The Travel Book

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.

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The newly updated Travel Book published by Lonely Planet is a terrific resource for active and armchair travellers.

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.

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The Travel Book is a visually enticing resource book for anyone who likes to read or collect travel books.

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.

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The Travel Book is a terrific travel resource that may help you plan your next trip or increase your knowledge about a destination in the news.

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.

52 thoughts on “The Travel Book”

  1. 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.

    1. 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.)

  2. 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

  3. 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 !

    1. 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.

  4. 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 🙂

    1. 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!

  5. 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!

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

    1. 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.

    1. 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.

  8. 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 !

    1. 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.

  9. 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!

    1. 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.

  10. 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!

  11. 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

    1. 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.

    1. 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.

  12. 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.

    1. 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! 🙂

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