I reccommend two guides, both of which I personally use, and one being the descendant of the other. For guide books currently being published, my preference is for BLUE GUIDES. A while back they were Benns Blue Guides, but in recent years were sold and are now just plain Blue Guides, with the name of the country or area in the title. The Blue Guides are descendants of the english version of BAEDEKER GUIDES which originated in Germany and were published under that name until World War I. Do not confuse the old Baedekers with the books currently being published under that name. The newly published books do not hold a candle to the old ones. During WWI, the British publisher of the Baedekers turned them into the Black Guides, I think it was, and they eventually became Blue Buides. I often use the old Baedekers when doing genealogical research as they have wonderful maps of mostly European cities as they were between 1900 and 1920. The books are organized is such a way, that as you drive down a specific road, they tell you what happened at each town, village and hill. Copies of most of the old books can be found on e-bay, at alibris.com or your favorite used book source for a reasonable amount of money. Some of the editions, Russia, and Palestine, for instance are very expensive. The 1929 edition of Egypt is judged the best guide to that county that was EVER written. These old books often come with admission tickets for museums which were tucked away by previous owners inside them. As I mentioned above always keep these books in mind when looking for the places where your ancestors lived. Marleen Van Horne