This brilliant book from award-winning freelance journalist and photographer David Anderson contains everything you need to know about skiing and ski holidays. He comprehensively covers all types of skiing, as well as the essential equipment you’ll need to get started, basic techniques and turns, advanced skills and importantly, how to interpret snow conditions. If you’re looking for the fundamentals of pre-holiday fitness, he also includes tips on how to stretch and warm up before hitting the slopes.

It’s beautifully illustrated with full-colour photos that really make you wish you were there. If you’re on a budget then Anderson gives advice on travel and popular resorts in both Europe and North America (did you know you can actually ski in Iran and Morocco?). He focuses fully on the skiing experience as a whole and gives you everything you need to enjoy your holiday.

Anderson knows his stuff. He’s written articles for newspapers and magazines in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia as well as contributing to both the Rough Guide to Skiing and Snowboarding in North America and the Rough Guide to the Rocky Mountains.

If we take his advice, David Anderson believes that “modern equipment and techniques can have you skiing competently in a matter of days”, which is a relief as I need all the help I can get! The chapter on ‘Techniques’ really helped me with the basic skiing skills – if you know how to fall properly and avoid collisions, this can really help with your confidence the first time you go. This book is a great place to start if you’re considering booking a ski holiday for the first time and for me, it’s been well worth the money.