Post #276908 by tikibars on Fri, Jan 5, 2007 10:45 AM

Maps, websites, color... all great ideas, along with DangerGirl's old suggestion that the book be laminated to survive messy bar encounters.

The problem here is space. As it is, the manuscript for this edition is so much longer than TRT I, and so much more info-packed, that the designer and editor are having a problem figuring out how to make it fit into the alotted page count.

I probably could have squeezed in web sites, but Dave over at http://www.konakai.com does such a great job of that, plus web sites change and come and go so fast, that I decided not to include them. My biggest sadness is how TRT I has become out-of-date, and I really want TRT II to last and be relevant for as long as possible... so web sites are probably not the best idea towards that end.

There actually were driving directions in TRT I, but they were axed by the editorial staff of Santa Monica Press. Maps are even better, but are a HUGE space-sucker.

One day, someone will give me a green light and budget to do an encyclopedia-sized ultra-TRT, but until then, the format remains more or less the same - but with newer info, more info, and more clearly laid out.

These are the realities of the publishing world, and are universal. Even Sven, for example, has often related tales of having to have had to lop two entire chapters off of the BOT at Taschen's demand!

I wonder how much Rick Steves has HIS travel books butchered?
:)