Customer Reviews

World Stompers: A Guide to Travel Manifesto

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have traveled independently to 64 countries and still found the book very interesting and informative. I'm 38 and still traveling 2-3 months a year by backpack.Once independent travel is in your blood it is hard to shake the feeling.The author has expressed the natural high of world stomping better than any other travel book on the market. I have 100's of books on travel and this book gives me goose bumps when I read it. My 18 year old daughter who hates to read picked up the book and she cannot put it down either. Now Jessica; my daughter is preparing her own world stomp. Looking forward to other books by the author.Steve Kay(AKA: Have Nikon Will Travel)

Dear Amazon shoppers,

Of the seven books I have written this is the first Amazon review I have compiled for one of my own books. There is certainly some wrong information in the other reviews regarding my first book "World Stompers: A Global Tranvel Manifesto" now in its fifth edition. Allow me to address my critics one at a time:

1. I am extremely well-traveled, and I'm certainly not a novice with a backpack by any means. For example, in 2004 I traveled to 21 countries and 12 US states. But "World Stompers" was based on a three-year, self-financed trip around the world in the 1990s where I gathered all the information used in this book.

2. The website with the same name is entirely different than the book. Sometimes negative reviews reflect a disgruntled web surfer, not someone who has read the book.

3. This book is written entirely for first time long-term travelers. All you globetotting travel veterans would have learned this info too, and I can see why it's easy for you to badmouth this book, but understand, IT WAS NOT WRITTEN FOR YOU!

It is written entirely for those who want to see the world, on their own terms, with little $$, for long periods of time. I was doing it in my 20s, now I am in my 40s, but this book is as timeless as its ever been. Every month I get letters thanking me for writing it and motivating them to travel. A few months or years on the road is still the best education any young person of the world can recieve ...

I managed to take a short (7 week) trek through South America during my college days and am currently planning a larger-scale open-ended world trip. This book offers great motivation and shall help one to keep the dream alive as they slave away to save up the cash. Based on my own travel experiences, I found this book to be highly accurate in its descriptions of how the general backpacker circuit functions. However, the chapters on the various individual circuits around the world can be entertaining (On the Stoner's Trail), but they barely scratch the surface. This book should be seen as a general introductory guide to travelling and (contrary to the author's recommendation) should be supplemented with an up-to-date guidebook for the region or country of interest (Lonely Planet and Let's Go are good ones).

This book is worth reading and, if nothing else, shall motivate one to complete the hardest task of travelling; setting off.

This book helped me quit my job and travel around the world for 1 1/2 years. Sure I probably would have done it without the book, but reading and re-reading the inspirational chapters in this book helped me to attain my goal. The country maps and descriptions are also a great resourse when planning your trip.

Not sure what the reviewer is talking about in relation to racism. This book, and the author, seem to be very open minded and responsible when it comes to other travelers.

Even if you are not planning a trip as extensive as his, Olsen will open your eyes to the beauty of the world around you. World Stompers is an adventure book, not about death-defying feats of strength or endurance, but about the advenutre of the everyday world both inside and outside our own country's U.S. borders. He encourages the reader not only to seize the opportunity to travel, but to live life to its fullest every day. I have been trying to locate similar books but have been unable. I can only hope Olsen continues his fantastic work.

I read the first edition of World Stompers several years ago and that book, along with Think and Grow Rich, were the two books that changed my life.

I was trying to figure out how I could travel on a budget and World Stompers was a godsend. It helped me tremendously.

Keep up the good work Brad!

Not meant as a definitive guide for traveling, this book is a fun perspective of what's it like to travel to various parts of the world. With drawn maps of each area and cute symbols to designate good cities (smiley) smelly bad cities (frowny) and good vs. bad beaches, highlighted attractions, smoker-friendly, etc. etc. It gives you a feel of what it would be like in certain areas which can be good to target where to go, but also made me feel pre-disposed to a stereotyped vision of what to expect.
It's a fun guide to read before you go, but you'll need other books to reference for your travels.

As all the companies putting out guidebooks, even those aimed at backpackers, get blander and blander, there remains "World Stompers," which reflects the irrepresible personality of its (literally) larger than life author, Brad Olsen, a well-known writer especially in his native Bay Area, where I've had the pleasure of meeting him.

This book isn't perfect, with errors here and there (Belize is Afro-Caribbean on the coast but Latino inland, not Afro throughout), and a stoner focus that total straights will find extraneous, but it does capture the FEASIBILITY of traveling cheaply, working overseas, and living without a car so as to travel fairly constantly. Many Australians know how to do this but it remains news to some Americans, hence Brad's value in putting "World Stompers" together.

One star off for advocating soft scams such as sneaking into theaters without a ticket. Four stars for the fun Top Ten lists, cartoons, sidebars and wealth of details based on Brad's extensive crisscrossing of the planet.

I found World Stompers down-to-earth, informational, and inspiring. If you need a book that will tell you more than just where to stay and what to eat, this is for you. Brad Olson's personal anecdotes give a real taste of what to expect in traveling... A must-read for anyone planning an extensive stomp.

Although I like the style of the author, direct, funny and full of personnal impressions and comments, I found this book quite innapropriate for wannabe travelers. Of course, I disagree with some of tha author's "advices" or comments... and of course I did not learn much reading his book... (and I doubt anyone who seriously thought about traveling would) However, I have to admit I would have loved to read that book in my late teenies and even my very early twenties. It is sometime disrecpectful, sometimes close to racism, sometimes just dumb... BUT it can help to motivate young people to find their way when they dream of a round-the-world travel. And lets be honest, most backpackers of the world share the same "disrespect" and "foolishness" as Brad Olsen... I am sure you can find better books than this one... but if you want to have an idea of what your road fellows might look like, read that book.