This is kind of halfway inbetween a coffee table book and a travel book.  It's a hardback book of a less than A4 size filled with some of our world's greatest wonders split into two sections: natural and man made.  The man made are roughly in chronological order and go from caves painted by ice age people to the Burj Khalifa.  Each wonder begins with a tantalising introduction what it is like to encounter the wonder, a full page photograph, and 'how to get there' and what to do 'while you're there' sections.  Then follows a section on the construction and history of the wonder with 'did you know' boxes and great little diagrams.  It's informative and good to look at.

So why only three stars, well, because this book is neither one thing nor another.  The 'what to do while you're there' sections suggest a travel book, but this is really too heavy to be carried unless you are travelling by car.  The construction sections are good but so brief, too brief for me, it is not really big or detailed enough to be the kind of book you could devour at your leisure at home either.

Happy by Lonely Planet

A lovely little book perfect for giving and receiving about the different ways you can find personal fulfilment around the world. This being a lonely planet it celebrates the effect that visiting different cultures can have in broadening our own understandings, but also the effect that travel has in defamiliarising our own homes when we do return. Each double page spread is a glossy photograph accompanied by a Secret, Tradition, Date and the place that it is Celbrated, followed by text expanding on the titles. It is divided into three sections, Mind, Body and Spirit and is great to dip into when your spirit needs a little lift