Rating: 
Summary: These People Really GET IT
Review: "[I]f travel is like love, that is, in the end, mostly because it's a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity, and ready to be transformed."So observes Pico Iyer at the end of his foreword to this magical collection, adding that the above is also the reason that "the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end. "Anyone who has traveled at least a bit, who has loved at least once, or who is ready to be transformed should read this book. High praise is due Don George and Salon.com for gathering such a stirring and tantalizing collection of writings together: in forty short pieces not one dull or sappy note is struck. For romance, the standouts of this collection are Maxine Rose Schur's "Passionate and Penniless in Paris," about the time she spent with her husband living in a van by the Quai de la Tournelle; Simon Winchester's "Romance in Romania" where the Rolls Royce he happens to be driving brings both him and a young Romanian girl into a beautiful moment that takes its romance from its very fleetingness; Iyer's own short, musical "Bewitched in Bali"; "Fade Into Blue," written in the third person by Amanda Jones; and most memorable of all, Laura Fraser's "Italian Affair," one of the most personal pieces in the book, but written completely in the second person (let's just say it begins with "Let's say your husband leaves you" and ends with her discovery of "la bella vita"). Notable for their adventurous qualities are Bill Belleville's "Looking for Mr. Watson" in the heart of the Florida Everglades; Don Meredith's relaxed brush with death in "Sleeping With Elephants"; Jeffrey Tayler's not-so-relaxed brush with death in "Lost in the Sahara"; editor Don George's surprising fear of climbing Half-Dome in Yosemite while watching his 8- and 10-year-old children scamper up like squirrels--he not afraid for them, he's jealous of them; and Susan Hack's humorous "Tampax Nightmares." Of course romance and adventure are not mutually exclusive, and many of the stories here exhibit both. The writers of SALON.COM'S WANDERLUST convey the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feel of the places they go--both externally and inside their own heads. The reader is transported to all seven continents and several states of being (drunk on absinthe, crashing a motorcycle while on heroin, eating the ambrosial sauces of the Memphis World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest). It will be hard to read just a quarter of these stories and not want to make your plane reservations, stuff a new notebook into your backpack and just go.
Rating:
Summary: These People Really GET IT
Review: "[I]f travel is like love, that is, in the end, mostly because it's a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity, and ready to be transformed." So observes Pico Iyer at the end of his foreword to this magical collection, adding that the above is also the reason that "the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end. "Anyone who has traveled at least a bit, who has loved at least once, or who is ready to be transformed should read this book. High praise is due Don George and Salon.com for gathering such a stirring and tantalizing collection of writings together: in forty short pieces not one dull or sappy note is struck. For romance, the standouts of this collection are Maxine Rose Schur's "Passionate and Penniless in Paris," about the time she spent with her husband living in a van by the Quai de la Tournelle; Simon Winchester's "Romance in Romania" where the Rolls Royce he happens to be driving brings both him and a young Romanian girl into a beautiful moment that takes its romance from its very fleetingness; Iyer's own short, musical "Bewitched in Bali"; "Fade Into Blue," written in the third person by Amanda Jones; and most memorable of all, Laura Fraser's "Italian Affair," one of the most personal pieces in the book, but written completely in the second person (let's just say it begins with "Let's say your husband leaves you" and ends with her discovery of "la bella vita"). Notable for their adventurous qualities are Bill Belleville's "Looking for Mr. Watson" in the heart of the Florida Everglades; Don Meredith's relaxed brush with death in "Sleeping With Elephants"; Jeffrey Tayler's not-so-relaxed brush with death in "Lost in the Sahara"; editor Don George's surprising fear of climbing Half-Dome in Yosemite while watching his 8- and 10-year-old children scamper up like squirrels--he not afraid for them, he's jealous of them; and Susan Hack's humorous "Tampax Nightmares." Of course romance and adventure are not mutually exclusive, and many of the stories here exhibit both. The writers of SALON.COM'S WANDERLUST convey the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feel of the places they go--both externally and inside their own heads. The reader is transported to all seven continents and several states of being (drunk on absinthe, crashing a motorcycle while on heroin, eating the ambrosial sauces of the Memphis World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest). It will be hard to read just a quarter of these stories and not want to make your plane reservations, stuff a new notebook into your backpack and just go.
Rating: 
Summary: great literary traveling
Review: A fantastic book from a fantastic website. The stories from Europe seem strongest, including Bill Barich in Italy, Maxine Rose Schur in France, and Simon Winchester in Romania, but Wanderlust covers the entire globe, from 1st world to 3rd world, from the luxury of club med to the drug-fueled violence of Columbia. While some stories lag behind, as should be expected with 40+ tales, there is certain to be something for everyone. One reviewer found Barry Yeoman's piece about lonliness in Spain and Karl Greenfeld struggle to stay sober in Thailand as two of the worst, but I would highlight the same pieces as two of my favorites. For any wayward traveler forced to take a break from the road, salon.com's Wanderlust makes for a great escape.
Rating:
Summary: great literary traveling
Review: A fantastic book from a fantastic website. The stories from Europe seem strongest, including Bill Barich in Italy, Maxine Rose Schur in France, and Simon Winchester in Romania, but Wanderlust covers the entire globe, from 1st world to 3rd world, from the luxury of club med to the drug-fueled violence of Columbia. While some stories lag behind, as should be expected with 40+ tales, there is certain to be something for everyone. One reviewer found Barry Yeoman's piece about lonliness in Spain and Karl Greenfeld struggle to stay sober in Thailand as two of the worst, but I would highlight the same pieces as two of my favorites. For any wayward traveler forced to take a break from the road, salon.com's Wanderlust makes for a great escape.
Rating:
Summary: Travel and Romance
Review: Although the theme of Wanderlust is supposed to be the combination of travel and romance, editor Don George has chosen to define romance broadly. So while there are pieces here about conventional romance, such as Laura Fraser's Italian Affair, which she eventually expanded into a full-length book, there are also essays about love of books, of country, of food, and of travel itself. In other words, this is a garden-variety travel anthology. And it's a winner! As with any anthology, you will enjoy some essays more than others. Some of my favorites were Taras Grescoe's Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder about drinking powerful absinthe in Spain, one of the few countries where it is still legally sold; How to Buy a Turkish Rug by Laura Billings about how the experience of haggling over a carpet was more important than the carpet itself; and Laura Fraser's Italian Affair, in which she actually pulls off the feat of writing the whole thing in the second person and makes it work. Other outstanding entries include Tampax Nightmares by Susan Hack about finding tampons in countries that frown upon such evil devices; The Last Tourist in Mozambique by Mary Roach, who does yoga with the president; and Lisa Michaels's The Man Who Loved Books in Turkey about packing books for the journey and what happens to the books you leave behind. I love to read anthologies, especially travel anthologies. You get to read some old favorites, read new pieces by authors you like, and discover new writers. Don George is always dependable as editor. In addition to this collection, try his A House Somewhere and The Kindness of Strangers.
Rating:
Summary: I laughed.... and laughed some more!
Review: As the Business Travel host at BellaOnline.com, I ~highly~ recommend this book! It's rare that I read a travel book. It's like taking a "busman's holiday" since I'm on the road 95% of the year but this book looked too funny not to buy! What impressed me most with this book is that each author was able to put such simple truth into each story while injecting humor. I found that after reading the book... I learned a little more about the regions the authors traveled to and have realized how jaded we are in the US. There's not a simple drug store on every corner. Nor is there a need for the bright lights on every trip. Each experience is unique and described as such. A very easy read that will have you laughing and learning!
Rating:
Summary: What life is really about!
Review: Easily our minds to become clouded as to what life is really about. This book puts things back in perspective. Life is love, adventure, meeting new people, and seeing new places. One can find themself on a tiny Greek island seashore or travelling through the ancient ruins of Ankor Wat. The want for love and adventure will fill your heart as you read each essay. This is what life is really about.
Rating:
Summary: What life is really about!
Review: Easily our minds to become clouded as to what life is really about. This book puts things back in perspective. Life is love, adventure, meeting new people, and seeing new places. One can find themself on a tiny Greek island seashore or travelling through the ancient ruins of Ankor Wat. The want for love and adventure will fill your heart as you read each essay. This is what life is really about.
Rating: 
Summary: Joe Haschka is right on
Review: I finished Wanderlust yesterday, and in reading Joe Haschka's review, he picked out both my favorite essays in this collection and the ones I found insufferable. There were several essays I thought were very good, and several that I wondered why they made it into the collection. I also didn't finish the essay on Africa travel writing-it read more like a second-grade college paper than a travel essay.
Rating:
Summary: Each story is better than the previous
Review: I've been a fan of Salon.com for about a year, particularly their dearly departed Travel section. One or two of the stories in this book, I remembered reading from the online column, but they were surprising and entertaining in a second read. A book of short stories by various authors should be diverse and each story should be somewhat different, but still cohesive enough to hold together under a single theme. This book manages to do that excellently through it's theme of wanderlust. The concept of wanderlust, of desiring to go on a journey that puts you outside your everday life and opens your horizons, is thoroughly elucidated in this work. Reading this book will make you want to travel to distant lands. I highly recommend it.
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