Whether the phrase brings to mind Robert A. Heinlein’s 1961 science fiction novel about a human returning to Earth after being raised on Mars, or Moses in Exodus 2:22, the experience of being “other” is indisputably synonymous with travel. Remember the hookah-smoking caterpillar confronting Alice with that eternal question, “Who are You?”
While we often leave home for work, romance, adventure, and freedom, a side benefit of the journey is usually also finding ourselves. Mitch Moxley arrives in Beijing in 2007 to edit China’s only English-language national newspaper, the China Daily, planning to get out of town after the Olympics. Five years later, he’s still absorbing the experience, including snacks of scorpion and silkworm, chronicled in Tall Rice: The High and Low Adventures of a Foreigner in China. Living in Ramallah for two years, where she worked for the Palestinian Monitor as head writer and editor inspired Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland, Pamela Olson’s moving account of the violence and trauma in the occupied territories, but also the everyday life, from house parties and concerts to weddings.
Chasing Alaska: A Portrait of the Last Frontier Then and Now is C.B. Bernard’s story of hitting the road north to Alaska, to boat, hike, hunt, and fish, using the journals of a distant relative as guides, tracing the path of “Uncle Joe,” who had trekked through the state a century ago collecting Native American artifacts. Dina Bennett joins her thrill-seeking husband in a 1940 Cadillac LaSalle for an antique car race through the sandstorms and rock-throwing Mongolians of the Gobi Desert in Peking to Paris: Life and Love on a Short Drive Around Half the World. English poet and writer Simon Armitage steps into the tradition of the wandering poet, walking the Pennine Way along “the backbone of England,” covering 256 miles in 19 days, exchanging a poetry reading for a bed each night in a different village along the route, taking up “a challenge against the self ” along with a supply of Mars bars in Walking Home: A Poet’s Journey, while Lawrence Osborne takes on alcohol with The Wet and the Dry: A Drinker’s Journey and how its use (or nonuse) plays out across the globe. From Muslims in Bali to the U.K., where imbibing is part of everyday social interaction, he reflects (including on his own family alcoholism) and explores how demon drink affects culture. Bestselling author Dave Eggers, whose latest novel was set in Saudi Arabia, recounts adventures, risks taken, and profiles of people met, from Cuba to Syria to South Sudan in Visitants.
But travel also means guide books, some admittedly more fun than others, like Cooks, Clowns and Cowboys, Lonely Planet’s contribution to getting out there in the wide world and really trying something new, and Off Track Planet’s Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke, featuring 100 destinations. Go ahead, get that cheap tattoo in Bangkok.
And that granddaddy of travel writing, the extraordinary, tireless Paul Theroux, makes a journey of 2,500 miles through western Africa, the continent he first came to as a 22-year-old Peace Corps volunteer. The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari includes a chapter titled “What am I doing here?” We understand, Paul. Sometimes, you just need to get out of the house.
PW’s Top 10: Travel
Tall Rice: The High and Low Adventures of a Foreigner in China. Mitch Moxley. Harper Perennial, July
Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland. Pamela Olson. Seal Press, May
Chasing Alaska: A Portrait of the Last Frontier Then and Now. C.B. Bernard. Lyons Press, May
Peking to Paris: Life and Love on a Short Drive Around Half the World. Dina Bennett. Skyhorse, May
Walking Home: A Poet’s Journey. Simon Armitage. W.W. Norton/Liveright, Mar.
The Wet and the Dry: A Drinker’s Journey. Lawrence Osborne. Crown, July
Visitants. Dave Eggers. McSweeney’s, Mar.
Cooks, Clowns, and Cowboys. Lonely Planet, Mar.
Off Track Planet’s Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke. Editors of Off Track Planet. Running Press, May
The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari. Paul Theroux. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May
Travel Listings
Abrams
The Fashion Insiders’ Guide to New York by Carole Sabas (May 7, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-1-4197-0723-0). French Vogue’s New York correspondent offers an insider’s guide with lots of illustrations to hotspots, hidden gems, and classic haunts that she originally offered to friends on their way to Fashion Week in Gotham.
The Fashion Insiders’ Guide to Paris by Carole Sabas (May 7, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-1-4197-0722-3). Sabas lives in New York City now, but as a former Parisian, presents a lavish guide to the Paris every fashionista longs to know.
American Express
(dist. by Imagine)
Travel + Leisure 100 Greatest Trips: 2013 Edition by Travel + Leisure (Feb. 1, trade paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-932624-57-1). The most distinctive destinations across all of the continents for the upcoming year are profiled by this trusted source for luxurious travel.
Arcade
Delirious Delhi: Inside India’s Incredible Capital by David Prager (June 1, trade paper, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-61145-832-9) is an insight-filled exploration of India’s dynamic capital city.
Avalon Travel
Moon Living Abroad in Brazil by Michael Sommers (May 28, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-61238-361-3). Longtime resident Sommers provides firsthand tips on everything from climate to culture; Living Abroad series.
Barron’s Educational Series
Marathons of the World by Hugh Jones and Alexander James (Apr. 1, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-7641-6609-9). A photo-illustrated guide to 50 of the world’s best marathons: Boston, New York, Toronto, Sydney, the Great Wall of China, Athens, and more.
Chicago Review Press
(dist. by IPG)
Off the Beaten Page: The Best Trips for Lit Lovers, Book Clubs, and Girls on Getaways by Terri Peterson Smith (May 1, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-61374-426-0). Blending literature and travel, this book offers a look at 15 U.S. destinations featured in the works of famous writers.
The Supper Club Book: A Celebration of a Midwest Tradition by Dave Hoekstra, foreword by Garrison Keillor (June 1, hardcover, $26.95, ISBN 978-1-61374-368-3). The phenomenon of the supper club is explored to reveal the rich history of these time-honored establishments.
Crown
The Wet and the Dry: A Drinker’s Journey by Lawrence Osborne (July 23, hardcover, $25, ISBN 978-0-7704-3688-9). A globe-trotting odyssey of inebriation with literary meditations on the role that alcohol plays in cultures throughout the world.
Da Capo
The Turk Who Loved Apples: And Other Tales of Losing My Way Around the World by Matt Gross (Apr. 23, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-0-306-82115-8). The New York Times “Frugal Traveler” makes a spirited case for chucking guidebooks and “getting lost.” 30,000-copy announced first printing.
Ebury Press
(dist. by IPG)
Walking in Ireland: 50 Walks Through the Heart and Soul of Ireland by Christopher Somerville (Apr. 1, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-09-193837-6). A cross-country walking guide, with each excursion paired with a hand-painted picture map.
ECW Press
Summers in Supino: Becoming Italian by Maria Coletta McLean (Apr. 1, trade paper, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-77041-137-1). An Italian Canadian charmingly recounts summers in her family’s ancestral village, where they celebrate the first figs of the season and she connects to her cultural heritage.
Glitterati Incorporated
(dist. by ACC)
Globetrotter Diaries: Tales, Tips, and Tactics for Traveling the 7 Continents by Michael Clinton, foreword by Peter Greenberg (Feb. 1, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-0-9851696-6-4). Photographer Clinton travels to the places many people dream about, making this an inspiring, informative, and entertaining guide to world travel today.
Globe Pequot
My City, My Los Angeles: Famous People Share Their Favorite Places by Jeryl Brunner (Apr. 1, trade paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-0-7627-8422-6). Journalist Brunner does for Los Angeles what she did for New York, gets famous people to talk about their hometown. My City series.
New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories by Ted Reinstein (May 1, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-7627-7841-6). Want to buy some medieval armor? Find America’s oldest baseball diamond or New England’s smallest town? Look no further—it’s all here.
Discovering Vintage New York: A Guide to the City’s Timeless Shops, Bars, Delis & More by Mitch Broder (June 1, trade paper, $15.95, ISBN 978-0-7627-8454-7). New York’s storied identity lives on in these featured classic restaurants, shops, and other establishments that still thrive today.
Globe Pequot Press/Lyons Press
Chasing Alaska: A Portrait of the Last Frontier Then and Now by C.B. Bernard (May 1, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-7627-7846-1). Reporter Bernard lashes his canoe to his truck and trades the comforts of the Lower 48 for remote Alaska, following in the footsteps of a distant relative who made the trek a century ago.
Harper Perennial
The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France by John Baxter (Feb. 26, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-06-208806-2). Part grand tour of France, part history of French cuisine, John Baxter’s follow-up to The Most Beautiful Walk in the World takes readers on a journey to discover and savor one of the world’s great cultural achievements before it disappears. P.S. series. 40,000-copy announced first printing.
Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West by Peter Hessler (Apr. 16, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-06-220623-7). An absorbing and ambitious collection of reportage on history, politics, and culture from the acclaimed New Yorker correspondent. 30,000-copy announced first printing.
Tall Rice: The High and Low Adventures of a Foreigner in China by Mitch Moxley (July 2, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-06-212443-2). Inspired by his article “Rent a White Guy” in the Atlantic, Moxley continues his outrageous adventures in Beijing. 25,000-copy announced first printing.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari by Paul Theroux (May 7, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-618-83933-9). No one travels as much or writes better about travel than the ageless Theroux, who for this trip journeys through western Africa from Cape Town to the Congo. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
Interlink Books
Sicily: A Cultural History by Joseph Farrell (May 20, trade paper, $15, ISBN 978-1-56656-952-1) features an in-depth cultural, historical, and literary guide that introduces the visitor or armchair traveler to the island’s present-day identity and its links with the past. Cultural Histories series.
Berlin: A Cultural Guide by Norbert Schürer (June 24, trade paper, $15, ISBN 978-1-56656-938-5) is a cultural guide exploring the juxtaposition of Berlin’s past and present in history, architecture, literature, art, entertainment, and religion.
Frances Lincoln
(dist. by Quayside)
Quiet Paris by Siobhan Wall (Apr. 15, trade paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-0-7112-3343-0). More than 120 tempting places to savor Paris’s delights, including formal gardens, tearooms, and art galleries.
Little Bookroom
(dist. by Random House)
The Best Flea, Antique, Vintage, and New-Style Markets in America by Pamela Keech (May 21, trade paper, $22, ISBN 978-1-936941-04-9). A guide to the best and biggest fleas across the continent, some of which stretch through several states and extend down highways.
Little, Brown/Sphere
Extreme Frontiers: Racing Across Canada from Newfoundland to the Rockies by Charley Boorman (June 1, trade paper, $13.95, ISBN 978-0-7515-4895-2). A bike challenge across stunning terrain packed with excitement and adventure, featuring moments of sharing Canadian Aboriginal shamanic rituals and entering a lumberjack competition.
Lonely Planet
Cooks, Clowns and Cowboys (Mar. 1, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-74321-021-5) presents 101 activities to do all over the world in categories like music, food, dance, art, mind and body, and culture, and includes practical information along with inspiration. Find your inner potential while traveling to amazing places. General Pictorial series.
Lonely Planet France’s Best Trips by Oliver Berry (Apr. 1, trade paper, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-74220-985-2). A full-color guide with maps and itineraries for both classic road trips and quirky offbeat destinations in France. Travel Guide series.
Lonely Planet Ireland’s Best Trips by Fionn Davenport (Apr. 1, trade paper, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-74220-986-9). Maps and itineraries supplement useful tips for driving around Ireland. Travel Guide series.
Lonely Planet Italy’s Best Trips by Paula Hardy (Apr. 1, trade paper, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-74220-987-6). Italian drivers are infamous, but you can join them with this colorful guide to road trips throughout the boot. Travel Guide series.
McSweeney’s
Visitants by Dave Eggers (Mar. 12, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-938073-24-3) relates long, lighthearted, and caterwauling adventures spanning Egger’s career in such places as Cuba, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia.
Microcosm Publishing
(dist. by IPG)
This Is Portland: The City You’ve Heard You Should Like by Alexander Barrett (May 1, trade paper, $5.95, ISBN 978-1-62106-024-6) looks at one of the world’s “most livable cities” in a guidebook that focuses on the atmosphere of Portland, embracing how beautiful and ridiculous Portland life can be.
Dreamwhip #15 by Bill Brown (July 1, trade paper, $10.95, ISBN 978-1-62106-063-5). In 2006, Brown embarked upon his 15th adventure, a 2,000-mile bicycle ride across the U.S. through meth heads, road rage, Mississippi River murder, and psychic waitresses. 3,000-copy announced first printing.
National Geographic
100 Places That Can Change Your Child’s Life: From Your Backyard to the Ends of the Earth by Keith Bellows, foreword by Natalie Morales (Feb. 5, trade paper, $18.95, ISBN 978-1-4262-0859-1). Regional experts present special places around the globe geared to trips with kids of all ages that combine travel and education.
National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways, 4th Edition: The 300 Best Drives in the U.S. (Mar. 5, trade paper, $26.95, ISBN 978-1-4262-1014-3). Updated with 25 new drives, this perennial guide combines details and illustrations for travel, from day trips to several-weeks-long vacations on the road.
National Geographic Secrets of the National Parks: The Experts’ Guide to the Best Experiences Beyond the Tourist Trail (Apr. 2, trade paper, $22.95, ISBN 978-1-4262-1015-0). Discover surprises in national parks like solo views of elk herds, fields of wildflowers, summit sunsets—away from the crowds.
New Europe Books
The Essential Guide to Being Polish by Anna Spysz and Marta Turek (Apr. 16, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-9850623-0-9). Ten million people of Polish ancestry live in the United States and many have settled in the U.K. since the fall of communism: here’s the definitive guide to everything Polish from history to culture.
W.W. Norton/Liveright
Walking Home: A Poet’s Journey by Simon Armitage (Mar. 25, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-87140-416-9). One renowned poet walks the backbone of England in 19 days and 256 miles.
Papadakis
(dist. by ACC)
India: In My Eyes, photos by Barbara Macklowe, text by Philippe Garner and Eleanor Heartney, foreword by Pritish Nandy (Feb. 1, hardcover, $70, ISBN 978-1-906506-29-2). A celebration of the subcontinent with glorious photos of landscapes, architectural splendors, people, and customs.
Running Press
Off Track Planet’s Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke by editors of Off Track Planet (May 7, trade paper, $17, ISBN 978-0-7624-4903-3) offers wild fun on a tight budget at 100 destinations. 40,000-copy announced first printing.
Rutgers University Press
Pizza City: The Ultimate Guide to New York’s Favorite Food by Peter Genovese (May 1, trade paper, $22.95, ISBN 978-0-8135-5868-4). New York City as the center of the pizza universe. Rivergate Regionals series.
Seal Press
Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland by Pamela Olson (Mar. 12, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-1-58005-482-9). Olsen worked as a writer and editor in Ramallah and delivers a fascinating and honest account of life in Palestine that goes beyond politics to challenge the way we think about the Middle East.
Sellers Publishing Inc.
(dist. by Ingram)
65 Things to Do When You Retire: Travel: 65 Intrepid Travel Writers and Experts Reveal Fun Places and New Horizons to Explore in Your Retirement, edited by Mark Evan Chimsky (Mar. 1, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-4162-0890-7). Essays cover a wide range of intriguing travel opportunities for after you’ve cleaned out the garage.
Simon & Schuster
Grand Ambition: An Extraordinary Yacht, the People Who Built It, and the Millionaire Who Can’t Really Afford It by G. Bruce Knecht (Mar. 5, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1416576006). A former Wall Street Journal reporter describes the creation of an outsized yacht whose construction sailed headlong into the economic crisis of 2008.
Skyhorse
(dist. by Norton)
Peking to Paris: Life and Love on a Short Drive Around Half the World by Dina Bennett (May 1, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-1-62087-800-2). In this thrilling road trip, a woman tries to save her car, her marriage, and her confidence from breaking down.
Smithsonian Books
Maine to Greenland: Exploring the Maritime Far Northeast by Wilfred E. Richard and William Fitzhugh, photos by Wilfred E. Richard (May 7, hardcover, $40, ISBN 978-1-58834-377-2). Pictures and text explore the history, climate, geography, native peoples, and lifestyle along the northwestern Atlantic corridor.
Sourcebooks
Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections by Patrick Smith (May 1, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-4022-8091-7). An airline pilot divulges his personal insights about air travel today based on his decade-long Salon.com columns covering security, airfares, customer service, and more.
Square One
An Inspirational Tour of Catholic New York City: Knights of Columbus Travel Guide by Sharon Hazard and George Lankevich (June 1, hardcover, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-7570-0327-1). A pictorial travel guide to a firsthand, up-close-and-personal view of the Roman Catholic experience in Manhattan. 10,000-copy announced first printing.
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
J’aime New York: 150 Culinary Destinations for Food Lovers by Alain Ducasse and Alex Vallis, photos by Pierre Monetta (Mar. 12, hardcover, $45, ISBN 978-1-61769-044-0). French chef Ducasse tours New York’s food world—from fine Manhattan restaurants to greenmarkets and corner bakeries, complete with a removable illustrated guidebook.
Summersdale
(dist. by IPG)
Mud, Sweat & Gears: Cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats (Via the Pub) by Ellie Bennett (May 1, trade paper, $13.95, ISBN 978-1-84953-220-4). A woman turning 50 cycles from one end of Great Britain to the other, with stops to sample 50 of the finest beers ever tasted.
The Hairy Hikers: A Coast-to-Coast Trek Along the French Pyrenees by David Le Vay (June 1, trade paper, $13.95, ISBN 978-1-84953-237-2). Two male friends facing middle age trek the length of the French Pyrenees, revealing the history and geography along the way.
Thames & Hudson
The Sultan’s Istanbul on 5 Kurush a Day by Charles FitzRoy (May 1, trade paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-0-500-29077-4). Travel back in time to the remarkable city of Istanbul under the sultans.
Amazing Places Cost Nothing: The New Golden Age of Authentic Travel by Herbert Ypma (May 1, hardcover, $45, ISBN 978-0-500-51674-4). Rediscover the joys of authentic travel through 30 little-known travel destinations free of branding, signposts, and tourists.
Thunder Bay Press
Civil War Battlefields Then and Now by James Campi Jr. (Mar. 12, trade paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-1-60710-749-1). Classic images of the sites of Civil War battles juxtapose with photos of how they look now, arranged chronologically. Then & Now Thunder Bay series.
Berlin Then and Now by Nick Gay (May 14, hardcover, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-60710-751-4). The images of Berlin’s history tell a story: the Brandenburg Gate, seen in times of war and peace; the Berlin Wall, now not much more than memory, shows the evolution of this famous city. Then & Now Thunder Bay series.
Univ. of Nebraska
In the Shadows of a Fallen Wall by Sanford Tweedie (May 1, trade paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-0-8032-7141-8). A memoir of an expat and his family’s year in Erfurt, Germany, explores the continuing influences of the wall and the legacies of Communist rule.
Rough-Water Man: Elwyn Blake’s Colorado River Expeditions by Richard E. Westwood (Mar. 15, trade paper, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-87417-914-9). An adventure through the Colorado, Green, and San Juan River canyons in the 1920s.
Univ. of Nebraska/Bison Original
Yellowstone, Land of Wonders: Promenade in North America’s National Park by Jules LeClercq, trans. by Janet Chapple and Suzanne Cane, foreword by Lee Whittlesey (May 1, hardcover, $29.95, ISBN 978-0-8032-4477-1) is Belgian travel writer LeClercq’s account of 10 days on horseback in Yellowstone in 1883.
Univ. of North Carolina
Farm Fresh Tennessee: The Go-To Guide to Great Farmers’ Markets, Farm Stands, Farms, U-Picks, Kids’ Activities, Lodging, Dining, Wineries, Breweries, Distilleries, Festivals, and More by Angela Knipple and Paul Knipple (Mar. 29, trade paper, $20, ISBN 978-1-4696-0774-0) tours 360 farms and attractions; everything to do and see in the state of Tennessee.
Univ. of Washington
In Pursuit of Alaska: An Anthology of Travelers’ Tales, 1879–1909, edited by Jean Morgan Meaux, foreword by Stephen Haycox (May 1, trade paper, $26.95, ISBN 978-0-295-99288-4) offers travel writing by explorers, tourists, adventure seekers, and gold miners who traversed Alaska when it was truly the last frontier.
