“World Heritage Sites”
($29.95, Firefly)
is a great reminder that it isn’t just land that we need to protect, but the hundreds of thousands of treasures from ancient civilizations, cultural relics, natural habitats and other sites important to human history. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization began its list in 1959 when Egypt’s Aswan High Dam threatened a valley that contained invaluable historical artifacts, and since then the international safeguarding campaign has recommended a roster of 878 World Heritage sites for preservation. This guide arranges them chronologically by the year they were designated by UNESCO, and offers color photos, a brief history and explanation of their further significance, the criteria that put them on the list and, for some of the sites, additional trivia. Kyle Wagner
