One Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for a Round-The-World Journey With Our Children

Rating:
Summary: Humorous, entertaining and educational - a good read.
Review: Having read a few chapters from this delightful " travel book with a difference", I cannot wait to read the whole family saga! Aside from Cohen's lovely sense of humour, his observations and insights of some of the countries I know well, are 'spot on'.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely funny armchair travelling
Review: I *loved* this book! I couldn't put it down, which is a problem because I have three kids about the same age as the author's to care for! And perhaps that's why I could identify with the author and his experiences. I almost think you have to be a parent to fully appreciate this book.

A couple of points: the book is a series of emails, but what emails! Emails that were 10 pages long and extremely well written -- they were basically chapters. Cohen is a professional writer and it shows.

Also for those who quibbled about the lack of insight. Well, they have a point, but that's a different book. This is simply the story of a family and their adventures travelling around the world. Most of the things they did were touristy things -- this is no Under The Tuscan Sun, where the author really gets inside a culture or country. This is a skimming of the best of the world -- barging in France! A safari in Africa! As I have not (yet) done these things I highly enjoyed reading about them and imagining my family doing (some -- not all!) of them.

Rating:
Summary: Traveling with kids is different!
Review: I ate it up in 2 nights. It was great to read about traveling with kids, who have their own perspectives and don't care what the guidebook says. The "we took a year off" part was interesting, but the fun part was finding out what the kids liked and why. The humor is welcome. This will make a great gift to parents.

Rating:
Summary: Our local reviewer said "sensational", and he was right
Review: I bought One year Off because the local reviewer loved it, and so did I. It is a marvelous book, an easy read with lots of travel tips, but great insights into the life of a family. Get it now.

Rating:
Summary: Tedious travelogue
Review: I didnt enjoy this at all mainly because it was soself-referential. The author assumes we care about him and hisfamily. I don't. As my daughter said after reading a chapter: "borrrrring."

Rating:
Summary: One of the most enjoyable books I've ever read!
Review: I don't know when I have enjoyed a book so much!! David Cohen and his lovely wife have my admiration for all the planning and effort that it took to put this project into effect and see it though. Taking three small children on a journey around the world would be a feat in inself, but for an entire year is something else. This book made a big hit with my entire family. My mother plans to review it for her book club next month and I was elated when my busy executive brother from Houston had a good time reading it during a recent visit. My congratulations to David Cohen for the humorous way in which he expresses himself and for sharing this fascinating journey with all of us.

Rating:
Summary: This book is boring.
Review: I generally like travel books. But this one is about this guys family and how great they are. The wife is a biathalon athlete or triathalon. Anyway, it's all about rich California people with time and money to kill. It's very 80's.

Rating:
Summary: perfect in every way but one
Review: i immensely enjoyed this book, hoping to one day go on a round the world journey myself...the book gave me some great ideas...the one drawback, however is that i still have no idea how to afford my trip,as this author is obviously very well off...but i suppose he deserves whatever success comes to him as much as i would deserve any that comes to me!

Rating:
Summary: Fantasy and nightmare rolled into one
Review: I just read this in 2 days and I'm so jealous. I would love to drop everything and take off on a big journey. I admire them for taking the kids,seems like a huge undertaking, although it turned out fine. Wish I could've done it when I was a kid; will have to wait to have my own! Delightful, easy, quick read; have already recommended it to others!

Rating:
Summary: The best part was the kids...
Review: I liked best the segments dealing with the Cohens children and how they responded to the various sights on their trip. They paid little attention to natural scenery, had to be "bribed" to see the Louvre, but loved the safari and the museum with the implements of torture. Reading of their escapades reminded me of my own childhood when my sibs (ages 7-10) traveled Europe (only) with our parents during a year living in Scotland.

I am sadly disappointed in Amazon for choosing a reviewer who apparently did not read the book through and through. The Cohens were NOT endangering their chidren. Kids get wild and scamper about -- and bones can get broken at home falling off a bicycle. The older two Cohen children will remember this trip all of their lives. (25 years since our year in Scotland, our memories are still vivid!) And we did things, too, that would put fear in a parents heart. Yes, kids can be heedless of danger, but is that any reason for them to stay at home?

The Cohens did not recklessly choose to go a game preserve -- that was their daughter Kara's request. And they explain in the epilogue why they didn't go the luxe route!

I admire the Cohens for doing what they did. And I heartily admire my own parents, too -- reading this book made me realize just how much my own parents had taken on, and we didn't do half the stuff the Cohens did.

More power to all of you intrepid parents traveling with your kids!