Rating: 
Summary: LOVED IT
Review: The only unsatisfying thing about this book is that to date Mr. Newsham has not written the flip side of the story, that of the U.S. visit of the individual he finally invited home. I await it eagerly because the impulse behind it was good and the trip to find that person was as interesting as the other reviews indicate, so much so I often think back on many memorable scenes and encounters. And that's so even two years after I read the book. One of the lessons of Newsham's trip is that while many people are indeed less free to decide where they will live or go than most of us in the industrialized West, it remains true that for women in paternalistic cultures that lack of personal authority is worst of all. Newsham understands this, and early on he explains regretfully but realistically why he won't be able to invite any of the females he has met or will meet along his travels. The risk to them from within their own cultures is simply too great -- at the least they risk loss of status within the family if not loss of public reputation or worse -- and this book is not about helping someone immigrate. It's an extra layer of sadness that the author doesn't return to, but one which I could not stop thinking about. For almost every man he met there is a wife, sister, mother, or daughter whom I dearly wished could also be in the running for Newsham's selection process. There's simply no way to fully calculate what it means in anyone's life that we are born where we are born, and while that's not a new insight for a travel book this one reveals it in a fresh way.
Rating:
Summary: Longing for the second part of the story
Review: The only unsatisfying thing about this book is that to date Mr. Newsham has not written the flip side of the story, that of the U.S. visit of the individual he finally invited home. I await it eagerly because the impulse behind it was good and the trip to find that person was as interesting as the other reviews indicate, so much so I often think back on many memorable scenes and encounters. And that's so even two years after I read the book. One of the lessons of Newsham's trip is that while many people are indeed less free to decide where they will live or go than most of us in the industrialized West, it remains true that for women in paternalistic cultures that lack of personal authority is worst of all. Newsham understands this, and early on he explains regretfully but realistically why he won't be able to invite any of the females he has met or will meet along his travels. The risk to them from within their own cultures is simply too great -- at the least they risk loss of status within the family if not loss of public reputation or worse -- and this book is not about helping someone immigrate. It's an extra layer of sadness that the author doesn't return to, but one which I could not stop thinking about. For almost every man he met there is a wife, sister, mother, or daughter whom I dearly wished could also be in the running for Newsham's selection process. There's simply no way to fully calculate what it means in anyone's life that we are born where we are born, and while that's not a new insight for a travel book this one reveals it in a fresh way.
Rating: 
Summary: The BEST book I read in 2000
Review: This book changed the way I look at people and the way I travel.
You don't just read this book, you experience it. You are there - traveling through the world. Probably going to places you wouldn't normally go to - but, you get to experience a whole new way of seeing life in foreign lands.
A month after reading Brad's book, I traveled to Cuba with an educational tour. I hired a private tour guide to take me around without the "State Speak" that you would normally receive. I used Brad's ideas about getting to know the people in your travels and it was enormously enjoyable.
Thank you, Brad!
Rating:
Summary: What reading is all about..............
Review: This book is better than just good reading. It's not just a book that you can't put down. Nope, this book is all about what reading should be, it's about being thrown into another world, maybe not literally but mentally it's as if you're there and experiencing all that he has experienced. Anyone that has travelled anywhere, especially outside Europe, UK and USA will know exactly what I'm talking about. Being daring enough to go to a place where you know it will be like nothing you have experienced before can be throughly rewarding and make you feel such a different person. This book gives you that feeling again and again whilst you're reading it. The laughs are not set-up it's just real life and real people which make it the funniest because you know yourself when you visit these places that you meet the most amazing characters. The book portrays the marvellous blend of cultures you can find on your travels and I have to say I love this book almost as much as I love travelling itself. It's inspiring to anyone reading it. This is what reading is all about.
Mellissa
Yorkshire, England, UK
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible Writing!
Review: This book really captivated me in the bookstore but when I brought it home to read, I was immensely disappointed and could barely stomach it for its wholly mediocre, third-writing writing style. The author seems like a really nice guy, but he has to go to some writing classes! I'm surprised so much of it slipped past the editors. I don't believe a travel writer should get away with publishing a book just because he had a few adventures. He has to know how to write too!
Rating:
Summary: BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: This is a wonderful book for backpackers as well as arm chair travellers. The author manages to communicate how it feels to be in the countries he visits, both the wonderous and the ugly. He also describes places many of us will never have the chance or inclication to visit so we get to at least see them through his eyes. Another added element is that the author is not a well-financed travel writer staying at the best hotels but rather a cab driver who has to watch his budget along the way. This means he is actually mingling with the ordinary people in the places he goes. I really enjoyed this book. It make me want to check out the newest backpacks, sleeping bags and other equipment and hit the road again.
Rating:
Summary: BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: This is a wonderful book for backpackers as well as arm chair travellers. The author manages to communicate how it feels to be in the countries he visits, both the wonderous and the ugly. He also describes places many of us will never have the chance or inclication to visit so we get to at least see them through his eyes. Another added element is that the author is not a well-financed travel writer staying at the best hotels but rather a cab driver who has to watch his budget along the way. This means he is actually mingling with the ordinary people in the places he goes. I really enjoyed this book. It make me want to check out the newest backpacks, sleeping bags and other equipment and hit the road again.
Rating:
Summary: intelligent and thought provoking
Review: This is flat out the bestbook Ive ever read. It gives a detailed description of many third world countries and the people in them. Newsham is planningto take someone back to america with him, but you dont know who. He makes it so the very last word in the book is who he picked.
Rating:
Summary: Around the world in search of humanity
Review: This is the type of adventure I wish I made, and the story I wish I had written about it. It's the story of a San Francisco taxi driver who wants to see the world, and share his place in it with a stranger. To do so, he maps a journey through the Phillipines, India and Africa, in search of the perfect guest. The story has all the elements of a great travel yarn: A purpose beyond the journey itself, well written details of exotic lands, a descent into our shared humanity, and a self-deprecating sense of humor. I'm inspired to travel! I may not invite someone back with me, but I'll certainly look for a new adventure to undertake. If you like Tony Hawks, you'll love Brad Newsham.
Rating:
Summary: great book in search of a good editor and quality assurance
Review: This was a really charming book and you can't help but like Brad and all of the people that he meets on his trek. However, the editing was so awful, it really took away from my total enjoyment of the book - I had to fight the urge not to read it with a red pen in my hand. Also, believe it or not, the book that I bought was missing pages 115 - 146! To make up for it however, the publisher inserted pages 147 - 178 twice! If you buy this book, check to make sure the it is all there before you plunk yourself on a beach looking forward to a good read.
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