Back in the 80's, Berlin-based Spartacus was more colorful editorially - then, at some point, they began whitewashing their country summaries of juicier bits, particularly about some of the North African and Middle Eastern countries - who knows why? I've always wondered if it was because they began getting threatened by extremists riding a rising tide of fundamentalism (consider: on a trip to conservative, predominantly arab Fez, Morocco (as opposed to the more indigenously Berber and, coincidentally, more tolerant Marrakech), I asked the obviously gay, made-up concierge where to find bars in Fez for "les homme qui aime les homme?" (gays), and he replied with a straight face "Ca, n'existe pas en Maroc" (no such thing in Morocco) - now that I think about it, was he talking about gay bars or gays, but either way, how backwards, all things considered), but that's sheer speculation on my part. I love Spartacus and as with others, I pick up a new one every couple years. It supplements stuff you can find on the internet and whatever your friends can tell you.