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A Key West Bed and Breakfast....
Boasting an incomparable location at the midpoint of Duval Street, The Tropical Inn is a quiet and private island compound. You might walk down Key West's most famous promenade a hundred times and not notice this romantic hideaway, tucked unassumingly away just steps from all the bustle and excitement |
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| The Best American Travel Writing 2007 (The Best American Series (TM)) | 
 enlarge | Creators: Susan Orlean, Jason Wilson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $0.04
You Save: $13.96 (100%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 118391
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0618582185
Dewey Decimal Number: 818.5408
EAN: 9780618582181
ASIN: 0618582185
Publication Date: October 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 6 | | NEXT » |
 my first year April 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've long been a fan of the various Best American books, but this was my first year to read the travel writing, but I figured, Susan Orlean, okay. My mistake. Most of the pieces were tedious, though I did enjoy Jason Anthony, Ian Frazier, Steve Friedman, Nando Parrado (but didn't he already write this), and my two favorites, though I'm not sure I'd call them travel writing, Andrew Solomon and Jonathan Stern. It's because of them two that I'll probably pick up next year's edition.
 Fun, Fast, Diverse -- Highly Recommended February 8, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the fifth in this series that I have read. Only one other (I think it was 2002) was this good. I love this series and give it as Christmas gifts every year. This editor had exactly the right point of view in compiling these stories.
Excellent collection December 28, 2007
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
I loved this year's collection, edited by Susan Orlean. Many great essays, but the highlight is definitely Elizabeth Gilbert's report of a two week eating/walking tour through Provence via rural trails.
 pathetic December 1, 2007
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
This has to be the worst "Best American Travel Writing" edition I've seen so far. As a big taveler and a big fan of travel writing, I buy this book every year. There's usually four or five great essays in it, which makes it worth the money for me. But this issue of 2007 is so off the mark. I found almost nothing in it of real interest. I don't know what the editor was thinking. As far as I can tell, Susan Orlean is not known a a traveller. Why she was chosen to put together this year's editon of this book is beyond me. I think it takes one to know one.
Not up to previous standards October 26, 2007
26 out of 28 found this review helpful
As a fan of the series who has the previous seven editions in a prominent space on the bookshelf, I too was disappointed with this year's collection.
Only about half the entries really held my interest. Unfortunately, the least compelling were also the lengthiest, led by Elizabeth Gilbert's tedious "Lonnnnnnnnnnnng Day's Journey Into Dinner". Most telling about the lack of depth (perhaps there wasn't a lot to choose from this year?) is that the most captivating piece is Nando Parrado's harrowing blow-by-blow account of his personal ordeal in the Andes --- an event that took place 35 years ago and was immortalized in the 1993 movie "Alive". Perhaps Nando was understandably only now able to come to terms and write this essay about the events, but its inclusion in this "current" volume seemed curiously timed.
Kevin Fedarko's "High in Hell" was troubling. He describes Djibouti as a hellhole filled with men constantly having affairs behind their wives' backs..."in a country whose infant mortality rate is 10.4 percent, where half the population is unemployed and 70 percent of children are malnourished." Somehow, this all becomes just backdrop for what redeems the place: getting stoned on khat with a rag-tag group of men who've surrendered their ability to address their responsibilities.
He spends days getting high with this group of idlers, and amazingly begins to see them as charitable do-gooders. His bizarre conclusions:
"...in the process of hating Djibuti so much, I had somehow managed to fall in love with the place." He concludes by summarizing the addict's day-long sessions as the "most triumphantly African of achievements. They have trumped the devil himself. In the center of creation's hellhole, they have managed to chisel out a sliver of paradise."
Jonathan Stern's 4-page spoof of Lonely Planet guides tries to be clever, but never rises above the level of one of those repititious filler pieces found in National Lampoon or Mad Magazine 25 years ago.
A few other pieces do provide real insight on the world today (notably, Andrew Solomon's report on Libya). On its own merit, the mixed bag in this book might earn 3 stars, but compared to the standard set by its predecessors, this disappointing volume gets only a "2" from me.
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