Synopses & Reviews
As a professional travel writer and editor for the past 40 years, Don
George has been paid to explore the world. Through the decades, his
articles have been published in magazines, newspapers, and websites
around the globe and have won more awards than almost any other travel
writer alive, yet his pieces have never been collected into one volume.
The Way of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing of Don George
fills this void with a moving and inspiring collection of tales and
reflections from one of America’s most acclaimed and beloved travel
writers.
From his high-spirited account of climbing Mount
Kilimanjaro on a whim when he was 22 years old to his heart-plucking
description of a home-stay in a muddy compound in Cambodia as a
61-year-old, this collection ranges widely. As renowned for his
insightful observations as for his poetic prose, George always absorbs
the essence of the places he’s visiting.
Other stories here
include a moving encounter with Australia’s sacred red rock monolith,
Uluru; an immersion in country kindness on the Japanese island of
Shikoku; the trials and triumphs of ascending Yosemite’s Half Dome with
his wife and children; and a magical morning at Machu Picchu.
Review
“Don George is a legendary travel writer and editor.” National Geographic
Review
“These stories made me fall in love with the world again.” Isabel Allende
About the Author
Don George wrote the book on travel writing, literally. His book,
Lonely Planet's Guide to Travel Writing, is the best-selling travel writing guide in the world. Don has been a pioneering travel writer and editor for 40 years. He has been the travel editor at the
San Francisco Examiner and the
San Francisco Chronicle, founder and editor of Salon's "Wanderlust" travel site, and global travel editor for Lonely Planet. He is currently an editor at large and columnist for
National Geographic Traveler and the editor of BBC Travel's "Words and Wanderlust" section. Don is the cofounder and chairman of the renowned Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference. He has visited 90 countries and has published hundreds of articles in dozens of magazines, newspapers, and websites worldwide. He has also edited ten award-winning literary travel anthologies. He speaks and teaches regularly at conferences and on campuses around the world, and he is frequently interviewed on TV, radio, and online as a travel expert. He lives in Piedmont, CA.
Pico Iyer was born in Oxford, England to parents from India, and he was educated at Eton, Oxford, and Harvard. He is the author of many best-selling books, including Video Night in Kathmandu, The Global Soul, The Lady and the Monk, and The Art of Stillness. Since 1992 he has been based in rural Japan with his longtime sweetheart, while spending part of each year in a Benedictine hermitage in California.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Pico Iyer
Introduction by Don George
Short prologues precede each story
Pilgrimages
1. Climbing Kilimanjaro
2. Sunrise at Uluru
3. Delos Diary
4. Notre-Dame
5. Conquering Half Dome
6. Japan's Past Perfect – Shikoku
7. Machu Picchu Magic
8. Ryoanji reflections
9. Family Adventure in the Galapagos
10. A Pilgrim at Stinson Beach
11. Thanksgiving in Connecticut
Encounters
1. In Love, in Greece, in the Springtime
2. Pakistan Karakoram Postcard
3. Dubrovnik
4. A Day in the Life of Dubbo
5. Baja: Touched by a Whale
6. Insights into Nice at the Musee Matisse
7. Making Roof Tiles in Peru
8. Building Bridges in Mostar
9. Spin the Globe – El Salvador
10. Jordan – Exhilarating Encounters, Enduring Lessons
11. Living-history Lessons in Berlin
Illuminations
1. Pythion
2. Japanese Wedding
3. At the Musee d'Orsay
4. Prambanan in the Moonlight
5. Aitutaki – Finding salvation in the South Seas
6. Africa – Wildlife Illuminations
7. Unexpected Offerings on a Return to Bali
8. French Connections – Saint Paul
9. Lynn Ferrin
10. The Intricate Weave – Italy
11. Finding a Sense of Home Abroad
Epilogue: Every journey Is a Pilgrimage