This guide takes hikers of all levels on 25 day trips through Palestinian landscapes. While the idea may seem strange at first to Western readers, author Stefan Szepesi is an experienced West Bank hiker and a European who has lived long-term in Jerusalem. He focuses this book on the same things you'd expect in any first-class outdoor guide: beautiful color photographs, maps and specific information on 25 routes of outstanding scenic, wildlife, and historical interest, with information on length, difficulty level, nearby points of interest, and getting there. He treats the safety issues of the West Bank with the same clear-headed, sensible approach of any hiking guide that provides simple precautions for bears or rip currents. He reminds readers that while you shouldn't carry weapons or hang around military stations, and you should say hello to people you meet and ask their permission before taking their picture (handy Arabic words are provided), the greatest danger to hikers in the West Bank is going out in the summer without water or a hat. In this well-done practical book, the author reveals waterfalls, mountain gorges, walk-in archeological sites, historic castles, villages, festivals, restaurants, native wildflowers, olive groves, wildlife and birding areas. Palestine is revealed as a place of great beauty and tremendous historical and archeological interest. Of value to hikers, tourists, and any reader who wishes to step behind the politics and news stories and encounter the extraordinary landscapes and ordinary people of an actual place. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)