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1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List

By Patricia Schultz

Workman, 973 pages, $28.95

Don't let the title fool you. There's no need to make a beeline to visit all the places listed in Patricia Schultz's hefty travel tome, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

While it would be nice to see the five-storey, pink façade known as the Hawa Mahal, or the "palace of winds," would you really go all the way to Jaipur in India's Rajasthan State for something that takes about 15 minutes to tour?

And what about a visit to Dubai's opulent hotel, the Burj Al Arab? It would be great -- if it didn't cost a cool $1,000 (U.S.) a night.

But then Schultz didn't really intend for her book to be the definitive must-do guide.

A former writer for guidebook publishers Frommer's and Berlitz, Schultz has spent seven years researching the most interesting spots on the planet.

In her introduction, she says the book is her "own personal short list of dream trips." She does offer readers some of the world's more interesting spots, from Las Vegas and the Natchez Trail to the wonders of Machu Picchu and Kenya's wildlife preserves.

But in writing this project, Schultz realized that "travel is always personal and that no two people walk away from the same experience with the same memories."

So take this book and use it as a launching pad to explore your own dream trips.

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