I've been reading Maui Revealed since the 2nd edition. There are plenty of useful maps, it's well organized and easy to browse and read, colorful with pleasing typography and many photos, and the author's writing style is informal. There's typically little difference between editions, so no need to upgrade if you're only 1 edition out of date. I don't rely on this book for restaurant, activity or hotel advice. In the age of online reviews it really doesn't make sense to listen to a single opinion in that regard. We often travel with kids and grandparents and I need those perspectives too, especially for activities. Instead I rely on urbanspoon for restaurant advice, and tripadvisor for activity and hotel information.
I recommend this book to friends but nowadays tell them to read with caution. The author does well to build your trust in the book. He explains how well he knows the island, how hard he works on the book, and how residents and businesses are at odds with him for "revealing" what he does. The tendency is to trust him implicitly with everything he says because you feel like he's trying to help you have a great vacation. The danger here is that you defer to his guidance on activities that require caution, and there are many cases where he has a somewhat cavalier attitude.
For example, he highly recommends ultra light flights and goes on about how safe they are. If you're in the industry you know that they're actually quite dangerous. He talks about several sites that require going over private property, which I think readers interpret as "the land owner doesn't care that's why he's telling us."
One example that really stands out is his description of the Nakalele blowhole. He has a full page picture of a couple embracing 20 ft from the blowhole as water jets over them. It looks amazing and so exciting. His only warning: "there's no guardrail to stop you from shrinking the gene pool should you use bad judgment and fall into the hole....get as close as common sense dictates." If you look up this attraction on Youtube you'll see why this place can be so dangerous although it's not entirely obvious, especially if you don't understand the ocean. That's where the Guide book author should step in. The blowhole is given the "real gem" stamp and listed as "the best place to see the ocean explode" and "the best hike" in West Maui, so I'm sure it gets plenty of tourists.
So that's the whole point of my review. It's important to use your personal judgment and take responsibility for the safety of your family, and do some extra research about an attraction when needed. We used an iphone app (Maui gps tour guide) on our last trip that did a good job of providing warnings. Perhaps the best thing you can do is talk to island residents at every opportunity.
Speaking of apps, you may be wondering what the difference is between the book and the Maui revealed App. It appears to mirror the book exactly, and add hotel information from the book's website. There are additional photos too but they're small for some reason. If you've never been to Maui the book is the better choice. It's much easier to read and browse through to find information. The App allows you to search for things, but it's out of context, in that it only shows the specific thing you looked for - you can't see the "pages" before or after the excerpt, and in the book those pages often give information relating to what you're looking for. For seasoned Maui travelers, the App is probably all you need, to look up odds and ends.
I haven't tried the Kindle version but this is an example of a book that you need in paper form so that you can page through quickly, and cross reference with maps. Not to mention the photos...
