Customer Reviews

Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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

Book has one page synopsis on variety of places, many of which will NOT disappear but rather may be changed due to tourism, climate change, etc. I found the book's title to be misleading, and many of the places included in the book are ones familiar to many people. This one is already marked to be given away at the Library book sale.

As an editor at Frommer's travel guides, I have one big regret: that Hurricane Katrina beat me to New Orleans. It's sad and even a little embarrassing that I canceled plans to go not once but twice before it was too late. I'll always have the zydeco and jazz records that made me want to visit so badly, but the city as it was will remain a void in my experience. It's irreplaceable.

500 Places to See Before They Disappear is, like the jacket says, a "celebration of the world's most fragile wonders." It's also an inspiring memorial to treasures like New Orleans, sunken so suddenly and unpredictably that a book probably couldn't have saved it. But imagine knowing that outsiders and ordinary citizens could have done more to keep the levees from breaking: Would we have stayed home? Or would more of us have visited sooner rather than later, fallen in love, and rallied to do all we could to preserve a city unlike any other in the world? In its memory, will we let other singular places go? This book will leave you asking these questions not just about New Orleans--championed in the "Cityscapes in Peril" section--but also about Venice, the old Jewish ghetto in Budapest, the hutong neighborhoods of Beijing, the melting snows of Kilimanjaro, the wild white horses of the Camargue, and hundreds of other rare towns, landscapes, monuments, and habitats with uncertain futures in the face of environmental and human threats.

We read of imperiled species, wilderness areas, and cultural relics every day in the news, we see them on the Travel Channel, or we live near them and lobby for their protection. This book gathers a worldwide range of the neediest or most extraordinary sites under one cover. The reviews are richly evocative but pithy; you can savor them piecemeal, allowing them to sink into your daily awareness, making the news stories about each one a little more resonant--not as good as being there, but good enough to inspire a trip and maybe even a commitment to help keep a special place out of harm's way. --Maureen Clarke, senior editor, Frommer's

Very difficult to read and not well designed, this compendium of quick blurbs focuses too much on the United States. Most individual states receive more entries than whole countries.

I have traveled to all 7 continents and about 95-100 countries. I usually purchase 1 or 2 books to use as guides on each trip. This book, though interesting, is of almost no value to me. The organization is all wrong. I do not pick a place and then go. I pick a country(s) and look to see what are the best things to see such as UNESCO sites or national parks.

I tried to return it, but the cost was so high I just kept it. I recently saw another similar book that is organized by area. That would be my preference.

This is the perfect holiday gift for yourself or anyone you care about who travels or just dreams of traveling. The selected destinations will whet the appetites of globetrotters and arm-chair travelers alike. The author, Ms. Holly Hughes, offers us great reasons to visit these 500 endangered places while raising our awareness of what we can all do to help prevent their demise. Everything is indexed & 'how-to' guidelines for visiting are especially helpful. From kitsch to petroglyphs, this book is a must-have addition to anyone's travel library.Frommers 500 Places to See Before They Disappear (500 Places)

I only picked up this book a little while ago and have just browsed through it but even with just doing that, all my future travel plans that I thought were firmly cemented in my mind have been uprooted or at least now in question. The author has a done an excellent and in depth job of uncovering places to see that most of us would never have been able to find let alone just think of. I think once I read this book cover to cover I will replanning the rest of my life.

I found this book to be really insightful regarding some of the places we should try to see before they are gone. The author does a great job recommending some of the places to get to. Really interesting. Highly recommend for those looking for ideas to make the list of things to do.