Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Pantheon (2002), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 272 pages
Description
From the author of The Consolations of Philosophy, this is an inspirational and witty guide to how to make our travels go better.
Media reviews
The trouble with The Art of Travel is that he clearly does not have the same enthusiasm for travel.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Steve55
This is a delightful and insightful book that has obviously been written with great care. Some of the phrasing and imagery it creates is exquisite, and the ideas it conveys are quite profound.
By way of introduction, Alain de Botton points towards the vast array of books with advice on where to
The book, complete with many appropriate illustrations, explores the nature of travel through the eyes of critics, writers, thinkers and travellers of all sorts, all neatly correlated to the authors personal experience. The result is a delightfully well written invitation to explore our own thinking. This process is laced with opportunities for new insights. For example the discovery that when we travel we may leave everything behind, but can’t avoid being accompanied by ourselves, perhaps the very thing we most seek a break from.
I think my favourite chapter is one in which Alain explores the Provence region of France through the eyes of Vincent Van Gogh. He described how on first encountering the region he found no real charm or magic in the scenery. However having explored how Van Gogh saw and captured the region through his paintings he reveals how he was taught to see in new ways. This experience itself reveals a number of powerful insights about how we see and are able to see the world, but beyond this it revealed to me for the first time the true nature of an artist’s role in creating new ways in which to see.
I highly recommend this book. The use of language is beautiful and the insights are delicately observed and delivered with humour and obvious affection.
“A few years after Van Gogh's stay in Provence, Oscar Wilde remarked that there had been no fog in London before Whistler painted it. There had surely been fewer cypresses in Provence before Van Gogh painted them."
By way of introduction, Alain de Botton points towards the vast array of books with advice on where to
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travel to, whilst we seldom ask why we go and how we might become more fulfilled by doing so. In asking these questions he invites us to explore much more than the nature of travel, but what the Greek philosophers beautifully termed eudemonia, or human flourishing.The book, complete with many appropriate illustrations, explores the nature of travel through the eyes of critics, writers, thinkers and travellers of all sorts, all neatly correlated to the authors personal experience. The result is a delightfully well written invitation to explore our own thinking. This process is laced with opportunities for new insights. For example the discovery that when we travel we may leave everything behind, but can’t avoid being accompanied by ourselves, perhaps the very thing we most seek a break from.
I think my favourite chapter is one in which Alain explores the Provence region of France through the eyes of Vincent Van Gogh. He described how on first encountering the region he found no real charm or magic in the scenery. However having explored how Van Gogh saw and captured the region through his paintings he reveals how he was taught to see in new ways. This experience itself reveals a number of powerful insights about how we see and are able to see the world, but beyond this it revealed to me for the first time the true nature of an artist’s role in creating new ways in which to see.
I highly recommend this book. The use of language is beautiful and the insights are delicately observed and delivered with humour and obvious affection.
“A few years after Van Gogh's stay in Provence, Oscar Wilde remarked that there had been no fog in London before Whistler painted it. There had surely been fewer cypresses in Provence before Van Gogh painted them."
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LibraryThing member LaurieRKing
"Journeys are the midwives of thought," says de Botton, and fills a slim volume with his own thoughts alongside those of Ruskin and Wordsworth, van Gogh and Flaubert. For those who travel, who wish to travel, or who wonder why one would want to travel, the book is a delight.
LibraryThing member kukulaj
Why travel at all? Nomadic herdsmen travel long distances, following seasonal shifts in pasture land. Trade is an ancient motivation. People migrate because of growing population density, reduction in farm productivity, etc.: in search of a way to make a living. People travel escape warfare or to
De Botton picked his title well. Another sort of travel is motivated by aesthetics, to cultivate some sort of aesthetic appreciation of the place itself. Travel can be a way that I can change myself internally, emotionally, intellectually.
Is this kind of purely internal focus really effective? Can we cultivate a healthy internal without cultivating a healthy external at the same time? There are a variety of ways to combine travel with working to make the external world, the world outside myself, a better place. But that kind of heavy-handed deliberateness is not required, either. If we are simply engaged with the world in a careful and meaningful way, that can be enough, that can be even more powerful.
Pilgrimage is a curious sort of travel that is focused on internal transformation but that doesn't seem to fit de Botton's aesthetic approach. Maybe the difference is that de Botton looks for ways that external stimuli can trigger or steer internal dynamics. Pilgrimage, on the other hand, seems more externally focused. The story, the dynamics, are external. The self is subjected to that external story.
I just started watching Louis Malle's documentary film Phantom India. This film seems also to take an aesthetic approach to its subject, but seems to bring into question more the nature of that engagement. That film is also more people-oriented than de Botton's book. People demand more active engagement than does landscape!
We already seem to be retreating from the pinnacle of exotic travel, as the global airline industry goes into retreat, handicapped by high fuel prices and security concerns. Pulling in our horizons will feel much different than pushing them out. Intellectual and emotional self-transformation is always a worthy project, but its relationship to travel may be due for a major shift as we move into a world of declining resource availability.
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practice warfare. People travel to cultivate diplomatic relations, to manage trade or migration or warfare. People travel to visit familiy and friends. People travel to learn skills that aren't taught in their hometowns. People travel to explore, to find out what remote places are like, to find new opportunities for trade etc.De Botton picked his title well. Another sort of travel is motivated by aesthetics, to cultivate some sort of aesthetic appreciation of the place itself. Travel can be a way that I can change myself internally, emotionally, intellectually.
Is this kind of purely internal focus really effective? Can we cultivate a healthy internal without cultivating a healthy external at the same time? There are a variety of ways to combine travel with working to make the external world, the world outside myself, a better place. But that kind of heavy-handed deliberateness is not required, either. If we are simply engaged with the world in a careful and meaningful way, that can be enough, that can be even more powerful.
Pilgrimage is a curious sort of travel that is focused on internal transformation but that doesn't seem to fit de Botton's aesthetic approach. Maybe the difference is that de Botton looks for ways that external stimuli can trigger or steer internal dynamics. Pilgrimage, on the other hand, seems more externally focused. The story, the dynamics, are external. The self is subjected to that external story.
I just started watching Louis Malle's documentary film Phantom India. This film seems also to take an aesthetic approach to its subject, but seems to bring into question more the nature of that engagement. That film is also more people-oriented than de Botton's book. People demand more active engagement than does landscape!
We already seem to be retreating from the pinnacle of exotic travel, as the global airline industry goes into retreat, handicapped by high fuel prices and security concerns. Pulling in our horizons will feel much different than pushing them out. Intellectual and emotional self-transformation is always a worthy project, but its relationship to travel may be due for a major shift as we move into a world of declining resource availability.
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LibraryThing member lmnalban
The Art of Travel may be one of the most enjoyable books I've read. I had a bit of a charmed childhood, as my parents whisked me around the US during the summer months. Most nights were spent in a tent while days were spent hiking in parks, experiencing life in large cities or visiting the required
What De Botton does in this book is explain not necessarily "how" to travel well, but asks us to question why we travel and what we expect to gain from days away from home. By reading the book, I gained a more realistic approach to travel, which will makes for a more authentic and enjoyable trip.
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sites to fully appreciate America. As an adult, my husband and I travel a lot, sacrificing newer cars and fancy homes to fund these excursions. What De Botton does in this book is explain not necessarily "how" to travel well, but asks us to question why we travel and what we expect to gain from days away from home. By reading the book, I gained a more realistic approach to travel, which will makes for a more authentic and enjoyable trip.
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LibraryThing member carterchristian1
A good book to reread or at least scan before a major trip.
LibraryThing member aaronbaron
De Botton tends to write books that I should have written, which is hardly an endearing quality in a writer. Yet despite this effrontery, his books are entertaining little things. This book, one of his best, is a whimsical medication on travel, chocked full of shiny allusions to books, paintings,
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histories, and other cultural products, from the renowned to the obscure. De Botton rarely puts a new thought into my head, but he draws out and articulates ideas with panache, proving and polishing what I already knew but, to my recurring chagrin, never said so well. Show Less
LibraryThing member Othemts
This book reflects on travel focusing on the little things such as the novelty of the commonplace in a new place, disorientation, the boredom of travel, and even ponders whether travel for pleasure is even a necessity. Along the way he shows travel through the eyes of various artists: Van Gogh,
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Wordsworth, Flauber, Von Humboldt and others. He even details how artists create the vision we have of the destinations we wish to visit. This is all written in the intellectual vein of someone who attends a literary salon, so if that's not your thing, you won't like this book. I found it brain-teasingly good, but I think that de Botton is meant to be read more than heard so I don't recommend the audiobook. Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
Alain de Botton uses the experiences of artists, writers and scientists to illustrate this book about why people travel, why they are frequently disappointed and how they could make their travelling a more fulfilling experience.
A very interesting book!
A very interesting book!
LibraryThing member carrieprice78
This was a funny book. The Art of Travel is a collection of essays with a common theme. De Botton examines why we humans feel the need to travel, and what it does to satisfy (or dissatisfy) us. In each essay, he also looks at travel through the eyes of historical figures and other authors.
I had to
De Botton introduced a few new ideas to me about traveling. We are a strange species, indeed, what with all our wants and desires to see other places and then to still be dissatisfied with our lot. I appreciated this collection of essays.
I had to
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laugh because De Botton comes off as such a churl, though I think he intends to at times. He talks about being in Spain and wanting nothing but to lie on his bed in his hotel room. He makes mention of how the travel guides (Great Night Life!) always make him feel like he is the one person missing out on the fun. I've been there myself. He talks about going on a fantastic Caribbean trip with his partner, only to find themselves in a day-long fight about a dessert they ate together. De Botton introduced a few new ideas to me about traveling. We are a strange species, indeed, what with all our wants and desires to see other places and then to still be dissatisfied with our lot. I appreciated this collection of essays.
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LibraryThing member peartreebooks
Some is interesting - at least, more readable that How Proust Can Change Your Life
LibraryThing member feministmama
Love this book, especially the last chapter
LibraryThing member allison.sivak
I enjoyed this series of essays that examines different facets of how we "see" travel. The most interesting observation that de Botton made for me was that of going to a new place (e.g., Madrid, Barbados, Provence) and being struck by boredom or a lack of purpose-- an emotion that I've often
He also makes the interesting argument that art can help us appreciate landscapes that we have not necessarily enjoyed when we are physically there; he disputes that visual art should be the "realistic" reproduction of a surface viewing, but that art can help us see unusual or intriguing aspects of new places. That is, by understanding a place in an individual's (writer's, painter's) terms, we are able to see more individual aspects of the place.
de Botton has a particular aesthetic interest in industrial landscapes, it seems, and is looking for beauty where it is not necessarily to be expected. I would have liked to read an analysis of why this is so for him (even though I understand it, and feel it as well).
The book is nicely designed, with each chapter featuring artist and writer "guides," whose work is discussed along with the place of that chapter. Reproductions and photographs throughout are also nice illustrations of his arguments.
I wasn't sure about this book, having heard others' dismiss de Botton's "layperson" philosophy, but it was a pleasure to read.
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experienced when travelling, and one that I've felt oddly guilty about. The essays eventually lead to the author's statement that we must internalize our experiences of travel in some way, which can be done via photography, purchasing souvenirs--both of which he suggests are less-authentic means--or by writing and drawing, as slow methods of seeing what is new to our eyes. He also makes the interesting argument that art can help us appreciate landscapes that we have not necessarily enjoyed when we are physically there; he disputes that visual art should be the "realistic" reproduction of a surface viewing, but that art can help us see unusual or intriguing aspects of new places. That is, by understanding a place in an individual's (writer's, painter's) terms, we are able to see more individual aspects of the place.
de Botton has a particular aesthetic interest in industrial landscapes, it seems, and is looking for beauty where it is not necessarily to be expected. I would have liked to read an analysis of why this is so for him (even though I understand it, and feel it as well).
The book is nicely designed, with each chapter featuring artist and writer "guides," whose work is discussed along with the place of that chapter. Reproductions and photographs throughout are also nice illustrations of his arguments.
I wasn't sure about this book, having heard others' dismiss de Botton's "layperson" philosophy, but it was a pleasure to read.
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LibraryThing member Faradaydon
Finding new travel boundaries and exploring them
LibraryThing member aliciamalia
This book is fascinating and absolutely impossible to read straight through. It was highly recommended by several friends, and deserves high praise. It unfortunately was a major struggle for me to get through--I'm really not good at slowing down and enjoying good writing and deep thoughts. I
"the most effective means of pursuing this conscious understanding [of beauty] was by attempting to describe beautiful places through art, by writing about or drawing them, irrespective of whether one happened to have any talent for doing so." (the endorsement of lack of talent being key to the whole experience)
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started reading this book last July, and only now finished it. One line in particular, however, was worth reading the whole book for (and conveys exactly why I enjoyed writing my travel blog so much):"the most effective means of pursuing this conscious understanding [of beauty] was by attempting to describe beautiful places through art, by writing about or drawing them, irrespective of whether one happened to have any talent for doing so." (the endorsement of lack of talent being key to the whole experience)
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LibraryThing member Marse
Ever since I was a child I had a longing to travel. There are many explanations for this longing, but it became clear to me one summer, when after my first real heartbreak, I traveled by myself to Munich (because that was 'his' favorite city) by train reading "The Magic Mountain" (because that was
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'his' favorite book), and I looked out the cabin window and wondered why I was there. And I knew. I was searching for something, what exactly was unclear, but it was something important, something elusive--beauty, love, meaning, something that I could not find in familiar places. I had to isolate myself from everything that was familiar in order to find my own meaning again. Alain de Botton's book "The Art of Travel" is a wonderful essay about longing and learning to see anew what is always before us. I loved the mix of paintings, memoirs, word-painting, and his own experiences. My favorite parts were.... well everything. I want to read the authors he spoke of, see the paintings he described, learn to word-paint and see the world in all its beauty. Show Less
LibraryThing member NicoleHC
It gets you thinking. Indeed a philosophic exercise. Fun with travel as topic.
LibraryThing member Ruby1201
Inspires me to see travel in a different light. Mr. De Botton confirms what I have been doing, and adds more meaning to what I do during travel. He also opens my eyes to other possibilities during travel. Simply life changing.
LibraryThing member ThatsFresh
“The Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton
I love to travel, so when I saw this book on Amazon, I couldn’t resist buying it. When it came in the mail, I fell in love with its beautiful hardcover…cover, with its faux-warn leather/old map façade. And to my delight, it included pictures! Quickly,
The first chapter of this book had me at once. The author pulled me in, sat me down and showed me the innards of my soul with a PowerPoint presentation. I was in love with the first chapter, unfortunately, no chapter afterwards grabbed me so quickly.
Thankfully, the author is a smart man, but not at all smug, and actually has a bit of humor inside. He talks of art, and how it’s connects with travel and life in general. In each chapter, a new scientist, writer, artist or explorer is discussed, to have his story intertwined with the author’s (whose true travel story is usually based in the same country or city).
A few chapters did bore me a bit, for some of the explorers were less interesting than others. Reading about a man who traveled to South America for Europe to investigate the new continent and collect as much data as he could is more interesting than a man who liked to walk around England’s Lake District and write poems about flowers.
Thanks to this book, I learned a few things to take with me on my own travels, mostly knowledge of how to get the most out of them, live in the moment and enjoy life. Some have said this book as changed their life and the way they view the world, I must say I already view the world in a lot of the ways she suggests to do so.
This book is for anyone that loves to travel, and is great whether you’d like to educate yourself on the history of travel (while learning about art, literature and overall European history), or just want to take a break from your usual humorous travel/adventure fluff.
I love to travel, so when I saw this book on Amazon, I couldn’t resist buying it. When it came in the mail, I fell in love with its beautiful hardcover…cover, with its faux-warn leather/old map façade. And to my delight, it included pictures! Quickly,
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I discovered it was a travel/philosophy book. I had never read a philosophy book before, but imaged it to be a little boring. For a second, I was a bit intimated, fearing that the chapters would contain long, pointless lectures on how French art captures natural light better than German art. Thankfully, that wasn’t at all the case (sort of…).The first chapter of this book had me at once. The author pulled me in, sat me down and showed me the innards of my soul with a PowerPoint presentation. I was in love with the first chapter, unfortunately, no chapter afterwards grabbed me so quickly.
Thankfully, the author is a smart man, but not at all smug, and actually has a bit of humor inside. He talks of art, and how it’s connects with travel and life in general. In each chapter, a new scientist, writer, artist or explorer is discussed, to have his story intertwined with the author’s (whose true travel story is usually based in the same country or city).
A few chapters did bore me a bit, for some of the explorers were less interesting than others. Reading about a man who traveled to South America for Europe to investigate the new continent and collect as much data as he could is more interesting than a man who liked to walk around England’s Lake District and write poems about flowers.
Thanks to this book, I learned a few things to take with me on my own travels, mostly knowledge of how to get the most out of them, live in the moment and enjoy life. Some have said this book as changed their life and the way they view the world, I must say I already view the world in a lot of the ways she suggests to do so.
This book is for anyone that loves to travel, and is great whether you’d like to educate yourself on the history of travel (while learning about art, literature and overall European history), or just want to take a break from your usual humorous travel/adventure fluff.
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LibraryThing member cassiodorus
You'd think that someone touted as a "pop philosopher" would be worldly yet literary enough to be a good companion on any of your travels, subtly inserting historical/philosophical anecdotes about the scenery, architecture and the culture: this is the path that Immanuel Kant took everyday at
To a certain extent, de Botton accomplishes this in each themed, two-pronged chapter in his The Art of Travel: we follow him on his adventures in some country X accompanied by some literary guide Y. For instance, in his chapter on The Country and the City, we learn of Wordsworth's philosophy of nature, which earned him cruel snickers in his day by the simplicity of his expression (e.g. When I see a cloud,/ I think out loud, / How lovely it is, / To see the sky like this), but whose fruits are now published in the grand old Norton Anthology. Or in discussing curiosity in traveling to a new place, we learn of the author's lack of it as well as how prolific Alexander von Humboldt was when visiting South America in 1799: Humboldt even measured the water temperature every two hours traveling from Spain across the Atlantic. On returning home, he published a 30-volume work called Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent. Indeed, Humboldt's first biography What May Be Accomplished In A Lifetime listed the areas of his eclectic curiosity:
1. The knowledge of the earth and its inhabitants.
2. The discovery of the higher laws of nature, which govern the universe, men, animals, plants and minerals.
3. The discovery of new forms of life.
4. The discovery of territories hitherto but imperfectly known, and their various productions.
5. The acquaintance with new species of the human race - their manners, language and historical traces of their culture.
As natural as his prose was, and as penetrating as his insights were, de Botton didn't even mention Humboldt's Fifth, above: acquaintance with the people of other cultures. Instead, we get a Western Tourist's view of visiting another place-qua-place. There are uplifting chapters on beauty and the sublime where de Botton shows off his phenomenological skills, but there is no discussion on the similarly uplifting, world-expanding qualities of meeting other people and learning who they are, where they come from, their hopes and fears. This was probably calculated as most people don't travel to a place to meet the locals, but we miss all the dangerous, humourous and human aspects of cross-cultural exchange that are part and parcel of what is truly the art of travel.
So maybe having a gregarious, funny friend around would serve you better than a philosopher on your travels, and hell, in your life at home too.
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exactly the same time such that his neighbors set their clocks by his appearance or Spinoza used to grind lenses in this area of town.To a certain extent, de Botton accomplishes this in each themed, two-pronged chapter in his The Art of Travel: we follow him on his adventures in some country X accompanied by some literary guide Y. For instance, in his chapter on The Country and the City, we learn of Wordsworth's philosophy of nature, which earned him cruel snickers in his day by the simplicity of his expression (e.g. When I see a cloud,/ I think out loud, / How lovely it is, / To see the sky like this), but whose fruits are now published in the grand old Norton Anthology. Or in discussing curiosity in traveling to a new place, we learn of the author's lack of it as well as how prolific Alexander von Humboldt was when visiting South America in 1799: Humboldt even measured the water temperature every two hours traveling from Spain across the Atlantic. On returning home, he published a 30-volume work called Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent. Indeed, Humboldt's first biography What May Be Accomplished In A Lifetime listed the areas of his eclectic curiosity:
1. The knowledge of the earth and its inhabitants.
2. The discovery of the higher laws of nature, which govern the universe, men, animals, plants and minerals.
3. The discovery of new forms of life.
4. The discovery of territories hitherto but imperfectly known, and their various productions.
5. The acquaintance with new species of the human race - their manners, language and historical traces of their culture.
As natural as his prose was, and as penetrating as his insights were, de Botton didn't even mention Humboldt's Fifth, above: acquaintance with the people of other cultures. Instead, we get a Western Tourist's view of visiting another place-qua-place. There are uplifting chapters on beauty and the sublime where de Botton shows off his phenomenological skills, but there is no discussion on the similarly uplifting, world-expanding qualities of meeting other people and learning who they are, where they come from, their hopes and fears. This was probably calculated as most people don't travel to a place to meet the locals, but we miss all the dangerous, humourous and human aspects of cross-cultural exchange that are part and parcel of what is truly the art of travel.
So maybe having a gregarious, funny friend around would serve you better than a philosopher on your travels, and hell, in your life at home too.
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LibraryThing member edwinbcn
The art of travel is a valuable and enjoyable collection of essays about travel. There is a tendency to hold up any new work by Alain de Botton over and against his early work, and out of spite or envy bring in his lifestyle. Supposedly independently wealthy with a lot of spare time, De Botton
The title coyly suggests a twist of looking both at travel and art, the imagination and experience of traveling both becoming the object of contemplation. Nine essays are grouped thematically under headings such as Departure, Motives, Landscape, Art and Return. The first essays, entitled "On anticipation" is a wonderful exposition about a trip Huysmans was almost going to make to London. To travel or not to travel, seems to be the question. The spirit of anticipation both spurs on to travel and holds back, while the imagination races with anticipated joy and discomfort. The episode or anecdote is hilarious.
The essays connect actual travel experiences with literary travel experiences. The focus is particularly on France and French authors, such as Huysmans, Beaudelaire and Flaubert. Thus, "On the Exotic" combines Flaubert's ideas about the Orient with De Botton's observations in Amsterdam. A beautiful essays is devoted to the Wordsworths and the Lake district, while another essays places Van Gogh in the Provence. Philosophical ideas about the sublime and beauty are found in the essays about Burke and Ruskin.
The art of travel ties the world of the imagination to the imagination of the world. Hightly recommended.
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emerged as a postmodern new novelist in the mid-1990s. Particularly his early work was considered superficial and relatively meaningless, facts readily connected to breaking off his study in philosophy. However, a decade later, De Botton has developed into an all-round writer, and turned to essay writing, in 2002 with the publication of The art of travel.The title coyly suggests a twist of looking both at travel and art, the imagination and experience of traveling both becoming the object of contemplation. Nine essays are grouped thematically under headings such as Departure, Motives, Landscape, Art and Return. The first essays, entitled "On anticipation" is a wonderful exposition about a trip Huysmans was almost going to make to London. To travel or not to travel, seems to be the question. The spirit of anticipation both spurs on to travel and holds back, while the imagination races with anticipated joy and discomfort. The episode or anecdote is hilarious.
The essays connect actual travel experiences with literary travel experiences. The focus is particularly on France and French authors, such as Huysmans, Beaudelaire and Flaubert. Thus, "On the Exotic" combines Flaubert's ideas about the Orient with De Botton's observations in Amsterdam. A beautiful essays is devoted to the Wordsworths and the Lake district, while another essays places Van Gogh in the Provence. Philosophical ideas about the sublime and beauty are found in the essays about Burke and Ruskin.
The art of travel ties the world of the imagination to the imagination of the world. Hightly recommended.
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LibraryThing member VioletBramble
The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room - Pascal
The above quote (taken from the final chapter) sets the tone for this book about the philosophy of travel. I was left with the impression that de Botton suffers from depression. The things I love
I did agree with two things de Botton wrote:
1) people spend too much time videotaping and photographing their entire vacation/holiday to truly enjoy and experience their new surroundings. (I do this myself)
2) people should attempt to draw what they're observing while traveling. Quoting Ruskin's The Elements of Drawing de Botton notes that drawing forces us to see things differently and remember them more accurately.
I was reading A Book of Luminous Things at the same time that I read this book. The editor of that book, Czeslaw Milosz, wrote in his introduction to the travel section:
Whatever practical reasons push people out of their homes to seek adventure, travel undoubtedly removes us from familiar sights and from everyday routine. It offers to us a pristine world seen for the first time and is a powerful means of producing wonder.
I wish Alain de Botton had read those words. He made reading about travel feel like a long weekend staying at the in-laws where you are forced to sleep on the lumpy sofa bed in the garage and you do nothing but fight the entire time.
I will give de Botton one more chance - I have The Architecture of Happiness on my reading list for later this year.
The above quote (taken from the final chapter) sets the tone for this book about the philosophy of travel. I was left with the impression that de Botton suffers from depression. The things I love
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about travel are mentioned -- seeing how people live in different cities or countries, trying new foods, learning history that is new to you, observing new flora and fauna -- but they are discussed so joylessly. What a bummer!I did agree with two things de Botton wrote:
1) people spend too much time videotaping and photographing their entire vacation/holiday to truly enjoy and experience their new surroundings. (I do this myself)
2) people should attempt to draw what they're observing while traveling. Quoting Ruskin's The Elements of Drawing de Botton notes that drawing forces us to see things differently and remember them more accurately.
I was reading A Book of Luminous Things at the same time that I read this book. The editor of that book, Czeslaw Milosz, wrote in his introduction to the travel section:
Whatever practical reasons push people out of their homes to seek adventure, travel undoubtedly removes us from familiar sights and from everyday routine. It offers to us a pristine world seen for the first time and is a powerful means of producing wonder.
I wish Alain de Botton had read those words. He made reading about travel feel like a long weekend staying at the in-laws where you are forced to sleep on the lumpy sofa bed in the garage and you do nothing but fight the entire time.
I will give de Botton one more chance - I have The Architecture of Happiness on my reading list for later this year.
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LibraryThing member rdaneel
A collection of essays on the experience of travel, and the reasons why people do it. The technique is to use some well-known writer or philosopher to illustrate each essay/reason, which works very well because of de Botton's light and humourous, yet insightful, style.
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
I dunno; maybe if I were a writer, or angsty or neurotic, or an academic (or am I being redundant?) I'd have liked this more. But I already know how and why I travel. And I did not feel that de Botton illuminated anything, nor did he enrich my worldview.
Here's the thing - it reads, at least to this
It fails mainly because there are few pictures, they are B&W, and the entire book is a small trade pb. *If* the book were a large glossy 'coffee-table' book with profuse illustrations, at least one per 'entry,' de Botton's ideas would have been supported by the reproductions of the artwork. I mean, give me a break - Van Gogh represented by 4x6 photos of his work on matte pulp? I don't think so!
Still, there's potential. I do now want to learn more about, or read some of, John Ruskin and Alexander von Humboldt. So, the author succeeded making me want to explore....
Here's the thing - it reads, at least to this
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pragmatic farmer's daughter with only a BS, like a well-done illustrated blog. Most bits are quite short and feel only tangentially related to each other or to any larger theme - they're not even full essays. The idea of connecting philosophical musings to travel to reports re' artists who have traveled is marvelous, but it fails. It fails mainly because there are few pictures, they are B&W, and the entire book is a small trade pb. *If* the book were a large glossy 'coffee-table' book with profuse illustrations, at least one per 'entry,' de Botton's ideas would have been supported by the reproductions of the artwork. I mean, give me a break - Van Gogh represented by 4x6 photos of his work on matte pulp? I don't think so!
Still, there's potential. I do now want to learn more about, or read some of, John Ruskin and Alexander von Humboldt. So, the author succeeded making me want to explore....
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LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
De Botton's great at standing on the shoulders of giants, and usually the points he makes through their thoughts are great. But choosing to follow Des Esseintes' idea of not actually seeing a place except in the imagination? Ugh. Works in fiction, not in real life.
LibraryThing member KWharton
I read the Kindle version, which unfortunately did not have most of the pictures and did have some strange (presumably character recognition related) typos.
There were some lovely moments in this book (de Botton not wanting to get out of bed, his bossy guidebook, de Maistre's room travel,
There were some lovely moments in this book (de Botton not wanting to get out of bed, his bossy guidebook, de Maistre's room travel,
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Wordsworth's love of nature...), but over all it didn't grab me. Show Less
Language
Physical description
272 p.; 7.1 inches
ISBN
0375420827 / 9780375420825