I am planning to go to exploring in Europe this summer, and I wanted a guide to prepare me with some knowledge of the places I would like to visit. This book achieves that to a degree. The beginning of the book has some useful information about Europe in general, but it has a strange attitude that I noticed immediately.
The authors have a bizarre (and sometimes preachy) liberal bias you wouldn't expect in a travel guide. This is evidenced through their attempt to guilt the reader into buying carbon offsets because of their plane flight (intra-European flights aren't considered as a viable travel option in this book... I wish it had more information about this alternate means). Also, the constant condescending opinions towards Europe's religious sites get a bit old. I wouldn't say I found it offensive, but I would prefer a more objective stance in the writing of my next travel book. It's just distracting.
With this said, there is some really cool information about smaller towns and cities in Europe's countries that you may not find in a more traditional tourist guide. They maintain their goal of staying budget-minded throughout. I wish there was more emphasis on country-to-country travel, as that can be one of the most difficult aspects of a trip to plan. It looks I will have to buy another book to supplement this one. I recommend, but not as an all-in-one guide.