Adventures of a Continental Drifter: An Around-the-World Excursion into Weirdness, Danger, Lust, and the Perils of Street Food [Hardcover]

Elliott Hester (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2005

In October 2002, Elliott Hester sold his car, abandoned his apartment, and took off alone on a trip around the world, during which he drifted to over fifty destinations. Elliott's tales about his travels range from the bizarre to the hilarious to the flat-out shocking. Travel with him as he:

· Chases off transvestites in the South Pacific
· Gets drunk on Estonian moonshine at the maker's eightieth birthday party
· Impersonates Samuel L. Jackson at the 38th International Film Festival in the Czech Republic
· Ponders the Finnish tradition of sprinting from steamy sauna to plunge into the frigid Baltic Sea--naked!
· And much more.

Only an around-the-world excursion could produce such outlandish, hair-raising, hysterical adventures. And only Elliott Hester could make such vivid observations and write such vibrant insights about life---and people---on the road.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After suffering cuts in pay and benefits as a flight attendant after 9/11, Hester turned in his wings and became a travel writer. This follow-up to his industry tell-all, Plane Insanity, is based on his syndicated column, "Continental Drifter," and details his experiences traveling across six continents in the space of a year, spending just $60 a day. Although Hester manages to land on couches as often as he rents hotel rooms, this isn't a guide to frugal travel tricks. Instead, it's a romp with an adventurer who rarely becomes jaded or travel weary, and has a way of falling into amusing situations. For example, Hester's affection for Kangol hats has people mistaking him for Samuel L. Jackson at a film festival in eastern Europe; true to his jaunty nature, he doesn't correct them. Hester's writing is lively, and he keeps his observations light. However, the travelogue does have serious moments, as when the author describes being stared at unrelentingly in Argentina because, he says, 97% of the inhabitants are of white European origin. But the seriousness, like Hester's stay in each country, never lasts long.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

At the end of 2001, the author, a flight attendant with 20 years' experience (and author of the witty and revealing Plane Insanity, 2002), realized he was fed up, burnt out, at his wits' end. The events of September 11 had devastated the airline industry, and when his own company offered leaves of absence to its employees, he took them up on it. Then he sold nearly everything he owned and bought himself a ticket around the world. This sparkling book recounts his exploits as a "continental drifter" (also the name of his syndicated newspaper column, which he files from far-flung locales). It's an over-the-top travelogue that's both informative (what to do when diarrhea strikes at the Taj Mahal) and very funny (how to impersonate Samuel Jackson at the Czech International Film Festival). This is perfect for armchair travelers, but it can also be used as a blueprint for readers with a yen for a little continental drifting of their own. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 301 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (August 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312312415
• ISBN-13: 978-0312312411
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #670,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stay single, stay liquid, and travel as much as possible, January 2, 2006

By 

R. Howell "boriskhan" (Medford, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventures of a Continental Drifter: An Around-the-World Excursion into Weirdness, Danger, Lust, and the Perils of Street Food (Hardcover)

Former flight attendent Elliott Hester takes a leave of absence after the events of 9-11 and opts to take his own journey around the world. We are taken along on the trip with him in an assortment of amusing and embarassing anecdotes. He starts in Miami going to Argentina, South Pacific, Australia, SE Asia, India, North Africa, and into the European countries before landing back home. He regals us with stories of topless Scrabble addicts, Dehli Belly, transvestite islanders, the dangers of driving in other countries, sauna in Finland, impersonating Samuel L Jackson in Czech, and other great stories. He runs continual risks of intenstinal problems and is not above humiliating himself. All in all, this is a splendid book showing you how you too can go across the globe on $60 a day. As with most travelogues, it loses a star because the book would have been benefitted by the inclusion of photos he took on the journey. Fast and easy read, I'll be picking up future books of his.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great storytelling, February 27, 2007

By 

F. L. Busch (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventures of a Continental Drifter: An Around-the-World Excursion into Weirdness, Danger, Lust, and the Perils of Street Food (Paperback)

I really liked this book, it's one of my favorite in the genre of travel writing, with some very funny stories from the author's travels. I do wish he took more of a postive approach though, it seems nine out of ten stories show the negative side of travel, though I guess it's good to tell it like it is. Highly reccomended for a good laugh!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magical, hilarious romp around the world!, October 5, 2005

By 

Wannabe traveler (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adventures of a Continental Drifter: An Around-the-World Excursion into Weirdness, Danger, Lust, and the Perils of Street Food (Hardcover)

Rarely have I come across a travel memoir that transports me the way Adventures of a Continental Drifter has. With wit and laugh-out-loud humor, the author not only brings to life some of the most exotic places in the world. He takes you along with him as if you are a vicarious sidekick, stumbling and chuckling along the way. I loved this book. It made me consider quitting my job and traveling the world like Hester did. But then I came to my senses.