An excellent example of what a coffee table book should be--big, beautiful and mildly educational. Just enough text to make you feel like you can learn something, but plenty of pictures and interesting cut-away diagrams to show what is actually inside famous structures of the world. ( )

This is the time of the year I love browsing for beautiful coffee table books for gifts. (and for me!)

The World's Must-See Places is perfect for armchair travellers and history buffs. This book covers man made monuments and structures, not nature's must see places.

The index is broken down into continents and then sub divided into countries. There were two listed in Canada, so this was my first stop. I was thrilled to see that I had visited both - the CN Tower in Toronto and the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica in Montreal. 2/100 so far!

Many of the American entries were somewhat predictable - The White House, Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty etc, so I hopped across the ocean to explore Africa. It is the structures that I've never heard of that fascinate me the most. The mosques of Morocco and Mali were amazing - each completely different - one a marvel of bronze, granite and onyx, the other a mud and brick edifice no less beautiful.

The castles and cathedrals of Europe have always appealed to me. Our history here in Canada is so young, but many of these structures date from the 1100's!

Each entry features a sidebar with details specific to the feature and a timeline on the bottom with key dates. Actual pictures and descriptions surround a 3D cutaway of the architecture.

As with all Dorling Kindersley books, the layout is clean, easy to read and appealing. Their use of colour, detail and glossy stock make their books a joy to peruse. ( )