Report From Practically Nowhere [Paperback]

John Sack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2000

This is an authoritative assessment of thirteen of the most unimportant nations on the face of the earth. To achieve this milestone of journalism, John Sack traveled on innumerable planes, boats, trains, buses and one "bus", on the London tube, by muleback and by tonga, all the way from Lundy in the Bristol Channel to Sikkim on the borders of Tibet. The amazing fact is that all these countries exist. In adding not one word to the truth except his own relish and wit, John Sack has produced a wonderfully comic book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book one eagerly reads out loud with considerable delight." -- Newsweek

About the Author

"Welcome the voyager, John Sack, back, Bringing of traveler's tales a pack, From nations not up everyone's alley, So tiny they'd puzzle Rand McNally." -Maurice Dolbier, The New York Herald Tribune Visit the author at johnsack.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (March 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595089186
• ISBN-13: 978-0595089185
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,710,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent, unique travel book, December 30, 2004

By 

jose_monkey_org "jose_monkey_org" (ann arbor, mi, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Report From Practically Nowhere (Paperback)

i first read about "reports from practically nowhere" on a flight this summer. it was featured in an airlines magazine in an article about touring small countries. evidently a couple was inspired to do the same and visit tiny countries. the magazine promised that the book was unique, enjoyable, and tantilizing in places, and they couldn't be more correct.

sack, the book's author, sounds like the perfect man for the job. he's adventerous, affable, and sounds easy going. unlike what you may expect, he meets the heads of many of these countries, enjoys strange encounters with them, and really finds the soul of a place. this is quality travel writing, and perfect for the task of writing about small contries. some history is thrown in, some discussion of local wildlife, customs, and economics, which adds to the charm without bogging it down. you shouldn't expect to learn the gritty details of what makes andorra's history unique, or how lundy's economy has held up, but you'll get an enjoyable tidbit of information.

another interesting perspective, and one that seems obvious in retrospect, is the mismanagement of some of these places. they simply cannot generate enough revenue to be self sufficient, in some cases there are interesting questions about who is the rightful head of state, and there are some odd miscreants in some places. all in all, sack delivers an uncommon view into the issues in these sorts of places.

the main misgiving i have about this edition is that it lacks a map. i'd enjoy seeing where on earth these delightful sounding places are located.

never boring, always charming, and thoroughly intriguing. if you like travel literature, this is a gem.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still good after all these years, July 31, 2006

By 

Tom Squitieri "Talicni Tom" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Report From Practically Nowhere (Paperback)

As one who loves remote places and has visited all seven continents, "Report from Practically Nowhere" makes me long for a time machine. Ah, for the days of being able to easily enter far-off places without hoards of (gulp!) tourists cluttering about and to be able to find the mayor or prime minister at a local haunt. It leaves me wistful, at the very least.
Although lacking much of the detail that those seekers among us long for regarding such remote places, Sack's good fortune at finding and getting to these nations (some which sadly no longer exist) is a blessing for us all. It reminds us that travel, indeed, should be at times spontaneous, educational, revelatory and certainly fun. And Sack has created a good list for those of us who like unique parts of the world to quiz each other and embolden us to discover even more parts of our world that we really want to be among the first to visit.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining book about odd places, January 15, 2001

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Report From Practically Nowhere (Paperback)

Occasionally I check amazon.com listings against by personal library to see what has been reprinted. I was pleased to find that a publisher has reprinted this book, first published in 1955. It is an interesting and entertaining report about an assortment of places, and illustrates that some places are isolated enough (or no-account enough) or simply have traditional relationships such that big governments leave them alone. They continue merrily on their way, sometimes oblivious to the world around them (sometimes involved and sometimes not). They range in size from tiny (the Sovereign and Military Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Malta which occupies a small space in the middle of Rome) to somewhat larger (like Sikkim) and have a variety of governments and relationships with adjoining countries. Monaco, ruled by a prince, has its own membership in international organizations. Sark is a feudal state that theoretically is a vassal fief to the Queen of England (the Duchess of Normandy). The backgrounds of most of the places described are tangled in historical grants, purchases, treaties, etc. Some might seem a good choice for people wanting to drop out of the modern rat race, but beware of local customs, laws, and taxes.