Which is the best travel guide publisher for a trip to Germany?

FODOR'S IS NUMBER 1 AND LONELY PALNET IS A VERY CLOSE SECOND

Rick Steves' guide is surprisingly insightful. I even enjoyed reading it after I had lived there quite a while. He also has videos, though I think they are more for tourist 'views' and not as guides to the country like his books.

I have traveled all over Europe to include, all of the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. The very best travel books are the DK travel books. They are very easy to understand and have great walking maps inside for various parts of the city. Also for large cities like Berlin, Rome, Venice, London ect...they have their own travel book...not just one for the country. Check out the website below to see what they offer.

http://us.dk.com/static/cs/us/11/travel/?11CS^

I’ll give you my best and worst.

The best: Let’s Go. Each year they send out a team of writers (all enrolled Harvard students) to update the info on previous years and scope out new places. They have had some amazing insider info in the past. Even led me to an unmarked performace bar on the second floor of an awesome plaza in Barcelona. I met the writer recently, by coincidence, of their 2002 Berlin coverage, which was the same book I used when I lived in Berlin. He is a sensitive, smart guy who probably made a great researcher. He also speaks German, unlike the people at Lonely Planet. It was terrific.

The worst: Rick Steves’s Germany. A ridiculous book. He has almost no coverage of affordable cities and places. And his coverage of Belrin is only on the tacky, ugly, over-priced, West Berlin. The hipper, cleaner, more preserved, and affordable East Belrin is almost lef tout entirely.

Lets Go are the BEST. Great maps. Researched by students. Fantastic off the beaten path ideas and also of course the regular ones too.

GET THIS ONE!

http://www.letsgo.com/

I like lived on this book for a year in Germany.

Hey I could give tours through Germany as a travel guide, with all those people asking here, I think that would be a good idea. Anyways if you are looking more for a book as companion I would use one that also has the main vocabulary and phases in it. Berlitz is a good one. They are well known for language crash courses. Look also for one that gives you good tips on cheap hotels and good inexpensive restaurants, besides the points of interest.
Have fun!