Travelogues Books

One needn't have read Mrs. Dumas' first book, Funny In Farsi, to enjoy this take on the ethnic translation into American culture, but it would certainly help to get you into the mood. Knowing a bit of the family and its ways means you can start smiling, even chuckling, before the stories unfold. An occasional outburst of pure laughter also happen. Mrs. Dumas, in this sequel, shifts the terrain a bit, with a heavier focus on Iranian ethnic life amidst the bits and pieces of American life. An occasional downward spin on some of our habits and mores is fair game, but doesn't spoil this never-ending story of confused Iranians coping with the "New World." After all, this "New World" is now Mrs. Dumas' as well.

While not laugh-out-loud funny it is amusing, enjoyable book. So many of us can see pieces of our own family dynamics in her stories of gifts that you pretend to like, food you serve they won't eat, and those incidents you laugh at only in hind-sight. Her last chapter where she spends time with one of the Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days is wonderfully poignant.

I heard the author on NPR and immediately wanted to read her book. She did not disappoint. She provided a much-needed antidote to the current stereotype of people from Iran. She is smart, sensible, and very amusing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about how her family has successfully adjusted to living in the United States.

This is a fast reading book with lots of humor about an Iranian family that comes to live in Southern California. It contains universal lessons of life and humor. Everyone can feel the love that Firoozeh has for her family, her birth country, and her new home in America. After reading Laughing Without an Accent, I felt as if Firoozeh's family were my own. I was fortunate to be able to meet this charming author in person. This book will lift your spirits!

This book is hilarious. As an Iranian-American with a large family who immigrated from Iran, i found myself reading them passages so they could laugh with me. I have re-gifted this book again and again so that my entire extended family can join in. I absolutely loved it and know that you will too!

Enjoyable reading and often could not put it down. Humorous in many places. Worth reading if you are thinking of going full-time or just want a good book to read.

I don't ever expect to RV full-time, but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Adding Cleo's (the dog) thoughts was a nice touch. Reading the book (published in 2002) made me wonder if the family was still on the road. The website listed on the back of the book didn't work for me and I wondered if there's a follow-up book.

Every single other reviewer gave this book five stars and I am no exception. I have read most of the books on full time RVing and this is the best one I have read. It is very well written, is both amusing and informative. The Steele's take you through how they decided to quit their jobs, buy an RV and see the country along with their dog Cleo. They include mistakes they made along the way. I am reading this book a second time and find it just as enjoyable as the first time I read it.
What I liked most about this book was that the Steele's chose a 5th wheel trailer as their means of travel and why they chose it. My wife and I are planing to do the same thing as they did, except in a Class A motorhome. Some of the the other books I have read were very prejudiced against Class A's, however the Steele's choice of a 5th wheel was because that is what they thought worked best for them. They did give the pro's and con's for both, and unlike some other authors who gave only the pro's for 5th wheels and the con's for motorhomes.
Probably the the only negative thing I would say is they started out with more then your average full timer is going to have availble to them. Mrs. Steele retired early from here job at age 55 with a $3000 a month pension plus full medical coverage for the rest of her life. Most pensions in the private sector have been replaced by 401k plans which can't be used without penalty until age 59 1/2 plus no medical until Medicare takesover at age 65.
This is an excellent read, this book along with the Moller's book "Full time RVing" are the two books to read if you are contemplating this lifestyle.

This book is very out of date. They go on and on about the need to find pay phone booths and the quality of them when found. Completely useless, is todays world. Even their own website is no longer in service. They brag about covertly dumping their pick-up tail gate (after they ruin it) in a construction companies dumpster--illegal. And they need to find a larger vocabulary. They use the word 'insanely' so often, I felt like I was playing a college drinking game. A waste of money.

As one of the millions who has always entertained a fantasy about hitting the road in an RV someday, this book was one of many I've read -- but by far the best. The Steeles divulge every imaginable aspect of their lifestyle: financial realities, decisions about RV types, married life in a small amount of space, and even the daunting necessity of hooking up one's plumbing each night. While the book is absolutely chockful of valuable information, it is written in a light, friendly, down-to-earth style that any reader can enjoy. Even the dog writes well!

This is a really super book. More that just of story of climbing Everest. It is a story of lives and it is very very good.

A very inspiring book that validated my desire to do what I love and will keep me optimistic about finding my way for a long time!

Battles with snow and ice, battles with cancer, and a charming romance. What else is needed for a great book in the outside genre? Good Writing.

Unfortunately, this book is short on good writing. It will sell as well as a book in this genre can sell but it will not become a classic nor even provide many memories for its readers. Ghost written, the heart and soul of this book was lost in the expedition of commercialism.

Is it worth reading? You bet. If you are a man with a taste for the outdoors whose significant other would rather go shopping, you will eat your heart out for not having the wisdom of Phil Ershler in carefully using bimbos until you found the woman who would follow you to the tops of the world. If you are a woman who wants some encouragement in following your man, this is the book for you. If you are a fan of high altitude climbing, you will enjoy reading this book.

It lacks tension, that force which makes you stay up late turning pages. But the elements of outdoor adventure are there and, after all, those of us who read this genre are used to mediocre writing and passionate about the subject. So, all in all, it is a worthy read

This book was suggested to us as not only a mountaineering story but a story of life's struggles. We weren't disappointed but very humbled. This dual autobiography (each taking turns telling their story) was a fast-paced read, taking us from childhood to mountain top, leaving out nothing. A very intimately detailed sharing of two full lives. Color photographs support the many stories and stages in the Ershler's lives.

Phil and Sue Ershler's story has everything I enjoy in a book - adventure, courage, inspiration, challenges faced and challenges overcome, and the kind of love that can, literally, overcome mountains. As a small-time climber myself (Rainier's the highest I've ever summited), I could relate to the love of the mountains the Ershlers feel, and the enjoyment that comes in testing oneself emotionally and physically in a mountain ascent. But this book is about more than just mountain-climbing - it's about facing life's unexpected curveballs with a positive attitude, it's about setting goals and working for them, and it's about appreciating all the good in life and living every day to the fullest.

Karen Molenaar Terrell

I have read 4 or 5 collections of travel adventures and this is by far the cream of the crop. I would gift this to any man or woman who loves to explore. A real treasure.

This book is amazing. With a full-time job and a toddler, I need a book I can pick up and read a little at a time. I found myself thinking about this book all day and pouring through it each night. I love to travel, but haven't been able too as much as I'd like in recent years. This book not only makes me feel as though I've been on an adventure - several! - but it has inspired me to make mental notes of where I will be off to on my next trip. The great thing about the stories is the feeling that with a little motivation, any reader could be the next to take a trip and write a story. A great pick-me-up, there's-so-much-out-there-to-experience, carpe-diem, kick-in-the-patooty book! I highly recommend it.

In a hurry, I pulled this gem off the shelf and took it to work for lunch time adventures. Inside of a page I realized I'd read it a couple of years ago, but I never turned back. Bond collected no near misses; every story in this volume is outstanding. Its full of longing, rough and tumble, sensitive bonding, self-realization, hilarious mix-ups, reality checkpoints, stark terror and pain, transcendance, and pride of achievement--all crammed into a heavy volume you don't want to end. Read it. Read it again.

Ride a horse through China. Trek in Nepal. Ride on the back of a motorcycle from California to Northeast Canada. These women are adventurous... yet are normal women with real fears. After reading this book you'll have the courage to be more independent and challenge-seeking. The stories range from the thrill-seekers (think African safari) to conservative travellers (such as going to Gatlinburg for a weekend with the girls)...but illustrates that stepping out of your comfort zone means different things to different women. It's the effort that counts.

I bought this book to accompany me on a long trip, and wished I hadn't. The stories are very similar to each other, with platitudes of the 'my eyes met with the old woman in the rice paddy, and something wordless was exchanged' variety. I know there are better examples out there: why couldn't the editor find them?

Peace activism assumes many forms and Brandon Wilson's new book "Along the Templar Trail" reveals the immense power of the simple pilgrimage. Wilson shows us that walking for this gentle purpose can evolve into a peace fellowship, one person at a time, inspiring a movement that transcends culture and has the potential to grow exponentially.The stunning backdrop of his path from Dijon France to Jerusalem with his French travel partner traversing ancient crusader roads, sharply contrasts cultures yet discovers the commonalities we all share, bringing a tangible reality to peace.Wilson's intentional footsteps of a true peacewager along with his vividly detailed pilgrimage for peace will touch the common place in the hearts of his readers with the quiet assurance that peace really is possible."Along the Templar Trail" is a must read for peace activists and travelers alike.

Brandon Wilson's journey "along the Templar Trail" from Dijon, France to Jerusalem is, in many ways, something we can all identify with. I would even go as far as to say that his experiences can actually resonate with us deeply, although initially we might not realize it. That in part, is the nature of this fascinating book, and this unique travel adventure.

Brandon's journey was a pilgrimage for peace on a trail that historians generally recognize was not about peace, but was in fact about power and religious and cultural hegemony. However Brandon's pilgrimage was intended to right those wrongs.

A pilgrimage is a long, often difficult, and even perilous journey. Pilgrimages usually suggest a journey to a sacred place. They are also symbolic acts and gestures that confirm a particular belief or belief system. In a very deep sense, a pilgrimage is also a quest -- for a greater truth -- or to pay homage to that truth.

But for Brandon, it was also a very long and very real journey on foot across Europe to the Middle East.

After reading Along the Templar Trail: Seven Million Steps for Peace, I came to a greater understanding of the quest that Brandon pursued, and then I had the opportunity to find out more about the man and the impact that quest had on his life.

To hear an audio interview with Brandon, visit Travelosophy ([...]) and click on Travelosophy Talks.

Imagine taking a journey of 7 million steps, across 11 countries and 2 continents, racking up over 4,200 kilometers on your sneakers. Award-winning adventure travel writer and explorer Brandon Wilson invites his readers along on this amazing walking trek from France to Jerusalem, and while we may wince at the eloquently described struggles and challenges he and his companion face, we are spared the exhaustion, sweat and blisters. Instead, we can enjoy the magic and adventure of this amazing odyssey that unfolds along the ancient roads of the Knights Templar and be inspired and uplifted with these brave visionaries' endeavors in spreading messages of peace and hope where there has so often been strife.

Wilson's detailed and often tongue-in-cheek chronicles of the 5 month trek read almost like a diary and draw the reader into each scene and episode, from charming descriptions of bucolic landscapes and unforgettable characters, to tales of comical escapades and even frightening accounts of dangers lurking along the way. We are swept up as the travelers dodge murderous traffic and hostile encounters, adapt to hosts of local customs and struggle with language barriers, and we are truly uplifted by the countless poignant miracles of the "angels" the pilgrims meet all along the way,

Along the Templar Trail is written from the soul and in thoughtful, clever, and humorous style. In Wilson's own words, this is about a "...fellowship shared between pilgrims--those who travel with their feet--and those who join us with their hearts." This is the heartwarming story of an incredible pilgrimage, and it is impossible not to be touched by the vision of peace and humanitarianism at the heart of this journey.

by Zsuzsana Summer
www.arcanamatrix.com
authour of The Now Age: Demystifying Spirituality, The New Age And The Metaphysical

and Angels Abound: 111 True Stories of Angel And Spirit Encounters

In Along The Templar trail, Brandon Wilson takes us on an odyssey across 14 countries, and you feel you're walking along with him and his pilgrim companion, Emile, on each of his 7 million steps. He not only beautifully teaches us what it takes to be a modern pilgrim, but he paves the way for those inspired by his effort, to follow in his footsteps. With so much valuable and practical information of where to stay, where to eat, what roads to take, safety, what to pack, and descriptions of the different cultures he passed through, you feel you've got a wonderful travel guide as well!! In fact, this book has it all: drama, suspense,danger, moments that make you cry, and others that make you laugh. This is not a book you want to speed read through....you'd want to take your time, savor every step like you would if you traveled through exotic places and you didn't want to walk too fast and miss something important.

If you think backpacking through 2 continents on foot through foreign countries with dangers of war, fatality, and the daily challenge of finding water, food and shelter is fascinating...imagine transforming an ancient path of war, into a path of peace!!

Brandon is a friend of mine, but we've never met. You could say we are more like family, brothers of the road. We both explore this world we live in and the world inside of us. It is something of a shock to us, how the world's civilizations can be so at odds with each other because when we travel, we seem only to find open hearts despite differences.

It is with this in mind, that Brandon decided, with a fellow 'pilgrim' Emile, to walk from Dijon France to Jerusalem for Peace. And I write that with a capital 'P'. While both are experienced travelers, this was not an easy undertaking. Besides language barriers, they had almost no reliable information on the safest routes or possible accommodations. The road was long, and usually dangerous to anyone on foot. Their path took them 3000 miles in 6 months.

But despite all the aching muscles, near-death collisions with speeding trucks, and more rain than the earth could need, Brandon still is able to share through his words the beauty of the landscape they walk through, the grandeur of the history, and probably most of all, the wonderful people who, despite having little 'riches', opened their hearts and homes to these weary travelers. Everywhere Brandon walked, the message was perfectly clear from the 'average' man, "We want peace!" Now, in only governments could see that.

It was a long trip and Brandon has tried to bring the reader on that journey, complete with all the bad and the good, including heightened worry as war escalated in the Mideast. But it is with a kind of joy that everyone, Brandon and his readers, finally reach Jerusalem. But Brandon sees it only as stop along the path. We must keep moving toward peace, we must. And here I quote:

"We are all pilgrims, each on their own path, each with their own story to tell. Walking is only a first step, but one we each can take to discover the peace within. In that way, eventually, war will become unconscionable. Darkness will be dispelled with light--one person, one step at a time."

Extraordinary spiritual and personal journey. The author brilliantly transported me to a world totally unknown to me and I was hooked. The author allows the reader to witness the loving and nurturing relationship she developed with Mother Theresa.. It was an honor to be a part of the lives of these two woman, if only for a brief time.

Lorna Kelley's book had a profound effect on my life when I was early in my sobriety. I heard her speaking , and went out and bought this book. She is an inspired speaker and writer and her valuable life lessons and story of transformation make her one of the best authors I have ever encountered. I agree that this book needs to be made into a movie and I think she has to write another soon!

This is a lovely read of a beautiful journey, one from British schoolgirl to Sotheby's auctioneer to volunteer in Calcutta, India. Her tale puts a face on a spiritual quest for Jesus which is inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging. Great story-telling and a wonderful and rare insight into Mother Theresa and her world. Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

This is one of the best books I have read in many years. It was inspiring, sad, funny and has changed my life. What a gift Lorna has given to many.

I was very touched by this true story of an intelligent person struggling to come to terms with her past, her family, grief, alcoholism, the material world and all the ills of everyday life. Beautifully and artfully written. The writer is no saint but, after one reads this book, her pure heart in unquestioned. Her sainthood (if I may use the word) is in her humanity and divine inclination to do good. She is like you and I struggling to exist and make a difference in this tragic world. In spite of all the material conforts and easy life, she is the poorer of the poor. I highly recommend this book to anybody looking for a good read to inspire both the heart and the spirit. God bless you Lorna! I just wish there were more books like yours out there!

For most of us the best indicator of what tomorrow or next year will be like is to look at yesterday or last year and just project it out. More of mostly the same. We let our responses to the normal events of the day define our experience. Many hopes and wishes just remain hopes and wishes. These two decided very purposefully that they wanted something different. They decided this at the beginning of their eighth decade of life, and produced a written plan of just they wanted from their next five years and how they would do it.

Their goal was to experience the daily life and the culture of several locations in Europe The path to that goal included selling a home, disposing of years of accumulated stuff, renting an apartment, making the travel plans, and dealing with health issues along the way.

It is a story written from each of their perspectives giving some history of their families, what brought them to this decision, the challenges they faced and a description of their stays in European. Their descriptions are personal and delightful. Those who have traveled even briefly in similar style will be reminded of their own frustrating mishaps that then became fond and some of the best recollected memories.

You'll likely end the reading of their story wondering about your own next few years and maybe even getting out a pencil and paper.

Ron Skrabut, Harrisburg, PA

Most people shudder at the thought of relocating anywhere and International moves are known to be fraught with more complications than most. Not considered so by Don & Dana Manges, a couple who, at age 72, spontaneously agreed to eschew the classic retirement life of napping and rocking precious days away but instead to sample living for a time in four major European cities.

Don & Dana record their impressions of the cultural offerings of each sojourn, the places and events savored and the pleasure of forming new friendships. They've described frustrations encountered with language whilst settling into each place but even those hiccups were viewed as amusing episodes .

Leaving Home at 72 details these two years through alternating essays written in Don and Dana's individual, whimsical, thoughtful styles that reveals much about their personalities and enduring interests. It's apparent that both thoroughly enjoyed the going, seeing, doing and laughing at the peculiarities of living abroad. Best of all, they bring to the reader an awareness that life after 70 affords a special opportunity to plunge ahead, to act on a dream and "to boldly go" to parts not yet explored.

What fun to read and reread the story of this wonderful couple's adventures. It should give all of us who are over 65, courage and hope. It fill me with new energy for what lies ahead.

Here exposed are our crushed, red-faced, travel humiliations, misunderstood language blather, and misinformed directions together with quaint chambres, unforgettable meals, and new found friendships. Subtly illustrated and printed in a fun graphic style, the authors' experiences courageously revealed as few of us would ever admit to our mothers.

Leaving Home at 72 is a charming and delightful saga of an imaginative couple's joi de vivre as they explore the beauty of Europe in a fascinating time aboard. A wonderful read for anyone who loves to travel.

"Tales from the Expat Harem" was going around our book club. At first I avoided borrowing it, suspecting that the book would turn out to be a disappointment. I needn't have worried: though several of the selections in this collection clearly indulge in romantic embellishments, the book was anything but disappointing. I first came to Turkey in 1989 to meet my mother-in-law, but have raised my family and worked as a musician here for the past 13 years. My friends (some of the other émigrés have been here for almost 40 years!) and I quite enjoyed it, sympathizing and laughing with many of the contributors and their experiences.

"Tales from the Expat Harem" is a "well-written and well-edited," fun and almost overwhelmingly positive collection of personal experiences contributed to by many fascinating women from diverse backgrounds. But reader beware: this collection is not for those hoping to read sociology or travel literature; and though the stories, or anecdotes, all take place in Turkey, they aren't really about this country. As the review posted on this site entitled "Adventures in Self-discovery" points out, Turkey provides a common backdrop for the contributing authors' discoveries about themselves and their own cultures.

The unanimously positive reactions to this book [...] indicate that the authors have kindled a sisterhood between themselves and their readers, illuminating a sub-culture of feminist "expatriatism" (a term evidently used mainly by Americans but which the British find unnecessarily connotative). With a marginal shift of perspective and perhaps a slightly more scientific approach, it seems that further work in this field could acquire even greater meaning and substance.

This book can be used as inspiration, for pleasure reading, or as a manual on how to cope with a variety of intercultural situations on your trip to Turkey. Having spent nearly two years abroad here, I have taken in the stories in a variety of ways. I read them now like memories of my own, from my past, and as experiences to come. The book creates a feeling of camaraderie, as if the expat women are all sitting in a room together, chatting around the marble center stone of the hamam, confessing our trials and challenges, our resilience, our coping mechanisms and our pride in living in Turkey. Whether you visit Turkey as a tourist, or for good, this book will take you deeper into the culture and will inspire you to take similar adventures of your own. A powerful injection of humor, wit, joy and sorrow, all of these stories will make you feel like you have just experienced a whirlwind tour of Turkey through the eyes of strong, powerful women abroad, a book to enhance anyone's imagination of Turkey

I love the insights that the women provided about Turkey. I have never read a book that gave detailed first hand experiences. I am Mexican and I am married to a Cypriot Turk which brings a multitude of cultural differences in to play. When I was told that I had to call my mother in law- Anne, I freaked out. I love my mother in law but I only have one MOM. My own mother was the one that made me understand that it was OK and that I should accept these cultural nuances as they accept mine. Thanks to all the contributors of this book.

really nice book to read - great for foreigners living in turkey, visitors to turkey or anyone who is simply interested in cross-cultural experiences! i can't wait for a version comprised of stories written by foreign men in turkey :-)

We don't seem to be too knowledgeable about countries in the Middle East area and this book will explode any and all stereotypes holding you back from learning from the Turkish experience of several diverse western women who either live there or have spent much time there. Each story is written by a different woman, usually about a different angle or aspect of the culture, and it is rich with warmth and human kindness and real people. It has certainly inspired me not to be afraid to travel to the region and I will the first chance I get! Captivating writing, delightful, mind-opening stories. Don't miss this book. I passed it along to my daughter. Halfway through, she called and said she was heading to the local Istanbul Cafe (here in the southwest) for lunch and was dying to travel to Turkey! It's contagious, the enthusiasm and love of the writers for the country and its people. Don't miss it!

The Backbone of the World is a collection of random vignettes recording the author's experiences along America's continental divide. From the boot heel of New Mexico to Canada's Alberta province, Frank Clifford finds no shortage of eccentric, hardscrabble westerners with which to commune. Although ostensibly exploring the newly commissioned (and largely conterminous) Continental Divide Trail, the author actually spends little time on it. He prefers to alight sporadically in places collateral to the divide - the story becoming less reminiscent of a "backbone" and more of a vertebra here and a vertebra there.

And there's a larger problem with this appellation, as well. One assumes that Clifford derives "The Backbone of the World" from the Blackfeet name for an area in Glacier National Park, yet, in socio-geologic terms, it seems overly hopeful to apply it to the continental divide as a whole. The world is a big place and Clifford singularly fails to defend the distinction. Indeed, he completely ignores it. Why such a lofty claim when the author's protagonists are so quintessentially local (so local, in fact, that they inhabit only the eastern front)? In the absense of an answer, the reader is forced to conclude that Clifford has bestowed the honorific merely because it sounds good.

Lest I criticize too harshly however, the book's subtitle is right on the money. Frank Clifford meaningfully portrays a vanishing way of life. He has filled his book with people of extraordinary character from which he extracts stories disarmingly genuine. In fact, it is this talent that saves the effort from becoming a run-of-the-mill travel book and compels me to award it 4 stars. The Backbone of the World is recommendable, if somewhat arbitrarily constructed. For a more immersive experience regarding life along the divide, I recommend Leaning on the Wind by Sid Marty.

Clifford writes with too much evenhandedness and too little anger to suit me about what's happening to The West. Even so, there's no doubt that he cares deeply about what's being lost. This book ought to be required reading for anyone who crosses the state lines of NM, CO, WY, ID or MT.

I don't give 5 stars and it's not about me so I seldom toss my twopence in but, this is well-written and easily worth the used price listed. You can get the drift from the other reviews. Fine book, Mr. Clifford! thank you.

Anyone interested in reading about the glamorized West - artist retreats in Santa Fe, Denver socialites, ski resorts in million-dollar-home settings - will probably be disappointed in this book. Frank Clifford instead takes the reader to isolated outposts where people are just barely surviving: a sheep rancher north of Vail who lives in a ramshackle trailer; one of the last residents of Jeffrey City, WY, who is sick from years of working in the now-closed uranium mines and is too poor to see a doctor; a park ranger in Yellowstone hellbent on stopping illegal hunting practices along the park's isolated boundary; a trapper in New Mexico who sometimes goes six months without human contact; a Canadian environmentalist fighting a losing battle against gas and timber companies; a group of Blackfeet Indians trying to maintain ties to their ancient culture on their reservation near Glacier NP; a ranch family in southern New Mexico frightened of the drugs and violence along the border.

A few things unite most of Clifford's subjects: a fierce independence; a hatred for governmental interference, especially when it interferes with their livelihoods; and a similar disdain for "outsiders" who they feel look down upon them as inferior people, hicks, and want to impose restrictions on how they can and should use the land (i.e. environmentalists). Clifford, who is a journalist from California, must be commended for not taking a position for or against his subjects (he realizes both sides have valid arguments) and for becoming one of them, even if it's only for a short time (he rides horses with his subjects, helps them with their cattle and sheep, etc.). The book will definitely take the wind out of the sails of anyone who pictures the West as merely a drop-dead beautiful mountain backdrop to be enjoyed while sipping red wine on a dude ranch porch. This is the real deal, the other-side-of-the-tracks picture where people count pennies to survive the year and every cow or sheep lost to a grizzly bear or coyote means they go a little bit deeper into debt. It's an eye-opening book - one of the best on the West of today that I've come across. Highly recommended.

Never seen a hawk on the wing... for the many Americans that the lyrics of this old Jerry Jeff Walker song apply, Clifford's book is a marvelous remedy. As he explains in the prologue, he undertook the book in conjunction with the development and opening of the Continental Divide Hiking Trail. But his book is less about the physical panorama of the scenery along the Divide, as it is of the hard-scrabble existence and diversity of people who hold on to the "old-ways" of life along the Divide. Some of Richard Ford's books like "Rock Springs" serve as a wonderful fictional compliment to Clifford's work.

Clifford has a journalist background; he is able to find very real people truly "hanging on," even if it means going around the sign in Catron Co. NM that says: "Visitors not Welcome. Trespassers will be shot."

In the "boot heel" of New Mexico he interviews a descendant of a polygamist Mormon sect that fled the United States in the late 1800's so they could continue to practice their beliefs which had recently been outlawed. These "higra" Mormons were, if anything, too successful in Mexico, and were eventually driven out by Pancho Villa, with some settling along the border line, back in the States. Clifford has done his background work on this area, quoting Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian."

At the other end of the trail he rides horses with the Blackfeet Indians along the Canadian border, conveying insights into the reservation life, and he rides with a radical environmentalist, of the "Monkey Wrench" variety. In between, there is a National Park Ranger who fights the poachers at Yellowstone; the miners dying from the effects of their work in the uranium mines of Wyoming; documenting the extent of work that cattlemen must do to make a ranch viable in these arid lands; the Hispanics of Northern NM who have their own laws, and strongly resist outside intrusions; and a hippie-like shepherd struggling in Colorado, whose method of castrating his sheep you will never forget.

I felt myself savoring each vignette, and wished the author could have spent an entire month with each of his subjects. He has the knowledge to cite various literary, historical, and political antecedents to each situation. As others have noted, the book's title is a bit of an overreach, but if America is your whole world, so be it.

And excellent summation of one of the book's central themes is: "This strange legacy of socialism is one of the abiding ironies of the West. No region of the country is more devoted to the myth of rugged self-sufficiency, none more dependent on federal largesse, and none more contemptuous of the hand that feeds it." (p 159)

An excellent read for those who live along the Divide, and for those who don't.

I've read many travel books and searched out various resources over the last year, but Thalia's book really hit home with me. She prompts the woman traveller to dilligently question her own motives and to really delve deep into why she wants to travel and how certain aspects of travel may affect a woman's TOTAL well-being. I've answered many questions in my journal and I have to admit I've adjusted my travel plans (for the better) because of Thalia's insightful book.

This book is outstanding. It is about real travel and interaction, not the 9 countries in 13 days type thing. It is very practical, addressing the real problems faced by the solo woman traveler (harassment, cultural attitudes, personal safety issues). It also has the standard advice of what to pack,etc. I appreciate the special aadvice for seeking interaction with other cultures by actually living and working among the local population......travel is much more than what you can see thru the tour bus window.

At last an intelligent, informative, approach to spending time in other countries. Simple promptings to ensure you don't offend the local people, hints on gaining the most from the areas to which you travel and good, sensible logistics info. on packing, booking, travelling etc.

I first bought this book when I was preparing to travel to Europe at 19 - over ten years ago, and my rough worn copy is still a favorite on my shelf.

Chock full of great advice, anecdotes from author Zapatos and women she interviewed, inspirational insights and down to earth tips, A Journey of One's Own is the perfect gift for any woman considering an extended travel adventure - or armchair traveller looking for a new perspective.

This is a wonderful resource. As I read it, I always had a pen in hand, taking notes. I have a plethora of websites, notes, and good tips to take into consideration when planning my three-month trip. She helps you ponder each decision carefully, whether it is to travel solo or with others, where to stay, travel lessons, safety, how to pack light, and traveling for a long period of time. Even though I am not traveling with a partner, I still read the entire book cover to cover. I *highly* recommend this book--I would give it way more than 5 stars if I could. Any woman (even a man would benefit from most of this book) should read this book before traveling.