Judges’ Comments from Lowell Thomas Awards

Category 20: Travel Book

Gold: Stephanie Elizondo Griest, “100 Places Every Woman Should Go”
Travelers’ Tales/Solas House

“100 Places Every Woman Should Go” will ignite the wanderlust in any woman. Who could read the chapters and not want to hit the road? This guide tells where to find a Swedish hotel made entirely of ice, where to dance barefoot under the stars at a belly dance hafla and where to find America’s national shrines to women. The author offers helpful hints geared toward women and lists further readings about each location. This book is inspiring and delightful.
Bronze: James O’Reilly, Larry Habegger, Sean O’Reilly, “The Best Travel Writing 2007: True Stories From Around the World,”
Travelers’ Tales

Take a trip around the world with 27 different, talented authors. Collections run the risk of mixing a few duds with the gems, but the variety of locales, of authors, of voices, of approaches to storytelling make this a trip well worth taking. The writing is consistently solid and in many places it carries us away.