Being from E. Europe myself and being an avid traveller (travelled to 27 countries around the world by now), I find this book highly offensive. In my opinion, the authors are disrespectful of the people in the countries they have visited and inconsiderate of the live styles that these people in most cases have not chosen for themselves. Connecting with people and being able to understand them no matter how different they are, is the source of joy for a traveller like myself...the authors of this book have totally missed that...