About this title: Bestselling author and "New Yorker" staff writer Susan Orlean edits this years volume of the finest travel writing from the past year. Contributors include Ian Frazier, Ann Patchett, David Halberstam, Peter Hessler, and others.
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Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Date Published: 2007-10-10
ISBN-13:9780618582181ISBN:0618582185
Description: Acceptable. Some damage to the cover but integrity still intact, binding slightly damaged but integrity still intact, possible writing in margins, possible underlining and highlighting of text. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Date Published: 2007-10-10
ISBN-13:9780618582174ISBN:0618582177
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Date Published: 2007-10-10
ISBN-13:9780618582181ISBN:0618582185
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Date Published: 2007-10-10
ISBN-13:9780618582181ISBN:0618582185
Description: Very good. Very minimal damage to the cover (no holes or tears, only minimal scuff marks), in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, minimal to no highlighting/under. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Date Published: 2007-10-10
ISBN-13:9780618582181ISBN:0618582185
Description: Good. Minimal damage to the cover, dust jacket not necessarily included minimal wear to binding, majority of pages undamaged, minimal to no highlighting/underlining of text, no missing p. read more
Description: Good. 0618582177 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
"I appreciated this collection because just as it introduced me to authors I wouldn't have normally sought out, it introduced me to places I wouldn't have wanted to read about / travel to. But, I had a hard time really liking this book as a whole. I think it was tough to read this as a collection of 'travel writing' because the topics and pieces didn't match what I expect from 'travel writing'. I'd hardly call some of the entries travel essays..or even travel related stories, apart from the point that they occurred somewhere else. It was a stretch for me to get that the stories were more a byproduct of taking a trip somewhere - for a purpose other than traveling - rather than traveling for the sake of traveling.
In the introduction to this collection the editor said that she didn't have a category or 'type' of essay that she targeted or included, but to me she seemed consistent in choosing authors capable of seeing the beauty in odd (and probably ugly) locations. I needed some variety."
"Really enjoyed this. Most of the essays are great, informative, interesting. One in particular I took a great dislike to -- Elizabeth Gilbert's "Long Day's Journey into Dinner." She is so condescending of the French, and incredibly ignorant in her appraisal of them. Definitely made me dislike her. Some of my favourite essays: "Arieh" by Reesa Grushka, "The Long Way Home" by Nando Parrado (a harrowing journey), and "Birth of a Nation" by Ian Parker."
"This anthology overall was an immense disappointment, and I think much of the blame lies on the shoulders of the editor, Susan Orleans. This collection was so hit and miss (mostly miss), that I questioned her judgment for being to tell a good story from a bad one. At the root of my disappointment is my struggle with the question, "What is a travel essay?" If you left your couch and wrote about it, does that qualify as a travel essay? Or what about a piece on the legislative process of making a tiny protectorate island a nation? Because it takes place in a country outside of the United States, despite having nothing to do with traveling, does that make it a travel essay?
Many of the selections in the anthology belonged in Time or Newsweek -- they were not essays, but rather pieces for Time or Newsweek that were too long to print, so they ended up in this book. Other efforts felt phoned in - Ann Patchett, an author I greatly enjoy, wrote an entertaining but amazingly brief piece (three pages) that ended before it began. Jonathan Stern's piece on "The Lonely Planet Guide to My Apartment" felt contrived and smug, and not nearly as entertaining as the name suggested.
That being said, there were a handful of essays that were real gems - those included David Rakoff's piece on Hollywood Blvd, Steve Friedman's essay on a 410-pound man walking across America to find happiness, and the one of the best short stories I have read in years: "The Incredible Buddha Boy," by George Saunders. It was the only story of the whole anthology that I couldn't put down. A writer for GQ, I hope Saunders will consider publishing his own collection of short stories in the future. Saunders understood what (to me) makes a great travel story - insight, wit, respect for the culture/country that you are visiting, and a sense for making the reader feel that they are experiencing it with you. Fine, fine writing."
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