Tuesday 19 June 2012

Books I Love: The Travel Book

The Travel Book (CNB 2012)

The Travel Book; a journey through every country in the world, is a book I dip into every so often. Especially if I am about to go somewhere, or even to nowhere! (Like now when I am being grounded under circumstances beyond my control).

There are 196 independent countries in the world (193 being member countries of the United Nations). But in The Travel Book (a Lonely Planet publication) there are 229 entities because some administrative regions of China (for example), have their own entries and deservedly so because they are unique - Tibet, Macau, Hong Kong ... another example is the United Kingdom, listed under England, Scotland, Wales ... (though Northern Ireland is listed under Ireland with the Republic of Ireland). Never mind about how many countries there are in the world - the politics of countries is so volatile anyway!

This very large coffee table book is a very good introduction to the various countries, with brief citations of the capitals, areas, populations and languages, plus 817 beautiful images of peoples and places altogether. (The book has been classified under 'Travel Photography'). But my favourite sections are the 'Top things to do' and 'Top things to see' in each country, which can serve as part of anyone's plan for their 'been there, done that' experiences around the world.

Ex Libris CNB 1518, 1862

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