The Best American Travel Writing 2007 (Best American (TM))
by Jason Wilson
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 113)
Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
those interested in politics and travel
I've always liked Susan Orleans and she made a great editor for this year's collection. Was Kevin Fedarko's story about chewing khat in Djibuti crazy or what? I thought that was the one one ficticious one she included, initially.
Jonathan Stern's spoof of his Lonely Planet apartment was clever, but I felt like it was too long and didn't exactly belong next to really brilliant pieces like Andrew Solomon's amazingly good reporting on Libya and Qaddafi's son. The one on Brazil's favelas - it's imm...more
Jonathan Stern's spoof of his Lonely Planet apartment was clever, but I felt like it was too long and didn't exactly belong next to really brilliant pieces like Andrew Solomon's amazingly good reporting on Libya and Qaddafi's son. The one on Brazil's favelas - it's imm...more
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Read in June, 2008
I think more people need to read the introduction to the book to really understand the editorial decisions within. All of them were about the act of traveling, about what it does to you and foreign-ness.
My favourites so far?
A Brief and Awkward Tour of the End of the Earth
Saigon Boys
Lost in America
Hutong Karma
and the one that really gripped me was 'The Long Way Home'
My favourites so far?
A Brief and Awkward Tour of the End of the Earth
Saigon Boys
Lost in America
Hutong Karma
and the one that really gripped me was 'The Long Way Home'
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As someone who travels a lot, I find it interesting to read stories from others who not only travel more than I do, but who seem to do it better, get into hotter water, and generally have interesting things to say about interesting places.
I've really enjoyed reading this one and laughed out loud on several occasions. It's an easy and relaxing read.
I've really enjoyed reading this one and laughed out loud on several occasions. It's an easy and relaxing read.
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Read in December, 2007
This is the first time I've read any of the "Best American..." series and now I'm hooked. All of the essays were incredibly fascinating. In one book I got to visit France, Djibouti, Antarctica, Libya, Brazil, Vietnam, Argentina, China, British Columbia, Nepal, and several other places. It is great reading for gloomy winter days.
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Read in February, 2008
I hated this book, because I thought the title was deceiving. I assumed it was about the act of traveling but the editor just picked stories that happened to take place in other countries. To me that is not "travel writing". And several of the stories were from Gourmet magazine - what does that have to do with travel writing?
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Read in March, 2008
A few of the stories were particularly amazing in this edition. My favorite: "High in Hell" by Kevin Fedarko originally published in Esquire. If you just want to read this hilarious/heart-wrenching/informative/lovingly written tale you can check it out online at: http://www.esquire.com/feature...
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I enjoy this series immensely. The 2007 compilation was not as good as some others, but was still a fun read. The story of the Manila trash mountain was interesting and the journey to visit a new Buddha in Nepal was hilarious.
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Great read - picked this up while traveling, and love most of it. There were a couple of the short stories that I didn't dig, but overall, they were easy to get into and informative, while many had some good laughs.
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Read in May, 2008
A mixed bag, as these books usually are, but the piece by Kevin Fedarko about the drug culture in Djibouti and the essay by Ian Parker about the "Birth of a Nation?" make it well worth reading.
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I'm not too impressed with Orlean's selections. I'm trying to learn to travel write by reading travel writing, and I'm struggling to find a teacher in this anthology.
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Read in May, 2008
This was serious travel writing, not all happy stories of discovery. I learned quite a bit, but it did not provide the armchair adventures I was looking for.
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This is so super - I live vicariously through writing like this. And of course, I increase my always-fading geographical knowledge. (cough cough)
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Read in April, 2008
So far I love it - there's a great piece on walking through France by Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love).
Yes, I'm reading 2 books at once...
Yes, I'm reading 2 books at once...
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Read in January, 2008
This is a great series. I've read them each year beginning in 2000. The 2007 edition is one of the better ones.
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