Customer Reviews

One Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ate it up in 2 nights. It was great to read about traveling with kids, who have their own perspectives and don't care what the guidebook says. The "we took a year off" part was interesting, but the fun part was finding out what the kids liked and why. The humor is welcome. This will make a great gift to parents.

(...) the children were the BEST part. Isn't it obvious by the book jacket that this is a story about a FAMILY's adventures? Written first person by the Dad, it can only have his perspectives and thoughts, with Devi's and the kids' interjecting every so often. I am amused by their antics and the sibling rivalry is definitely true to life. (Don't) forget that David's purpose to take this trip was NOT to research a book, but to spend time on an adventure with his family, which he does to (most of) our delight. If he had spent more time polishing this book on the journey, I'm certain his joy with the family would have suffered, and I am happy to read the entertainment that he spins for us.

Definitely read the book. It's fun, a good read, filled with a couple of practical tidbits (tricks and bribes =)) here and there about travelling with your family. When I have kids I'll definitely do the same, even if they don't appreciate it yet!!

I really enjoyed reading this book and it was easy to finish. It tries to sound like it is written as it is happening but it seems pretty clear that it has been filtered by hindsight. Although he touches on some of the challenges like getting his kids to stop fighting, again, I think the hindsight filter has mitigated how challenging this might have been at the time. Also, it seems like it focuses on the highlights, much like travel guides do when I was more interested in some of the nitty gritty of the daily life of trying to do something like this with children. What you have is a pleasant travelogue with some nicely written vignettes. My personal take-away is I would rather have my children and I spend more time in fewer places - more likely picking a base and exploring from there instead of living out of a suitcase. I also imagine that this trip cost the Cohen's a lot more than we would consider spending. They did, for example, bring along a nanny. One very useful aspect of this tale is they had a toddler along with two school age children and we get to see how the different ages affects how they reacted to the trip.

Ate this volume up on a flight to the mid-west and enjoyed every minute of it. The book was not meant to be a how-to on taking a family around the planet. There are plenty of books for that. You will discover, through Cohen's (mostly his wife's) honesty, in explaining their errors, that it is possible to tour around the world with youngsters in tow, exposing them to things that they never would have. Television is a poor substitute for smelling the grasses in Africa and tasting food in India.

The book wasn't meant to be deep as it was only an email format which made it easy to digest. I do agree with a reviewer that some of the language was chunky in the thesaurus department.

For those bitter about a rich white guy touring the world, it wasn't done on a yacht and first class flights and that was the point. They didn't travel like us bums on busses with no air conditioning in the middle of Egypt in the summer but they did have to consider their children. You don't want to induce more pain than necessary. The reviewer from Amazon must not have traveled anywhere other than suburban America - the world is full of people who live like this every day. Kids break bones. Children sadly drown at local beaches every year. You don't have to go to Australia for that. You're probably more likely to die commuting to a job you hate than eaten by a hyena. The entire objective was to get more immersed in culture than the tourist might, (a person who doesn't know where they are), and become a traveler, (someone who doesn't know where they're going). Maybe Cohen's family did succeed and maybe they didn't.

Cohen figured out that the "gather things/junk and defend them materialistic culture" mentality was not satisfying. Too bad more don't come to that conclusion. His daughter running into the poor girl and getting a real taste of what it could be like was dramatic. Cohen's daughter came face to face with another little girl her same age, begging for money; the lesson of the trip was drilled home permanently I think.

The meaning of life is not in this book. How to travel the world in not in here either. What is in here is one man's journey of discovery with his family. The epilogue discussing financing, dealing with children and a spouse for 24/7 was appreciated, too. You do receive some practical information there, so it's not all prose. Highly recommended for a laugh, those thinking about such a trip and those who will never do it.

This is a decent book, but I enjoyed 360 degree longitude better. The writing in One Year Off isn't very captivating and the story of a wealthy family traveling the world for a year made it difficult for me to connect with the story. Also, the fact that they couldn't manage to homeschool their kids on the road and so they decided to spend 6 months in Australia was a bit of a let down (and boring part to the book). I preferred 360 Degree Longitude since while the family is clearly upper middle class they needed to persistently save to do this trip. They also were rugged travelers - camping, staying in hostels and biking. The writing of 360 was far better to boot - I found it difficult to put the book down.

I read this book years ago and continue to share it with friends and family members. It is a lovely mix of family stories and world travel. I particularly like the lessons it teaches us about how important life is. We only go around once so we better make it good.

Having bought this book i simply could not put it down. I admire anybody who can sell their house and car to travel somewhere new, taking the bull by the horns and knowing they need to take a risk to experience life. I know, i've done it! However, this was a risk and a half. I read the book living the adventure through David Cohen and his family and didn't want it to end. I am truly inspired and saving for a journey of my own (though i am not sure i am quite brave enough to do what he did).

If you liked this book, you will probably enjoy "A Brilliant Teacher" about a family that had a similar year-long world adventure, but with very different experiences because they were on a limited budget. The family in "One Year Off" seemed to have unlimited resources. The limitations in "A Brilliant Teacher" lead that family to meet lots of interesting people and have quite interesting adventures with their three children.
A Brilliant Teacher: Lessons Learned from One Family's Journey Around the World

Many people think long-term travel is only for students, bohemians, retired people, or the ones that leave "it all" behind. This book shows that you don't have to be crazy, a millionaire, or single to travel the world for an extended period of time. Cohen describes how he, his wife, and three kids of various ages planned, traveled, and returned after a year away. Contrary to many boring travelogues, this one is well-written and sometimes funny. It gives you insight into the ups and downs, including the emotions of the family. It is a great motivational read for families with kids.

I got this book from the library and really enjoyed it. I admit, I initially wasn't thrilled about reading about a family's adventures (yawn) but David Cohen is such a good writer it turned out to be a total pleasure. And his family seems great. Hope they're all doing well, all these years later. Thanks for the good read! I feel like I took a really nice year-long vacation today.