Customer Reviews

The Seventh Wonder

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I loved this book! JC Villar is a wonderful writer; I felt as though I was right there with him to the extent that I could almost visualize some of the places he describes. He manages to impart a deep knowledge of the history and culture without being pedantic - he just casually slips it in. And his asides are hilarious! If you enjoy Bill Bryson, you'll love this book. Can't wait to read about more of JC Villar's travels and adventures.

I actually went on the Egypt leg of the trip with the author, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well this book was written and how damn funny it is. Some of our misadventures on the trip made me so mad, the author and I did not speak for five years.

In any case, Juan mixes history with a generous slab of humor and sprinkles it liberally with his superb wit to produce a fantastic falafel of a travelogue. A few good stories were left out like the guy at the bazaar who begged us to buy two King Tut paperweights or his child would not get the kidney transplant. (feigned urgency is a common sales tactic). The GPS coordinates are a nice touch as are the cross references to relevant books to learn more about this topic or that.

This is certainly a book worth having just in case these seven wonders get blown to smithereens in the current WAR OF TERROR (oops, I mean war ON terror)... if things continue down the current path, we may never get to enjoy these wonders again. Oh well, it'll all be for a good cause. Like driving SUVs...

This is a thought provoking, educational, sacrilegious, hysterically funny, and practical travel guide. Or is it a study of historically significant architecture, the cultures that built it and the effect of those people and their construction on society thereafter, infused with GPS coordinates, cuisine commentary, bathroom humor and international pickup lines. I just finished reading the book twice in two days and cannot figure out if I was more entertained or enlightened. I'm motivated to trace the author's footsteps, avoid his pitfalls (literally), and capture the real life Indiana Jones experience of which the author wrote. Come to think about it, I did have that experience from my couch. The writing is first rate without being condescending. The book reads as fast and easy as a supermarket tabloid, which initially conceals the author's intelligence, the vast research that he must have done, and his knowledge of history. The author's fabulous sense of humor and insightful commentary on society and religion never make history books or travel guides, which therefore makes this book ultimately unclassifiable, with the exception of a great thought provoking book from which to simultaneously learn and laugh.

This is an engaging, well-written travel book. I loved all the details about the destinations,the history about the wonders and their links to contemporary society.

The research is superb and thorough; I loved the idea of including GPS coordinates.

I highly recomnend this book to travelers and history fans.

What a wonderful book! It follows the author on his journey to see the ruins of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. From New York to Greece, the Greek Isles, Turkey, Istanbul, Egypt. The often hilarious descriptions of the peoples and cultures will crack you up (you find out what "posh" REALLY means and what a "pyrick" is). The travelog is interrupted at each wonder by a historical seque into its history that bears little relation to the usual stuff you read in books about the Seven Wonders. These are entirely new and unexpected takes on the subject, always thought-provoking occasionally as funny as the travelog. Just as importantly, though is the wealth of information for the traveller who wants to make the same trip. Restaurants, hotels, and means of transportation are described in detail, and a long list of GPS coordinates are provided in the Appendix. This is as much a practical book as it is a story or a history book. In fact, it's the most unusual travel book I've ever read. I read the whole thing from beginning to end on a single plane ride.