- ISBN13: 9780761104841
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Introducing the Eighth Wonder of travel books. A joyous, passionate gift book for travelers-both the real and the armchair variety-1,000 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE delivers exactly the promise of its an around-the-world, continent-by-continent listing of places guaranteed to give you shivers, the unique and wonderful places you must see on and off the beaten track. Take a safari into Botswana’s Okavango Delta, the world’s largest oasis, where “if you see 10 percent of what sees you, it’s an exceptional day.” Sail the Grenadines, 32 islands and hundreds of dotlike cays strung like a necklace of gems across 40 miles of pristine waters. Tour the covered souks of Aleppo, where the labyrinthine streets seem str… More >>
5 Comments
Did not read — both were given as gifts.
I ordered ‘1776′ at the same time but have not yet received it. When might I expect delivery?
Dushan Angius
January 25th, 2010 at 12:55 pm. Permalink.
Before you purchase this book and stoke a desire to leave home and see the world, take a moment to reflect on what you desire out of travel.
In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson wrote: “It is for want of self-culture that the superstition of Travelling, whose idols are Italy, England, Egypt, retains its fascination for all educated Americans…. He who travels to be amused, or to get somewhat which he does not carry, travels away from himself, and grows old even in youth among old things…. The rage of travelling is a symptom of a deeper unsoundness affecting the whole intellectual action.”
In “Discourse on Method,” Descartes wrote: “When one takes too much time traveling, one becomes finally a stranger in one’s own country; and when one is too curious about things that took place in past centuries, one ordinarily becomes ignorant of what is taking place in one’s own country.”
I used to have a laundry-list mentality when I travelled. I’d want to see A, B, and C just because some book told me to. But then I tried a different approach: slowing down and talking to people who lived there. If you just want to see the world as a giant circus that’s made to amuse you, by all means get this book. But if you want to learn something, about a different place and about yourself, just go somewhere and talk to someone who lives there. You’ll get a richer (and ironically, probably less expensive) experience than this book can deliver.
January 25th, 2010 at 1:37 pm. Permalink.
I’ve seen this book in a number of bookstores. I have terminal cancer and everytime I see this title it makes me wince.
January 25th, 2010 at 4:24 pm. Permalink.
I’ve travelled a bit in my life, but have by no means tried to keep up with trends in travel destinations. The whole contemporary craze for travelling itself has more or less passed me by. As I get older, though, I tend to get increasingly anxious about all the places in the world I haven’t seen yet, and a book like this is bound to present me with many travel ideas I hadn’t considered. The book’s emphasis, though, presents a somewhat disturbing scenario to all potential readers. On one hand, it’s good that, by making the list so long, the author is encouraging us to live for a long time, but what about those of us whose time is running out? For an untravelled person in their autumn years, 1000 places is an awful lot to be expected to get through, and attempting it could even shorten whatever time they have left. Conversely, younger, well-travelled people, who have already been to all 1000 places, will be disturbed to learn that they have nothing left to live for…
January 25th, 2010 at 5:22 pm. Permalink.
As a native Missourian, I was officially offended that the ONLY great place mentioned in my home state(according to the author) was a (drumroll…please….)barbecue joint in Kansas City! Patricia, you clearly have not been around this beautiful state enough to know where the “places to go” actually are. Why didn’t you just leave us out altogether? With all of our natural attractions, historic monuments, national and state parks, caves, museums, and countless other “secret treasures,” it seems sad to me that a silly dining establishment was all you could come up with. Sorry, you lost this reader….
January 25th, 2010 at 7:49 pm. Permalink.