Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies [Mass Market Paperback]

Scott Haas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2004

Scott Haas thought that whisking his wife and eight-week-old daughter off to Europe was a wonderful idea. After all, wasn't great food, enriching travel, and a cultured, foreign locale the perfect recipe for family bonding? But after just one week in Switzerland, in a house with a leaky roof, an indoor beehive, and in-laws who wanted to be roommates, any illusions of an idyllic family sojourn fell to pieces. And this was just the beginning.

With heartfelt honesty, Are We There Yet? chronicles the Haas family's trials, triumphs, exhaustion and elation as they travel-and eat-their way through vacations in Europe and America. Anyone who's ever taken the family anywhere will relate to these wonderful stories that illustrate the changes we go through when we travel, and the humor and possibility that exist in every journey.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Early in this breezy, humorous collection of travel pieces, a pediatrician declares, "Babies are wonderful traveling companions." That's all the permission Haas and his wife needed to take newborn Madeleine on a monthlong stay in Switzerland. But the house they rented was infested with bees and had a roof that leaked during a major storm. They stayed on, and Madeleine received a hardy christening as a junior traveler. A couple of years later, son Nick got the same treatment. Haas's account doesn't offer tips on traveling with kids, but does share stories from various trips over the years, as the family favors house exchanges throughout Europe and America over wandering itineraries. The children's presence on these vacations-and their continuing development-allows Haas to observe travel from a father's perspective. In Italy, locals doted on the bambini; on the Cote d'Azur, Haas struggled to reconcile his familial responsibilities with the indolence of the Riviera. The family often bickered over decisions large and small, and much of the book features fast, funny dialogue. Haas, a producer and on-air talent for Here and Now, a nationally syndicated show broadcast from an NPR affiliate, captures precisely the ways the four of them behaved when confronted with the foreign, sometimes rallying as one, sometimes teetering on the verge of chaos. The kids weren't angelic, yet they were usually willing and responsive. A post-9/11 Disney World trip allows Haas to reflect on terror, fantasy and reality, but the whole of the book is charmingly lightweight.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Scott Haas is a staff producer and on-air talent for "Here and Now," a nationally syndicated show broadcast from WBUR, an NPR affiliate. He also reports monthly for "The Splendid Table," syndicated nationally on Public Radio International. Haas received a James Beard nomination for Best Short Radio piece in the United States in 2003 and won First Place Awards from the Associated Press in 2000 and 2001. He has written for Gourmet, is a contributing editor at The Robb Report, and co-wrote The Da Silvano Cookbook. In addition to being a writer, Dr. Haas is chief psychologist at a teaching hospital associated with Boston University Medical School.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Plume (February 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452285135
• ISBN-13: 978-0452285132
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,136,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Families and Travelers, March 15, 2004

By 

A. flynn "flynnar" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies (Mass Market Paperback)

The premise of Scott Haas' book is not catchy or thrilling but I bought it anyway after scanning a few excerpts. He writes about several vacations he has taken with his family over a period of 14 years.

There are three things that Haas brings out in his book that make it irresistable: 1) travel descriptions about places and adventures that sound wonderful (or so horrible we are grateful NOT to be there), 2) "watching" his family grow, and 3) his personality that comes through the pages.

Scott Haas is self-deprecating, humble, funny, confident, funny and honest. Although the book is mainly about traveling with his family, when he writes about them it is not sweeteningly obnoxious. Nor is he arrogant and smug when describing his travels and family.

His anecdotes, observations and descriptions are wonderful and sometimes hilarious - I definitely recommend this book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Traveling with one's Family, April 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies (Mass Market Paperback)

I found Scott Haas's book to be an original account of one's adventures nd mishaps with a family. Too often books about traveling with a family take us to amusement parks, fast food spots, and arcades. In Are We There Yet? we learn of the exciting possibilties of staying on a farm in Switzerland, walking the streets of Venice early in the morning, and exploring the Greek Islands. True, thre are mishaps and arguments along the way, but there are also tender moments between loved ones. The dialoque is crisp and bittersweet. I found myself laughing aloud as I read this thinking it would be fun to see this family live on stage.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars House-Swapping Fantasies, April 22, 2004

By 

James P. Stodder "James P. Stodder" (Connecticut USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies (Mass Market Paperback)

If, like me, you've daydreamed about your family swapping houses with other families in foreign countries, this funny, informative travel memoir may help you make that dream a reality. The account of one family's travel adventures over the course of a decade confirms my sense that living for a month or so like a local in another country would be much more culturally interesting than hotel travel - and definitely more affordable. Not to say that this family does things on the cheap. Their food expenditures in particular are hardly in the "affordable" category. Evidently the author is primarily a food writer and critic and his tastes reflect that. I can't say I know much about that topic. But all you "foodies" out there should enjoy his sensual description of some of his peak dining experiences.