The Book of the World

For the price of this atlas, you could buy yourself a round-trip ticket to most any destination, but you probably wouldn't return half as informed as if you had stayed home and paged through this luscious volume. From large picture maps to street guides of major cities to essays on the places pictured, the range of The Book of the World makes the world seem intimate and accessible. One caveat: Carrying the 18-pound book home is to feel the weight of the world, indeed.