Too much material! The result is a very superficial glance at every country in Africa, without enough substantial detail to truly aid travelers in many given regions. I used the book while traveling through Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congo (Zaire). Chapters dealing with Ethiopia and Congo were noticeably deficient. These chapters not only lack information, but often provide erroneous information which can be much more aggravating and perhaps dangerous. Other chapters dealing with Uganda, Zanzibar, and Kenya, particularly Nairobi, were well-written, accurate, and helpful.
My overall feeling is that a traveler would be much better equipped by purchasing the regional guides published by Lonely Planet, such as East Africa or West Africa... not this huge, all-encompassing guidebook. For countries not covered, such as Ethiopia or Djibouti, check out Rough Guide or Moon Publications. All of these options offer much more current information than provided here.
If you take a look at LP's Guidebook to Kenya, you will see that it alone has 384 pages! It is simply impossible to condense this into a single worthwhile chapter in the Africa on a Shoestring Guide.
I still gave the book four stars based on the simple fact that it provides excellent maps of the major cities and destinations in Africa and at least a framework for orienting yourself in a given place. If you are backpacking and need to save space, this book does help you out immensely, which is probably its intended function. Just don't put too much faith in it for providing accurate, current details on lodging, transport, or the current "scene."
