I just used this guidebook for my visit to Israel and the territories recently (March 2010) and whilst it does provide a good general overview and gives some excellent "travel" advice in parts . It does read as very secular and in some areas it's guidance is not really thought out.
I'd thought it would have made sense; particularly as the guide is subtitled "The Holy Land" for it to be more focused on Israel's "faith" sites and special "cultural" locations. But "Let's Go Israel" devotes a lot of its limited space to discussing Tel-Aviv's night clubs scene as it does for it's places of worship. Don't get me wrong it does have some info about the various mosques, synagogues etc. In my mind however, it's weird to give equal priority to describe gay/lesbian venues in Jerusalem as it is to also see the most "revered" sites in the "Holy" City.
Many therefore potentially important religious or significant cultural places are not found; as they probably only merit a small "faith" significance verses the "sightseeing" wow part of a travel guide. That's fine for say visiting Australia, but come on this is Promised land we talking about !! For example I wanted help seeing Biblical Shiloh or Bethany, but couldn't find even a passing reference to it in the book. When I did eventually get to these sites, to me they were the highlight of the trip . A lot more important then finding the best coffee bar in Haifa
Let GO has numerous maps ,some great;some not so good. In some instances it symbolized all the favorite places to dine, but not say where the tourist office or given attractions where! Quite a few times I read the blurb about a place to see, but then no directions or maps to actually go to it. I had to buy another map to actually locate these spots.
The editors were generally even handed in their comments on the politics and faith issues, a bit liberal and "hippy-dippy ish", but what would you expect in a student guide ?. It was at times surprisingly balanced given the passionate debates of the region. History summaries were good and the phrase dictionary at the back of the book a great help. Probably the best parts of the guide were the accommodation reviews and in country travel advice.
Overall a fairly decent travel companion, but of limited help outside of a secular viewpoint.