April 2012 Travel Book of the Month.

A travel miscellany with Paul Theroux’s best pieces interspersed with his choice of the best travel writing. Travellers' tales new and old – from novice to expert.

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OxTales: Meetings with Remarkable Travellers, Ruth Padel
The Smell of the Continent: The British Discover Europe, James Munson & Richard Mullen

Comparison: Joseph Connelly, William Boyd, Giles Foden
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Synopsis

This is a compendium of travel writing from a master traveller Paul Theroux who celebrates fifty years of wandering the globe by collecting the best writing on travel from the books that shaped him, as a reader and a traveller. Part philosophical guide, part miscellany, part reminiscence, The Tao of Travel enumerates 'The Contents of Some Travellers' Bags' and exposes 'Writers Who Wrote About Places They Never Visited'; tracks extreme journeys in 'Travel As An Ordeal' and highlights some of 'Travellers' Favourite Places'. Excerpts from the best of Theroux's own work are interspersed with selections from travellers both familiar and unexpected, including Vladimir Nabokov, Henry David Thoreau, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway and more. The Tao of Travel is a unique tribute to the pleasures and pains of travel in its golden age.

Reviews

'One for the armchair traveller and the adventurer who has scaled K2 and swum the Bosphorus. Like a long train journey, once you settle in there's a lot to enjoy. Gripping' The Times

'Dazzling ... like someone panning for gold, Theroux reread hundreds of travel classics and modern works, shaking out the nuggets. A source of inspiration for prospective travelers and a guide to how, in Theroux's view, to travel properly' San Fransisco Chronicle

'Pure entertainment' Financial Times

'A real treat for anyone travelling' Guardian

'One of the best introductions to travelling and travel writing' Sunday Times

About the Author

Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts in 1941 and published his first novel, Waldo, in 1967. His subsequent novels include The Family Arsenal, Picture Palace, The Mosquito Coast, O-Zone, Millroy the Magician, My Secret History, My Other Life, and, most recently, A Dead Hand. His highly acclaimed travel books include Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, Fresh Air Fiend, and Ghost Train to the Eastern Star. He divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian Islands.   Author photo © William Furniss More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation