Although you can comfortably carry this book in a larger pocket, it contains almost every information you need while doing the Tour de Mont Blanc. This comprehensive guidebook describes the tour in the both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. The suggested itineraries would suit most hikers. Since the book focuses on the Tour of Mont Blanc itself, it includes only few side trips. If you have time for more side trips, you should complement this book with either a local guidebook in French or a good topographic map.
Maps in the book are simple, but useful. I have found them sufficient for most parts of the tour, but they did not help much in few rather confusing places. That is why I sometimes used a real topographic map along with the ones included in the guidebook. Description of trails could be more detailed, but there is an obvious trade-off between the amount of information and the weight of a book. I think the author chose the most practical solution of this trade-off.
The book also offers useful information on accommodation. Both brief descriptions of the "refuges" and the phone numbers (or e-mail addresses whenever available) are up to date. Prices are missing, but you will need to call those places in advance anyway because booking is strongly advised on this popular trek.
Finally, the book also covers various interesting topics, from weather to ATMs. My only criticism here is that the author had mostly the British readers in mind while writing about flights and health insurance. Since the book has become the most popular guidebook among the English-speaking hikers, I hope the next edition will be slightly more international.
I gave this book five stars because it is the most helpful and comprehensive guidebook about the Tour of Mont Blanc I have ever seen. If you try this trek for the first time, "The Tour of Mont Blanc (Mountain Walking)" will make it much easier and more enjoyable. Given that, the price is ridiculously small.
