The back cover of Footprint"s new Morocco guidebook cites praise for earlier editions of Justin McGuiness" book: described by London"s Traveller Magazine as "excellent--stands apart from the rest", this is a slick, erudite and attractive guidebook to the most easily accessed country in Africa for Europeans. McGuiness is clearly deeply immersed in the cultures and history of North Africa. A graduate in Arabic, and having lived widely in Tunisia as well as Morocco, his book benefits from his knowledge of the area. There are excellent sections on, for instance, the history of the small Spanish enclaves in Morocco and remote peoples of the Atlas mountains, as well as first-rate coverage on the history and architecture of Morocco"s famous medinas. Practical information is also strong, although the book is perhaps tailored most to travellers with a little more than a basic budget to spend--description and information on the cheaper hotels is less detailed than on the more expensive ones. Still this book will be of use to people of all budgets, ages and interests planning a visit to Morocco. The language section benefits from McGuinness" training in Arabic, and some of the architectural descriptions bring to mind the descriptive prowess of Patrick Leigh Fermor--particularly when McGuinness describes the great mosques, such as Marrakech"s Koutoubia Mosque. Providing insights into both historical and contemporary Morocco, this is certainly a book to take with you when you travel. --Toby Green