I recently had the great pleasure of receiving a review copy of the third edition of The Travel Book courtesy of Raincoast Books. This colourful travel book offers you a contemporary “journey through every country in the world” as published October, 2016, by Lonely Planet.
I absolutely love this book! As an avid traveller, having the opportunity to view a two-page spread complete with 2-4 colour photos of each of the 230 countries of the world is a real treat. And as a highly visual person, seeing 850 full-colour images in a beautiful layout really swept me away.
One of the great features of this travel book is the resource tab at the top of each country’s page. It tells you the official language(s), name of the capital, population and area mass of the country, shows you its flag, and includes a small map that shows you where it is.
The text that describes each country is written in contemporary fashion and includes a few colloquial words for each country, as well as the best time to visit and events to take in. High quality coated paper is used to make the photos really pop.
I grew up having an atlas on the coffee table for reference–informative but boring! The Travel Book is far from boring, and a terrific resource to plan your next trip or learn more about a destination that a friend, colleague, or family member is visiting.
The only downside I see to the hardcover book is its weight. The Travel Book weighs in at 3.44 kilograms, or almost eight pounds! The paper version is definitely not a book you would travel with, but it is one of the best travel books I’ve ever seen and I believe that every household (not constricted by space) should have one–for enticement, for information, and for inspiration. The Travel Book is also available in Kindle e-book format, but for me, the paper version has a much more powerful impact.
The Travel Book retails at $50 US or $70 CDN, but well worth it, and if you can snag free postage from Amazon, order a copy as a great gift book. It is sure to be a hit over the upcoming holiday season.
This book sounds like a perfect gift for travelers alike! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Wow, it looks like a really beautiful book. I love reading. Does it also come in a digital addition?
Yes, the Travel Book is available in digital format. Check the links I provided in the post.
Seems like a nice book – one that I would love to share with my daughter. Can really help satiate her curiosity about places.
Very true, Ami. I think that if we install a curiosity for other cultures and foods in children, they develop a desire to be citizens of the world. I hope you and your family enjoy the Travel Book.
What a great way to see the world from an armchair! Sounds like a perfect holiday gift for those who love travel!
wow I’m impressed by the wonderful layout and beautiful pictures! I would love to have it!
Reading your review was a pleasant surprise. You brought back memories of a big travel book we had when I was a kid. It was big and bulky, but it was full of amazing photos of exotic locations around the globe. I grew in a small farm town in the middle of nowhere. That book was my first inspiration to see the world. The images it contained formed my childhood travel dreams and probably still influences me today in ways I’m not even aware of. That makes me think that this book might also make a good gift for kid.
That’s a terrific observation, Vanessa! I had not thought of the Travel Book as a great resource or source of inspiration for children, but indeed it would be! Everyone can enjoy photos and the text is not written in too complicated a style, so this book would indeed be a terrific gift for any one of any age (other than tiny kids.)
The Travel Book sounds like it belongs in every traveler’s library, certainly that of every travel writer or blogger! Maybe Santa will bring me one for Christmas.
I hope so, Carole. It’s definitely a keeper! 🙂
Looks like a nice book to have on the coffee table and browse through on a dreary Pennsylvania winter day…thinking of all the places to go!
Right on, Rose. We can all dream about the places we may never get, and prepare for the places we will. Happy travels!
Doreen, I love lonely planet books they share great insights. Thanks for introducing to the new book will check it out soon.
You know I have been looking for a book like this for a while! There are so many countries out there that I know nothing about and would love to read a little about them!
Awesome book! Im going to buy myself a copy
These books are awesome when you don’t know where to go and want to pick and chose what can your options are! I rarely buy those – I just go to get lost at bookshops and go through several of these !
Hi Mimi. No, The travel Book is not a guide book. It is a travel reference book that replaces the old style atlases with contemporary information and fantastic pics to quickly familiarize one’s self with countries we likely know nothing about. Two different categories.
What a great book! I too grew up with an Atlas to make me dream but the Travel Book looks like it could transport you to every country on the planet much more easily than an atlas 🙂
Absolutely, Nathalie! The Travel Book beats an atlas any time!
Sounds like the kind of book I would love, too. My imagination will run wild with dreams of travels to distant lands while browsing through.
Right on, everyone. Glad you enjoyed this peak at the Travel Book. Cathy, yes, I think those of us who are travellers could really spend hours reading thru all 448 pages. Cheers!
What a lovely book. I think I’ll add it to my Christmas list…
Wow this book sounds amazing. And it seems like a fun read to learn about different countries around the world. Another downside would be adding so many more countries I would learn about to my ever-growing travel list and not having the time and money to go right now! haha
Emily | http://www.emilytrinh.com/theres-monster-bed/
Emily, the great thing about travel is that you can and will find the time and the opportunity to visit the places you are truly interested in. You can have your A list of places you really want to visit, and then your B list for places you’d like to check out eventually. Works for me!
Wow! It looks marvelous Doreen. I am one of those people who tends to only buy things I’ll actually use, which means coffee table books aren’t a part of my inventory, but I do love to look at them and this one appears to be very special. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
I saw this in Lonely Planet magazine ad and immediately put it on my Amazon wish list. I hope someone will make it my Christmas present. I really love the combination of beautiful travel photos with useful information. It’ll also give me some new travel inspiration for the years ahead.
Good luck, Janice! I hope you get your wish. Thx for stopping by.
It looks like a lovely travel book. We purchased something like this book for my mother-in-law because she kept hearing places on the news and wanted to know where they were. It’s a great gift for elderly individuals who are curious about different parts of the world. Thanks for sharing.
Exactly, Sabrina. The Travel Book is equally as attractive for armchair travellers as it is for active travellers. We are all curious about places people we know are visiting, and also about places that are in the news. This book helps cover all the angles.
I love books like the Travel Book. They are so lovely to flip through and go on vicarious journeys from the comfort of one’s own home.
Absolutely, Jeri! We all need to dream a little! 🙂
I love books like these. They really help inspire me to visit other places (besides France!). They are HEAVY books, but worth it for the pictures.
Absolutely, Janice. I think we all tend to get into our comfort zones and tend to overlook other destinations–for one reason or another. But seeing a write-up in a book like this with some dynamic photos to illustrate the destination really does help us broaden our horizons.
Wow Doreen ! This sounds like a gem of a book. Is this the one that picks Canada as a top 2017 travel destination, & does a write-up of Winnipeg’s sights and adventures? Frugal person that I am, I could get 1 book to pique the interest of my 3 Winnipeg grandchildren & their parents !
Hi Linda and thx for your comment. No, this book does not recommend one destination lover another. It simply provides the facts with a little colour thrown in. I think it is Travel & Leisure that may have recommended Winnipeg as a destination.
A book I would love to display on my coffee table. And it would be great for helping me familiarize myself with all the countries in this amazing world–I can’t believe how much I still don’t know!
Hi Tami. You’re so right! The world is SO big and so full of countries we have yet to discover. I will look forward to reading about more of them, now that I own a copy of The Travel Book. Thx for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
The Travel Book is a great travel reference book. I would love to have a copy sitting on my coffee table or to give as a Christmas gift!
Thanks, Bev. Share my post about it on FB and you just may never know who reads it and is buying you a gift! 🙂
Oh thanks for sharing this! I would love to have a copy in my home!!!
The travel book would make a perfect gift for my sister! I am so glad I read this. I do love your happy profile pic by the way. Your smile made me smile too.
Thanks for your kind words, Ruth. And I hope your sister enjoys the book!
I’ve not leafed through the latest edition, however we’ve long had a hardcover version of the first release.
It is now a well worn thing, but remains as loved as ever!
Glad (but not at all surprised) to hear you have that same connection with it
Hi Chris. Yes, it’s quite the book! I’m sure that the latest edition capitalizes on the newsiest technology available in coated paper, etc, to make the images almost appear 3-D. A really beautiful and enticing book.
It would be fun to use this book to make trip plans. Open it at random: that’s where you’re going on your next trip!
That would be a fun, but possibly scary approach, Rachel, with so much violence and turbulence happening in the world these days! But I do love the spirit of adventure and curiosity that the book invokes.
Awesome book for dreaming! How wonderful. It would be an awesome reference book to any home library. Well, ANY library, for that matter.
Doreen — thanks for bringing this book to our attention. I for sure am not going to visit most countries of the world, so this would be an excellent reference guide.
Hi Doreen, this looks like a beautiful book. I’m thinking Christmas gift for a hard to buy for person. Great coffee table book.
Looks like a great gift idea. I always loved books like this that could just be browsed through at leisure.
This looks like a beautiful book. Its size means you’re unlikely to take it with you on travels, but what a great book to thumb through at home and dream a little, and perhaps plan where to go next.
Absolutely, Donna. If I’m ever snowbound in the house (and I hope that never happens, but this great weather we’re having is bound to end eventually!) I will take out The Travel Book and plan a quick exit! 🙂