Travelogue Books

I hesitate to use the word entertaining when describing a crime of the magnitude contained within this book. Rather, I believe compelling is a better description for this narrative. It is excellently written and flows easily from one horrifying episode to the next as the author relates how a drinking water supply can become contaminated because our elected and appointed officials in government protect industry and their own self interest rather than the people that need their help. Conrad presents a wealth of documentation to support his case and in the end one feels that a great injustice has occurred. That the very individuals who were responsible for this tragedy where able to walk away without any significant repurcussions is appalling and yet probably commonplace. One does feel satisfied, however, that at least within the pages of this book they have been held accountable. I enjoyed this book on many levels. It is in one sense the story of an individual effecting his community through perseverance. In another, a warning of how we must not accept on face value the assurances of our elected leaders. Finally for those interested in the problems we face with our toxic waste dumps it is certainly a must read.

This book chronicles in engaging fashion the terrible and true story of how a city's water supply was contaminated when multiple measures to protect the citizens failed. It presents an interesting story on a personal level of one man who recognized a problem and did a tremendous amount of work on his own to bring it to the attention of elected officials. In this sense, it is a encouraging story because it shows one person can make a difference. It also emphasizes that the individual must attempt to make a difference because our representatives can not always be relied on to protect our interests. I think it would also be a very interesting read for anyone interested in environmental issues or who has a similar problem in their own community. This incident was not as well publicized nationally as some more infamous catastrophies. But to the residents in this area, the problem is well known. It is sometimes hard to comprehend how a disaster like this could occur. This book explains how it happened to this unfortunate community and is a must read to raise people's awareness. It could happen anywhere....

The diary is wonderful, and Dr. Mack's "A Prince of Our Disorder, describes this year very well. I recommend that those who have not yet seen the full 1922 text edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom get their copy of that first from Castle Hill Press in the UK, sold on their website. As Dr. Mack notes, Lawrence once admitted that his writing was at times "written with the allusiveness that hints at knowledge refusing to betray itself between the lines." It took quite a man to impress Winston Churchill.

This book is a insight into the world at the dawn of the 20th century. This is a sweeping comprehensive factual account that should be in the collection fo any book reader.

Outstanding!!!

This book is a must have for any family considering an overseas job assignment. This is a TRUE and ACCURATE look at an American expat family. Mrs. Vaughn's book on the Middle East is also a must for any family considering a job assignment in the Middle East.

We have shared the expat experience and this book tells it like it is:)

Heidi Vaughan's account of her family's expatriate experience in Norway will give anyone thinking about doing an overseas assignment a real and sincere look at life as a foreigner far from home. Ms. Vaughan takes the reader through her family's first year away, using a lighthearted approach to the very serious subject of overseas living. Diary of an Oil Expat Family offers honest insight into the ups, downs, and shocks of expat life and will be of tremendous use for anyone contemplating a move abroad.

Whether your 16 or 96, male or female, city or country! You've all wanted to do this, you've dreamt about it, planned it, talked to friends about doing it, and the few that have will never forget the experience. This book is for those that haven't and will get a glimpse of what it's really like. And for those that have such as I, it was like remembering an old friend, similar image, different place, and always leaving a smile on my face.

Ms. Pawley's solo adventure is one of admiration! It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to take on a solo cross-country road trip. Especially today! But it's the adventure and the finding yourself, what your made of and not made in the final destination.

Perfect book if you have a four plus hour flight or a train trip planned.
Not a book for those looking for discount travel tips! Though it is a book of self-exploration and finding more than just another destination.

Doing 90 at 40 is a must read!

Edith Mirante's "Down The Rat Hole" is the best kind of adventure story: as we voyage with this black belt, collage making, irony sensing delightfully brave woman, we make clean get aways, relish successful disquise, mingle with murderers and develop tribal allies who, sadly, are later murdered. Socializing with war lords, drug lords and human rights activists and guerrillas and other agitators for peace and justice in South East Asia, Mirante picks a remarkable path, through mossy rainforest as well as waterfalls of trash. Mirante displays what could be viewed as an amazing experiment and illustration of an American ideal: this writer/researcher feels every pinprick of the Burmese heroin addicts, every hole cut into the skin of cultural possibilities, but she isn't afraid. Acting always as diplomat, yet everything about her is unofficial. This fearless approach to travel and intercultural communications takes her through a cyclone, where afterwards, "Tun and I wandered around in the mud, talking to people, taking some pictures, and the storm survivors with their gracious innate hospitality gave us coconut milk, or tea. If they had nothing else, they gave us water, germ-laden disaster water, which we drank and it did not hurt us."

Mirante guards her sense of humor as the valuable weapon that it is, injecting perspective into the difficult relations between tribes which despite their own best interests (and Mirante's soldierly yearning), can't seem to get it together to build a unified front of opposition against the brutal Tatmadaw dictatorship of Burma/Myanmar.

As a mother of two teenage girls, I'm giving this to my daughters (along with Julia Butterfly Hill's books). Clearly, wimps just don't have as much fun as brave people, and so Mirante is no wimp. This particular little volume is noteworthy also for it's backpack-able size. She's included great color photographs, and typical of her style, there is not even one tiny little image that includes her.

The Kachin's can't seem to get over the idea that this amazing Rambo lady of marriageable age isn't quite married at the time of the story. Here, she does describe herself, and in so doing describes so much of this culture, as she's being dressed up for a ceremony with the Jinghpaw.

"Lu Ra borrowed the outfit for me to wear. The Jinghpaw women's garments were so elaborate that they had become heirlooms, brought out only for special occasions like weddings and dance performances. I put on the knee-length woven red sarong and matching leggings, and the black velvet jacket trimmed with silver disks the size of silver dollars. Then I was trimmed like a Christmas tree by Lu Ra, Ja Seng Hkawn and Mai Mai, one of the girls from the War Office. They pinned my hair up and tied an embroidered headdress over it. Necklaces of silver fringes and silver circlets, plus pearls and coral, wound around my throat. Hoops of rattan rested on my hips and a red sash bound my waist. Somebody's pink lipstick, a swoop of eyeliner, and I was worthy of photo-ops. I posed with the Kachin Women's Association members, and the KIO Central Committee. For my `Kachin wedding photograph,' they produced the only bachelor around who was older than me, a stout genial officer well into his sixties. A least he was inches taller than me, unlike most Kachin men who leveled out below my imposing 5'3".

By getting to know Burma, Mirante finds out a lot about all of us: that, regarding `anger, brutality, addiction...everybody has something of that sort," yet women can be powerful. A fantastically brave voyage into a shaky war to defend human rights, with the added drama of being entirely true.

Down The Rat Hole: Adventures Underground on Burma's Frontiers is the memoir of American author, artist, and activist Edith Mirante, who defied laws and infiltrated the borders to travel through China, India, Laos, and the chaos in Bangladesh. Obsessed with Burma's multitude of cultures and ongoing struggle for freedom, she became witness to guerrilla warfare, heroin and jade trading, the AIDS pandemic, rainforest destruction, strikes and rioting, and natural disaster. A handful of color photographs illustrate her story of battered yet resilient individuals and societies.

When you're in love with Italy, you crave its company. And when you can't be in Italy, you keep it close with books like A Dream That Keeps Returning. Cutler put me right back on those cobbled streets, soaking in the sights, sounds and essence of Italy. For anyone who has been, her book is a treat. If you haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting bella Italia in person, this sweet collection of essays will whet your appetite with Cutler's yummy Italian moments.

Warm, open wonderful! I felt as if Cutler was my best friend sharing her experiences in a way that invited me on an intimate journey with her. Italy came through in all its raw, honest, chaotic, romantic and sensual ways. After reading "A Dream That Keeps Returning" I felt as if I could go to Italy, know what to expect, and yet be happily and continually surprised.

Marjorie writes with the eye of an Artist. Her fresh writing style draws the reader into her world and makes for most enjoyble reading. I highly reccommend joining Marjorie on her travels!

In the same vein as A Year in Provence. . . For any hard working professional who has dreamt of quitting her job and living the artist's life in France. Vernelle shares her story of jumping off the limb and landing well in Paris and, eventually, in the south of France, and finding her creativity in the process.The "e-mail" format gives the story a freshness and immediacy, a sort of cyber-epistolary genre. Funny and inspiring, a map for a great sabbatical year.

Mr. Wolff does a wonderful job of describing certain historical snapshots and present-day cultural aspects of coastal Maine. His description of being lost at sea in a horribly thick Maine fog is worth the book itself. Mr. Wolff does not attempt to depict all facets of my home state, but does a commendable job in his usual eloquent manner. In this brief work, he made me laugh, reflect and ultimately, reaffirm the true beauty of Maine and why I'll always live here. Do yourself a favor and read this pleasant and realistic tribute.

I sent this to a sick friend in Maine. She loved it, her husband loved it, and now they are sharing it with others, but only with the promise they will get it back.I will have to get on the list to borrow it.

(I hate to use superlatives but) this was by far the most interesting book on the subject. It does a good job of conveying to the reader, what makes the people on the Steppe's of Central Asia and Anatolya tick. Do not expect a Lonely planet style "Guide Book".

Well, wait a minute, let me qualify that title: Unfamiliar to the vast majority of Americans (me included), for whom the world west of Monaco and south of Munich is pretty much unknown territory. Malcolmson divides his book into four sections: Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. They're more or less independent of each other, but bound together by a common theme: how different groups of people see, think about, and define themselves.

Each of the four sections is a patchwork of smaller segments, some pages long and others only a few sentences. Some of the segments are Malcolmson's sketching-in of history, some records of his own reactions to things he saw or heard, some records of what other people said to him. It can be dizzying and disorienting at the beginning of a section, like looking at two square inches out of the middle of an impressionist painting, but as you read on the details resolve themselves into a coherent picture. By the end of a section, you feel like you understand--a little anyway--how the Romanians or Turks or Uzbeks think about the world and its inhabitants (themselves and others).

This is *not* a conventional travel narrative *or* a conventional history book. Its historical scope is too sweeping for the one, and its focus too personal for the other. As a portrait of the places and people Malcolmson visited, however, it may contain more Truth than either would alone.

Highly recommended.

Once in a while you read a book where you actually feel the author is having a personal conversation with you as he relives and tells you about his life experiences. You become so absorbed in the story he is telling you that you forget that the present world exists around you. That's the way I felt while reading Joseph Itiel's book about his gay sexual travel adventures and experiences. He reveals the many fascinating, exciting, and erotic sexual experiences he has had with men of different nationalities over the last four decades. He begins with his first sexual experiences in the1950's in NYC and Toronto, and his first foreign adventure to Rishikesh, India, where he became an apprenticed yogi. By taking up yoga he was able to cover up his homosexual activities while living in India. After all, this was the 1950's. This trip was not the wonderful experience he had hoped it would be. It did confirm and teach him, however, that his most satisfying sexual experiences would come from males who were ethnically and culturally different from him and he soon discovered he was also assured a more pleasurable sexual experience when he paid for it. Thus, his life-long positive relationships with male "hustlers", now known as "sex workers", would be established.

We're taken all over the world on his many sexual travel adventures, from Toronto to Mexico, to the Philippines, Japan, London, Hong Kong, Manila, and numerous other places. This book is a truly fascinating confession of his private life told in a beautiful, honest, and very personal way. I especially enjoyed his chapters titled "The Dancing Boy", "A Tiny Room at the Inn", and "Four Japanese Tales." The characters he meets, from callboys, to male geisha's and other sexual workers, are fascinating. His Manila diary entries were interesting, intriguing, humorous and sad at the same time, especially when he talks about the "psychic surgery" patients he met. They are interesting beyond belief.

Although all of these foreign sexual encounters are fascinating and very erotically described, there's even more to this wonderful book. In addition, it's a real learning adventure for any gay man who plans to be or is a world traveler. The knowledge and experiences Joseph presents to us are as relevant today as when he first traveled on his annual pilgrimages. Joseph has always had an insatiable curiosity and desire to learn new languages and study other countries customs. It's through his experiences that we get to share an intellectual and sexual history of one gay man's adventures as a world traveler.

I started reading this book early one evening and couldn't put it down till early the next day. We can certainly learn a lot from other's experiences and that is definitely true in this case. It will take you away, excite you, and open your eyes, all at the same time. I truly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. I look forward to this author's future endeavors. ...

I have traveled the world for several decades. I would recommend to every gay traveler that he read this book before going to virtually any Third World country.

Many gay readers do not like Joseph Itiel because of his "Virtual Boyfriend" and "Escort Tales" books. I personally have read and loved his guide to Costa Rica and this book. I have only started to read "Escort Tales" and have immediately come to dislike it.

Joseph Itiel is best as a non-fiction writer. While he seems to have some strange sexual preferences (like frottage) his adventures in other lands are mesmerizing and illuminating.

Homosexuals from the United States and Europe live in a world where sex is based on social courtship. Their reality is that it is demeaning and improper to "buy sex" although some might do so.

However, traveling with those perceptions can be both naive and dangerous. In very poor countries, sex of any kind is a means of survival, not just a game of social courtship and the pursuit of pleasure.

Joseph Itiel paints a daunting picture of how Mexicans inevitably come to ask for "a loan" for some pressing social situation from travelers who are sexual partners. It is a subtle form of prostitution even though they would be offended if you put it in those terms.

He describes the dangers involved in getting sexually involved with the poor denizens of other lands. Leave your passport in the Hotel. Carry your International Driver's License or a photocopy of your passport.

Each country is different. In the Phillippines, he finds himself fought over and passed around from one friend to another like a "prize". However, then he sees that he is simply exploiting the poverty of his sexual conquests.

Itiel does have some personality quirks. He came out later in life and discovered he actually preferred sexual liasons based on financial arrangements. That simply frames his stories.

Their real value lies in his practical advice for tourists who travel in societies where "their world" is replaced by an environment in which sex is more a means of survival than the quest for romance and pleasure.

I have found myself "a stranger" in such situations and learned many of the lessons Itiel shares in this book the hard way. Anyone planning a trip to a Third World country should read this book first.

They may decide to avoid sexual encounters. However, if they choose to pursue such encounters, they will be far better prepared to do so safely and sanely for having read this amazing and entertaining book.