In “Epic Drives of the World” (328 pages, $35), Lonely Planet serves up a collection of journeys through geography, geology and cultures of astonishing grandeur, from the Belfast loop to the Captain Cook Highway to Iceland’s Ring Road. Each story is flanked by gorgeous images for inspiration, as well as practical information for those inspired enough to go. Havana to Viñales: Overhead, neighbors call to one another as they hang out washing in colorful strings from balconies; others gather on doorsteps to shoot the breeze, as often as not with fat Cuban cigars dangling from their fingers. The Great Ocean Road: After Lorne, an Australian beachside town that attracts a lot of weekending urbanites, the driving experience begins in earnest. Canada’s Icefields Parkway: Craggy peaks spike the skyline to east and west, and beyond lies wild backcountry barely changed since the days when Stoney, Kootenay and Blackfeet tribes called this land home. West Atlantic Way: Vibrant, bohemian Galway soon gives way to the limestone fields of the Burren, the precipitous Cliffs of Moher, and the reels and jigs that are a feature of Doolin’s pubs.