The Travel Book

Rating:
Summary: Misleading title
Review: Beautiful photographs and some creative suggestions, but certainly not a "journey" through each country. The entries consist of about 5 pictures, best time to visit, very short media and eating recommendations, and a (sometimes stereotypical) paragraph about each country. Its more of a picture book than a travel book.

Rating:
Summary: It made me laugh in the bookstore
Review: I did a test read in a nearby bookstore. The text about China is the best I've ever seen, apparently done by someone who actually visited there in recent years. And the down-to-an-alley photos, not repeating what we saw one million times on postcards or anywhere, are fresh, real and more fun. Thank the editors and photographers, definitely guys who have open mind and did travel somewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Good but it could have been better
Review: I got the book last Christmas as a present for my husband so it can help us in our future travel plans. Although my husband and I enjoyed the visual feast that the book offered, I did not find the book very helpful. However, I did like the novel approach the writers took in introducing each country. I believe that when you visit another country, you must make it a total experience, and that means taking time to read about the place,to listen to the native rhythms and to feel, not just see, the local colors. My husband, a professional photographer himself, truly appreciated the fabulous photos on the two-page spreads. We both agreed that, beautiful as the book is, it had missed out the wonderful beaches and eco-tourist spots of my homeland, the Philippines, but certainly not the warm hospitality of my people.

Rating:
Summary: great book, but should have been better proof read
Review: I was very impressed with this book. That is, until I checked out the entry on the United States. I couldn't believe my eyes - Alaska and Hawaii were not included in the map. Poor proof reading, at best.

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointed!
Review: Nearly no information and rather uninteresting photographs! Before buying the book I knew that it's a bit low in text but considering the size of it they could have fitted some more information. I thought that this book would have nice photos of landscapes and cities to get an idea what the country looks like but instead it has huge close-up pictures of people's faces, feet and other weird things. However, the few landscape/nature pictures it has are actually very good. There were also some spelling mistakes concerning local words. Are they just guessing how foreign words are spelled or what??





Rating:
Summary: Down to Earth Around the World
Review: The adventurous folks at Lonely Planet have given us this nearly perfect book of photos and travel possibilities from around the world. Every nation on Earth, and a few non-nations like Antarctica or Puerto Rico, gets equal coverage in two-page spreads, regardless of size, influence, or fame. Now since this is a British book, the recommendations for each country can be a little curious, especially what the Lonely Planet editors think is representative of the United States (which you'll find curious if you're American). In general, just watch out for some poorly considered travel recommendations for out-of-the-way countries that are basically stereotypes, and merely sound cool but which the Lonely Planet folks couldn't have possibly done in person. Examples include "beach-hopping from one gorgeous sun-soaked spot to another" in Albania, or "taking a boat ride down the Euphrates River" in Iraq. Also watch for under-written stereotypical moments that list poverty and sex as calling cards of Cuba, fish as a trademark of Finland, national pride as characteristic of Moldova, or Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra movie as a real cinematic representation of Egypt. You have to give Lonely Planet credit for at least trying in the writing department though, and there are usually true treasures in their recommendations for each nation's literature, music, foods, and drinks. But in the end, the true value of this gigantic book lies in the tremendous photography, with consistently eye-catching shots of natural beauty, architecture, and especially real people from every spot on Earth. This is how armchair traveling is done. [~doomsdayer520~]

Rating:
Summary: Really captures the essences
Review: The book provides two pages on each country, comprised mainly of photos (one big one plus five or so smaller ones) and a short column of text.
The amazing thing about it is that the photos and the text really seem to manage capturing the essence of each country (at least the ones I lived in or travelled to), which is a mighty achievement that a great many books fail to achieve even after devoting hundreds of pages to one country.
The photos are amazing, as per the usual Lonely Planet standard, but the fact they are accompanied by text means that this will not be a book you will flick through once and return to the shelf; this is a book you'll go back to on a regular basis.
Overall, a great (and hefty) package.


Rating:
Summary: good work lp
Review: they did a dam good job on this book. well worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: Good overview of the world
Review: This is a fine coffee table book that will give you a brief look at every country in the world. The pictures are quite remarkable.
I was disappointed at the description trademarks of the United States--dangerous cities,loud people, gun lovers and the movies to watch "The Godfather" and "American Beauty". No mention of the striking wilderness and raw beauty of Alaska or the fabulous beaches of Hawaii. Obviously the author(an Aussie) failed to catch the essence of America--makes me slightly suspect of the bias in descriptions of other countries as well.
All in all, an eye catching book that will make you lust for the road!

Rating:
Summary: First book I have returned to Amazon!
Review: This was a huge disappointment. I thought from the title and some of the early, glowing reviews on Amazon that this book would be more about places to see and things to do while traveling to other countries. (Recent reviews have been more accurate.) I bought this book to help plan our first trip to Europe but we were very disappointed when it arrived and we started to review different countries that we were interested in seeing. Not much substantive information is given for any of the countries that are reviewed, and the same space is given to East Timor as China, Russia, or the United States.

Most descriptions seem to be very stereotypical and biased. I was very disappointed in the United States entry and pictures that were chosen (the door in a subway, the side of a building). The "Trademarks" listed for the United States are: "Burgers, fries, and Budweiser; red, white, and blue T-shirts; sneakers and jeans; yuppies in SUVs; cowboys in pickups; loud people; gun lovers; dangerous cities." (Ironically, other places generally considered dangerous are not mentioned as dangerous.)

This entry made me question the integrity of the other entries. A "travel book" should have information useful for travel.