Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Mariner Books (2001), Edition: First Printing (by the Numbers), 320 pages
Description
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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member juli1357
To date, this is the third collection I have read in this series. By comparison, I much preferred the 2000 and 2006 collections. The Best American Travel Writing series has a series editor, Jason Wilson, who is responsible for selecting between 50-100 of what he considers to be the best travel
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writing articles of the year. Then he passes these on to the guest editor, Paul Theroux for the 2001 collection, who selects among these to determine the 20+ articles that will be included in that year's collection. Although I think Paul Theroux is a great travel writer, I find him lacking as an editor. Rather than select a well-rounded group of articles, he seems to have focused on what interests himself rather than what might appeal to a broader audience. For example, 7 of the 27 articles in this collection take place in extremely cold and harsh environments such as Siberia, Iceland, the Andes mountains etc. Even the cover of the book features a glacier. Also, the writing style of a disproportionate number of the writers selected is cool and detached. If this had been my only experience reading this series, I wouldn't feel compelled to pick up any future collections. Thankfully, that is not the case. If you enjoy travel writing, I strongly encourage you to read one of the collections within this series, just not the 2001 anthology. Show Less
Language
Original language
English