Travel as a Political Act [Paperback]

Rick Steves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2009

Travel connects people with people. It helps us fit more comfortably and compatibly into a shrinking world. And it inspires creative new solutions to persistent problems facing our nation. We can’t understand our world without experiencing it. Traveling as a Political Act helps us take that first step.

There’s more to travel than good-value hotels, great art, and tasty cuisine. Americans who “travel as a political act” can have the time of their lives and come home smarter—with a better understanding of the interconnectedness of today’s world and just how our nation fits in.

In his new book, acclaimed travel writer Rick Steves explains how to travel more thoughtfully—to any destination. He shares a series of field reports from Europe, Central America, Asia, and the Middle East to show how his travels have shaped his politics and broadened his perspective.

www.ricksteves.com

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rick Steves is the host, writer and producer of the popular Oregon Public Broadcasting television series Rick Steves' Europe. Over the past 15 years, Steves has hosted nearly 100 travel shows for public television (most still airing in rebroadcasts) and numerous pledge specials. In 2005 Steves launched a weekly public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. He has also written twelve country guidebooks, nine city and regional guides, six phrase books, and co-authored Europe 101: History and Art for Travelers. His guidebook to Italy is the bestselling international guidebook in the U.S. In 1999, he tackled a new genre of travel writing with his anecdotal Postcards from Europe, recounting his favorite moments from 25 years of travel. He lives in Edmonds, Washington.

Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568584350
• ISBN-13: 978-1568584355
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rick Steves advocates smart, affordable, perspective-broadening travel. As host and writer of the popular public television series Rick Steves' Europe, and best-selling author of 40 European travel books, he encourages Americans to travel as "temporary locals." He helps American travelers connect much more intimately and authentically with Europe -- and Europeans -- for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.

Over the past 20 years, Rick has hosted over 100 travel shows for public television, and numerous pledge specials (raising millions of dollars for local stations). His Rick Steves' Europe TV series is carried by over 300 stations, reaching 95 percent of U.S. markets. Rick has also created two award-winning specials for public television: Rick Steves' European Christmas and the ground-breaking Rick Steves' Iran. Rick writes and co-produces his television programs through his company, Back Door Productions.

Rick Steves also hosts a weekly public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. With a broader approach to travel everywhere, in each hour-long program Rick interviews guest travel expert, followed by listener call-ins. Travel with Rick Steves airs across the country and has spawned a popular podcast. Rick has also created a series of audio walking tour podcasts for museums and neighborhoods in Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice (with more tours, including London, coming in 2010).

Rick self-published the first edition of his travel skills book, Europe Through the Back Door (now updated annually), in 1980. He has also written more than 40 other country, city and regional guidebooks, phrase books, and "snapshot" guides. For several years, Rick Steves' Italy has been the bestselling international guidebook sold in the U.S. In 2009, Rick tackled a new genre of travel writing with Travel as a Political Act, reflecting on how a life of travel has broadened his own perspectives, and travel can be a significant force for peace and understanding in the world. Rick's books are published by Avalon Travel, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

In addition to his guidebooks, TV and radio work, Rick is a syndicated newspaper columnist with the Tribune Media Services. He appears frequently on television, radio, and online as the leading authority on European travel.

Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. By the time he reached 18, Rick jokes, "I realized I didn't need my parents to travel!" He began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD), a business which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a well-traveled staff of 70 full-time employees. ETBD offers free travel information through its travel center, website (www.ricksteves.com), European Railpass Guide, and free travel newsletters. ETBD also runs a successful European tour program with more than 300 departures -- attracting around 10,000 travelers -- annually.

Rick is outspoken on the need for Americans to fit better into our planet by broadening their perspectives through travel. He is also committed to his own neighborhood. He's an active member of the Lutheran church (and has hosted the ELCA's national video productions). He's a board member of NORML (working to reform marijuana laws in the USA). And Rick has provided his local YWCA with a 24-unit apartment building with which to house homeless mothers.

Rick Steves spends about a third of every year in Europe, researching guidebooks, filming TV shows, and making new discoveries for travelers. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully unique travel book, October 16, 2009

By 

Erik Anschicks (Woodridge, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Travel as a Political Act (Paperback)

The Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has a great phrase about how Americans should interact with the rest of the world (I'm paraphrasing a bit): "We have to stop thinking of America solely as an exporter of great ideas and realize that we should be an importer of them as well" (He's a Republican??!!). If there were a thesis statement to this book that wasn't written by Rick Steves, you could not do much better than this, for this is what this book as all about: Learning to travel not just for recreational enjoyment, but intellectual enrichment as well.

The book is broken down into sections that demonstrate how different sections of the world handle socioeconomic situations differently than we do in America. He most certainly is not blind to American advantages, despite what his conservative critics will say. He speaks about how he finds it "disheartening" to see extreme theocracy being embraced in curriculums at Iranian universities, institutions he (rightly) believes should be open to challenging the status quo. He also speaks of how it is far easier to make a better profit owning a small business like his in America, as opposed to the regulatory hurdles of EU nations.

At the same time, he makes it clear that the rest of the world thinks about things globally and constantly interact with each other far more often and effectively than citizens of the U.S. do, and he's absolutely right. Some of it can be explained by American geographic isolation, but also because we are conditioned by many influences to fear or dismiss what we don't immediately know or understand. One of the greatest truisms he offers: "The very people who would most benefit from international travel - those who needlessly fear people and places they don't understand - decide to stay home." Sadly, he's right. The most pro-American, uber-patriotic people I know who constantly assert the US is the best country in the world have never been overseas, and they certainly don't plan to either. Yet they KNOW America is #1 because, well...they want to believe it. Those are the people who Rick Steves' message is intended to reach.

The best part about this book is the fact that it is not a how-to guide. It is not a book that tells you specifically how to "travel as a political act" with step-by-step instructions. Rather, it is a collection of stories and dispatches from the author's experiences that is meant to encourage travelers to make their own memories and experiences and use what they learn when they get back, both the good lessons AND the bad. If you're a seasoned traveler who enjoys learning from other cultures, you'll probably find yourself nodding in agreement constantly. I know I did, for my best memories of traveling in South Africa consist of talking to locals in pubs and other places about the recently disposed (at the time) apartheid system. Hearing the perspectives of people of all races certainly helped me put in perspective how we as Americans deal with national problems and how we can always be learning from successes and failures abroad. These are the lessons that Rick Steves asks us to apply to our lives. It shows how politics has the awesome power to shape the kind of society that we would like to see, and to also be weary of the pitfalls of misuse. The result is a book that is more inspirational than preachy, and it is far more successful and enjoyable because of it.

Thomas Jefferson said travel "...makes Americans less happy, but much wiser." Voltaire wrote that we should "Refuse to be happy on the condition of being ignorant, imbecilic, and insulated." The best use of traveling is to learn and apply, for it would surely do our country well if a broader perspective was achieved because we, and our politics, would be much better for it. Most writers outside the political arena don't dare inject politics into their work, for the understandable reason that those who disagree with their politics will be turned off and they'll lose a good deal of prospective customers. All I can say is, THANK GOODNESS that Rick Steves has the courage to throw that notion out the window.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Travel Perspectives -, July 28, 2009

By 

Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Travel as a Political Act (Paperback)

Steves believes travel should bring us together, and ever since his first overseas trip (age 14) he's spent a third of his life overseas; for the last 30 years he has taught people how to navigate the logistics of travel, mostly in Europe.

While unapologetically proud to be an American he also enjoys learning by observing other societies, and sees travel as a way to make the U.s. even stronger. Fear of terrorism is an irrational barrier to travel, per Steves, and he cites the numerous recent years of total safety as proof. Travel has also taught him that we don't have a monopoly on bravery or grit.

Anyone can learn that half the people on this planet are trying to live on $2/day, and a billion on less than $1 - but traveling to the developing world and coming face-to-face with these "statistics" makes the problem more real.

The bulk of the book then summarizes his recent travels around the European area. The former Yugoslavia shows the psychological and physical damage left from a tragic war, the European Union is molding a free-trade zone while maintaining its cultural diversity, Denmark shows contemporary socialism and a society rated the most content in the world, Turkey and Morocco offer a moderate side of Islam within fast developing nations, Netherlands and Switzerland offer a different approach to drug policies, and Iran demonstrates how fear and fundamentalism can lead a nation to trade democracy for theocracy.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loving this book, September 2, 2009

By 

Donna (Colorado, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Travel as a Political Act (Paperback)

Last night I picked up a copy of Travel as a Political Act and then stayed up until midnight reading. I was waiting for this book to come out, after I saw Rick's show about Iran on PBS some time ago. I loved the way he approached his trip and separated the people from the politics, reminding us that governments (even our own) do not always represent the true values and desires of the individuals living under their jurisdiction. And even when they do, and we still disagree with the government and the people, by getting to know individuals we can gain empathy and understanding. We can agree to disagree. We can be friends with people who hold differing views and opinions. We can embrace diversity. (We Americans sometimes seem to forget that the original motto of our nation was E pluribus unum, Latin for "Out of Many, One." The Many is at least as important as the One.) I'd forgotten to keep an eye out for this book, and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was now available.

I love the idea of travel as a political act. I hate politics but I don't want to because political action and involvement is so important. For the past several years I've been searching for ways to be more political without getting pissed off or hating what I'm spending my time doing. This book has some wonderful ideas that I will be exploring further. As is my usual habit with certain types of nonfiction books, I read the introduction and the conclusion first. I was very happy to find some real, practical suggestions for how each of us can act politically through and because of our travels. I am often disappointed in books about political topics that have no real suggestions for action. This book did not disappoint me. I looking forward to reading the rest, and re-reading it, soon.

Thanks Rick!