Travel as a Political Act (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: Understand Iran, Liberation Theology, Europe Unites (more...)

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Product Description

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

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: 224 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (May 4, 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 (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,101 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 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)

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.

8 of 9 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 (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful provacative and wonderful, June 21, 2009

By	MotherLodeBeth "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

For those who want the American way of travel with a five star hotel and predictable food, this book will not appeal to you. For those like my family who love learning about other cultures and respecting different ways of living, its a wonderful book.

Yes, the author has written the most personal book he has ever written where he shares his views on America and how and why some countries do not like the government. And having seen way to many 'ugly Americans' when traveling, I am glad he was so honest. And if the book helps just a handful of Americans who will travel, to stop and think before they speak when abroad, then this is a reason for 5 stars.

Much of the book deals with how to travel well as an informed traveler. We love staying away from tourist areas and always seek out quiet visits to local book stores, small eateries off the beaten path where the locals eat, small hotels or bed and breakfast style places. And we love visiting old cemeteries to do headstone rubbings.