It may only be forty-eight pages in length, but if you plan to travel around Belize by car it might just be the best friend you could have on the road.

Noted and acclaimed writer Emory King literally washed ashore “on a beautiful moon-light night in December, 1953, “when the yacht he was travelling on ran up on a reef of ‘Staghorn Coral’ at English Caye. Following the repairs on the vessel, Emory decided not to go. Since in his own words “ I couldn't swim and did not want more ocean excitement.” At age 22 Emory of Protestant faith became the Public Relations St. John's College, a Jesuit High School. In Belize City.

Decades later Emory has become a prolific writer about the country of Belize. He is a columnist for the Belize Times newspaper. He has written over fifteen books on a wide variety of topic pertaining to Belize from founding father George Price to retiring in paradise, but as Emory explained in a recent interview with BELIZEmagazine.com, his books are “politically unacceptable to the politicians.”

Regardless of some of his politically sensitive writings, Emory’s contributions to Belize have been profound. Emory was instrumental in bringing the Mennonites to Belize in 1958; he brought the first movie, "The Dogs of War" to Belize in 1980 as well as "The Mosquito Coast" ; and he introduced Michael Ashcroft to the proposal of the Royal Bank of Canada to sell off their branch in Belize in 1987.
‘Emory King’s 2006 Driver's Guide To Beautiful Belize’ is packed full of humorous short stories. It also has detailed maps that can guide the traveller along the back roads of the Mountain Pine Ridge to the remote Maya villages of the Toledo District. The book makes driving in Belize City and capital Belmopan as easy as walking the sidewalk in Placencia. With gas stations prominently marked on the maps you will be sure to arrive at your destination.

Emory also offers up in ‘Emory King’s 2006 Driver's Guide To Beautiful Belize’ some of that straightforward philosophical wisdom that anyone that has had the good fortune to meet him personally will attest. One of my favourites, “if you come to Belize without patience you will learn it; if you come with patience, you will lose it.”

**** Four Stars out of Five.