The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geocaching, 2nd Edition

Geocaching is a fun family activity that has become extremely popular in the last few years. Like a modern-day treasure hunt, it allows people to follow clues in order to potentially find hidden objects. Invented about ten years ago, this high-tech game requires the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) and generally involves some degree of travel, but for the most part, it’s not an especially expensive hobby.

In “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geocaching, 2nd Edition,” which was written by the staff and editors of the website Geocaching.com, you can learn just about everything you might want to know about this hobby. Written for the layman in simple terms that even a child can understand, the book is a very helpful guide to anyone who doesn’t quite understand what geocaching is all about.

One of the nice things about geocaching is the way it connects people around the globe. With more than a million geocaches to be found throughout more than 100 countries, kids and adults have the opportunity to connect with many other people through the logbooks often left in the small containers found at each site. At other times, these boxes will include toys or other trinkets. After a day of hearty outdoor activity searching for the cache, the successful treasure hunter can go home and log onto the computer to find out who else has been to that same site. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geocaching” covers this communal aspect and delves into the other benefits of the pastime as well.

If you are just getting started, then this book should be a good fit for you. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geocaching,” like other books in this series, is written in concise, clear language and is very well organized. Thus, if there’s a particular topic that especially interests you, finding it quickly should be no problem. If you still feel that there’s more you need to learn after reading the book, it includes a list of websites to help you as you continue to learn about the game.

As the title implies, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geocaching” really isn’t meant for experts, so anyone who has been doing this for a while will probably find the book superfluous. Nonetheless, this is a valuable resource that could help draw many people into this clever activity, making it even more exciting. At 320 pages, it covers quite a big of ground, and it’s readily available for less than its cover price of $17. Four out of five stars for this handy guide.