Books of the week

Guide to Brazil (Bradt Publications, pounds 11.95) by Alex Bradbury is being promoted as the only guide "specifically written for the ecotourist". It also begins with one of the most promising sentences ever seen in a guide-book, namely that "...Brazil is not a land of many contrasts." If you want tips on spotting capybara, piranha, parakeets and crocodiles in the wild Amazon jungles, then obtain a copy.

Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou: A Travel Survival Kit (Lonely Planet, pounds 9.99) by Robert Storey. The first post-handover guide to Hong Kong does not quite extend to coverage of the handover ceremonies themselves but fortunately for readers, dramatic changes are not in store for Britain's former colony. As ever, the 94 pages of "facts for the visitor" are particularly thorough with tips on everything from rudeness to rugby.

South from the Limpopo: Travels through South Africa (John Murray, pounds 18.99) by Dervla Murphy. In her sixties, Murphy shows no signs of flagging: this is a journal of her 6000-mile bicycle journey through the nine provinces of the new South Africa, undertaken in 1994. Over 400 pages of insightful encounters with literally hundreds of individual South Africans, none of whom fit into the categories we want them to.