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killstorm's review
4.0
A mixed bag. My favorite items were on traveling the mall Victorian style, Timbuktu, the return of nature to Chernobyl, Cairo and the Garbage City, the US Mexico border, Amundsen and Scott and the Norwegian traverse, and the oddities of Tijuana.
Other items included the anti-mafia in Sciily, ongoing troubles in Belfast, the IRA and the murder of Paul Quinn, the Maine Coast in winter, a Paris literature tour, Bosnian war reckoning, the longest running passion play, death in Bulgaria, the Hindu holy city, safety in post-Apartheid South Africa, Vietnam cave, and a train jumper.
Other items included the anti-mafia in Sciily, ongoing troubles in Belfast, the IRA and the murder of Paul Quinn, the Maine Coast in winter, a Paris literature tour, Bosnian war reckoning, the longest running passion play, death in Bulgaria, the Hindu holy city, safety in post-Apartheid South Africa, Vietnam cave, and a train jumper.
mattycakesbooks's review
4.0
Overall, a very good collection. I'm surprised, actually, because I'm ranking this as highly as I ranked the 2008 edition, which I also just read and was edited by a favorite of mine, Anthony Bourdain. Vollman doesn't have QUITE the same taste as me, and there are a few in here I was not a fan of - I'm not much into Thomas Swick in this or in any of the other editions, and Aaron Dactyl's piece struck me as a bit misanthropic - but a few of them were absolutely incredible. Specifically:
-J. Malcolm Garcia's piece on Northern Ireland
-Paul Theroux's bit on Maine
-Peter Gwin's bit on Timbuktu
-Kenan Trebincevic's bit on going back home to the Balkans.
I've seen a number of complaints on Goodreads that the stories aren't generally speaking "travel writing," but are more pieces with a strong emphasis on the location of the piece, but I don't understand how this is a bad thing. Providing a historical or journalistic context for a location always makes traveling to it much more rewarding for me. And travelogues are often superficial and boring. Overall, a worthy addition to the series.
-J. Malcolm Garcia's piece on Northern Ireland
-Paul Theroux's bit on Maine
-Peter Gwin's bit on Timbuktu
-Kenan Trebincevic's bit on going back home to the Balkans.
I've seen a number of complaints on Goodreads that the stories aren't generally speaking "travel writing," but are more pieces with a strong emphasis on the location of the piece, but I don't understand how this is a bad thing. Providing a historical or journalistic context for a location always makes traveling to it much more rewarding for me. And travelogues are often superficial and boring. Overall, a worthy addition to the series.
racheladventure's review
4.0
Overall, I thought this was a good series, though it started and ended with essays I did not love. Also, only 2 of the writers are women, which I thought was odd and unfortunate:
I thought the best essays were:
The Telltale Scribes of Timbuktu
Garbage City
My Days with the Anti-Mafia
City of Walls
Now Ye Know Who the Bosses Are
The Reckoning
Maximum India
Keeping Watch
I thought the best essays were:
The Telltale Scribes of Timbuktu
Garbage City
My Days with the Anti-Mafia
City of Walls
Now Ye Know Who the Bosses Are
The Reckoning
Maximum India
Keeping Watch
hmonkeyreads's review
3.0
I've been drifting in and out of this for a few weeks now. Some of stories were like pulling teeth for me to get through (the one about garbage recyclers in Cairo comes to mind) but others were completely fascinating (Chernobyl and the skiing in Norway).
I think I'd probably be happier reading the imaginary book: "Best American Adventure Travel Writing".
The thing I like best about collections like this is being able to come to them when you need something to read but can't commit to a serious novel. This has been good bedtime reading for me this month.
I think I'd probably be happier reading the imaginary book: "Best American Adventure Travel Writing".
The thing I like best about collections like this is being able to come to them when you need something to read but can't commit to a serious novel. This has been good bedtime reading for me this month.
carriekellenberger's review
3.0
A collection of travel essays written by a group of male travel authors. I guess women had nothing important to offer this year. I found a lot of these essays hit and miss, as the essays weren't traditional travel narratives by any means. Nevertheless, there were some key pieces that stand out in my mind. My favorites were:
Henry Shukman's Chernobyl, My Primeval, Teeming, Irradiated Eden - A rich tale of a modern-day Chernobyl and its decline into an ancient garden of oddities.
Elliot D. Woods Garbage City - The story of a group of people called the Zabbaleens, who have worked as Cairo's informal garbage collectors for the past 70 to 80 years. They support themselves by going from door to door to collect trash for no charge. They recycle up to 80 percent of what they collect by using their pigs to eat all the organic trash. Everything else is reused and recycled.
Robin Kirk's City of Walls - A terrific read on Northern Ireland and the IRA. I read this essay out loud to my husband while we were road-tripping and we were both fascinated with the history behind the piece.
Pico Iyer's Maximum India - Exloring Varanasi, the City of the Dead, in India. Located on the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi is holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism. Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation.
Luke Dittrich's Walking the Border - A hike along the US-Mexican border. What a great idea for a story!
Henry Shukman's Chernobyl, My Primeval, Teeming, Irradiated Eden - A rich tale of a modern-day Chernobyl and its decline into an ancient garden of oddities.
Elliot D. Woods Garbage City - The story of a group of people called the Zabbaleens, who have worked as Cairo's informal garbage collectors for the past 70 to 80 years. They support themselves by going from door to door to collect trash for no charge. They recycle up to 80 percent of what they collect by using their pigs to eat all the organic trash. Everything else is reused and recycled.
Robin Kirk's City of Walls - A terrific read on Northern Ireland and the IRA. I read this essay out loud to my husband while we were road-tripping and we were both fascinated with the history behind the piece.
Pico Iyer's Maximum India - Exloring Varanasi, the City of the Dead, in India. Located on the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi is holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism. Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation.
Luke Dittrich's Walking the Border - A hike along the US-Mexican border. What a great idea for a story!
adt's review
3.0
I like to read travel writing. The problem is with shorter pieces: not enough for the the strong ones, almost too much for the weak. Only a few of the pieces stayed with me a few months later, even after skimming through them.
kst718's review against another edition
2.0
Usually I like this series of anthologies but not this volume. It irked me that nearly all of the entries were by men (in one case, one author had two different chapters--are there really no good female travel writers??), many of the authors were not American (or perhaps had been naturalized later in life, in which case, welcome and carry on), and "travel" writing was a bit of a stretch. For example, one person talked about being afraid of violence when growing up as a child in her native South Africa. How is that considered travel writing?
laurafox's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite pieces from this volume:
Henry Shukman, "Chernobyl, My Primeval, Teeming, Irradiated Eden" (Ukraine)
J. Malcolm Garcia, "Now Ye Know Who the Bosses Are Here Now" (Ireland)
Bryan Curtis, "The Tijuana Sports Hall of Fame" (Mexico)
Dimiter Kenarov, "Memento Mori" (Bulgaria)
Luke Dittrich, "Walking the Border" (U.S./Mexico Border)
Mark Jenkins, "Amundsen Schlepped Here" (Norway/Antarctica)
Henry Shukman, "Chernobyl, My Primeval, Teeming, Irradiated Eden" (Ukraine)
J. Malcolm Garcia, "Now Ye Know Who the Bosses Are Here Now" (Ireland)
Bryan Curtis, "The Tijuana Sports Hall of Fame" (Mexico)
Dimiter Kenarov, "Memento Mori" (Bulgaria)
Luke Dittrich, "Walking the Border" (U.S./Mexico Border)
Mark Jenkins, "Amundsen Schlepped Here" (Norway/Antarctica)
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