Needs updating and to be more helpful with Cyrillic
In general, a good book and was a generally helpful guide with good info on the main sites and destinations. BUT this is a rapidly changing country and I found that in relying on it in October 2008 I had to cope with a fair degree of outdated info. This ranged from the specific (businesses no longer in business) to the general (the roads are much better than when the author wrote -- may seem like a pleasant surprise but we made travel plans based on warning that were no longer accurate). Two other flaws -- the city maps in it frustratingly leave streets out. If you don't speak Ukrainian or Russian, you need maps you can rely on to get you where youa re going, so this is a meaningful handicap. The Lonely Planet guide my buddy had was not much different, but did do one thing much better: in addition to having the Latin spellings of things, the Loney Planet guide provides the Cyrillic along with it. This was invaluable to be able to confirm that the street you thought you were on is where youa ctually are, the resturant in front of you is the one you want, etc. The Brandt guide doesn't do this. So while I am not usually a huge fan of Lonely Planet guides, you might be better off with their Ukraine guide than this one.

Lots of up to date info missing!
I actually live and work here in Kiev and I purchased The Bradt Travel Guide to help me plan some upcoming day trips as well as to get some updates on places of interest here in Kiev. And while the guide was obviously well researched for the first edition it seems to me that the 2nd edition was a rush job or maybe just lacking in its design.

For example Bradt says that it's possible to travel on $75 a day - okay granted one should assume that amount is closer to $100 a day with inflation in the Euro and the cheapening of the dollar. The problem at least in Kiev - a very cosmopolitan city, is that many of the restaurants mentioned will cost you between $70 and $100 for a nice meal. By the way Georgian wine is very good and is available locally for about $8 a bottle so a glass of wine in a restaurant should not cost more than about $7 - my tip for those who read this! Also the local beers are all very nice and cost next to nothing - about $1 a bottle. There was not an effort to break down restaurants by cost range as was done with the hotels - most other guides I've used in the past do this and I find it really helpful. I was hoping for some new restaurant finds! And any restaurant that accepts major credit cards is in this class so beware if you're using this guide. Also, my specific need was for places to see that are close by but there was very little in that section for Kiev.

Overall, I think there are better guides although not quite as new. One very good point is the availability of apartments at reasonable prices. With public transportation very reasonable - that means cheap!, all you really need to know is what bus/tram to hoop on to get you to either the nearest Metro or somewhere central like Independence Square.

If you aren't sure about coming to Kiev/Kyiv, I want to tell you that I highly recommend it - the city is beautiful and the people are very nice. Ukraine is a big country and also very nice - I've been to the Black sea and to the Carpathian mountains so far and enjoyed them both although for very different reasons.

The best there is, period.
Want proof that Bradt's got Ukraine figured out? Look at the relative absence of other travel guides for this fascinating country. Lonely Planet does one, but then again, they'd probably publish a guide to the Moon. Rough Guides, Fodor, Frommer, Cadogan, Footprint... nada. Bradt's got the market on Ukraine, and there's a reason for that: This guide is really good.

It is a travel guide in the truest sense of the word. There's a definite emphasis on pragmatic travel information, at the slight expense of cultural and historical context that some readers particularly enjoy. It's not a text-rich cultural guide, a la Rough Guides, but a directory of good places to spend your time and money. The best part? It's accurate and authentic. You have the locals in your hand with this book, and you're armed with the kind of information that will make your visit to Ukraine rich, rewarding and real. The book leaves most of the historic context for you to discover on your own, but it points you in the right direction so you're not overwhelmed. There's a 100-page introduction to the country that is particularly good. The authors have written this section as something of a "culture shock" essay intended to give you the real, irreverent portrait of the country, with plenty of concise information that makes you feel like you're ready to relocate to Ukraine. They've painted the picture perfectly.

The truly startling city of Lviv, former capital of Polish Galicia, gets special treatment, and should be on every itinerary in Ukraine. Visitors from crystal-clear Scandinavia or baroque central Europe may wonder what all the Lviv hype is about. Here's the thing: It's not just about frilly architecture. It's about recognizing that Lviv was once an enormously diverse, poly-ethnic, Austro-Hungarian frontier town, and it's essentially intact. Prague may be cleaner, but it's also more homogeneous. Lviv's position on the margins, rather than in the center of everything, is the source of its intrigue. Go there.

There's more to this difficult country than Kiev and Chernobyl. Get out and see the places preserved in a pre-communist time warp (such as Lviv) before the word gets out and they become another stop on the expensive Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna tour.

Bradt guide to Ukraine
I bought book for forthcoming trip to Ukraine. Before packing it looked at index and was disappointed to find that the last page, 439 was wrinkled and had a hole 2 thumbs wide at bottom next to binding. I had paid more for a new book from Amazon and found this in worst shape than some used books I had ordered in past. Asfor reviewing book itself, I will do that upon returning from trip.
JoAnn Aviel

This makes a great pre-trip read and trip companion
I'm heading to Kiev, southern Ukraine and the Crimea this fall. This book has been a great introduction to the history of the region; I'll definitely bring it with me on the trip!