A Loo with a View - Luke Barclay

A collection of the world's most scenic outhouses, panoramic bathrooms and incomparable restroom views.

Here is a collection of 77 of the most spectacular, intriguing and thought-provoking restrooms with views. Some are primitive outdoor facilities, where the view is the finest luxury, and many others are luxurious indoor lavatories with views not to be missed. Still others are bathrooms on the move -- in the air, in the water and on the ground.

Deserts, forests and mountain ranges loom large, but so do historical sites, monasteries, research stations, transportation hubs and sports facilities. There are toilets for train enthusiasts, plane spotters and wildlife spotters, and at least 10 of them overlook World Heritage Sites.

Photographs show the views as the user sees them. Lively descriptions and anecdotes add background, and country maps show locations. The facilities include:

• Spotlessly clean, fully flushable and unisex on Mount Fuji
• Front seat to the runway at Singapore's Changi Airport
• Outdoor "communal toilet" at a Buddhist monastery
• Cape Town, South Africa, overlooking Table Mountain (binoculars included)
• Dune 45 in the Namibian desert
• Tengboche Monastery in view of Mount Everest
• Overlooking Hong Kong's vast harbor
• Beneath 24-hour daylight in Antarctica.

The entertaining photographs in A Loo with a View take the concept of convenience to a new level. No two loos are alike and all are truly remarkable. After all, a toilet is a necessity of life -- no matter where you are.