Amsterdam is "in a nutshell, one of the most consistently surprising, thrilling intriguing, bloody-minded, compelling cities on earth". It is a city for art lovers, shoppers and pleasure seekers of every type. Time Out Amsterdam is an essential guide to the high art and low culture of this city of contradictions.Reliably highlighting the best of Amsterdam, The Time Out Guide also features the quirky, kitsch and outrageous of the city. You get the skinny on everything from tulips and windmills to coffee-houses and "wild pissing". It is obviously written by those in the know--there are excellent guides to neighbourhoods (don"t miss the Jordaan) and the shopping section recommendations were clearly verified by a number of Dutch trendies.The maps are easy to use and well positioned at the back of the book. As you would expect from the Time Out series, all budgets are catered for from students to those with the urge to splurge and the result is high value for money. Among the gems to be found in the guide is a one-stop clubbing shop "Housewives on Fire" and an elegant Art Deco sauna. The extensive hotel listings are particularly useful as rooms go very quickly in Amsterdam, especially on weekends. --Chris Cosgrove