The Best Travel Writing 2007 is the fourth volume in the annual series Travelers' Tales launched in 2004 to celebrate the world's best travel writing — from Nobel Prize winners to emerging writers. These 29 stories cover the globe, from probing the depths of a culture in Jerusalem to riding the rails in India and trying to save a life in Costa Rica. The points of view and perspectives are global, and themes encompass high adventure, spiritual growth, romance, absolute hilarity and misadventure, service to humanity, and encounters with exotic cuisine. In The Best Travel Writing 2007 readers will become a sex slave in Zambia, watch karma play its part in rough travel in Costa Rica, rediscover Jewish roots in Germany, see preconceptions crumble aboard a tramp ferry on the Red Sea, comprehend the social magic of the Mexican taco stand, discover how a restaurant can make miracles with only fish in Italy, hang on the knife’s edge between life and death on a mountain in New Zealand, become a kick boxer in Thailand, escape a volcanic eruption in Vanuatu…and much more.
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"Machetes are like Central American Visa Cards--nobody leaves home without one. They're everywhere. the machete is part of the Central American male identity. the machete is the Swiss Army knife on steriods, practicality manifest, the solution to every problem by which an American is rarely confronted: need to hack a path through the jungle? Open a coconut? Kill a deadly reptile? the answer is a shining silver blade."
--This text refers to an alternate
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About the Author
James O'Reilly, president and publisher of Travelers' Tales, was born in England and Raised in San Francisco. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1975 and wrote mystery serials before becoming a travel writer in the early 1980s. He's visited more than forty countries, along the way meditating with monks in Tibet, participating in West African voodoo rituals, living in the French Alps, and hanging out the laundry with nuns in Florence. He travels extensively with his wife, Wenda, and their three daughters. Larry Habegger, executive editor of Travelers' Tales, has been writing about travel since 1980. He has visited almost fifty countries and six of the seven continents, traveling from the frozen Arctic to equatorial rain forest, the high Himalayas to the Dead Sea. In the early 1980s he co-authored mystery serials for the San Francisco Examiner with James O'Reilly, and since 1985 their syndicated column, "World Travel Watch," has appeared in newspapers in five countries and on WorldTravelWatch.com. As series editors of Travelers' Tales, they have worked on some ninety titles, winning many awards for excellence. Habegger regularly teaches the craft of travel writing at workshops and writers conferences, and he lives with his family on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.
Sean O'Reilly is director of special sales and editor-at-large for Travelers' Tales. He is a former seminarian, stockbroker, and prison instructor with a degree in Psychology. Author of the groundbreaking book on men's behavior, How to Manage Your DICK, he is also the inventor of a safety device known as Johnny Upright. Widely traveled, he most recently completed a journey through China, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific. He lives in Virginia with his wife and six children.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've been reading a story here and a there from this book for the past few weeks. It's a constant struggle between drinking it all at once, and saving the next story for another day. I've still got a couple left for now, trying to take my time.
There used to be a lot of traveling for me. Lately, however, the office has taken its hold, and I travel little more than the daily commute. Soon, I hope I'll have the chance to experience firsthand the range of emotions, floods of memories, and calls to adventure that this book so commandfully flushes from the soul...
I couldn't help but feel a kinship in "Walking the Kerry Way" with the author's misty trek through the backwoods of Kerry. My father and I recently navigated this homeland of our ancestors that we try to call our own. So much green to help one think... Thank you for a beautiful picture, Tim O'Reilly.
The stories' allusions to Japan also have me fighting the melancholy longing that gainful employment in Los Angeles can induce in the would-be traveler. But when the busy rush of life allows, I treat myself to another of these happy, wistful, beautiful memories recorded by the many fine authors. I know that I'll be out there again, sometime, quelling my building wanderlust.
Its first story is my favorite so far. Patrick Fitzhugh is an amazing author. I'd never been to Central America before, but his handiwork had me convulsing with laughter, and then sadly wishing that I could go "back" to Costa Rica. Yuri is an incredible character! I love that this is a gTrue Storyh! Someone, help me find more of Mr. Fitzhugh's work!!
Purchasing this book shouldn't be a matter of personal finance; get it, and read it. It will let you travel, and will remind you of the times you've had, or the times you'd like to have had. Itfs bursting at its seams; it needs you to read it. Everyone should have a chance at these pages.
Simple Evaluation: YES, THIS IS A GOOD BOOK.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Travelers' tales books come in a variety of types. Some are collections that focus on a particular region (Thailand, Italy, the American southwest.) Others are unified by particular running themes (food, danger, spiritual growth). Others are "best of" compilations, collecting the purported acme of the genre, often pieces that appear in other Travelers' Tales books.
I love the whole series, but I've been surprised in the past that the "best of" compilations aren't always (subjectively speaking) actually the best ones. But this one really is, and I highly recommend it.
The finest travelers' tales, of which this contains many, convey the full force of travel. Being a stranger in a strange place, you note and remember much that you'd ignore in your daily life; everything seems more vivid, more memorable. If you're in a particularly different place, perhaps your old life will seem strangely alien, even puny, when reflected upon in a different cultural context. These new people, landscapes, cities, loom so large in your consciousness, it's like being a child all over again.
The best stories in this collection convey those feelings, and many others.
Perhaps because I myself love traveling in SE Asia, I found this collection's pieces on the region to be among the book's best:
One, "The Ghost Road," covers the author's attempt to find the Burmese section of the old Stilwell road. The reader feels the cultural exoticism of the place, and also the spookiness of trying to outwit an authoritarian, nasty government.
"Circuit Broken" is a wonderful capturing of a moment many travelers have experienced; the author is determined to get away from the normal tourist path in Vietnam, and finds herself in a bleak, depressing place. She has an epiphany about the perils of being driven by negative emotions rather than by positive desires.
"Trigger Happy in Cambodia" describes the creepy overtones of the previous genocide that haunts that land still.
But there are plenty of fine pieces in here even for those who aren't, as I am, fascinated by SE Asia. I absolutely loved "Tipping Point in Tikal," for example. Solitary travelers all over the world have had experiences like this one; different people coming together quite accidentally on their respective pilgrimages, the things they share in conversation, the way they observe and remember each other. I still have very clear memories of people I have met in far corners of the globe, each with a different life story, each with a different motivation for travel.
These and other excellent pieces make this collection a fascinating one. The traveler who puts this in her/his backpack and hits the distant road will find it an insightful companion.
I love the whole series, but I've been surprised in the past that the "best of" compilations aren't always (subjectively speaking) actually the best ones. But this one really is, and I highly recommend it.
The finest travelers' tales, of which this contains many, convey the full force of travel. Being a stranger in a strange place, you note and remember much that you'd ignore in your daily life; everything seems more vivid, more memorable. If you're in a particularly different place, perhaps your old life will seem strangely alien, even puny, when reflected upon in a different cultural context. These new people, landscapes, cities, loom so large in your consciousness, it's like being a child all over again.
The best stories in this collection convey those feelings, and many others.
Perhaps because I myself love traveling in SE Asia, I found this collection's pieces on the region to be among the book's best:
One, "The Ghost Road," covers the author's attempt to find the Burmese section of the old Stilwell road. The reader feels the cultural exoticism of the place, and also the spookiness of trying to outwit an authoritarian, nasty government.
"Circuit Broken" is a wonderful capturing of a moment many travelers have experienced; the author is determined to get away from the normal tourist path in Vietnam, and finds herself in a bleak, depressing place. She has an epiphany about the perils of being driven by negative emotions rather than by positive desires.
"Trigger Happy in Cambodia" describes the creepy overtones of the previous genocide that haunts that land still.
But there are plenty of fine pieces in here even for those who aren't, as I am, fascinated by SE Asia. I absolutely loved "Tipping Point in Tikal," for example. Solitary travelers all over the world have had experiences like this one; different people coming together quite accidentally on their respective pilgrimages, the things they share in conversation, the way they observe and remember each other. I still have very clear memories of people I have met in far corners of the globe, each with a different life story, each with a different motivation for travel.
These and other excellent pieces make this collection a fascinating one. The traveler who puts this in her/his backpack and hits the distant road will find it an insightful companion.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This "Best Travelers' Series" is a sensation. Truly, I don't think of anyone who would not find pleasure in reading these sketches. People who seek out 18th Century Asian poetry or 17th Century French judicial opinions would find a joy in these contemporary travel accounts.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A very boring book -
This book tells you nothing about traveling to places. It is a collection of storeis by authors that simply is not that exciting. Read more
Published on January 10, 2008 by Monday
Bite sized banquet of adventures
Travel writers are the best. They understand that self preservation in their craft is instant submersion in their stories. No wasted words, no patronizing prose. Read more
Published on March 31, 2007 by Chuck Huber
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
"THERE'S ONLY ONE THING TO WORRY ABOUT IN Costa Rica, and I was distressed to hear a woman screaming about it outside my bedroom door." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
big wooden stick, cow demon Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
San Francisco, Costa Rica, Mohammed All, Mark Johnson, Saga Dawa, Barbara Johnson, Mohammed Ali, Citizen Mulenge, Albertan Brothers, The Bird King, Bristol Bay, Hotel Yuri, Mount Kailash, Boom Boom, United States, American Express, Central American, Din Tun, East African, Grand Canal, Hotel Mbowe, James Brown, Land Cruiser, Los Angeles, New Delhi New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
"THERE'S ONLY ONE THING TO WORRY ABOUT IN Costa Rica, and I was distressed to hear a woman screaming about it outside my bedroom door." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
big wooden stick, cow demon Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
San Francisco, Costa Rica, Mohammed All, Mark Johnson, Saga Dawa, Barbara Johnson, Mohammed Ali, Citizen Mulenge, Albertan Brothers, The Bird King, Bristol Bay, Hotel Yuri, Mount Kailash, Boom Boom, United States, American Express, Central American, Din Tun, East African, Grand Canal, Hotel Mbowe, James Brown, Land Cruiser, Los Angeles, New Delhi New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 22
books:
See all 22 books this book cites
- The Rivers Ran East: Travelers' Tales Classics by Leonard Clark in Back Matter
- Original Minds by Eleanor Wachtel in Front Matter
- Star Spangled Banner (1907) by Francis Scott Key on page 281
- Travel Tips by Deborah Thomas in Back Matter
- Food: A Taste of the Road (Travelers' Tales) by Richard Sterling on page 180
See all 22 books this book cites
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