25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Misleading title, January 26, 2009
This review is from: Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear (Paperback)
This is more like the "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" volume than places that are disappearing. For example, the Grand Canyon is not going to disappear...it is stressed by the deluge of tourists...but it will be there probably beyond man's existence on this earth. I was expecting a book that noted places on the verge of ecological disaster or simply succombing to time's shifting sands...places that are most vulnerable as we reach this tipping point our planet is facing. On that basis the author might have more fairly titled her book "50 Places to See Before They Disappear" and then focused on those applicable few in more depth. Such a volume would be more interesting and useful to those of us who either want to try to visit or do something constructive about saving these places. Far too many of the entries were typical places listed in any guide books, whose greatest threat comes from the volume or thoughtless deeds of tourists already passing through. Urging more people "to see before they disappear" is only going to increase their vulnerability.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A warning--but some hope, too, July 18, 2009
This review is from: Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear (Paperback)
I am most familiar with Frommer's travel guides that focus on cities or regions. However, this series also features other guides on a variety of subjects. The focus here? ". . .places to see before they disappear." That is, on endangered destinations, whether they be animals (e.g., condors) or places (e.g., the Hill of Tara in Ireland) or human artifacts (e.g., Battersea Power Station in London).
Truthfully, the title is something of a misnomer. The two active volcanoes in Hawaii (Kilauea and Mauna Loa) are hardly threatened and represent one of the sites to see "before they disappear." The Grand Canyon is unlikely to disappear, although its environment may degrade. Also, global warming is casually and routinely tossed around as a potential threat to some locations; I am not sure we know enough about the phenomenon yet to place great weight on the effects of warming for specific locations.
There is also hope. Some of the destinations have improved their prospects over time. For instance, condors were once within a blink of disappearing; now, there are many more than once I would have thought possible.
Some threatened venues, to provide a flavor of destinations: Redwoods Forest in California, the Mekong River, Sherwood Forest (England), gorillas of the Bwindi Impenetrable Mountain Forest, the caves of Lascaux (France), the Pyramids of Giza, the Tower of London, Wrigley Field (Chicago), et al.
There are also cool features, such as listings of ten related locations. To illustrate, on pages 416-417, there is a listing of ten lighthouses that are glorious but which face some level of threat.
An interesting volume. I think some of these sites are scarcely in threat; some threats appear to me to be pretty hypothetical. Nonetheless, the work reminds us that some important places face some degree of threat. As part of our legacy, it would be a shame if we lost even a small percentage of these places. So, despite some questions that I have, this is an interesting volume.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
to each his own, December 26, 2008
This review is from: Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear (Paperback)
print is small
not many pictures and are printed in black and white
this was a gift my husband asked for and he was disappointed
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