Roads web this country in a labyrinth of possibilities.

That sentence above -- from the book’s introduction -- how inspiring!! But from there on, the inspiration was only theoretical, and the closest I can come to figuring out why is that the material is just too dry ... there’s no awe in it.

Visually, this is a beautiful take-along guidebook (not a coffee-table book), the text of its smooth, glossy pages generously accented with full-color photos. It’s organized into ten regional sections, each section beginning with an excellent at-a-glance map where the region’s drives are drawn in, named, and accompanied by page-references to their descriptions. Those description each include a small, detailed map and driving directions plus points of interest along the way (typically historic, cultural or natural sites rather than entertainment, dining or lodging), including contact info like phone numbers and websites.

Curiously, almost every map is rotated to fit the layout of the page, rather than the layout fit to the logical orientation of the map. There’s always a compass indicator of north, but it’s still disorienting to see, for example, the east-west (horizontal) drive along the southern shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario presented as a vertical route (with an “N” compass pointing off 45-degrees to the left).

And contrary to the back cover’s promise of “vivid descriptions,” the text felt workmanlike. I’ve driven some of these drives and found them to be phenomenal, but this book did nothing to recall that awe. I sometimes couldn’t decipher what was the cohesive theme of a drive. In the end, I’d probably drive quite a few of them if I were in their areas, and the information here would elevate my appreciation of the routes. But this book doesn’t inspire me to seek out any of them.

(Review based on a copy of the book provided by the publisher.) ( )