How you answer that question goes a long way to determining what sort of book you will have. The problem with Schultz's book is that she never clearly addresses that question and, therefore, has aggregated a series of recommendations that, in trying to fit all audiences, never succeeds in fitting any particular audience.

There has been much criticism in previous reviews of her focus on hotels/resorts, restaurants and "obvious" tourist attractions. Obviously, these folks have a very much narrower view of what constitutes a "must see" venue than does Schultz.

This is the factor that drastically limits the utility of this book-in trying to be all things to all people it serves the interests of very few people.

Frankly, it seems obvious to me what is needed is a series of "must see" books based on narrow criteria, such as "The 1000 Natural Wonders You Must See Before You Die" or "The 1000 Architectural Marvels....." or the "1000 Best BBQ Places You Must eat At....", and so on.

Having said all that, this tome does indeed provide, for certain geographical areas (primarily North America and western Europe) a decent generic guide to key attractions along a very wide continuum of choices. That is to say, this would be a good starting point to plan out a trip, but should not be considered a good `sole source" as a travel guide. If nothing else, it can help you narrow down how you view what constitutes a "must see' venue when traveling.