229 Countries

If you're like me you might not have time to tour 229 countries in 2011. Luckily, the Travel Book--among the best gifts of the year according to World Hum-- is a good solution. Though a heavyweight, it's the best way debate, say, the virtues of Tonga vs those of Svalbard when planning your next big trip. And in these days of scant world news, it's the great equalizer. Each country gets two pages. That's right, Djibouti gets the same word count as the USA. It's written by my esteemed colleagues all over the planet with my own contributions on Latin America, but I'm betting that the luscious photos will draw you in first.

El Salvador podcast-live

Amendment: my podcast with an ex-guerrilla turned tour guide will now be released at www.lonelyplanet.com the week of July 3rd. For me it was a technical feat. For you it's a chance to practice your Spanish (his answers are followed by translations) and get the real backstory of a former "bad guy."

disfrutalo!