One for the Road: Globetrotter’s Logbook

by Kelly Amabile on

Last time I mentioned the Globetrotter’s Logbook series, I focused on their newest guide, a niche book devoted to six Flemish cities. But now that I’ve had a chance to personally use their flagship product, Counties of the World, I wanted to be sure to pay special tribute to this unique mini-book, which might just be the perfect holiday gift for that special traveler in your life. The best part about giving (or receiving) one of there tiny travel gems is the smart and crafty packaging. I opened an airmail envelope (from Belgium, where this book is published) to reveal crisp brown parcel packaging, tied in natural cord with vintage stamps, postmarks and my name personally scripted in heavy ink. Unwrapping the classy packaging reveals a stylish moleskine-type book enclosed in its own little box, perfect for protecting it from the harsh elements of constant world-travel.

This precious little travel journal is a must-have for explorers. The bulk of the book contains quarter-page listings for every country of the world, complete with important stats and mini-flag pictures for each. There are several ways to keep track of which countries have been visited, as well as registers for tracking vaccinations and 100 flights. Look closely and you’ll find other treasures hidden within the pages of this slim logbook – facts, figures and inspiring quotes decorate the pages, and there are blank spots too, for scribbles about the details of very special journeys.

Chris McCandless and a juicy apple

by Jamie Rhein on

My husband and I saw Into the Wild [read review by Roger Ebert] this weekend, the both uplifting and devastating story of Christopher McCandless, the young man who lived in the back country of Alaska near Denali National Park for 113 days or so before he died due to a couple of serious missteps. Both Catherine and Martha wrote about how the bus where Chris died is now a tourist destination.

Although I’ve felt the thrill of being off on my own, my drive to be so self-sufficient, so purist and off the grid has never been particularly strong. Still, I could relate to the movie on a thematic level of striving for authenticity–without so much force. On a small level, I understood one of Chris’s emotions exactly. It was the scene where he was eating an apple.

As he crunched bites of what might have been a Red Delicious or a Rome in bliss, he commented about how good the apple was–his voice making almost in an orgasmic groan. I’ve known such apples. Mine was yellow–not red. It was not so big either, but eating it was divine.

You see, apples don’t grow in The Gambia. And oh, how wonderful an apple tasted whenever I went to Banjul the capital stopping in a grocery store to buy the one apple, at the most, that I bought each month. Apples, imported from France, cost a fortune. I was in my cheap phase with my sights set on a vacation to Mali, so I saved money and coveted apples–holding out for a special occasion. The apple was it. My entertainment for the day.

At times, I’d buy two, taking one back to my village to uplift a difficult day. I would settle into my chair vowing to notice every bite–every bit of juice. I ate slowly and deliberately to make the experience last. Eating an apple became a gift to myself not to be squandered. As a Peace Corps volunteer, I made great vows to not become jaded by apple abundance once back in the U.S. My noble intentions have faded over the years. We currently have a whole bag of apples in our refrigerator in the fruit drawer, and there’s more where they came from–pounds, pounds and more pounds less than a mile away at the grocery store. Apples grow in Ohio. You can’t avoid them.

I do miss those moments when they tasted ever so sweet–like heaven. If I close my eyes and chew slowly, I almost remember.

One for the Road: Notable African Explorers – Stanley, Hatton and Mahoney

by Kelly Amabile on

The New York Times just released its list of 100 Notable Books of 2007. Although we previously mentioned notable selection Down the Nile by Rosemary Mahoney, two other adventure-themed titles on the list caught my eye:

The first is Stanley – The Impossible Life of Africa’s Greatest Explorer by Tim Jeal. According to Paul Theroux’s review, “Of the many biographies of Henry Morton Stanley, Jeal’s, which profits from his access to an immense new trove of material, is the most complete and readable.”

Another notable travel-inspired book worth mentioning is Sara Wheeler’s Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton, otherwise known as the man immortalized by a hunky Robert Redford in Out of Africa. From the NYT review: “In Finch Hatton, Wheeler has found the archetypal wanderer forced to straddle multiple worlds. He embodies the contradictions of the early modern age and, in some ways still, of ours. “He was,” she writes, “the open road made flesh.”

All three of these stories about African explorations have been recognized as notable works, and each one really does sound like a fascinating read. Maybe some good holiday gift ideas for you or your literary loved-ones?

One for the Road: Don Quixote vs. Donkey Xote

by Kelly Amabile on

Even though this book about Don Quixote was released last year, I thought now was an appropriate time to mention it, since the first animated version of the famous novel will debut in Spain this week. Fighting Windmills – Encounters with Don Quixote takes a closer look at the making of this masterpiece of world literature, tracing its impact on writers and thinkers across the centuries. Authors Manuel Duran and Fay Rodd explore the central themes of Cervantes great work, and follow it up with examples of how the novel influenced generations of other writers.

One thing the book might not touch on is the fact that, although th 17th century story has touched many, few have actually read both volumes cover to cover. Will this week’s release of a first-ever animated rendition inspire more folks to take a stab at actually reading the lengthy tale? Probably not, but beginning this Wednesday, Spaniards will be able to view a condensed 80-minute cartoon version of the classic journey. Donkey Xote, a $20 million film production, took five years to make, and comes complete with a Shrek-like donkey. You can view the English trailer here.

Book Review: “The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner

by Leif Pettersen on

Add another page to the “Why Didn’t I Think of That?” file.

The concept is so elegantly simple: take what is arguably the top two human aspirations – happiness and travel – combine them, then flesh out a book proposal. I bet that book deal was inked on the strength of the overview alone.

Thusly inspired, I’m already 2,000 words into my latest book proposal about Lamborghinis and orgasms, but I digress…

“The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World” (Twelve), a memoir/travelogue by Eric Weiner, beautifully blends the timeless search for happiness with an amusing on-the-ground examination of the dispositions of people in 10 of the most (and least) contented countries on Earth.

A confessed “mope”, Weiner (coincidentally pronounced ‘whiner’ – ki ki ki!) admits straight off that he’s a hard sell on happiness. You’d be too after two decades working as a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, reporting on wars, disasters and the ancillary misery. Untold years of introspection, therapy and a metric ton of self-help books have yielded little progress and having recently entered the Heart Attack Years, he confesses that his happiness attainment optimism is flagging.

Stick around after the review to see how you can get your hands on a copy of the book for free, just in time for Christmas!

His epic quest for bliss starts in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where Weiner plunders an encyclopedic database of worldwide happiness levels, maintained by noted happiness researcher Professor Ruut Veenhoven. Conveniently, the Dutch make a good showing on the happiness index, what with their cycling, prostituting, soft drugging ways, so Weiner starts his research immediately by making a beeline for the nearest hash bar.

Though it was good hash (the Moroccan), it fell short of being the key to his happiness. So Weiner dons his journalist tights and cape and sets out on months of travel to happy places (Iceland, Switzerland, Bhutan, Thailand) and a few unhappy places (Moldova, Slough [U.K.]), where he conducts interviews to uncover what makes these people so happy/unhappy.

Weiner does an enviable job of balancing his travelogue with what must have been painstaking research, while maintaining a light and humorous tone. Two decades of jet setting journalism has put a finish on his writing style that is at once worldly and polished without becoming tedious or snobbish. His insight, careful consideration and occasional epiphanies show that while he may not have achieved everlasting happiness (yet), his exhaustive pursuit of it has made him extremely well-versed in the theory.

Does he find the key to bliss? Well, you’re gonna have to buy the book. But I will offer that while reading this book, not only did I get a good read on my own happiness (which was unexpectedly high), but I also gleaned a rather surprising number of tips to making myself even more happy. Though I can tell you from personal experience that gleaning tips and utilizing tips are two very different things.

“The Geography of Bliss” is due out in hardcover in January of ’08, exquisitely timed for when everyone’s post-holiday letdown starts taking hold. Pre-order it for your favorite grumpy travel enthusiast now.

Want to win a copy? It’s easy. Here’s how:

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