This book describes a theoretical trip down Burma's Irrawaddy River. It's not quite a travel guide, for it contains no recommendations, but it's too abstract to be considered a travel narrative. It contains a certain level of historical background, but it's too scattershot to be an academic book. It is formatted like a coffee-table book, but the photography is far less spectacular than one expects from that genre. The text is quite bland, and tends to get hung up on some less than interesting tangents such as temple architecture and local industries. In short, it's an enjoyable and quick read which is still something of a waste of time. ( )