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The information is provided in three ways:
YELLOW (pages 15-139): Just for this part, it is worth buying the book. Every little detail of Icelandic history, society and nature is given here. Vikings, whales and the notorious weather are dealt with, but also "the push for independence", the 300-species bird life, and the purifying of the Icelandic language.
BLUE (pages 147-327): Almost all places in Iceland are covered. It kicks off with Icelandic metropolis Reykjavik, and continues counter-clockwise around the whole island, supplying you with information about the attractions you'll encounter.
RED (pages 329-378): The practical side. Climate, cycling, what to buy, media... easy to find info for the quick look-up. Although it isn't the aim of the book to give EVERY tiny restaurant or hotel, and though you can find it elsewhere, quite a bit of those places are listed here. What follows is an emergency-style two-pages course in Icelandic, and after that the index, which could just be slightly better (too few things are covered). ****1/2

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Too many to count: historic drawings, children, nature, towns... they show both the negative and the positive sides of the island: a desolate farm in the snow under an ink-blue sky, but also a young girl on her father's shoulders, with the national flag on Independance Day. *****

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The lay out is very good. The reading pleasure is high, because a lot of different fonts are used, and the keywords in the text are bold. A word that refers to a place on the map is marked with (1), (2), (3), (...). The same sign is used on the map, which I found extremely useful and easy. Another good feature is the use of a mark at the top of the pages, saying: "Map on page xxx", so you don't have to look for the map yourself. *****

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The book and the fat glossy paper feels good to the hands, the weight is perfect (thank God it's a paperback). The top side of the book is printed with the colors as shown above, so you can easily find what you are looking for. And there are two cover foldouts with maps of Iceland and Reykjavik bus routes. ****

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