The Best American Travel Writing 2002

by Frances Mayes (Editor), Adam Gopnik (Reading), Molly O'Neill (Reading)

Giving new life to armchair travel for 2002, here are ten unabridged tales on such varied concerns as God and airports; a dangerous Bolivian festival; one perfect meal in Cambodial; the eternal pleasures of Rome, and much more.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Essays, Short Stories

5 pages, Audio Cassette

First published October 15, 2002

About the author

Frances Mayes's new book is See You in the Piazza: New Places to Discover in Italy published by Crown. Her most recent novel is Women in Sunlight, published by Crown and available in paperback in spring 2019. With her husband, Edward Mayes she recently published The Tuscan Sun Cookbook. Every Day in Tuscany is the third volume in her bestselling Tuscany memoir series.

In addition to her Tuscany memoirs, Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany , Frances Mayes is the author of the memoirs Under Magnolia: A Southern Memoir; A Year in the World; the illustrated books In Tuscany and Bringing Tuscany Home; Swan, a novel; The Discovery of Poetry, a text for readers; and five books of poetry. She divides her time between homes in Italy and North Carolina.

Reviews

[Stacey McLarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is ok. I really love travel writing, and have read a jillion or so travel stories, but I could not embrace this. It took forever to read. Over and over, I left off in the middle of a story because it just didn't draw me in; finishing the stories never left me feeling like I had shared a valuable experience with the author (which is my usual experience, even when the authors are very different from me or visit places I don't want to go). It was hard to put myself in the shoes of these authors because it always felt like I was looking through lenses designed for someone else's astigmatism. One of the very few travel writing collections that I will probably never read again.

[Bridget · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. The end.

[Joe1207 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weaker collection compared to 2001, but I still enjoyed it. Frances Mayes picked a lot of stories from Islands magazine (she's the author of Under the Tuscan Sun). I wanted to see how it differed from the 2001 collection; the previous book doesn't include any stories about 9/11, and this collection had two or three explicitly about it, with maybe another three stories directly referencing it. Makes sense, but I wasn't expecting so many stories about the U.S.--they made up something like 9 out of 26. But I don't know if that speaks more to the unique moment in time, or the editor. Probably the editor.

Worth revisiting:
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Void” by Michael Finkel, from National Geographic Adventure
“Ancient Roads, Walled Cities” by Tom Mueller, from Hemispheres
“Spetsés, Greece” by Isabella Tree, from Islands

[Julia Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading all of these different travel stories from all over the world. I definitely liked some more than others, but many left lasting impressions on me, like the story of the fights of tinku in Bolivia and the experiences of different people going through the Sahara dessert.

[Libraryassistant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was just so not what I expected. If I were rating just for the quality of the writing it would have to be higher, but it just wasn’t for me. My disappointment is reflected in the rating.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly every single story was riveting. I particularly enjoyed the writings of those who had been in the desert. Would highly recommend this book.

[Kurt Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some duds in this one

[Tuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

this particular edition is in the H W Wilson Public Library Catalog for outstanding and exemplar writing (or in this case, editing?). i am not sure why this one is and others aren't, or the whole series. but for a great way to read short travel writing these "best american..." can't be beat. This same publisher and "series" is where "best american non-required reading..." is too.

[Heather D-n]

Found this on Carlos' shelves--a treasure trove. Sometimes, travel writing hinges on, "I went somewhere and it was great." There has to be some sort of internal reflection or story with poignancy to keep me interested. I've found I like a few of these.

[Steve Kierstead]

Some good stuff, some not so good. Just as you might expect. See my notes in status updates above.

I finished the book just before we left for Maryland a few weeks ago, but failed to update this until now. Life is full.

[Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just so so. Some essays were OK others not at all. Hope this wasn't "the best American travel writing"!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little treasure from the Border's discount bin.

[gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Among my favorites: Throw Junior From the Car and Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Void.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars