Synopses & Reviews
Already a best-selling addition to the series, this year's Best American Travel Writing is a far-flung collection chosen by travel writer extraordinaire Paul Theroux, who has selected pieces about "the spell in the wilderness, the letter home from foreign parts, the dangerous adventure, the sentimental journey, the exposé, the shocking revelation, the eyewitness report, the ordeal, the quest . . . Travel is an attitude, a state of mind." Theroux's most recent novel is Hotel Honolulu.
About the Author
JASON WILSON is the drinks columnist at the Washington Post, the series editor of The Smart Set, and the author of Boozehound: On The Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated. He teaches at Drexel University.PAUL THEROUX is the author of many highly acclaimed books. His novels include The Lower River and The Mosquito Coast, and his renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star and Dark Star Safari. He lives in Hawaii and Cape Cod.
Table of Contents
Contents Foreword xi Introduction by Paul Theroux xvii Scott Anderson. As Long As We Were Together, Nothing Bad Could Happen to Us 1 from Mens Journal Russell Banks. Fox and Whale, Priest and Angel 20 from Esquire Tim Cahill. Volcano Alley Is Ticking 29 from Mens Journal Philip Caputo. Among the Man-Eaters 47 from National Geographic Adventure Andrew Cockburn. Iran: Are You Ready? 75 from Condé Nast Traveler Gretel Ehrlich. The Endless Hunt 88 from National Geographic Adventure Michael Finkel. Desperate Passage 105 from The New York Times Magazine Ian Frazier. Desert Hideaway 125 from The Atlantic Monthly Peter Hessler. View from the Bridge 132 from The New Yorker Pico Iyer. Why We Travel 142 from Salon Travel Kathleen Lee. Into the Heart of the Middle Kingdom 152 from Condé Nast Traveler Janet Malcolm. Travels with Chekhov 164 from The New Yorker Lawrence Millman. Daughter of the Wind 189 from Islands Susan Minot. This We Came to Know Afterward 199 from McSweeneys Susan Orlean. The Place to Disappear 228 from The New Yorker David Quammen. The Post-Communist Wolf 238 from Outside Salman Rushdie. A Dream of Glorious Return 254 from The New Yorker Edward W. Said. Paradise Lost 276 from Travel & Leisure Bob Shacochis. Something Wild in the Blood 286 from Mens Journal Thomas Swick. Croatian Rock 301 from South Florida Sun-Sentinel Patrick Symmes. Miraculous Fishing 318 from Harpers Magazine Jeffrey Tayler. Back in the USSR? 341 from Harpers Magazine Marcel Theroux. The Very, Very, Very Big Chill 361 from Travel & Leisure Brad Wetzler. Is Just Like Amerika! 366 from Outside Jason Wilson. Dining Out in Iceland 380 from The North American Review Simon Winchester. Beyond Siberia 401 from Condé Nast Traveler Contributors Notes 409 Notable Travel Writing of 2000 415