Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40915 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780470189863
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:

Amazon.com Review
500 Places to See Before They Disappear  enables passionate travelers and the eco-conscious to learn about and plan a visit to see rare cultural, historic, and natural places before they are irrevocably altered or even gone forever. Here are one-of-a-kind landscapes, fragile ecosystems, rare bird habitats, places to see the last remaining species of big game in the wild, cityscapes in peril, vanishing cultural kitsch, petroglyphs, and more—500 thoughtfully-chosen treasures that will inspire and enlighten travelers of all ages.

Each entry explains why it’s been included, gives its history, the nature of the threat against it, brief practical information on how to visit, and what visitors can to do protect it. A Geographical Index allows travelers to locate attractions across the world. Photos throughout the book help bring destinations to life.

Look inside some of the world's most endangered places (Click on images for more information)

Review
"Although technically we're grown up, we'd still like to visit the places mentioned in this book!" (French Magazine July 2008) "...the first guidebook of 'last chance saloon' holidays...for travellers who want to visit the most endangered tourist destinations..."(The Observer, October 26th 2008) "...carefully chosen list of destinations...this book also presents some of the world's hidden treasures and best-kept secrets" (Sunday Herald (Glasgow), November 2nd 2008) "An eye-opener of a guidebook that acknowledges our endangered world, with great ideas of where to go if you can." (Best, December 16th 2008) "...provides tips on what we can do to prevent their demise." (Gay Times, January 2008) "...new guide is a celebration of the world's most precious sights...inspiring book...sheds light on why our natural habitats are disappearing." (Lincolnshire Today, December 2008) "...a celebration of the world's most precious and fragile sights." (Embrace, December 2008) "...the reader is guided through the earth's most wonderful and beautiful places and things." (Canary Wharf, January 2009) "This book is more a celebration of the world's most precious sights...indicates how much of our world is taken for granted." (Oldham Evening Chronicle, January 8th 2009) "Rather than skirt around this sobering fact, Frommer's has decided to embrace it with its new book" (ABTA Magazine, January 2009) "Rather than skirt around this sobering fact, Frommer's has decided to embrace it with its new book" (ABTA Magazine, January 2009) "...a list of sites where it is still possible to see rare and vulnerable animal species, special landscapes" (In Practice, December 2008) "...covering such spots are rare-bird habitats, savannahs in which endangered species still live and landscapes that face obliteration" (Good Book Guide, February 2009) "...shows how much of the world we take for granted...a variety of natural, historical and cultural sites for travellers to enjoy." (Tesco Magazine, March 1st 2009)

"...the first guidebook of 'last chance saloon' holidays...for travellers who want to visit the most endangered tourist destinations..."(The Observer, October 26th 2008)

From the Back Cover

A Celebration of the World's Most Fragile Wonders

This guidebook leads you around the globe to visit cultural, historic, and natural treasures at risk—from red Routemaster buses in Englandand red-footed boobies in the Cayman Islandsto Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

You'll learn why these attractions are important,why they need protection, and how you can explore them responsibly, preserving them for future generations. Details on airports andaccommodations, geographical and subjectindexes, Web sites, and other service informationwill help you make the most of your trip.

See Them Now

• The Cedars of Lebanon

• Pompeii, Italy

• Sherwood Forest, England

• Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia

• Ancient Temple of Angkor Wat, Cambodia

• Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, United States

• The giant pandas of Wolong, China

• And hundreds of other marvels

• Find great deals and book your trip at Frommers.com

• Frommer's. The best trips start here.

Customer Reviews

to each his own
print is small
not many pictures and are printed in black and white
this was a gift my husband asked for and he was disappointed

Misleading title
This is more like the "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" volume than places that are disappearing. For example, the Grand Canyon is not going to disappear...it is stressed by the deluge of tourists...but it will be there probably beyond man's existence on this earth. I was expecting a book that noted places on the verge of ecological disaster or simply succombing to time's shifting sands...places that are most vulnerable as we reach this tipping point our planet is facing. On that basis the author might have more fairly titled her book "50 Places to See Before They Disappear" and then focused on those applicable few in more depth. Such a volume would be more interesting and useful to those of us who either want to try to visit or do something constructive about saving these places. Far too many of the entries were typical places listed in any guide books, whose greatest threat comes from the volume or thoughtless deeds of tourists already passing through. Urging more people "to see before they disappear" is only going to increase their vulnerability.

A warning--but some hope, too
I am most familiar with Frommer's travel guides that focus on cities or regions. However, this series also features other guides on a variety of subjects. The focus here? ". . .places to see before they disappear." That is, on endangered destinations, whether they be animals (e.g., condors) or places (e.g., the Hill of Tara in Ireland) or human artifacts (e.g., Battersea Power Station in London).

Truthfully, the title is something of a misnomer. The two active volcanoes in Hawaii (Kilauea and Mauna Loa) are hardly threatened and represent one of the sites to see "before they disappear." The Grand Canyon is unlikely to disappear, although its environment may degrade. Also, global warming is casually and routinely tossed around as a potential threat to some locations; I am not sure we know enough about the phenomenon yet to place great weight on the effects of warming for specific locations.

There is also hope. Some of the destinations have improved their prospects over time. For instance, condors were once within a blink of disappearing; now, there are many more than once I would have thought possible.

Some threatened venues, to provide a flavor of destinations: Redwoods Forest in California, the Mekong River, Sherwood Forest (England), gorillas of the Bwindi Impenetrable Mountain Forest, the caves of Lascaux (France), the Pyramids of Giza, the Tower of London, Wrigley Field (Chicago), et al.

There are also cool features, such as listings of ten related locations. To illustrate, on pages 416-417, there is a listing of ten lighthouses that are glorious but which face some level of threat.

An interesting volume. I think some of these sites are scarcely in threat; some threats appear to me to be pretty hypothetical. Nonetheless, the work reminds us that some important places face some degree of threat. As part of our legacy, it would be a shame if we lost even a small percentage of these places. So, despite some questions that I have, this is an interesting volume.