Normally I can’t stand books with this kind of title, or the 1,001 escapes type thing.  They usually just make me feel depressed because a) I’ve not seen most of the things I “have to see before I die” and b) with 1,001 of them I’m not likely to.

This book wins, despite the title, because for a start it just focuses on 40 of the word’s most unforgettable places.  Each destination has a thought provoking accompaniment and I love that the writers spent a lot of time and effort in deciding which places to concentrate on.

They also decided, rather than using beautiful stock imagery to go out and shoot for themselves these destinations in one year, giving the pictures a wonderful freshness and immediacy.

I’m not sure I agree with all of their selection; they skipped Paris, including Venice instead as the must see European capital, and after visiting Shanghai I’m not sure it’s on my must see destination list, but I love the journey that they take you on with their words and pictures. 

I also love that by concentrating on just 40 of the world’s most amazing places they give you a chance to visit, through the book, and soak up each destination without the feeling of “trying to cram it all in” that some travel resources give.

And if you want to take a sneaky peek here is also their site with a downloadable chapter - enjoy.