104 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspirational, August 19, 2004
This review is from: Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die (Paperback)
I was given this book recently and have to say it is probably the most inspirational travel book I have seen for many years. As a founder of an adventure travel company (Intrepid Travel) I see many books of this ilk - but this is altogether different and better. The pictures are fantastic and the copy very rreadable. It looks at 40 destinatiions - some mainstream, some off the beaten track. It makes you want to travel!
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86 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ok at Amazon's price, July 16, 2005
This review is from: Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die (Paperback)
The photography in this book matches the high standards set by similar books; although a couple of photographs of Petra were particularly good.
The information wasn't terribly important to me: if I really want information about Machu Picchu, for instance, there are several books filled with great information on that topic. But if you really don't know anything about Machu Picchu, this book will give you a bare idea of it.
My top 40 places would be different of course, and so would everyone else's. For instance, number one on my list would be Jerusalem, and number three would be Istanbul: neither got in here. Well, that's his perogative and I can't dis the book over it.
Some selections did surprise me. For instance, Shanghai is listed, but Xian isn't. I think most people would reverse that. Of all the great places in India, of course Varanasi (my number 2) and the Taj Mahal appear, and then the Jaisalmer Fort. Well, that's a reasonable choice, but I would have strongly preferred Mumbai or Amritsar.
Anyway, the real problem is choosing 40, rather than 80 or so. The world's a big, wonderful, interesting place after all. No mention here of the Amazon or the Congo, of Meteora or Mashhad, and so on.
The real reason that I bought this book is to inspire my girlfriend to travel with me: I think we all have that kind of thing in mind. For that, it'll do.
There are some other books that I'd recommend checking out before you spend your money. For instance, "The Spirit of Asia" by Michael Freeman is excellent for that part of the world; and Joe Cumming's book "Buddhist Stupas in Asia" will inspire a lot of travel throughout Asia. I own those two books, but a few others also look very good to me: "Sacred Places Around the World," "100 Things to do Before You Die," "The Travel Book," and, for pure photography, books by Art Wolfe or Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
Amid such company, I feel that this book is fine, and I don't regret buying it at all. But it's not exceptional in any regard, so I give it 4 stars. At Amazon's price ($13.50 as I write this), it is certainly a good deal, as some of the books I prefer are more expensive.
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Striking Photographs Support One Man's Perspective on the World's Must-Sees, July 18, 2006
This review is from: Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die (Paperback)
I guess I should count myself lucky for having been to 22 of the forty places that travel photographer Steve Davey has identified as essential stops before dying. Along with a similar Time-Life photo essay book ("Heaven on Earth: 100 Places to See in Your Lifetime") and the Lonely Planet coffee table books ("The Travel Book" and "The Cities Book"), there seems to be a sudden flurry of these types of dream destination books on the market now. Even Patricia Schultz provides 960 more places than Davey ("1,000 Places to See Before You Die"), but the benefit of his entry is that we get a singular perspective based on the notion that we have a two-week holiday to get to each one of them. The usual suspects are here - the Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Alhambra in Granada, Petra in Jordan - but there are some choices that are not as high profile and seem more personal to Davey such as Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland and Lalibela in Ethiopia. I am certain he would be the first one to tell you that this is not meant to be a comprehensive list since one can easily itemize the glaring omissions, but none of the forty seem superfluous.
Perhaps a slight exception is the inclusion of Manhattan and the Bund in Shanghai, both of which brings to question why other top-ranked metropolises are not included. Alas, this is apparently the start of a series of books Davey plans to put out, in which future volumes may put such questions to rest. The photographs are superb, and that is inarguably the main reason to consider purchasing this book. In case you're wondering, the remaining destinations are St. Petersburg; the Grand Canyon; Aitutaki in the Cook Islands; Pyramid of Kukulchán in the Yucatan; Iguassu Falls; Rio de Janeiro; Taman Negara Rainforest in Malaysia; Havana; Wat Phra Keo in Bangkok; Venice; Dead Vlei in Namibia; College Fjord in Alaska; Jaiselmer Fort in Rajastan; Karnak Temple in Luxor; the Galapagos Islands; Lake Titicaca; Greece's Santorini; Drakensberg in South Africa; the Great Barrier Reef; Tibet's capital Lhasa; Ephesus in Turkey; Monet's Garden in Giverny; both Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar in Tanzania; Makalu in the Himalayas; Australia's Uluru (Ayers Rock); Varanasi in India; Guilin in China; Dubrovnik; Samarkand in Uzbekistan; and Killlary Harbour in Ireland.
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