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Summary: The perfect book about pilgrimage
Review: Anyone who loves to travel (or loves armchair travel, for that matter) would enjoy this book. I've been interested in the idea of travel as pilgrimage for several years, which is what drew me to this book. I found the discussion of what pilgrimage is and what it can mean to anyone very engrossing and thought-provoking. I look forward to reading Phil Cousineau's other books.
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Summary: Th Call of the Road
Review: Chances are, if you're looking at this book, you're already planning a trip, and are of a mind to make your travel special. If you are not already of a mind to travel, you will be after reading even a little of "Art of Pilgrimage". Read it on the plane, on the bus, at rest stops...but if you read it sitting at home, expect to travel soon...
To put it simply, Cousineau loves to travel, and has written a book that will speak to the traveler in all of us. We are descended from nomads; the instinct is in all of us, but we get bogged down in Mundania. Cousineau mixes great quotes along with observations from his own quests and adventures. The results will most certainly help you to make your own journey a transformative event.
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Summary: A sampler of wisdom
Review: Cousineau's book is a worldly companion with a good word whenever I open it. Though composed in comprehensive chapters for the stages of travel, the book is more simply a collection of anecdotes, quotations, insights, and guideposts--many of them as short as a single line. I progessed through its pages at a snail's pace because something on each caught my interest. I drifted into thought instead of reading on. It's a lovely book, perfect for a moment of contemplation and grounding at the start of any day and any journey, or to help put remembered moments into new light.
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Summary: An exceptional guide for spiritual travelling
Review: Despite the name, this guide is useful to all people who wish to visit any place which they regard as special. Be it a cathedral, a mountain, a football field, or an ancestors grave, we all hope to be moved and to feel something more, when we embark on a pilgrimage of any kind. How disappointing it is then, to get where we want to only to find no sense of spirit or wonder.This book is about preparing for your journey both mentally and spiritually, so that you really will find what you seek. It guides your thoughts and feelings from your departure, to your return home, and helps you to find that something extra that all pilgrims seek. An excellent read. I took this book with me to Israel although it is not a religious book, but rather a spiritual one. I found the ideas and guidance it offered invaluable and it really did help to make my journey special. 5 stars for a unique and original book.
Rating: 
Summary: The end justifies the means...
Review: Have you ever felt a need to reach a certain physical destination or bring some effort to fruition before you die? Why is the human reverence for places such as Notre Dame, Jerusalem, or Mecca so strong? In times past, people made pilgrimages to holy shrines and sacred spots to atone for sins, seek a cure, keep promises, or recover holy ground from barbarians. Today, many people travel to escape reality, or to break a routine. In "The Art of Pilgrimage" Phil Cousineau says travel can take on a larger role. He proposes a "seeker's guide to making travel sacred." The book explores the steps of the sacred pilgrimage: "The Longing", "The Call", "Departure", "The Pilgrim's Way", The Labyrinth" and "The Arrival." Cousineau has set down in print an idea that has been floating around my head for some time. I don't seek out the traditional holy places, but I have wandered from one artist's home to another--Nohant or Bath or Rye or Waldon or Bloomsbury or Salisbury. In doing so, I have felt connected to the spirit of the artist who once lived and worked in that space. Perhaps they are my lost saints.
Rating:
Summary: The end justifies the means...
Review: Have you ever felt a need to reach a certain physical destination or bring some effort to fruition before you die? Why is the human reverence for places such as Notre Dame, Jerusalem, or Mecca so strong? In times past, people made pilgrimages to holy shrines and sacred spots to atone for sins, seek a cure, keep promises, or recover holy ground from barbarians. Today, many people travel to escape reality, or to break a routine. In "The Art of Pilgrimage" Phil Cousineau says travel can take on a larger role. He proposes a "seeker's guide to making travel sacred." The book explores the steps of the sacred pilgrimage: "The Longing", "The Call", "Departure", "The Pilgrim's Way", The Labyrinth" and "The Arrival." Cousineau has set down in print an idea that has been floating around my head for some time. I don't seek out the traditional holy places, but I have wandered from one artist's home to another--Nohant or Bath or Rye or Waldon or Bloomsbury or Salisbury. In doing so, I have felt connected to the spirit of the artist who once lived and worked in that space. Perhaps they are my lost saints.
Rating:
Summary: take me on your next trip!
Review: I probably shouldn't rate this book since I bought it as a gift and didn't read it cover-to-cover. However, what I gleaned from browsing through the book is that it is full of useful suggestions for adding meaning and memory to your travels. One suggestion I liked: while in a foreign country take a small recording device along so that you can record music native to that country (folk songs in Italy, unusual instruments in the Middle East or India, etc.) (You might need to request permission first if you are listening to professional musicians.) I wish I had done this in a fado club in Lisbon or a singing house in Ireland. The author also encourages meaningful conversations with the native population. Some of my best travel experiences have come from conversing with the residents of the area and being invited to partake in their lives.
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Summary: An eloquent reminder to seize the day.
Review: I really enjoyed this book tremendously. It doesn't offer any really ground-breaking ideas about how to travel, it simply reminds us that our travels (like everything else in our lives) are what we make them. It does offer some suggestions on how to prepare yourself mentally, spiritually for an excursion, but most of all, reminds us to fully _live_ while away. The beauty of the world _is_ in the details we allow ourselves to notice.
Rating: 
Summary: sentimental, cliche
Review: I was looking for genuine, practical insights into pilgrimage. Rather than spirituality, I found unchecked sentimentality; rather than insights, I found endless cliches. There were a few interesting anecdotes, but on the whole the book is merely cleverness and pretentious references to elite culture. The book won't help anyone who wants to make a pilgrimage; it helps people who want to feel warm and fuzzy about pilgrimage. Cousineau throws around (and manipulates) religious traditions like a child plays with her mother's jewelry: without any notion of their true value. In short, the book is superficial and sentimental. Unless this appeals to you, spend your money on something else.
Rating:
Summary: Trite, trite, trite
Review: Less about pilgrimage and more about putting distance between oneself and the people where you are travelling by stereotyping, filming, and reading. One wonders why one need even actually go if reading and photography, and not activities are the goal of a trip. I personally enjoy reading in depth about an area and exploring it; but I call that fun, not "spirituality."
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