(back cover) A digest of the world's greatest travel destinations to help you decide where to go next Continent-by-continent guide to the world's most spectacular sights, both physical and man-made, from the Great African Rift Valley and the Grand Canyon to the lost Inca cities of South America and the wonderful wildlife of the Galapagos Islands Must-see points of interest and when to see them at their best Get-up-and-go inspiration for the independent traveler Tips for avoiding the crowds Incisive information on local geography (front flap) This is a book to help you realize your dreams--of trekking through the world's highest mountains, discovering for yourself a lost Inca city, swimming among coral reefs, or experiencing the color and excitement of different cultures and traditions. Its insights into the world's most spectacular and charismatic places will give you unbearably itchy feet, an irresistible urge to travel, and the incentive to get up and go. These are the destinations you have always dreamed of but, overwhelmed by choice and indecision, have never quite managed to visit. The New Traveler's Atlas provides the inspiration and the information to help you plan the rest of your traveling life: draw up an action list for all the trips to come, plot them in order of priority, and discover the best time to visit each place. Each chapter focuses on a destination and describes the special qualities that make it a must-see experience--whether for its sheer physical beauty or grandeur, its extraordinary wildlife, or its evocation of past civilizations and living cultures and traditions. The New Traveler's Atlas takes you around the world by way of its text and illustrations, which saves you transferring the entire contents of the local travel bureau to your living room floor. It is not selling you a tour or vacation, but presenting an impartial and superbly inspirational digest of the best our planet offers, giving you the facts you need to help you decide where to go. Maps set the places in context… stunning photographs provide a taste--for nothing can compare with the reality--of what is there… and the authors bring their own first-hand travel experiences and enthusiasms to the destinations they describe to help you choose the place that suits your schedule, your mood, and your dreams. (back flap) John Man graduated with a degree in German and French from Oxford University, England. He has worked for Reuters, the international press agency, and as European editor for Time-Life Books. He made a six-part television documentary series on survival, and is host of the BBC Radio series Survivors. Previous publications include Jungle Nomads of Ecuador: The Waorani, The Survival of Jan Little, and Gobi: Tracking the Desert. He also ghosted the autobiography of the ice-skating duo Torvill and Dean, Facing the Music. Chris Sch¼ler is a former journalist and magazine editor. As a freelance book editor specializing in art, architecture, history, and travel, he has been involved in many thematic atlases and travel guides, including those of the internationally renowned travel book publisher Rough Guides Ltd., and has also traveled extensively. Geoffrey Roy is a former overland tour leader/driver in Africa and Asia. In his current role as a photojournalist, he was official photographer to the veteran explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell on his 1993 expedition to Guyana, and was nominated for the Travelex Travel Writers' awards for a story on the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest in 1996. He is a regular contributor to Wanderlust magazine, and has lectured on travel and photography at The Royal Geographic Society, where he is a Fellow. Nigel Rodgers graduated in History and History of Art from Cambridge University, and has since traveled widely and contributed as writer and editor to artistic, scientific, historical, and travel books and magazines. Mary-Ann Gallagher worked for Cadogan Guides for several years and has been a freelance travel writer for the last five years. She has written more than twenty travel guides, and has contributed to and edited dozens more. She has created books for Dorling Kindersley, National Geographic, Cadogan, and Footprint Handbooks, among others. Read Less