World's Greatest Wonders

Author: Editors of Chartwell Books
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group - Chartwell Books
Pages: 256
On Sale: August 2020
Genre: HIstory, Travel, Photography
Stars: 4/5

From the Publisher:

World's Greatest Wonders is an illuminating visual guide to 30 stunning man-made and natural wonders—with annotated 3-D reconstructions and cutaway models from various stages in human development that allow you to journey right to the heart of each of them.

We live on a unique planet. The only one that we know of that has life. Amidst the budding civilizations and testaments to human creativity and ingenuity, great geological and ecological diversity have surrounded us since humans took their first steps. The Earth has developed into a truly astounding place to live. The clash of the natural forces that sculpted earth’s surface for millions of years has been supplemented by the great creative spirit of human beings, who have built their own wonders. We have before us a whole world, our own to explore and discover, to find and revel in the natural paradises created by the patient hand of nature as well as the astonishing constructions imagined by the genius of humankind. You just have to look around and take in the spectacle.

The wonders: Stonehenge, Pyramids of Giza, Valley of the Kings, Petra, Acropolis, Terracotta Army, The Colosseum, Teotihuacán, Nazca Lines, Chichen Itzá, The Moai, Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu, Forbidden City, St. Peter’s Basilica, Taj Mahal, Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House, Antarctica, Galapagos Islands, The Amazon, Iguazu Falls, Sahara, Virunga National Park, Kilimanjaro, Anjajavy, Himalayas, Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, and Tongariro.

See the best of human and natural creation in the World's Greatest Wonders.

From Me:
I thought this was really interesting, I loved the photos and the history and the cutaway images. It was a really great, in-depth look at places all around the world. Many of these I was familiar with but there was still a lot of new information and new perspectives.

This is my kind of book. A stunning compilation of wonderful places around the world. Whether they be man made wonders like Petra and Giza. To the natural ones like Niagara Falls and the Himalayas.
Stunning photography throughout the book with some brilliant reconstruction images to help describe in more detail. A perfect learning tool.

This book was beautiful and informative. It is split into two parts: man made wonders and wonders of nature. Here are the topics covered for these sections:

Man made wonders:
Stonehenge (England), Pyramids of Giza (Egypt), Valley of the Kings(Egypt), Petra (Jordan), Acropolis (Greece), Terracotta Army (China), The Colosseum (Rome), Teotihuacan (Mexico), Nazca Lines (Peru), Chichen Itza (Mexico), The Moai (Easter Island), Angkor Wat (Cambodia), Machu Picchu (Peru), Forbidden City (Beijing, China); St. Peter’s Basilica (Rome); Taj Mahal (India), Empire State Building (New York, USA), Sydney Opera House (Australia),

Wonders of Nature:
Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, Amazon Forest (South America), Iguazu Falls (South America), the Sahara (Africa), Virunga National Park (Africa), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Anjajavy Forest (Madagascar), the Himalayas (Asia), Niagara Falls (USA/Canada), Grand Canyon (USA), Tongariro (New Zealand).

As you can see this covers a wide range of wonders from all parts of the world. I really enjoyed the wide variety and different types of wonders, especially the nature ones. Each place was discussed in 2-3 pages. While short for descriptions they were still very informative and portrayed how amazing these structures are. Each site also came with a blueprint of the site (for the man made ones anyways) that showed all the major areas of the site and gave some information about them. The natural wonders had diagrams featuring local flora and fauna of the area.

This book was filled with beautiful photographs of these locations. Quite a few of the photographs were of angles of the sites that were not widely known or advertised. The photographs were one of my favorite aspects of this book because they really captured the wonder of these places. I wish I could get posters made of a few of them actually.

Overall this was a fascinating book and I really recommend it if you are into historical structure. I learned so much from reading this book and have added so many of these places to my bucket list because of it.

*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*

Great resource for anyone interested in nature, human history, and the world.
While this is not a travel guide - it doesn't give you tips on how to see the places or access them - it is a full guide as you would get it once you get to a sight and better.
Every Wonder is described, including the history, location and imporance. But the most interesting part are the maps and drawings of the places, with very detailed explanations, better than a lot of audio guides or written leaflets visitors are provided with.
Why it isn't going to help you plan a trip, it teaches you about places you have been to and places you may be thinking about. It is like a documentary you can watch (read) over and over, or at your own pace.

With the recent(ish---10 years is recentish right?) reevaluation of the 7 wonders of the world I was happy to see such diversity of "wonders."
This had not only some of the new wonders and ancient wonders, but some that didn't make the cut that were fascinating to read about.
I highly enjoyed the digital re-imaginings of some of the wonders that have deteriorated with time.
Only downfall is that my travel wish list is now a bit thicker.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Chartwell Books for my DRC.

The first half, or so, of this book covers some of the most amazing architectural feats from both antiquity and modernity. The photography was stunning, and the artist reconstructions were extremely helpful and clear. The written portions were an interesting mix of facts, legends, and scientific speculation. I really enjoyed this part of the book.
The nature section covers truly amazing natural wonders from all around the globe. I’m afraid that, though I really enjoyed the photographs in this section, I didn’t enjoy the written parts as much. Each section was extremely short, but instead of focusing on each location's unique treasures, the author uses valuable space to discuss the projected demise of each. I would have preferred learning about these treasures as they are now rather than what scientists think they will be in the future. The artist’s representations at the end of each section are good, but personally, I would have preferred actual photographs throughout this part of the book.
I received this as a free ARC through NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Chartwell Books. No favorable review was required. It was my pleasure to provide my honest opinions.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Truly a gorgeous book. The photos are beautiful. The information in the book is useful and presented in an easy to read manner.

This book has wonderful pictures with detailed descriptions of the world's greatest wonders. Some I have seen and the information about them is accurate and interesting. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

The World's Greatest Wonders is a fabulous coffee table book for the traveler or the curious. With awesome pictures and details about the world's most interesting places it makes an awesome addition to the home of those who dream of travel.

World's Greatest Wonders: From Nature's Special Place to Stunning Masterpieces Created by Outstanding Artists and Architects is both visually beautiful and an interesting read. The photographs are excellent, and the charts, maps and diagrams really help flesh out the facts/background on each of the places chosen. Each of the places chosen certainly fit the bill, though I'm sure some will argue in favor of places that didn't make it into the book. You've got to draw the line somewhere.

This is a beautiful "coffee table" book, and would be a perfect gift for those who love to travel or enjoy books about travel.

My thanks to NetGalley and Chartwell Books for allowing me to read an ARC of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated here are my own.

I liked the idea of this book but the PDF version is very hard to read and I just couldn't get through it.

A beautiful book depicting some of the most amazing parts of the world. Truly inspiring of things we need to see in this world and experience first hand. Thank you for allowing me to experience your creation.

With eighteen man-made and twelve natural wonders, this coffee table book really does include the World’s Greatest Wonders.

From the familar like the Taj Mahal to the more obscure like Petra, many of the World’s Greatest Wonders are shown and described here. There a few glaring omissions like there are no Parisian churches or the Eiffel Tower listed. There seems to be a mesoamerican focus with four man-made wonders located there. However, the beautiful pictures of both details and bird’s eye views keep the book interesting. I especially like the two-page spreads of the extensive flora and fauna living in the each Wonders of Nature section.

Overall, this is a beautifully photographed book of both man-made and natural wonders. There is enough information to get a good idea of the region’s history and why it is important. 4 stars!

Thanks to Chartwell Books, Quarto Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is absolutely beautiful! It shows both man-made wonders and wonders of nature, such as the Kilimanjaro, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. For every wonder, there's a clear explanation of what it is, beautiful pictures and a map of where it's situated. It is a really interesting book and I learned a lot of fun facts. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the wonders in the world or who want to travel to any of them.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A fantastic coffee table book to be browsed through whenever time allows. The pictures are amazing and the explanation, facts and historical data was fascinating. Highly recommend this book as it feels like you are at each of the places when you are reading about it.

Love this exploration of the world's wonders - natural and otherwise. Most people would go through its sites little by little, but I flew through it in one day. Each site features a nice balance between text and visuals. I learned so many fun facts and especially enjoyed the recreations/cross sections.

A nice look at different places. Introduction to the places, some images and a 3D visual with some more points of the site. Really good for those who like looking into these places.

Worlds Greatest Wonders covers not just man made wonders but natural wonders as well. The book is very well laid out, each wonder is described in detail with clear and interesting facts and accompanied by beautiful photos.
A great coffee table book for those interested in travel.

I was given a digital copy of Worlds Greatest Wonders by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Great details support interesting factoids about this selection of world wonders. Some faults of the genre book couldn't escape.

Breathtaking book the photos are absolutely stunning. This book show off some of the most spectacular places on earth! I highly recommend it as both a resource and an unforgettable look at some of the most amazing places on earth. I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.