Best in Travel 2012 by Lonely Planet is a gift to us all, published in November 2011, it succeeds last year's version, and yet again finds trends in countries and cities, and illustrates them well, it's a good size to carry in it's printed version or you can get the same book, through the iBookstore.
Like maps? then you'll love the way Best in Travel 2012 is organized, showing where their picks are to zoom in on them. The Top 10 Countries, Regions, and Cities are shown for and each with different icon:
Activities
Adventure
Culture
Events
Family
Food
Off the Beaten Track
Value for Money
The illustrations are rich in color and artistic, a favorite of mine is the Top Travel Lists on page 134, that has many sub topics, such as Best Value Destinations for 2012, which talks to me. The authors use direct, easy to understand English, with honest reviews, exactly what I want to read, no wasted time here. Do you like to be tantalized by places you might like to know more about, and might like to consider, then this book. Take the number 1 on the list - Northeastern USA. I wouldn't have thought of that area being a value, but the authors using budget bus companies ( I hadn't even heard of them) that even have wifi on them, they also have websites of company's that are recommended. Or the list of UK Outside the Olympics ( like Northumberland area with it's deep historical roots of the Scots/English wars ) or The Greatest Guilty Pleasures ( like the Egyptian shisha, the waterpipe that is used for smoking apple flavored tobacco and they list suggested places to go...).
I think is a great value, good gift in print or as an iBook as a resource for good conversations.