Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Spectacular Trips Kindle Edition

I'm disappointed in the narrative in this book. It is bare bones information and not much to go on if you're hoping to plan your own "drives of a lifetime." Even the photos are a bit disappointing, mainly because there are only a couple for each drive and I'm not sure they give a really accurate sense of what you'll find. If I'm going to spend my limited resources and time to travel afar to get to one of these road trips, I'm going to want a lot more information. This book barely gives me a start.That said, it's worth thumbing through once or twice. Maybe it will provide a bit of inspiration. But don't expect more than that; in fact, don't expect too much of that.I love travel books -- travel literature, guidebooks, picture books. This one is ok. But I definitely don't love it.

If you like to travel, and even if you DON'T own a car, get this gorgeous book. I've been lucky enough to have driven quite a few of the routes both here in Europe and in the US & Canada; the descriptions are spot on. Some might say it's a bit North America & Europe-biased, but on the other hand a lot of other places haven't got so many routes, even till now. And there are a lot of amazing roads to drive, I assume they had limits to how many they could include. Don't ignore the routes described in the 'brief' reviews just because they're not the 'headline' routes! - I've driven many of those and they are also memorable. One tiny criticism is that it would've been nice if they had included references for good maps, e.g. topographic maps (from whatever country..) or other informative sources.

This book was a disappointment. Yes, it is beautiful and entertaining and would be a lovely addition to any coffee table. But I purchased it with the idea of using it as a travel planner, a use for which it sadly disappoints. The drives are not organized or cross referenced in any useful manner. Some drives are 5 miles long. One was 10 weeks long. Some receive an entire page of dense text. Some get a 2" square blurb. Descriptive, yes. Useful, no. I sent it back.

Don't look for this book to be your guidebook -- that's not it's purpose, but it serves it's purpose very well. The book gives an overview of 500 potential road trips from all over the world. Along with an enticing picture from the road, you get a narrative about the trip, a suggested route and small map, distance and driving times, seasons and a website plus other planning tips. I'm using it as a "coffee table book," so I can just pick it up when I have a spare moment to look at trips I'd like to take. It's a National Geographic book, and they never disappoint.

This is an amazing book. Part of the appeal is that it only describes destinations in brief, stimulating the reader to go there and experience in real life. It’s purpose is not to be fully informative.The only downside that prevented me giving it a 5 star is that it focuses on US and Western Europe leaving out other beautiful regions such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

I'm planning a trip down the Pacific Coastal Highway in California.. My on-line research lead me to this book. What I saw on line showing what I thought was content from the book was very useful;.Even though I am not sure that I will do some of the remaining 499 trips ( actually have done some already) I thought $24.00 was a reasonable price to pay for something that may be a useful guide. I returned the book hours after I received it. It was nothing like what I saw on the national geographic website showing content from the book. It was just soft mushi run-on narrative about the trip. Other trip descriptions were equally useless. Totally useless as a planning tool. Actually, it did not even have a trip called Pacific Coastal Highway, despite showing it in the index on page 105... Shame shame on National Geographic and everyone involved who knows or should know the truth. Buy a good guide, not this one.

Very nice

Speedy delivery/ nice book. The reason I bought the book, is because I am handicapped and won't ever be able to travel. So if I can see pictures and learn about places, that the next best thing.

Whilst essentially another addition to the "Spectacular Places to see in your Lifetime" book genre, what sets this apart from the rest of the pack are its National Geographic credentials. You know with NG you are getting first hand research and excellent photographs which have not just been lifted from the internet.Rather than simply showing you how wonderful these places are, the authors have woven them into road trips which, for the most part, can be travelled in a few hours or so. These range from a tour of Snowdonia (easy), to a trip from Cairo to Cape Town (don't do it - or at least read Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari first to see how dangerous it is!)Overall there is just the right balance between armchair reading and dreaming, and practical advice for trips you might actually do. There are thumbnail maps for each journey and, helpfully, website addresses to take you further. The writing is crisp and surprisingly detailed given that 500 global trips are covered -no gushing, travel brochure prose here.A wonderful book which should inspire you to visit some of the most mouth-watering places on our planet.

Nice photos, and always good to get ideas.Probably not for the type of 'enthusiast' driver who likes to rag it round the EVO triangle - you'll find the more spirited drives around UK and Europe from spending your time on car forums. But if you just want a coffee table book, or are retired and can spend your time driving 500 pretty routes near interesting scenery or landmarks, sure.

Really pleased - the book is excellent. Made a lovely gift. It’s quite substantial - a great coffee table book.

Amazing pictures, worth buying it.

Got it as a gift for a dear friend.he loved it