I'm going to take my first motorcycle tour in Europe, and so I bought this book by way of preparation. In recent years there appears to have been a surge of interest among Americans in riding abroad, but until recently there has been relatively little written information. Now, in the past 3-4 years, a number of magazines have been started, but books have lagged behind. Existing books mostly focus upon adventure touring (i.e., riding around the world), rather than focusing upon people interested in shorter riding vacations. Whitehorse Press has a nice series on riding destinations, but these tend to be destination guides rather than discussing in depth the issues related to riding overseas.
All this is a round-about way of introducing this book, which focuses primariy upon issues to riding in Europe (including Eastern Europe). There are sections on practical preparation details such as paperwork requirements, or talking about the gear that you should bring with you.
Of particular use are short overviews of riding conditions in each country. Road signs and hazards unique to the country are introduced, and country-specific legal requirements are highlighted. What I particularly liked were comments on general driving styles (polite, aggressive, etc.), and a mention of the general treatment that motorcyclists might expect from other road users.
The only reason that I didn't give this book "5 stars" is due to the fact that it is written from the perspective of UK riders. If you are familiar with the general UK baseline, then you'll be very comfortable with this. Having lived in Hong Kong the past 12 years, where the highway code is based upon UK practice, I didn't find this a problem. However, most Americans might find the use of the UK baseline as a bit of a distraction. Still, I would highly recommend this book.
