I'll be ticking them off as I go! (The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country - Roz Hopkins)

Member Name: nursie_nursie

Product:	The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country - Roz Hopkins
Date:	06/08/09 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant photography, some fascinating facts, well researched.

Disadvantages: I don't have time to visit them all!

This is a fantastic book from Lonely Planet. The first thing to mention is the sheer extensiveness of it - it covers literally every country on the planet. I envy the researchers and staff at Lonely Planet. In fact, after I've written this review, I'm sending a job application to them!

As the blurb on the introduction to the book says, it covers 231 countries and each country has been given equal weighting in its description, facts and photos. The book is not an atlas, or a dictionary, but has carved out a niche of being an instantaneous reference book. Not a full on travel guide, but an ideal way to get your appetite for travel going, and a good way to pick that next travel destination.

The format is quite straightforward, and after an introduction the book ploughs straight into the countries. Each page features beautifully shot pictures and statistics relating to the country - the capital city, the population, the number of square kilometres and the official language.

The main body of the text follows an always well written, honest yet positive introduction to the country. That is something I have always found with Lonely Planet publications, they always try and accentuate the positives, without omitting caution and safety.

There are a number of headings :

"Best time to visit" (i.e. which months of the year)
"Essential experiences" (not just relating to sights in the main cities, but something for everyone)
"Getting under the skin" (this features names and books relating to the country which will give you a flavour of it - and speaking of flavour it also gives you suggestions of what to eat and drink).
"In a word" (usually a phrase or word from the official language)
"Trademarks" (imagery for which the country in question is famous for - so for instance with Greece, one of the trademarks is that it is the birthplace of philosophy).
"Surprises" (basically, this is a section devoted to things that are off the tourist trail, or facts which challenge stereotypical assumptions of what a place is like. For example, did you know that in India, most food isn't hot and spicy?).

Towards the back of the book is a section similar to that which makes up the majority of the book but boils it down to a single paragraph. This section is devoted to countries which are officially dependencies of other countries, but that weren't large enough to get into the main list.

It is a weighty book, and excellent value. Leaving aside the travel guide nature of the book, it is a lovely snapshot of our world around us at this moment in the 21st Century.

Summary: A great and simple reference book, with mouthwatering photography.