This is one of those great books everyone should own, everyone with a passion or even just an interest in travel needs this book. I remember when I first saw it on the shelf in the book store. It was the type of book that literally leapt into my arms and said ‘buy me!”

At the front of the book there is a full page dedicated to this quote: “Life is not counted by the number of breaths you take but by the places and moments which take your breath away.” This describes rather aptly the philosophy of this book. The general idea of the book is as the title suggests 1000 places you should see before you die.

The locations, festivals and attractions are listed by country and then grouped by continent making it a very accessible easy to read book. This is probably not the sort of book you sit down and read cover to cover (that’s not to say you couldn’t though…), but rather the kind of book you refer to often. One of those one’s which might sit unused on your shelf for months then all of sudden you find yourself referring to it often. It’s the kind of book which is very useful.

One of the things I love about this book is that it includes such a huge range of attractions but also caters for all sorts of price budgets. I have to admit, though that it lacks a little when it comes to backpacker range accommodation. This is the sort of book that would appeal to the backpacker traveller or to the more upmarket kind. It covers attractions from French Vineyards, to Welsh Book Festivals, to Cook Islands dance festivals, to Cuban Jazz festivals. It covers free events such as visiting London’s Portobello Market (well it’s free if you look and don’t buy…), to $600US a night accommodation (in New Zealand’s own Huka Lodge no less)!

This is well worth the read and makes an excellent reference book. This kind of book is a great present (especially for fathers or tricky-to-buy for brothers).