The Size of the World [Hardcover]

Jeff Greenwald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

A respected travel writer, who at the age of forty traveled around the world without ever flying, recounts his startling and moving experiences as he walked, bused, trained, and sailed through a twenty-five-thousand-mile, nine-month trip. IP.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

To recapture "the sense that the sidewalk in front of [his] house is connected, physically, with every other place on Earth" -- and inspired by Tibetan ritual, Chinese fortune cookies and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s axiom that "Strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God" -- Greenwald set himself a unique fortieth birthday challenge: "To travel from Oakland, California, to Oakland, California, without leaving the ground." This is the story of his journey around a planet covered with very good people and very bad roads.

From Publishers Weekly

Greenwald (Shopping for Buddhas) has produced a travel book like no other. While few will be tempted to follow in his frustrating paths to outposts of civilization, his tale of the journey is an armchair delight for its originality, humor and striking prose. In late 1993, Greenwald sets out on the eve of his 40th birthday to circle the globe without resort to airplanes?a pilgrimage to retrieve his lost sense of the real size and nature of the world. Ambivalent about traveling alone, he persuades Sally, a former lover, to accompany him. Sally, whose real interest is spiritual self-realization, leaves him in Athens to join her guru in India. Greenwald aims to reach Nepal in time to join a trek to the Buddhist holy mountain of Mt. Kailas. Among his talents is the knack for instant intimacy with strangers, which can turn a reluctantly granted five minutes with Paul Bowles in Morocco into a warm fellowship spanning three days. Funny and engaging, this is one-of-a-kind travel literature.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 420 pages
• Publisher: Globe Pequot Pr; 1 edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564406237
• ISBN-13: 978-1564406231
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,749,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book., January 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Size of the World (Hardcover)

First, I'm not real generous when it comes to giving a full "five stars" and have read easily over 100 travel essays. This book is the most enjoyable and enlightening I've read. I first read it over 2 years ago and have given copies out to several friends. Each one loved it.

I just picked it up again (a real rarity for me). It's every bit as good as I recalled. Insightful with respect to both the places he visits as well as the author's introspection. Wonderful imagery- articulate, adjective-filled.

Read this book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The book is a mind-opening, horizon-expanding, trip!, July 30, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Size of the World (Hardcover)

I loved this book. It captured the real essence of travel---reminding us that a trip is not just about a physical change of place, but a journey into other cultures, worldviews and most of all, into places inside yourself.

Jeff Greenwald's trip was not always pleasant. It was often dirty, dusty and frustrating. But his accounts of even those moments were usually funny and full of insight. And when the trip was pleasant, he made sure you shared the pleasure. His account of drinking freshly-squeezed orange juice in Marrakesh was enough to make me put it on my list.

Be careful though. If you're in a comfortable but unremarkable place or point in your life, reading this book could shake things up. You might end up packing tomorrow.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, May 29, 2011

By 

Iptacita (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Size of the World (Hardcover)

If you have any wanderlust in your heart, you will love this book, especially if you live in the Bay Area. Just imagine circling the world, never leaving it's surface, and leaving by way of the MacArthur Bart station. I keep lending people this book and they love it.