Customer Reviews

The Conde Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The previous two reviewers both gave this two stars only. I think the arrangement of the articles, alphabetically by country, detracts from the power of the best entries here. The magazine obviously can attract top authors to contribute, yet the selections vary widely in length, focus, and inherent interest. While there are eight or ten fine pieces, too many others trudge along dutifully and make you wonder why, except for the commission from their publisher, the author bothered at all.

There's not much in the way of editorial guidance. A skimpy introduction, and while each entry does have appended a relevant supplement that appears to be lifted from what would have accompanied the original article, there's no byline to verify or deny this. These "service addenda" are credited only in a list ending the acknowledgements. So, I'm not sure who wrote each one; only two of the authors appear here in this endnote. These suggested itineraries, reading lists, or travel tips, as with the original entries, veer all over the place in quality. From two decades, if these are the best 21 articles from "eighteen eminent contributors," then I'm glad I did not have to read the rest of the magazine's articles that didn't make the cut.

Gregor von Rezzori floats down the Romanian Danube but fails to make us want to follow; Russell Banks did the same for me in the Everglades. Jan Morris on the Big Island of Hawai'i, Nik Cohn in Savannah, Edna O'Brien at Bath, and Patricia Storace in Provence all provide serviceable reports, but none of these grabbed my interest enough. Nicole Krauss enters Japanese gardens in Kyoto, and she does conjure up if you're curious why they cast their spell. Shirley Hazzard tells where to go on Capri, and again the appeal may lure those so inclined. Robert Hughes on Barcelona-- he wrote a long book on the city-- falls into masses of detail beyond the scope of a short essay. Philip Gourevitch uses his experience as an African reporter well, and if you're more curious about safaris than I am, it's a helpful primer. But, despite the noble attempts at ecological journalism by Suketu Mehta from along the endangered Himalayas, his contribution's tonally out of place among the more personal approach of the other entries. I liked better Edmund White's discussion of Petra's natural beauty and eerie remains. Simon Winchester dares to hike up volcanic Mount Mayon in the Philippines and you feel his pain.

My favorite essays? Pico Iyer's visits to Iceland and Ethiopia both reveal, in a very religious vs. a rather secular locale, a poignant sense of the primeval beauty and terror that seem to have endured before mankind's arrival. Francine Prose in tracing Kafka through Prague certainly follows a well-worn path, but her knack for the uncanny makes her essay succeed: she ends it with a vignette of walking along as the streetlights blink out, rather than timed on, at her approach. William Dalrymple finds along his own pilgrim's trail to Compostella a vigorous counter to the pieties and predictabilities of a familiar traveller's tale. These three writers manage to show us what we may already know, as they do, while keeping an eye out for the happenstance. They mix the historical and the recent well, and do not descend into a potted recital of guidebook lore or hackneyed glimpses of quirky local color.

Patricia Storace shows how invisible the reality of Athens is in its ruins and its legends that persist amidst a gossipy, noisy, and frank exchange of daily routine among its bustling and busybody natives. Similarly, Robert Hughes enters the funereal remnants of ghostly Etruria to plumb sarcophagi where the natural and the man-made appear to have exchanged places, such is their decay into the caves beneath the glare.

Finally a couple of places I had no interest in going to, but whose narratives kept me eager to find out what happens next to the writer. James Truman drolly does this in Iran to elegant effect. John Julius Norwich elbows us through the Vatican; it's accompanied by a very detailed insider's walking tour of how to navigate the labyrinthine museums. Whoever wrote this skillful guide on what to see and what to miss amidst the Roman throngs deserves extra editorial credit.

I was looking forward to sinking myself into this book and finding myself dying to go to some of the places mentioned in the book. The book did not give me this feeling. Some of the essays were very good at convincing me not to travel to these places, i.e. Pico Iyer's Ethiopia for one. Others were just blah.. Only a few inspired.

I was disappointed in this book because the stories are so lifeless. There are a lot of facts about each destination but it falls extremely short of inspiring travel. I think the people who wrote the chapters need a little excitement in their lives...but I'm not sure where they'll get it if Greece, Italy, England and South America don't evoke enough emotion for them. Maybe Cleveland.

I'm kind of shocked at the negative and so-so commentary here..must be a tough audience. I found this book to be awesome. I have read about places I'd never choose if a novel, and discovered writers that are now treasures to me. Years ago I got thru a cold winter in New Mexico with this book, such a comforting partner to spend the cold, dry and brown season with. I recently picked it up again after a long absence. I'm reading through essays I missed the first time and fully enjoying them. Pico Iyer is my favorite writer, I'll admit. The sublime cover design with it's classy deboss on the typography, and the words and places within make me wish this book was 2-3 times as long.

The writing itself is great as the editor got to cherrypick from the best of Conde Nast Traveller magazine. the problem is within the mag you'd have nice glossy pics of these places that are talked about so sometimes the text does not work without the pics.

At the ends of each article are tips, notes, trivia, etc. on the places discussed.
Those are mainly, like the mag, aimed at those people traveling to these particular places.

Also, since this info is not up here and to better make your purchasing decision, here's the list of places talked about in the book. I have no idea why they felt the need to have three articles on Italy when most nations warranted just the one:
Czech Republic
England
France
Greece
Rome, Italy
Capri, Italy
Vatican City
Romania
Barcelona, Spain
Santiago, Spain

Iceland

Iran
Jordan
Ethiopia
Tanzania

Japan
Philippines
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii

Himalayas

I love travel stories and Conde Nast has put together a collection from all parts of the world. I recommend this for anyone interested in travel (from the comforts of their couch) and those who are interested in writing about their travels. A fine varied example of writing styles.

This is a fantastic book. A great overview if you plan on visiting any of the countries reviewed, has some "off the beaten path" treks and adventures. I particularly liked the chapters on the Himalayan ecosystems and Tanzania. The pilgrimage in Italy is also good. Actually, all the chapters are great - unique and different since each is written by a different travel writer. I couldn't wait for the next chapter to see where I might armchair travel next!