There's No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled: The Best of Travel Humor and Misadventure (Travelers' Tales) (Paperback)

~ Doug Lansky (Editor) "LET ME JUST SAY AT THE OUTSET THAT AS I WRITE THESE words, I am fully clothed..." (more)
Key Phrases: jugo especial, dead beaver, potato bug, Scott Peterson, There's No Toilet Paper, Dave Barry (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Good travel writing is inspirational. It can inspire you to set off for unpronounceable capitals of wee, distant kingdoms, or, in the case of There's No Toilet Paper, inspire you to burn your passport and settle more securely into your comfy chair, feet up, and eyes riveted to the next more-humorous-in-the-retelling-than-it-was-in-the-experiencing story. It also makes pleasant airplane fodder on your way to your own misadventure. Doug Lansky has collected a fine trove of comic (when it's not happening to you) travel moments, as told by the best in travel humor. Dave Barry writes eloquently about failing to learn any Japanese save for how to order beer (pronounced "bee-roo") and big beer (pronounced "big bee-roo"). Mary Roach points out that utilizing an Antarctic ice-sheet outhouse at the very moment that a seal chooses to use its opening as a blowhole is an inauspicious way to start the day. And Bill Bryson stumbles disconsolately about Paris, wondering "Why does everyone hate me so much?" There are 28 stories in all, by 20 very funny writers who traverse the world and provide a great deal of amusement for those of us who aren't locked in a Dutch public bathroom without a handle or a light. --Stephanie Gold

Product Description

A rolling stone may gather no moss, but one thing it does gather is funny stories, as this collection of goofy travel essays shows. The perfect trip, where nothing goes wrong, is surely not the memorable trip, which is where "everything" goes wrong and one lives to tell the tale and laugh about it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Travelers' Tales Guides (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885211279
• ISBN-13: 978-1885211279
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #861,614 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There's No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled, January 30, 2000

By	R. Peterson "International citizen" (This month? In Tbilisi, Georgia (Former Soviet Republic)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Subtitled, "...on the Road Less Traveled," this collection of short stories about the trials and tribulations of the somewhat unwitting, somewhat unknowing, and very amusing writers in odd moments is indeed a very enjoyable read.  I roared through Bill Bryson's (see RQP reviews dated in March 1999) attempts to buy a train ticket for Stockholm, and wept through his "walk" through Paris.  Dave Barry's attempts to "learn japanese in five minutes" will also leave most readers in tears of laughter.  We accompany David Foster Wallace on a Celebrity Cruise in the Carribean and are eternally grateful that we have never and now, WILL never take one ourselves.  We find out what Lara Naaman cooks up in Cuzco when the boyfriend's daliances are exposed, and we find ourselves with P.J. O'Rourke and his friend, Dorothy on a "holy" holiday from hell at a religious themepark called, Heritage USA (of Jim and Tammy Faye Baker infamy).  Called the 'best of travel humor and misadventure', this is the type of book that should be read on metros and airplanes; where bemused strangers, unable to contain their curiosity any further will beg you what you are reading.  A book to be shared with friends who have traveled and know that, while giggly funny, these stories DO happen, and they happen to all of us!   A fun gift for a traveler as well.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Or you could stay home and have toast and coffee..., July 1, 2002

By	TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Editor/compiler Doug Lansky says that "the object of this book was to put together a collection of stories by travelers who share a knack for finding the humor in their misadventures and pointing out the absurdities of travel." This is an anthology of different authors, so it's somewhat uneven. And what one reader thinks is hysterically funny, another could view as totally un-amusing..

Prior reviewers have complained of some bathroom humor. There is the cautionary Antarctic tale: "Blinded By the White" by Mary Roach: "Another reason to be wary of ice-sheet outhouses: seals occasionally use the opening in the ice as a blowhole. While there's nothing inherently dangerous about a suppositorial blast of hot seal breath, it is, in the words of one shaken veteran, `a disquieting way to start your day.'"

If you don't want to read about close encounters of the seal kind, what about The Life Everlasting? .P.J. O'Rourk's "Holy Holiday in Hell" tour of Jim & TammyFaye Land a/k/a Heritage USA is well work the price of admission.

Or here's Dave Barry's warning about London traffic: "Another cultural activity we frequently engaged in was looking the wrong way before attempting to cross the streets. ... The best way to handle this, as a tourist, is to remain on one side of the street for your entire visit, and see the other side on another trip."

Overall, the book is a humorous journey.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, especially while stuck on the road., October 22, 2001

By	Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

After the September 11th attacks on America, humor and laughter is both most needed and welcome, especially when traveling. To complain about your bum travel experiences is both expected and natural. To laugh at the your daunting faux pas is even chic; and, to get others to laugh at your inconveniences, discomfort and even down right dangerous experiences are cathartic. This book will not disappoint those who need a good laugh.

This is a collection of humorous stories for those who have been there, done that and deserve a `hell of a` of a lot more than a T-shirt. If you ever have been on a third world bus then Doug Lansky's piece is a must read. For you that have eaten everything that walks or crawls, Richard Sterling goes one further. And for you `Dave Berry' afficionados his "Failing to Learn Japanese" is a delight. Oh, yea, Bill Bryson's "Stroll Through Paris" is truely hilarious.

Like a third world road these twenty eight stories are not all level reading, there is the occasional rough and uneven story, but the majority are engaging and giddy. You will find this book a great read on the road. Recommended