Learning can be fun and this book proves it! The author transports you to some of the most interesting travel destinations in the world and explains why they are so incredibly fascinating. Historical perspective, geography, cultural insight, and personal perspective all combine to make this far more than just another travel book. When you finish a chapter, you feel you have gained a new perspective, a new appreciation, and new insight into that country. Each destination forms an independent story and makes the book ideal as a bedtime reader, a perfect short read while waiting in airports, and a delightful gift book. Venture into the mysteries of Saudi Arabia, the realities of modern day Bali and Java, the Scandinavia not settled by the Vikings, two countries in Africa that offer startling contrasts despite similar backgrounds, the ten best train trips in the world, the resurgence of Chile, the unknown islands of the Indian Ocean, and the plight of Nicaragua. The author, an award-winning college professor of psychology who loves to travel, is witty, sardonic, insightful, optimistic -and a great story teller.