a blog about travel literature
This author has been called the “grandfather of travel writing” – but is he really that good?
In the early 1920s, young American graduate Richard Halliburton feels bored. He decides to go traveling on a shoestring budget, so he hops on a ship to Europe and takes it from there…
Why does too much often mean too little?
In the early 1990s, Nadine Hudson from Switzerland is struggling with mental health issues, most notably an eating disorder. She decides to embark on a backpacking trip through Asia…
Do photos, a lot of countries and a slick design make for a good book?
In the early 2010s, German designer Fabian Sixtus Körner decides he wants to see the world. He draws inspiration from the German tradition of the “journeyman years”…
If all the idiots love it, does that mean that this is an idiotic book, or worse, a book for idiots?
it’s the early 1940s, the world is at war in Europe and the Pacific, and Bukowski (the protagonist’s name is actually Chinaski) is apparently considered unfit for duty. He roams about the United States (mostly Los Angeles), looking for work, getting fired, then looking for work again…
Is this book going to be any good for you even if you’re not a fan of hardcore punk?
it’s 1980, and a young punk enthusiast called Henry Lawrence Garfield from DC gives himself a new last name, thus becoming Henry Rollins. When his favorite band Black Flag asks him to become their new lead singer, he accepts…
Is this in any way comparable to the works of Ella Maillart?
remember Serge Roetheli, the guy who fabulously ran around the world and wrote a book about it? Well, Nicole Roetheli is his wife, and she kept him company on her motorcycle during the trip. This is the book she wrote, which is supposed to tell the story from her perspective. Obviously, we are reminded of Ella Maillart and Peter Fleming, both of whom were very good writers…
How can a book about a man running around the whole world be so… bad?
we’re in 1997, and Swiss Athlete Serge Roetheli has just returned from running all the way from South America to Alaska. He was accompanied by his wife on a motorcycle, and now that this “American Challenge” is now behind them, they decide to embark on a world tour…
If this guy writes so well and goes to so many cool places, then just why is this book he wrote so bad?
in the early 2000s, Xiaopeng is a young Chinese white-collar worker who decides to see the world. He travels around China, then ends up as an exchange student in the Netherlands. From there, he sets out to do the Grand Tour of Europe…
Could this talented artists have done more with the material he had at hand?
in 2011, Wang Yuxi, a young visual artist from Beijing, decides to cross the United States by car. He overcomes a few initial visa difficulties and gets two buddies to come along. It’s a classic road trip…
Can we read about warfare as if it was just an adventure?
at the outbreak of World War I, Gunther Plüschow, a young pilot in the German air force, gets dispatched to the German colony of Qingdao (they call it “Tsingtau” back then). He is supposed to be one of only two pilots on guard against the Japanese and the British there…
Listen to your heart.
In the early 2010s, American actor Andrew McCarthy decides to get married a second time. The problem is that besides being an actor, he’s also a travel writer and a bit restless…
Bono sucks.
In the early 2000s, Gregor Sieböck, a banker from Austria, decides to walk around the world in order to promote environmentalism…
Too much about mining.
In the mid 1800s, Irish-born American writer John Ross Browne sets out on several trips from California to the areas that would later become Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona…
The modern traveler.
In 1946, Heinz Helfgen, a former journalist from Germany turned Wehrmacht soldier comes from a POW camp, only to find out that things are pretty bad at home, especially money-wise…
Not just a tough cookie.
In the late 1990s, Karl Bushby, a former paratrooper from Britain, sets out to do something extraordinary…