Description
Book SynopsisIlan Stavans and Joshua Ellison's Reclaiming Travel is a provocative meditation on the meaning of travel in the twenty-first century. Eschewing tourism, Stavans and Ellison urge for a rethinking of contemporary travel in order to return it to its roots as a tool for self-discovery and transformation.
Trade Review“Skewering Disneyfied shantytown experiences in South Africa and cruise ships docking in hurricane-ravaged Haiti, Stavans and Ellison argue that tourism is a way to escape oneself while remaining oblivious to the surrounding world. Travel is, or should be, they say, a way to find one's truest self by navigating the challenges of the unknown. A thoughtful examination of how we got here but an incomplete reclamation of a grander vision of travel, this title is a gently academic introduction to the topic for a general audience.” -- Emilia Packard * Library Journal *
“The best thing about this smart book, which does a fantastic job of pointing out that the historical precedents established by travelers years ago have carried forward into the present age; that the seeing the world through the lens of a camera is a problematic issue; that cultures that overvalue long work weeks have a tendency to turn leisure time abroad into time to continue working, just in different countries.” -- Lorraine Berry * Card Catalogue blog *
“
Reclaiming Travel emphasizes the fantasy and reality of travel over the centuries. Readers can explore the allure of travel, and discover why many of us are always packing a bag, eager to go somewhere, anywhere, several times a year for the pleasure of being away from home. . . . Bouncing freely from modern travel issues and fascinating historical comparisons,
Reclaiming Travel offers a look at international literature by some of the best known writers.” -- Helen Gallagher * Blogcritics *
“
Reclaiming Travel is not so much a guidebook on how to take a vacation or go on holiday, but rather an intellectual journey about what we may have lost and why we would benefit from searching for different ways of relating to work and leisure. By reflecting on what travel has meant from ancient times to the 21st century, Stavans and Ellison offer encouragement (“an invitation to take risks”) to explore and channel our own innate restlessness and curiosity.” -- Linda Straube * Book Talk . . . A Conversation *
“In
Reclaiming Travel, rather than draw on personal adventures to share their ideas, Stavans and Ellison offer stories from literature, including Homer's Odyssey and Jamaica Kincaid's Small Island. This helps make their book accessible to any audience because, while it's difficult to experience another person's vacation, these clear, well-written narratives resonate.” -- Justus Joseph * Shelf Awareness *
"Throughout
Reclaiming Travel, the authors deftly make connections between present-day mass mobility and subjects as diverse as self-transformation, map use, globalization, work, photography, and (in)authenticity.... Stavans and Ellison also explore unanticipated relationships such as those that connect travel and tourism with exile and nationalism.... In
Reclaiming Travel, Stavans and Ellison offer a provocative and far-reaching exploration of mobility."
-- Adam Weaver * American Quarterly *
"[A] highly original reflection on travel, ism and the making of meaning the twenty-first century." -- Jim Butcher * Tourism Planning & Development *
Table of ContentsIntroduction. Restlessness 1
Part I. Why We Travel
1. The Motion of Myth 9
2. Inward Voyage 23
3. The Endless Atlas 37
4. The Cosmos and the City 57
Part II. How We Travel
5. The Serious Business of Leisure 77
6. Transported 91
7. Traveling Outside the Frame 109
8. The Industry of Fake Experience 121
Epilogue. Home is Where 139
Acknowledgments 147
Index 149
