Have You Read Any Good Travel Books Lately? 3rd Edition!

I confess, I am addicted to travel literature, as well as traveling every chance possible. It is time to again share with you some of the books I have recently completed and which I think you might enjoy. As you review my selections, think back on some of the travel literature that you may have enjoyed, then send me an email suggesting what I might read next!

Mediterranean Summer by David Shalleck with Erol Munuz (Broadway Books 2007)

Five Stars by both Barnes and Noble, and Amazon  This is not just a travel book about the French and Italian Mediterranean coast, but also a book that will appeal to those who love cook books, and like to sail. David Shalleck was a San Francisco and New York Chef, who decided he needed European cooking experience. After four years of interning in Italian restaurants he signed on for the summer season as Chef of a classic sailing yacht owned by one of Italy’s most prominent couples. He then spent five months cooking out of a small galley for the rich and famous while sailing in and out of the great Mediterranean ports of France, Italy, Sardinia and Corsica. The book contains all of his delightful Italian food recipes and the great experiences of the summer. I heartily recommend the book as did Amazon and Barnes & Nobel, who both gave the book five stars.

the media relations department of hisbollah wishes you a happy birthday by Neil MacFarquhar (Public Affairs 2009, paperback edition 2010)  A Washington Post and Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year

I have to admit that my understanding of the problems of the middle east and the impact of Islam have been lacking. We have traveled to Israel and Egypt but, alas we were pursuing Christian education rather than paying a lot of attention to the developing politics of the region. Neil Macfarquhar was raised in Libya and after a Stanford education became a mid-east correspondent for the Associated Press. He then became the bureau chief for the New York Times in Cairo. Neil brings an interesting perspective to the stress and trauma from Morocco to Iraq and everything in between. He speaks fluent Arabic and his long tenure covering the wars, dictators, fatwa’s, and growth of extreme religious governments has given a unique look at the current situation in the Arab and Persian countries. He gives many stories of his contacts with dissidents and their struggle for human rights. Neil pulls no punches with criticism of the U.S. government in their foreign policy and dealings with these countries. For a real eye opening travel/history/politics book about the middle east this is a great place to start.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin Books 2007)  #1 New York Times Bestseller

I know, I know, I probably was one of the last readers of this book in America. I had seen it on the bookstore shelves for years and for some reason could just not get interested in it. When I did buy it, my reading of it was pretty slow, as the first few chapters really seamed to bog down. Eventually, though when you get into Greg Mortenson’s efforts to create schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and battle the Taliban to educate girls where no education had ever happened before, it literally brought tears to my eyes. As a result of his work he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. His foundation to help build and fund additional schools has become one of our new charities. He has become quite a world famous humanitarian. I now have his new book “Stones into Schools” and will be embarking on it soon. Greg is speaking to the Rotary International convention in Montreal this summer and we plan to not miss his presentation.

I’ll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a small village in Brittany by Mark Greenside (Free Press 2008)

For those of you who have previously read my travel book recommendations, you know I really do have a soft spot for stories of expatriates living in France. I swear, they just jump out at me off the book store shelves (and Half Price Books). Maybe I am looking for successes of foreigners who can conquer the difficulties of traveling and living in France. This book is a really funny story of one problem after another of a guy who buys a house in Brittany having never lived in France, did not speak French, and ultimately ends up being continually rescued by his neighbors. Naturally, he ends up falling in love with his rural town and the people in it. There are so many incidents in the book that you will recognize if you have ever traveled in France, that it is really fun to read. Presently I have loaned the book to one of the couples that have traveled with us to France, so they can also chuckle through it. So, you will have to buy your own copy!

Have You Read Any Good Travel Books Lately? 2nd Edition!

I am sure you know, from prior travel articles, that I am addicted to travel literature, as well as traveling every chance I have. A few years ago I wrote an article about travel books that I enjoyed. As my bookcases fill up, it is time to again share with you some of the books I have recently completed and that I think you might enjoy. As you review my selections, think back on some of the travel literature that you may have enjoyed, then send me an email suggesting what I might read next!

Marco Polo Didn’t Go There by Rolf Potts. The author is a prolific writer and shows up frequently with travel articles in the major travel magazines and the annual travel anthologies like The Best American Travel Writing. This book is his second book and is a compendium of twenty travel stories collected from his previous writings. It also has an interesting feature as the author puts end notes at the end of each story, telling about incidents that were not included and writing tips on how he came to structure the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and after the fact found that others likewise enjoyed it as the previous purchasers on Amazon gave it five starts. Travelers Tales. ©2008

A Town Like Paris by Bryce Corbett. I am a real sucker for travel books about France and Paris. We have been to France three times, but that really doesn’t account for this affliction. Maybe it is because a fellow judge and good friend has bought a one month time share flat in Paris. Or could I just be jealous? The subtitle of the book is Falling in Love in the City of Light. It is all about an Australian who takes a job in Paris, just really to have the experience of discovering the delights of Paris. The book is a good romp through his experiences of many aspects of living and loving in Paris with all of his new friends, both expats and Parisians. My judge friend has me to keep her continually excited about Paris, as I send the French books on to her after I have finished them! Broadway Books ©2007

A Year in the Merde and In the Merde for Love by Stephen Clarke. As long as I am on a roll with the French travel books, here are a couple of more. I had seen the Stephen Clarke books in the travel literature sections of book stores for years, but for some reason resisted buying. The first book was an international best seller, so I should have read it. When I did read (both of them) I did enjoy Stephen’s experience of trying to start a British tearoom in Paris and all the trials, troubles, and tribulations that result. He is a very funny writer. To obviously protect some of the key players, this is an “almost true” memoir. Bloomsbury ©2004 & 2006

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux. In the opinion of many, Paul Theroux is the best travel writer of all time. He certainly is prolific in that he has written fourteen travel books and twenty-seven fiction books. In March he showed up in an interview in National Geographic Traveler and he has a short story about Turkmenistan in The Best American Travel Writing of 2008. Theroux is pretty much inescapable in the travel writing genre. The most recent Theroux travel adventure that I had read was Dark Star Safari where he traveled from the top of Africa to Cape Town, South Africa. This was a great read and I highly recommend it. I was not aware he had written a new book until I spotted it in Wide World of Books in Seattle’s Wallingford District. Due to a gift certificate I actually bought Ghost Train to the Eastern Star in hardback! Many of you might remember The Great Railway Bazaar which was his very first travel book and written 33 years ago. It was a train journey across Europe, through the mid-east, down the length of India, through Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Viet Nam, and then skipping to Japan and with a grand finale of the Trans-Siberian across Russia and back to London. His new book is a return to the same locales, mostly by train, and viewing and commenting on the changes over those 33 years. It has Theroux’s usual detail and it is quite a read. The reviews are a bit mixed on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but I thought parts of it were very good, particularly about India, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Myanmar. Houghton Mifflin Company ©2008

Have You Read Any Good Travel Books Lately?

As an addicted reader, it is only logical that apart from traveling, I am also a lover of travel literature. These are not the books about what to do when traveling to a destination, but rather the experiences and tales of an author after traveling to a travel destination or destinations. My family is very glad that I enjoy this pastime as it gives them at least something to give me for birthdays and Christmas. I am sorely lacking in other hobbies or pursuits. And did I ever get in a lot of trouble by buying several travel literature books just before Christmas! There is hardly a category of travel literature that I don’t enjoy. My tastes, times, and countries are very eclectic, which is good as I tend to read two or three travel literature books a month.

I must admit that a travel literature book need not be a Pulitzer winner or the author a fantastic writer. For me the criteria of a good travel literature book is one that is fun (a lot of humor), the events and experiences are interesting and sometimes exciting, and often the book will create a desire to travel to the location. There are a lot of writing formulas for a travel literature book. You can visit many places by reading the short stories in such books as The Best Travel Stories of 20??. There is a whole genre of books chronicling the buying and restoring of a home in a foreign country ala Frances Mayes and Under the Tuscan Sun. Many travel books just take a travelogue format where the author tells of the experiences of traveling in a location.

As a taste of current reading, here are a few books I have recently read, and which are good enough to recommend to you:

Spotted in France by Gregory Edmont. An American in Paris who graduates from the Sorbonne and buys a Dalmatian dog that he trains to ride on the back of his Vespa. He takes a road trip to Provence to breed the dog at the farm where he bought the dog. As you can imagine he gets into hilarious situations. A sequel is coming out in the Spring of 2008.

Whatever You Do, Don’t Run by Peter Allison. These are the true stories of an Australian who becomes a Botswana safari guide. It is an easy read with a lot of adventure. Surely makes you want to go to one of those high end safari camps in the Okavango Delta of Botswana.

The Caliph’s House: A year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah. This is of the restore the house genre, but you won’t believe the problems the author and his family encounter in Morocco. You just don’t expect the house to be haunted and the necessity of having the house exorcised to rid it of the jinns. When I find an author that I like I tend to then buy and read his or her other books. As this is written I am reading In Search of King Solomon’s Mines by Shah.

Fried Eggs with Chopsticks by Polly Evans. I first discovered Polly Evans in a book about cycling through Spain titled It’s Not About the Tapas. The “Fried Eggs” book is about her experiences traveling by bus and train in China. She has a new book out describing her travels in New Zealand titled Kiwis Might Fly. I have the book but I am saving its pleasure until we are in New Zealand this spring.

The Bird Man and the Lap Dancer by Eric Hansen. This is by far my favorite book of the giving season (thank you Amanda and Geoff!). It is subtitled as “Close Encounters with Strangers.” Eric Hansen has led an incredible life over the last 35 years traveling all over the world and writing his adventures. This book is nine short stories of some of the most amazing people and places he has encountered on his travels. He has also written a highly acclaimed (five stars on Amazon) book titled Motoring with Mohammed: Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea. I will be buying it soon!

If you are interested, all of these books can be bought online at either Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and probably in the travel section of your local bookstore. Have you read any good travel books recently that you would recommend to me? It would be great to hear from you with your suggestions. Just send me an email to tmawarren@broadstripe.net.