-- "A Book" by Emily DickinsonThere is no frigate like a book To take us lands away, Nor any coursers like a page Of prancing poetry. This traverse may the poorest take Without oppress of toll; How frugal is the chariot That bears a human soul!
It seems that basically all of these books are about trips of roughly the same length, i.e., 3 or 4 months. If you spend less time than that on the road, you don't have anything to say. If you spend more time than that, you lose the good English middle class values that would lead you to finish a book. Summary: Blue Highways has the best writing; Travels with Samantha has the best pictures; Travels with Charley has a Nobel-prize winning author.
Travels with Lizbeth, by Lars Eighner, isn't all that naturally grouped with the above textbooks, but this three year chronicle of gay dog-owning homelessness will leave you thinking.
Note: If you want pictures with no text, then consider America in Passing by Henri Cartier-Bresson (Bulfinch; 150 pages). I was surprised by the things that caught H.C.B.'s eye and the America circa 1940 that he reveals.
Long trips can be edifying if you have audio tapes from The Teaching Company, which records America's most dynamic university professors. You'd be surprised how compelling history, literature, and philosophy lectures can be. I have purchased many of these courses and consider the money well-spent. Click here for my reviews of specific courses.
If a travel book has changed your life, made you think, or helped you on a journey, please write a few paragraphs to share with the world. Send your review to philg@mit.edu by electronic mail and it will find a permanent home here.
