Best available, but should be better.
Richard Trillo's guides to Kenya extend from the days of "The Real Guide," a span of time and editions that should suffice in achieving the ultimate travel guide. While it qualifies as the best available Kenya guide, the Rough Guide team's 8th edition could and should be better. Its inside front cover states figuratively that the book "concludes with all the small print," but the reader encounters literal small print throughout the discussions of reviewed places to stay and eat. The key to the guide's accommodation price coding system is somewhat obscurely presented on page 61 where tiny numerals 1-9 appear even more obscurely within solid green circles. Some rates are shown in Kenyan shillings while others appear in dollars. Although the nine-category breakdown is superior to systems employed by other guides, magnification and a calculator should not be required to interpret and compare costs. The appearance of the Rough Guide running man icon before some reviews is not explained, leaving the reader to assume it indicates reviewer preference. The exhaustive and detailed reviews are an outstanding attribute of the guide, and are complemented by thorough descriptions of parks and reserves with practicalities of accessing them. The research behind the 8th edition places it foremost among current Kenya guides, but its presentation lags in user-friendliness.

The best guide out there
I recently spent two months in Kenya, and I read a lot of guide books both before I left the U.S. and once I was in Africa. This was definitely the most useful and informative....it was far superior to Lonely Planet in both coverage and accuracy. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is going to be spending a substantial amount of time in Kenya.

Good update on Western Kenya
Last April, together with my son I went on a 10 days' self-drive safari in a small Maruti jeep from Nairobi to South Nyanza in Western Kenya, exploring Kenya's western highlands, the Lake Victoria coast and islands, and also the Ruma National park, bringing the Rough Guide to Kenya 8 with us. We found the book very helpful. The guidebook probably has the best coverage of this area. The safari was great!