Of course the best insight to the Philippines is provided on this forum, and by visiting or living in the country !
I do still like travel guides, and the 12th edition of the Philippines Insight Guide has just been published (
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Insight-Guid...1957478&sr=8-1 ).
Like so many travel guides the recommended retail price is £16.99 but it’s available from Amazon at £10.87. The first edition was published in 1980, the last before this in 2009, and the latest is a complete overhaul with new photos throughout.
No travel guide is perfect, and they start to be out of date before they’re published, but this most recent book seems accurate and worth buying at less than £11.
I have “ The Rough Guide to the Philippines “ ( also priced at £16.99 ), about £9 from Amazon when it was published in October 2011. Amazon have offered to buy it back for £1.27 … no thanks !