Customer Reviews

The Lonely Planet Guide to The Middle of Nowhere (General Pictorial)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As part of their eclectic series of coffee table books, Lonely Planet has produced a fascinating collection of essays and world-class photos strung around the theme of personal solitude and exploration. Fifty-five locales are covered by thirty-eight travel writers, most of whom succeed in evoking a sense of adventure that remarkably remains possible despite the intervention of technology and the all-encompassing Web. Most of the contributions fit the traditional image of isolated locales and exotic cultures, but some feel far more within reach, for example, Janet Brunckhorst's amusing dissection of Las Vegas and Andrew Dean Nystrom's account of the remote Thorofare region in Yellowstone National Park. The common thread among these accounts is that such adventures can take many forms and not necessarily require a backpack and a passport.

There are a few accounts that bring fresh twists to familiar landmarks such as Daniel Robinson's remembrance of visiting Angkor Wat in 1989 when the civil war was raging between the Phnom Penh government and the genocidal Khmer Rouge. Or there is Gregor Clark's nighttime exploration of Machu Picchu when the ruins took on a ghost-like pall. Colorful stories abound in places far less famous such as Lasseter's Cave in the middle of the Australian outback and the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. We are given descriptions of places as far-flung as Babuskina in the outer reaches of Siberia, the depths of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific, and the harsh volcanic landscape of El Hierro, the most remote of the Canary Islands.

All the continents are covered, and even the moon is included at the end in a semi-tongue-in-cheek manner. The book ends with a reference guide for each location, giving navigational information, specifically how one would get about; its geography and geology; its history with man; its proximity to civilization; the must-haves before embarking on a trip there; and what works of art the area has inspired. If not quite in the same league as The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World or The Cities Book: A Journey Through The Best Cities In The World for sheer breadth, this book will appeal to those with a particularly incessant and pioneering wanderlust.

You find yourself looking at this book and not being able to put it down. It offers unique views and perspectives on the world we live in. Typical of the Lonely Planet series, it is well done. Frankly, this book should be left on the coffee table for visiting friends that you truly do want to entertain with an interesting read.