Bradt Travel Guides

The travel industry is big business and tourists want good information to help them decide which destinations to choose. Bradt Travel Guides offer something a bit different. The UK based company produces guides that take an offbeat look at the world, distinguishing them from their more conventional counterparts. Founded in 1974 by Hilary Bradt, she wrote the very first one with her husband as they journeyed down the Amazon River. Since then, the commissioned authors have often gone to parts of the world, not normally in these types of books and not associated with mass tourism.

The philosophy behind the brand makes for informative but entertaining travel writing with great attention to detail and the cultural life of local people. Bradt Travel Guides look into the climate, geographical features, animal life and languages of the area covered. The history of the region or city is also explored. Everything a holidaymaker needs to know is there, including information on hotels, where to eat and health provision. Smaller towns and villages, overlooked by other guides, are often featured. The enterprise and hard work has not gone unnoticed and Hilary Bradt was awarded the MBE by the Queen. The Eccentric series of books looks in detail at life in the UK cities of London, Edinburgh and Oxford and in destinations in France and the US.

There are guides for Africa, Europe, Asia, Tasmania, the Americas and the Caribbean. European cities with their own Bradt Travel Guide include Budapest, Paris, Spitsbergen, Cork and Dubrovnik. There is also a Wildlife series, looking at the wildlife to be found in the Antarctica, the Arctic, the British Isles, Madagascar and Southern Africa. The Galapagos Islands, where Charles Darwin made many of his observations, is also in the series.

The books are available to buy online and the range covers approximately 100 titles. Recent additions include Borneo, Israel, and New Zealand Wildlife. Zanzibar is scheduled for publication in March 2009. One of the books to come out of 2007 has received praise from people working in conservation. 100 Animals to See Before They Die is a guide to the animals on the endangered species list that don't receive as much publicity as others. This book is an attempt to stop them being overlooked. Examples include the Bumblebee Bat, which is the smallest mammal in the world, and the Yangtze River Dolphin. The book includes a separate section on Madagascar. It also contains maps of how the animals are distributed, the major characteristics of the animals, the particular threats to the animals and the details of conservation work that is being done on behalf of the animals.

Another fascinating title from Bradt Travel Guides is Total Solar Eclipse 2008 and 2009. This book is written in a clearly understandable way and the eclipses of August 2008 and July 2009 are discussed. Eclipses are explained and there is a list of expected eclipses up to 2019. There is advice on how to view an eclipse safely and how to photograph and film one of these remarkable events.