- ISBN13: 9781841622057
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Bradt’s Ghana has remained the bestselling guide to the country since it was first published in 1998, being used by almost every English-speaking visitor there. Visitors will discover a country steeped in a rich cultural tradition and little-visited attractions.
Ghana is an uncrowded place to go for game-viewing with Mole National Park and Baobeng Monkey Sanctuary among the highlights.
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Originally posted 2010-04-07 10:02:32.
We just spent 26 days in Ghana (January 4-30, 2010), and this book was worse than useless. It is full of misinformation, seriously out-of-date information, and cultural and social misinterpretations. It also misstates distances, town names, and other vital information. Virtually every local guide, hotelier, park manager, driver, political or social activist, you name it, complained bitterly about this book. To make matters worse, many told us that they have tried contacting the authors with updated information, corrective information, etc., and have been unable to convince the authors to visit their locations or accept corrections….so don’t expect the new edition to be much of an improvement. Too bad because Ghana is a fascinating country: It deserves something far better than what these authors have delivered.
Rating: 1 / 5
Unfortunately, this is the only English-language guidebook available outside of Ghana itself. Mr. Briggs does provide an excellent overview of history and backup material, but I found myself continually aware of the likelihood that he did not actually visit some of the places he recommends, and in some cases he provides the reader with inaccurate information. For example, he includes a brief list of vocabulary at the back of the book, phrases of which are borrowed from several different (and not necessarily mutually comprehensible) languages. He also leaves out several important facets of Ghanaian culture in favor of including the best places for bird watching.
Mr. Briggs admits in the introduction that he was given only two months to throw this guidebook together– and, unfortunately, it shows. I would recommend contacting the Ghana Tourist Board for more accurate and impersonal (i.e., the reader is somewhat forced to follow in the precise footsteps of Mr. Briggs and his companion, and if that includes a predominance of birdwatching and beerswilling, then so be it) information about what is available in, and the history of, various regions in Ghana. There are several alternative guidebooks available, but unfortunately they are only available In Ghana.
Finally, I would like to add that the “travellers” whom I met during the course of my travels through Ghana echoed these sentiments. We traded tales and examined each other’s marked-up copies where Mr. Briggs had misinformed us.
Rating: 2 / 5
This is currently the only tourist guide available on the market dedicated solely to Ghana. The author meant well and put in a lot of hard work into the book – unfortunately, all this does not make it worth your money, unless you are specifically interested in the wildlife section which is well written and beats any similar entries in other guides hands down.
The book is now hopelessly outdated, almost all the information on prices is irrelevant even though it is given in dollars, the same can be said about accommodation and transport info.
The most painfully evident aspect is that the author may be a keen traveller but at the same time a very poor writer. Long sentences and chaotic structure of thought make reading a painful and irritating exercise. The book is poorly laid out and is near useless from practical point of view.
It is really a shame that the author`s undoubted travel experience did not benefit from professional editing of someone qualified for the job.
History chapter is a joke and cultural observations by the author, although no doubt is opinionated, is so breathtakingly naive and superficial that anyone who spent over two months in Ghana would simply smile. The most ridiculous is an allegation that corruption is not widespread in Ghana. The author has probably never set foot in any government institution in this country, where even local officials themselves admit that graft is totally out of control.
Both Lonely Planet and Rough Guide have good and more up-to-date West Africa guides, and you will find out from “Ghana” chapter in either of them infinitely more than you would from the Bradt guide. Of the two, Lonely Planet is better written, but the Rough Guide is more up-to-date.
Unless you are, like me, a guidebook freak and want to read everything there is to read about Ghana, do not waste your money on Bradt guide. Sorry Bradt, better luck next time, and please get yourself a decent editor.
Rating: 2 / 5
I used the earlier edition of this book in 2000 and it was top notch. However, here in the fall of 2008, the 4th edition is not at all up to par. I have tried to visit many restaurants that have been closed for a long time. The hotel reviews do not match up either. (For instance, Hotel Shangri-la has lost its steam and no one should pay the upper $100 / 130 GHC it now costs – at a minimum! And at night, the restaurant and bar is filled with foreign men and prostitutes… not what most vacationers are looking for.)
The cedi has changed so the book really must change as well. There are also many new roads and buildings.
I would not buy this until they have revised — and by revising they must come out to revisit and relearn all of the places mentioned!
Rating: 1 / 5
An excelent Guide to Ghana that covers all aspects of the country. Contains a lot of good advice. I would recomend it to every one.
Rating: 5 / 5