This was a rather mixed bag for me.

On one hand, it's sort of like a Pinterest board for travel inspiration, and it was written before Pinterest even existed. So, it does an excellent job of inspiring the desire to travel, which is especially nice since I have no plans to travel anywhere in the foreseeable future. My library had the newer (and by that, I mean BIGGER) version with photos, and it actually made it feel like a physical Pinterest board. I really did enjoy flipping through its pages and browsing through it.

However, it's also very superficial and shallow in its descriptions. I mean, how else can you create a book about 1000 places and expect it to work? So, you don't get any of the reasons behind the choices, just a brief description like "here is good diving" and "this city is known for its cuisine."

Also, I don't think the author and I share the same interests. She wrote a book to appeal to everyone, which meant she listed 1000 places around the world that would appeal to a broad audience, and that's fine. But then, when every place with mountains mentions skiing and every place with clear waters mentions diving (both of which I don't do, although I might try once), it just gets a bit repetitive. I'm sure anyone who doesn't like hiking would feel the same way about the number of times it's mentioned. I would have preferred if the focus was on what was most unique about each place (like the world's biggest bat colony or a rare collection of plants) and then mentioned what activity was the most popular (skiing, hiking, diving, etc.).

I would recommend this book to maybe someone young (or old) who is looking for inspiration on where to take their next adventure or places to add to their bucket list. But when it comes down to planning, you'll need a whole lot more information.

Because we've traveled all our lives, we expanded our Bucket Lists several times.

After we visit Australia and Africa in 2020, our bucket will be empty. This was the perfect book to read about possibilities for further exploration. Each section is brief but gave me enough information to know if I'd want to further investigate a place.

Since we're getting up in years, it was really gratifying to see that we've already visited so many of the must see places. However, the author missed some of what I consider to be must see places in certain cities or areas (especially in Spain and Britain and Italy).

For example, in Spain, the author didn't mention the beautiful city of Granada with its famous Alhambra. In Britain, the charming town of Bath was overlooked. And in Italy, the historical city of Pompeii was not included.

Despite these omissions, the book still provided many interesting ideas for future travels. It made us think about the places we haven't been yet and the experiences we could have.

We will definitely keep this book as a reference and continue to plan our adventures. Maybe one day, we'll be able to check off all the remaining items on our Bucket List.

Especially in the past 2 years, I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel internationally. During my travels, I have been fortunate enough to visit several of the places that are vividly described in this book. It has been an amazing experience to see those locations with my own eyes and compare them to the descriptions in the text. Additionally, I have also explored the vast majority of the places in the USA. The diverse landscapes, cultures, and attractions across the country have left a lasting impression on me. This book has not only enhanced my understanding of the places I have visited but has also inspired me to explore more. I truly enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it to anyone with a passion for travel and discovery.