An extraordinary little book, full of astonishing odd facts as well as hard data. It's a comprehensive guide for anyone looking for a synagogue in Chattanooga or a kosher diner in Denver. If, as in my case, schul or saltbeef is a distant childhood memory unless visiting relatives in New York, the book fulfils a different function. I had no idea that there were Jewish cowboys in Kansas and Nevada; that Jews played an important role in the society and economy of the pre-civil war Deep South; that there is a fully fledged Orthodox community smack in the middle of the Iowa cornfields. I didn't, and I'm glad I do now. I recently spent a fortnight skiing in Salt Lake City, state capital of Mormon Utah and as hick as it gets, so looked for entries there. Nothing. A gaping non-Semitic hole. Their loss, I can't help but think. Imagine if someone had written an equivalent guide for Europe.

• To order a copy of The Jewish Travel Guide by Betsy Sheldon (Hunter Publishing, £10.95) for £10.95 plus p&p, call 0870 066 7989.