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.
Rating:  Summary: I feel like I have made friends all over the world Review: While reading Take Me With You, I sometimes felt as if I were evesdropping or looking into a private conversation. In out of the way places and big cities, Newsham takes the time to get to know some incredible personalities. I realized that there are like-minded people living all over the world. Environmental concerns, family issues and dreams and desires being a major part of our lives. Whether you own half of Kenya or a 1,400 sq foot apartment in Portland, Oregon, we're all the same. Newsham tells the truth about travel. The great expectations, the letdowns, and the surprises. The feeling of dread when you realize that your trip is almost over, and soon you'll have to board the airplane back to your normal life. Everyone at some point wishes they could chuck everything, pick up a backpack and head out into the overlooked parts of the world. When that time comes in my life, I will look for Newsham's most recent book. Not since reading the Neverending Story when I was 11 years old have I been so totally engrossed and captured by a particular book. Keep up the good work Mr. Brad Newsham, I hope you sell a million copies!
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