This is an unusual collection: a spin-off from the literary tours set up during the summer of 2014 to celebrate Dylan Thomas's centenary and allow visitors and fans to explore areas associated with Thomas's life, in the company of contemporary writers who responded to various aspects of the poet's life and work. These tours, distilled into maps and articles, illustrated by a wealth of photographs, are preserved and presented here in a lavish and colourful volume, as a longer-lasting tribute to the poet and a continuing guide to those who wish to follow his footsteps.The areas focused on are mostly, as would be expected, in south and west Wales, but there are also lively excursions to London's Fitzrovia, Oxford and New York's Greenwich Village (and a rather strange visit to Cricieth's mental asylum). There were times when I wished there had been room for more depth and breadth from the contributors, especially from T. James Jones on the influence of Welsh verse patterns in Thomas's poetry and from Pascale Petit on his surrealism, because both, in the context, had to limit their comments to a few well-known works. This is not a criticism of them, rather a function of the book, which is designed as a travellers' handbook (complete with space for tour notes), in the hope that the traveller will be inspired to explore further, not only on the ground but in Thomas's work.Because of the format, some of the most charming contributions are the family memoirs from Hannah Ellis, Thomas's grand-daughter, and Caitlin Thomas's memories of the Aeron valley (through her biographer, George Tremlett). As well as the well-worn paths of the Swansea uplands, Fern Hill and Laugharne, we have reminders of Thomas's life as a writer and devotee of films and, in a particularly good 'tour' by Griff Rhys Jones, we can see the ambivalence of Thomas's response to London - both everlasting party and vision of hell - where he did much work but was never at home.

There is also an interesting glimpse of the little-known time the family spent around Oxford.These are independently written contributions and it is amusing to note how many of the authors offer their areas as the source of Under Milkwood's characters. I would favour Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch's New Quay but, as Thomas went on revising the piece throughout his life, perhaps all the places here contributed to the cauldron from which Llareggub came.Sarah Edmonds's colourful and quirky artwork for the tour maps has an afterlife in calendars and cards, and the book concludes with a handy timeline and bibliography, as well as brief information on the 15 'tour guides'.So many performances, exhibitions and events inspired by Dylan Thomas flowed over us all in Wales in 2014. It is good to see in this publication an endeavour to put into people's hands the means of following up and continuing to explore the man behind that extraordinary celebration.