First of all this book is a bit US-centric. It keeps mentioning things that us Europeans will not be surprised by, such as LHR being the gateway to Europe. Stansted? Or the fact that we don't fly much domestically. The high prices and short distances involved mean that backpackers planning an itinerary would figure it out for themselves pretty quickly.This guide covers a huge geographical area and seems to be aimed at people "doing" Scandinavia by jetting or bussing from one city to the next. Once you get to many of the places mentioned, the guide is of little use, for example maps are few and far between.
Then again, Scandinavia counts as part of the developed world, so you don't need Lonely Planet to tell you which dodgy hostels double as brothels ala Nairobi! And Scandinavian cities all have decent internet resources, and tourist information centres that give out those all-important maps!
The language guide sections are pretty useless: Not enough mention of stuff like food & drink, asking for things in shops, and getting that all important student discount.
Summary: A decent overview of the region, but don't expect much detail from any one entry. Good for people who are going to be on the move quite a lot. Otherwise you'll cope fine without the guidebook. Still found it a vaguely-reassuring companion though.
