Whenever possible, I will always purchase a Rick Steves book when traveling. It was extremely easy to follow, written in first person like you are actually talking to him. We were only in a couple cities for only 2-3 days each so it helped to include self-guided day trips that mapped out the "must see" places. For example, when we went to the Roman Forum, there are approximately 15 places that are pointed out in the book, showing the walking route to take, and a detailed description and history of each of those landmarks. So, we were able to give us our own tour, learning way more than just walking around on your own. And, Rick is well-experienced and has been to these places every year (so it is constantly updated), so he knows the best places to go if you have a limited amount of time, as well as other places you may have missed if you didn't have the book. If you are traveling to Prague, I also purchased Rick Steves' Prague 2006 and it was very helpful as well.

We used Rick Steve's guide to help plan our honeymoon in Italy. It was our first time to Europe and Rick was so right on about Hotels, restaurants, and especially touring. Using his tips we avoided long lines at some of the major sites (especially in Florence!) Next time we visit Europe we'll definatley use his guides again.

We just recently returned from out first trip to Italy. We used Rick's book like a Bible! I read it each morning & before retiring and many times in between.
Every restaurant that we ate at that was reviewed by Rick turned out to be wonderful (but then, everything tastes good in Italy). We stayed at a couple of the places in the book, & the directions were very helpful. We did stay at a couple of places not reviewed by Rick, but usually because many of the places mentioned in the book were fully booked (probably because so many people use his book).
I think it is well worth it to buy the latest version because a lot can change in a year. I have just loaned my 2006 book out to a friend who is going this month. I would love to go back & I would definitely take the latest book with me.
My only wish is that Rick would visit more places in Italy. There are places not currently in the book that I would be interested in hearing about, for example, Bologna.

I got this book before taking a trip to Milan, Italy. The information provided was very helpful. The best thing is that the info is current. I don't know how helpful it would be for other cities, but for my Milan trip it was invaluable. I also visited Parma, which wasn't in the book. Maybe in a future book, Rick could include Parma.