The Tao of Travel
Paul Theroux
The Tao of Travel
Paul Theroux celebrates fifty years of wandering the globe by collecting the best writing on travel from the books that shaped him, as a reader and a traveller. Part philosophical guide, part miscellany, part reminiscence, The Tao of Travel enumerates 'The Contents of Some Travellers' Bags' and exposes 'Writers Who Wrote About Places They Never Visited'; tracks extreme journeys in 'Travel As An Ordeal' and highlights some of 'Travellers' Favourite Places'. Excerpts from the best of Theroux's own work are interspersed with selections from travellers both familiar and unexpected, including Vladimir Nabokov, Henry David Thoreau, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway and more.
2.8 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Travel |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
304 |
| RRP |
£16.99 |
| Date of Publication |
May 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-0241144640 |
| Publisher |
Hamish Hamilton |
| |
Paul Theroux celebrates fifty years of wandering the globe by collecting the best writing on travel from the books that shaped him, as a reader and a traveller. Part philosophical guide, part miscellany, part reminiscence, The Tao of Travel enumerates 'The Contents of Some Travellers' Bags' and exposes 'Writers Who Wrote About Places They Never Visited'; tracks extreme journeys in 'Travel As An Ordeal' and highlights some of 'Travellers' Favourite Places'. Excerpts from the best of Theroux's own work are interspersed with selections from travellers both familiar and unexpected, including Vladimir Nabokov, Henry David Thoreau, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway and more.
Read an extract from the book | Financial Times
Reviews
The Independent
Hugh Thomson
"The Tao of Travel is a deeply inappropriate title for a writer who, whatever else he might achieve, does not exude inner calm. The Ego of Travel would be more fitting."
27/05/2011
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The New York Times
Henry Shukman
"More or less a commonplace book whose merit lies in its capacity to offer random delight rather than coherent argument ... Theroux quotes a little freely from his own works, but given the introspective nature of the project and the fact that he’s reflecting on a lifetime of traveling and reading, that seems understandable."
03/06/2011
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The Times
Will Hide
"The Tao of Travel is by its very nature episodic, a book to dip in and out of perhaps, which grated to start with but grew on me after I was past the staccato first chapter. Like a long train journey, once you settle in there’s a lot to enjoy."
28/05/2011
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The Sunday Times
Brian Schofield
"… a selection of long quotations, plus some mini-reviews of famous travelogues, padded out with lists that are readily available on Wikipedia … little more than a glorified toilet book."
12/06/2011
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