Simply stated, this book borders on useless. If you buy this book and are planning to go to the Baltics, I hope you only want to see the capital cities. There is no mention of the beautiful seaside resort towns, eco-tourism spots which are very popular there, or even the major cities other than Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn. Similarly, with Russia, don't plan on learning any useful info beyond what's written on Moscow & St. Petes. Even the info which *is* presented is so minimalistic that you it would not aide anyone. Advice such as "ask a native speaker to help you get a taxi" isnt exactly helpful, is it? No, and neither are the handdrawn maps. One saving grace with this book: it has good bus information (but the most recent info given is for 1997!). Want a good guide on the Baltics? Check out the "Lonely Planet" guide for this region, which I would give at least 4 out of 5 stars. I hope Amazon lets me "return" Rick Steve's book.