Wonders of the World: 100 Great Man-Made Treasures of Civilization

Rating:
Summary: Going Places
Review: As a person who loves to travel, I am always drawn to coffee table-type books with beautiful photos of intriguing places. This book not only contains wonderful photos, but also descriptions of each place. I enjoy it, but truth be told, I was able to purchase it for $5.00 at Barnes and Noble in the bargain books section. May want to check that option...

Rating:
Summary: Quick reading, interesting and informative
Review: This is a very good compilation of man-made "wonders" in a concise and easy-to-read format. With a hundred entries, "Wonders of the World" would be monstrous were it to include much detail about each wonder. However, many readers will find this an easy way to learn the salient points about many fantastic places, all in one book.

The primary arrangement is by continent, within which the wonders follow in chronological order. Each time you turn the page, you're reading about a different place. Every so often, there's a mini-chapter which generally describes civilizations or feats of man which proliferated, but couldn't be represented in a comprehensive way (e.g., "The Inca Empire" and "Houses of God"). These touch on key points, and might inspire the reader to pursue further study of more in-depth literature.

Each of the wonders is presented very simply: a world map in the corner, with a dot showing where on the planet it is situated; below that, a tiny political boundary map depicting area cities; two or three nice color photos; a five- to ten-paragraph description of the wonder; and lastly, a few paragraphs of complementary information relating to some part of history or related trivia. For example, the entry for The Grand Canal (Venice) has interesting notes about the gondola and Piazza San Marco.

As with any "best of" book, one may question why some things are included and others are not, but that's an argument I won't take up here. Yes, there are surely more than 100 magnificent places/things to see in the world; however, what's in this book is worth reading about, and I'd recommend "Wonders of the World" to just about anyone.