

·   Readers of the pack [The Australian, via Written Road]
·   Honeymoon with My Brother [Wisner's Memoir]