World's Best Travel Experiences: 400 Extraordinary Places

National Geographic addresses the popular and subjective topic of the best places to visit around the world. Andrew McCarthy (editor-at-large, National Geographic Traveler) writes the foreword to this compilation of destination descriptions, and National Geographic photographers provide many of the numerous illustrations. Organized broadly by category (i.e., "Wild Places," "Urban Spaces," "Paradise Found," "Country Unbound," "World Wonders"), locations are depicted by a photograph accompanied by a few rhapsodic paragraphs and a couple of useful websites. Some places, such as New York City and Tuscany, receive lengthier coverage. Throughout the book there are side features: "In the Know" touches on a relevant topic, such as Sydney slang or dogsledding in Greenland; "Best of the Best" details particular sites, such as Mount Krakatoa in Indonesia and the mosques of Timbuktu (now known as Tombouctou); various luminaries, including Gore Vidal and Anna Quindlen, share short personal experiences in "Places That Changed Me"; and "Best of the World" highlights the requisite top-ten lists, covering diverse subjects like volunteer animal rescue and unusual scuba-diving sites.