A Hard Place to Leave
Vogue's Best Books of 2022
Restless to leave, eager to return: this memoir in essays captures the unrelenting pull between the past and the present, between traveling the world and staying home.
Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and ending on a West Texas trail in 2020, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda, spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses us in places waiting to be experienced and some that may be more than we’re up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.
La Dolce Vita University – 2nd Edition
Come travel with La Dolce Vita University (L◆D◆V◆U) to the heart of Italian culture in the seductive spirit of la dolce vita. L◆D◆V◆U is the perfect sampler to indulge anyone curious about—or already in amore with—Italy and its remarkably rich trove of cultural treasures. In dozens of entertaining yet authoritative mini-essays, including 60 new stories and 40 new illustrations in this fully updated 2nd edition, L◆D◆V◆U lets you explore, at your leisure, fascinating aspects of Italy’s cuisine, history, art, traditions, style, legendary personalities, and so much more.
The book is organized alphabetically, but nothing is ever quite that straightforward when it comes to Italy. Even if you choose to read these mini-essays sequentially, you may very well feel as though you’re wandering the mysterious alleys of a medieval town, the hidden vicoli of a larger city, or even along the serpentine canals of La Serenissima.
The End of the World Notwithstanding
“Every word the right word, this book is a genuine keeper.” —Kirkus Reviews***Starred Review***
Rife with misadventure, brushes with death, and moments of existential insight, The End of the World Notwithstanding is a hilarious and reflective look at the emotional experiences that make everyday life exciting—and the physical ones that remind us we’re lucky to be alive. These nail-biting stories, all true, fill the reader with wonder, as in, “How do any of us survive?”
Encounters with wildfire, hideous insects, psychotic house pets, bad weather, gravity, predators, bullies, and the most potent force of all—fear—unfold in remote landscapes of the American West; on neon-splashed Hollywood sidewalks; in a Catskills summer camp for actors; in the Boston apartment of a famous senator; on a cliff high above the Mediterranean; beneath the streets of Paris. Goodwin looks for and finds meaning, if not security, in a clear-eyed acknowledgment of the human condition—and in the saving grace of laughter.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 12
As Andrew McCarthy wrote in The New York Times Book Review, “For more than 20 years, Travelers’ Tales has been publishing books that might best be described as the literary equivalent of a group of travelers sitting around a dim café, sipping pints or prosecco and trading their best stories.”
Now comes The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 12: True Stories from Around the World—the latest collection in the best-selling, award-winning series that invites you to ride shotgun alongside intrepid female nomads as they wander the globe discovering new places, faces, and facets of themselves.
“In story after story,” McCarthy wrote about the previous volume of The Best Women’s Travel Writing, “the refreshing absence of bluster and bravado, coupled with the optimism necessary for bold travel, create a unifying narrative that testifies to the personal value and cultural import of leaving the perceived safety of home and setting out into the wider world.”
The essays in this volume are as diverse as the destinations, exploring themes of kindness, transformation, nature, friendship, family, strength, and resilience.
One Hundred Years of Exile
“A gripping family account, historically rigorous and ultimately moving...that couples cinematic drama with both tragedy and triumph.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A vividly intense and personal saga.... It stirred such powerful emotions..." —Marina Romanov, grandniece of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
One Hundred Years of Exile: A Romanov's Search for Her Father’s Russia is the story of one woman’s journey through 100 years of history to find peace with her father. Tania Romanov Amochaev and her father were both exiled from their homelands as infants; both knew life in refugee camps. Their shared fate does not lead to mutual understanding.
The family’s immigration to San Francisco heralded a promising new future—but while Tania just wanted to be an American, her father could not trust that this was his final asylum. His fears and his resistance to assimilation leave Tania with deep resentment toward him and her Russian heritage. Decades later, his unexpected death exposes Tania’s open wounds and a host of unanswered questions about her father and his story.
A serendipitous meeting with a last surviving member of the Russian royal family, followed by a baffling error that miraculously connects her with unknown relatives, catapults Tania on a quest for answers in her father’s homeland.
100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go – 10th Anniversary
“Makes me want to pack my bag and follow Van Allen’s alluring suggestions...she reveals an intimacy with Italy and a honed sense of adventure. Andiamo!” —Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun
This fully updated 10th Anniversary Edition of 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go is packed with new information. Susan Van Allen provides the best insider’s femme-friendly advice for sights, shopping, restaurants, and many new destinations and Golden Day itineraries to enhance your travel experiences in the Bel Paese.
Susan is your fun-loving, savvy-traveler girlfriend whispering in your ear, inspiring you to make your Italian dream vacation come true. Go along with her as she leads you up and down the boot to discover this extraordinary country where Venus (Vixen Goddess of Love and Beauty) and The Madonna (Nurturing Mother of Compassion) reign side-by-side. These pages, curated with passion, humor, and expert female tips, are guaranteed to lift you out of the flood of online information and make your travel planning easy and pleasurable.
How To Shit Around the World — 2nd Edition
“Straightforward advice...a great bathroom read.” —The Washington Post
“A cheery and common-sensical guide.” —The Independent
“Worth digesting.” —Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel
“Likely to remain the definitive guide.” —The Bookseller
With an Introduction by Kathleen Meyer, author of How To Shit in the Woods
International travel is rewarding and fun, but sometimes it exacts a price. Activities we take for granted—eating, bathing, and going to the toilet—can range from challenging to risky in unfamiliar territory. In this second edition of How to Shit Around the World, Dr. Jane Wilson-Howarth takes a sympathetic and funny approach to the most basic human activity, interweaving hilarious anecdotes from fellow travelers with sensible tips and techniques. More than just a how-to, this book inspires the traveler to be adventurous in dealing with foreign toilets, and to heed the fascinating cultural lessons to be learned from the simple act of using the bathroom.
The Girl Who Said No
She Broke a 1000-Year-Old Tradition
Eighteen-year-old Franca Viola made history in 1966 as one of the first “#metoo” heroines of modern times, when she refused to go along with a centuries-old forcible marriage custom in Sicily. Having endured kidnap and rape, she publicly defied the expectation that she would marry the rapist to “restore her broken honor.” A social uproar occurred throughout the island—and beyond.
In Natalie Galli’s The Girl Who Said No, Viola’s remarkable story unfolds when the author arrives in Palermo to search for her, with little more than the memory of a tiny article she had spotted two decades prior. Galli wanted to know: whatever had become of this courageous girl who had overturned an ancient, entrenched tradition?
Throughout her search for the enigmatic Franca, Galli shares her own poignant and hilarious observations about a vibrant culture steeped in contradiction and paradox. Does she succeed in locating the elusive proto-feminist whose case forever changed Italian culture and history? Travel along on Galli’s engaging odyssey to find out.
“Engrossing from the very first page. I was totally swept away.” —Lavinia Spalding, author of Writing Away
The China Option
Sophia Erickson graduated from college with an apparently useless degree in European history. She faced crippling student loans, but after an anxious couple of months waiting tables in her small Massachusetts town, she bought a one-way ticket to China. Over the following two years she had deeply enriching cultural experiences, paid off nearly half her student loans, and visited China from Heilongjiang to Hainan, as well as neighboring countries Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Singapore. The China Option: A Guide for Millennials: How to work, play, and find success in China is a manifesto for recent college grads to pay off debt while living a stimulating, adventurous life, and to pave the way for a successful future.
100 Places in Cuba Every Woman Should Go
The secret is out: Cuba is the world’s sexiest, most magnetic travel destination. What isn’t a secret is that folks from around the corner and around the globe have been exploring and falling in love with the largest Caribbean island for decades. Now you can too with 100 Places in Cuba Every Woman Should Go, written from the unique perspective of a New Yorker who has called Havana home for more than 15 years.
The 100 places profiled in this book are the result of decades of travel, research, and living in Cuba by a US journalist with uncommon access, ensuring travelers incomparable experiences. Much more than a prescriptive list, these narratives incorporate adventures and mishaps, insider opinion, slang, gossip, and conversations with Cubans during a historic shift that saw Soviet support evaporate, Fidel Castro take his final bow, economic reforms whiffing suspiciously of capitalism, and quasi-normalization with the United States.
Author Conner Gorry deciphers the mysteries of Cuba while describing the country’s most alluring sites, sounds, and off-the-beaten track locales. Go with her and discover this magical island for yourself.
Mother Tongue
What is your mother tongue? Sometimes the simplest questions take a book to answer. Such is the case with Tania Romanov.
Mother Tongue is an exploration of lives lived in the chaos of a part of the world known as the Balkans. It follows the lives of three generations of women—Katarina, Zora, and Tania—over the last 100 years. It follows countries that dissolved, formed, and reformed. Lands that were conquered and subjugated by Fascists and Nazis and nationalists. Lives lived in exile, in refugee camps, in new worlds.
The country of birth listed on Tania’s American passport changed four times in four successive renewals. Until the first time, she believed your country of birth was a fixed point. Today she knows better. Go with her as she journeys through time and history looking for answers, and finding some.
The Soul of a Great Traveler
Since 2006 the editors of Travelers’ Tales have run a writing competition to find the best travel story of the year: The Solas Awards. Over those years, thousands of stories have come across their desks, from writers famous and unknown, covering all corners of the globe with stories of adventure and discovery, love and loss, humor and absurdity, grief and joy. In this collection appear all of the top prize winners of the first ten years, stories that bring readers along for journeys that are inspiring, uplifting, and, very often, transformative. These tales are powerful, moving testaments to the richness of our world, its cultures, people, and places.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 11
The Best Women's Travel Writing, Volume 11 presents stimulating, inspiring, and uplifting adventures from women who have traveled to the ends of the earth to discover new places, peoples, and facets of themselves. The common threads connecting these stories are a female perspective and fresh, compelling storytelling to make the reader laugh, weep, wish she were there, or be glad she wasn't.
The 31 true travel stories in this year's collection are, as always, wildly diverse in theme and location. They tell of places like California and Cuba, Switzerland and Singapore, Iran and Iceland, Montana and Mexico and Mongolia and Mali, our own back yards and some of the farthest, most extreme corners of the world. They are the personal stories we can't help but collect when we travel, stories of reaching out to embrace the unfamiliar and creating cross-cultural connections while learning more about ourselves.
100 Places in Spain Every Woman Should Go
DISCOVER SPAIN'S BEST PLACES FOR WOMEN
Patricia Harris began her love affair with Spain shortly after the death of dictator Francisco Franco, and she has since witnessed the country’s amazing renaissance in art, culture, and cuisine. Drawing on three decades of intimate acquaintance, she leads readers down to the docks of fishing villages, along twisting mountain roads, into the shoe outlets of Elche, out to the muddy saffron fields of La Mancha. She takes you through the streets of Sevilla, Madrid, Barcelona, and San Sebastian to dark flamenco clubs, sybaritic public baths, endlessly inventive tapas bars, design shops full of mantillas and fans, and into a brightly tiled chocolatería for hot chocolate and churros at 3 a.m.
Harris explores art from Velázquez to Picasso, architecture from the phantasmagoria of Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia to the cool suspension spans of Santiago Calatrava. She tells tales of formidable Spanish women, from a fourth-century b.c. goddess to a queen who wrested Spain from the Moors, and to twenty-first-century winemakers who have elevated Spain’s Toro and Rueda onto the world stage. Literary, sexy, whimsical, and spiritual, 100 Places in Spain Every Woman Should Go is for the smart and curious traveler who wants to see Spain, her way.
Wings
Wings is a love story of France, a blend of travel writing and memoir that reveals the country's art, cuisine, history, and traditions through encounters with characters such as Winged Victory, Claude Monet, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Coco Chanel, and a mélange of writers, filmmakers, and friends. Erin Byrne goes deep to discover little-known aspects of French culture and by doing so, uncovers long-buried qualities of herself. She is transformed and her stories may transform you.
100 Places in Greece Every Woman Should Go
Discover Greece’s Best Places for Women
With style, intelligence, and personal anecdotes gleaned from years of working in Greece, archaeologist and award-winning writer Amanda Summer is your personal guide to the best of Greece. In crisp and often humorous storytelling she introduces you to the temples, shrines, grottoes, and churches of this magnificent country, intricately weaving in stories of the women—from goddesses of mythology Athena, Artemis, and Aphrodite to goddesses of cinema and the arts Melina Mercouri, Irini Papas, and Maria Callas—who have molded the history and culture of Greece itself.
The Soul of Place
In this engaging creative writing workbook, novelist and poet Linda Lappin presents a series of insightful exercises to help writers of all genres—literary travel writing, memoir, poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction—discover imagery and inspiration in the places they love.
Lappin departs from the classical concept of the Genius Loci, the indwelling spirit residing in every landscape, house, city, or forest—to argue that by entering into contact with the unique energy and identity of a place, writers can access an inexhaustible source of creative power. The Soul of Place provides instruction on how to evoke that power.
100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go
"A necessary indulgence for even the most jaded Francophile." —Kate Betts, author of Everyday Icon: Michele Obama and the Power of Style
With intelligence, style, and depth, Marcia DeSanctis offers insight and advice to every France-obsessed woman, whether she's a first-time traveler to Paris or the most sophisticated Francophile. In 100 luminous vignettes on the country's most alluring places, DeSanctis leads us through vineyards, markets, architectural treasures, beach idylls, and contemplates hikes from Biarritz to Normandy, Antibes to Chamonix. Along the way, she tells of fascinating women who have changed the destiny of France—from Marie Curie, Empress Josephine, and Joan of Arc to Audrey Hepburn and Édith Piaf. From sexy to literary, spiritual to gorgeous, 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go is for the smart and curious traveler who wants to see France, her way.
50 Places in Rome, Florence, and Venice Every Woman Should Go
“Makes me want to pack my bag and follow Van Allen's alluring suggestions. Andiamo!” —Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun
“Van Allen warms the room with her memories and imagination...precise and true.” —The New York Times
Following the critically acclaimed 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, Susan Van Allen adds new gems to her selection of the best spots for female travelers in Italy’s most popular cities, along with enticing Golden Day itineraries to make vacation dreams come true. Like a savvy traveler girlfriend whispering in your ear, she guides readers to masterpieces where women are glorified—from Rome’s Pieta to Florence’s Birth of Venus and to best spots for wine tasting, chocolate, gelato, artisan shopping experiences to meet leather craftsmen or glass blowers, and places for adventures such as rolling pasta or rowing like a gondolier. She provides fresh, practical tips giving readers an insider’s secrets on what to pack, the best places to get their hair styled, and how to shop for bargain souvenirs.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 10
“Tell me,” poet Mary Oliver once wrote, “what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Oliver’s quote opens the The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 10: True Stories from Around the World. And to answer the question, thirty celebrated and emerging writers invite you to ride shotgun as they travel the globe to discover new places, people, and facets of themselves. The essays are as diverse as the destinations, the common thread being fresh, compelling storytelling that will make you laugh, weep, wish you were there, or thank your lucky stars you weren’t. The Best Women’s Travel Writing speaks to the reasons why we travel—and how travel changes our lives.
100 Places in the USA Every Woman Should Go
Seeking an unusual place to escape with friends? Want to indulge in a perfect hot spring or mountain retreat? Hoping to gain perspective by exploring women's history or touring a quirky museum? 100 Places in the USA Every Woman Should Go will both inspire and compel you to hit the road—in a group, with a friend, or solo. Divided into sections such as "Get to Know America," "Americans’ History," "Participate," and "X (Chromosome) Rated," this guidebook unveils places you've never heard of and gives you a new outlook on places you think you know. It illuminates attractions close to home and reminds you why it's time to plan that special trip far away.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 9
Anyone whose passport has been stamped a few times knows the surest method of keeping the travel fire alive: by reading and telling stories from the road, passing them along like a torch in a relay race.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 9 does this and more: it invites readers to ride shotgun alongside intrepid female nomads as they travel the globe to discover new places, people, and facets of themselves. The stories in this edition are as diverse as the destinations, the common thread being fresh, compelling storytelling that will make you laugh, weep, wish you were there, or be glad you weren’t.
Leave the Lipstick, Take the Iguana
Leave the Lipstick, Take the Iguana is the 9th book in the best-selling Travelers' Tales humor series, which began with There's No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled and blossomed into a classic "underwear" women's humor series, including Sand in My Bra and The Thong Also Rises. This laugh-out-loud collection will resonate with experienced travelers and novices alike and includes hilarious misadventures with packing, border crossings, travel fashion, language faux pas, weird food encounters, and romantic overtures abroad.
Gutsy Women
Marybeth Bond, editor of Travelers' Tales: A Woman's World (winner of the Lowell Thomas Gold Medal for Best Travel Book) has done it again in this indispensable guide now in its 4th edition with travel tips for women on the road. The book also includes twelve stories from the author's travels.
Gutsy Women, Fourth Edition, for novice as well as experienced travelers, provides a wealth of fresh ideas on how to travel safely, comfortably, within your budget, alone, with your mother or children. Sections of the book address: The Older Adventuress, The First Time Traveler, The Solo Traveler, Women's Health and Hygiene, Dining on the Road, and Romance, Loneliness, and Unwelcome Advances. The book is packed with funny, instructive and inspiring travel vignettes from the author and from people like yourself who have traveled a little, or extensively.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 8
Includes stories by Susan Orlean, Ann Hood, and Laura Fraser
Since the publication of A Woman's World in 1995, Travelers' Tales has been publishing award-winning books by and for women. We continue this tradition with The Best Women's Travel Writing, Volume 8, the latest collection in our annual series guaranteed to inspire women to take their first trip—or to continue exploring the world with wit, soul, and verve, as so many adventurous women do each and every day.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011
"Travelers' Tales books luxuriate in that complicated, beautiful, shadowy place where the best stories begin, and the most compelling characters roam free."
—ForeWord Magazine
Since the publication of A Woman's World in 1995, Travelers' Tales has been publishing award-winning books by and for women. We continue this tradition with The Best Women's Travel Writing 2011, the seventh collection in our annual series guaranteed to inspire women to take their first trip—or to continue exploring the world with wit, soul, and verve, as so many adventurous women do each and every day.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2010
"Travelers' Tales books luxuriate in that complicated, beautiful, shadowy place where the best stories begin, and the most compelling characters roam free."
—ForeWord Magazine
Since the publication of A Woman's World in 1995, Travelers' Tales has been publishing award-winning books by and for women. We continue this tradition with The Best Women's Travel Writing 2010, the sixth collection in our annual series guaranteed to inspire women to take their first trip—or to continue exploring the world with wit, soul, and verve, as so many adventurous women do each and every day.
Writing Away
“Lavinia Spalding has given travelers a witty, profound, and accessible exploration of the hows and whys of keeping a journal. Novices and veterans alike will find inspiration and fresh ideas on every page, along with practical suggestions to bring out the best writer in anyone…. Buy two copies—one to meditate on at home and another to dogear, underline and carry alongside your own journal en route.”
—Anthony Weller, author of The Siege of Salt Cove and Days and Nights on the Grand Trunk Road.
Two major trends have recently swept the travel world: the first, an overwhelming desire (thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller, Eat, Pray, Love) to write one’s own memoir; the second, an explosion of social media, blogs, twitter and texts ...
The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009
"Travelers' Tales books luxuriate in that complicated, beautiful, shadowy place where the best stories begin, and the most compelling characters roam free."
—ForeWord Magazine
With an Introduction by Faith Adiele
Since the publication of A Woman's World in 1995, Travelers' Tales has been publishing award-winning books by and for women. We continue this tradition with The Best Women's Travel Writing 2009, the fifth collection in our annual series guaranteed to inspire women to take their first trip—or to continue exploring the world with wit, soul, and verve, as so many adventurous women do each and every day.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2008
“Travelers’ Tales books luxuriate in that complicated, beautiful, shadowy place where the best stories begin, and the most compelling characters roam free.”
—ForeWord Magazine
With an Introduction by Linda Ellerbee
Since the publication of A Woman’s World in 1995, Travelers’ Tales has been publishing award-winning books by and for women. We continue this tradition with The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2008, the fourth collection in our annual series guaranteed to inspire women to take their first trip—or to continue exploring the world with wit, soul, and verve, as so many adventurous women do each and every day. These 35 stories cover the globe, from kayaking a wild river in Patagonia, learning to drive a tuk-tuk in Thailand to finding Eros in Venice. The perspectives are global and themes encompass spiritual growth, high adventure, romance, and encounters with exotic cuisine.
A Woman’s World Again
Explore the World in the Company of Women Way back in the ’90s, readers and critics alike loved the stories of women travelers in A Woman’s World, which won a Lowell Thomas Gold Medal for Best Travel Book. Twelve years later, best-selling author and editor Marybeth Bond continues to champion women’s travel in A Woman’s World Again with thirty-three remarkable journeys ranging from the middle of nowhere to middle America. Whether they are exploring identity in Ireland, sharing tea with a carpet seller in Turkey, or apprenticing with the silversmiths of Niger, these women will inspire you to create your own adventures. Learn the samba and keep the rhythm in Brazil, Reach the summit of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Get the makeover of your life from the women of the Dominican Republic, Discover the appeal of the Virgin Mary in Mexico, Encounter an alternative view of death and dying in India, Feel the hunger pangs of Hemingway while studying in Paris, Flirt and get that warm fuzzy feeling on a Sicilian farm…and much more.
More Sand in My Bra
We giggled all the way to the beach reading Jen Leo’s women’s travel/humor anthology Sand in My Bra, nearly laughed our britches off perusing Whose Panties Are These?, cracked up over The Thong Also Rises, and enjoyed even more hilarity when What Color is Your Jockstrap? transformed the “Leo trio” into a coed quartet. Fans feared that this fabulously funny “Empire of the Underwear” series might come to an end right then and there, but no way Jose!
Jen along with fellow travel writer and misadventure enthusiast, Julia Weiler, just couldn't resist all those requests to keep the comedy coming. So slip on your sarong, slap on some sin-block, and get ready for the funniest beach read this season with More Sand in My Bra: Funny Women Write from the Road, Again!
The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2007
“Travelers’ Tales books luxuriate in that complicated, beautiful, shadowy place where the best stories begin, and the most compelling characters roam free.”
—Foreword Magazine
Since the publication of A Woman’s World in 1995, Travelers’ Tales has been publishing award-winning books by and for women. We continue this tradition with The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2007, the third collection in our annual series guaranteed to inspire women to take their first trip—or to continue exploring the world with wit, soul, and verve, as so many adventurous women do each and every day. These 32 stories cover the globe, from wandering the Sinai desert with small children, learning to salsa in Cuba to climbing a volcano in Ecuador. The perspectives are global and themes encompass spiritual growth, high adventure, romance, and encounters with exotic cuisine.
100 Places Every Woman Should Go
“An amazing feat…Griest manages to impart the essence of some of the world’s most remarkable places. Reading the book is like catching the colors of a tropical sunset, a whiff of an almost tree in bloom, a hint of a melody from a late night jazz bar.”
— Elizabeth Lesser, cofounder of Omega Institute and author of Broken Open. Seeking the tranquility of a Buddhist meditation center? The raucousness of a rumba club? 100 Places Every Woman Should Go will not only inspire but compel you to hit the road—in a group, with a friend, or solo. Divided into sections such as “Powerful Women and Their Places in History,” “Places of Indulgence,” and “Places of Adventure,” this guidebook includes contact information, resources, and recommended reading. Its “Ten Tips For Wandering Women” features safety advice and pointers on how to stop departing airplanes and avoid getting tossed off Trans-Siberian trains.
The World Is a Kitchen
“A vicarious delight for the virtual tourist, as well as an inspiration for the most seasoned culinary voyager.” — Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook.
Taste the World One Culture at a Time, From the casual cook to the seasoned traveler to the serious gourmand, The World Is a Kitcheninspires its readers to experience food in a new way, exploring new lands, new cultures, and new cuisines. Chefs, travel writers, and dedicated foodies share their unique experiences, transporting readers into kitchens in Morocco, Italy, Belize, Cypress, Kenya, Vietnam, and elsewhere around the world, revealing the diverse traditions of other countries through their cuisine. Explore the gastronomic side of travel through these stories, trying the hard-won and treasured recipes as you go along, and then get ready to plan your own adventure. 37 first-person culinary adventures at cooking schools, on the road, in homes, and B&Bs across the globe. 30 international recipes, including African mafe, Russian pelmeni, Mexican mole verde, and a classic French tarte tatin, Extensive resource section including research tips, cooking schools and classes, culinary tours, internet resources, and recommended reading.
The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2006
“Travelers’ Tales books luxuriate in that complicated, beautiful, shadowy place where the best stories begin, and the most compelling characters roam free.”
—Foreword Magazine
Since the publication of A Woman’s World in 1995, Travelers’ Tales has been publishing award-winning books by and for women. We continue this tradition with The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2006, the second collection in our annual series guaranteed to inspire women to take their first trip—or to continue exploring the world with wit, soul, and verve, as so many adventurous women do each and every day. These 34 stories cover the globe, from riding on horseback from Senegal to Mali, reclaiming your life on a pilgrimage in Tibet to cooking an unexpected Thanksgiving turkey in Italy. The perspectives are global and themes encompass spiritual growth, high adventure, romance, and encounters with exotic cuisine.
A Mile in Her Boots
"A delightful addition to the literature of women and wilderness." — Annick Smith, author of Homestead. Work Awhile on the Wild Side! Beyond the bounds of society’s more common professions, women are tackling tests of courage and stamina. They’re employed as pilots, park rangers, scientists, and smokejumpers, and their work requires the guts to get up in the morning and face whatever whim Mother Nature has to offer. It's not about showing up the guys, the real challenge for these women is breaking ground within themselves because they love what they do. In this unique collection, editor Jennifer Bové introduces you to 28 professional outdoorswomen, each of whom extends her hand and welcomes you to explore the gritty details of her trade. Tighten up your bootlaces and come along!
Her Fork in the Road
"An unforgettable taste of the connection between the table and the world." - ALICE WATERS, chef/owner Chez Panisse
Women's relationship with food is passionate and obsessive, embracing and comforting, complex and frustrating. This savory sampling of stories—by some of the best writers in and out of the food and travel fields—journeys to the heart of this age-old relationship, taking the reader from the familiar kitchens of contemporary America to the far reaches of the globe. In France, an over-enthusiastic waitress serves M.F.K. Fisher the lunch of a lifetime to sustain her on her walk to Avallon. In Tunisia, Ruth Reichl dines at the home of a local, where the meal is eaten with the hands and a dash of sensuality. And in Fiji, where the women are big and beautiful and walk like royalty, Laurie Gough encounters food as a grand and constant celebration.
The Thong Also Rises
Description
Travel girls gone wild! It's not about their underwear, it's about gut-busting adventures. These funny women on the road just can't stop laughing about the global messes they get themselves into. In The Thong Also Rises, Jen Leo brings you dozens of crazy Ms.-Adventures from Egypt to South Dakota and back home again. On a coffee break, right before bed, waiting for the bus, or hiding in the bathroom—howl, cry, guffaw, and commiserate with these adventuresses.- Go to the bathroom with a pig in your face with Megan Lyles in India
- Congratulate the naked bride and groom on Valentine’s Day in Jamaica with Elizabeth Asdorian...
The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2005
“Travelers’ Tales books luxuriate in that complicated, beautiful, shadowy place where the best stories begin, and the most compelling characters roam free.”
—Foreword Magazine
Since the publication of A Woman’s World in 1995, Travelers’ Tales has been publishing award-winning books by and for women. We continue this tradition with The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2005, the first collection in an annual series guaranteed to inspire women to take their first trip—or to continue exploring the world with wit, soul, and verve, as so many adventurous women do each and every day. These 30 stories cover the globe, from kayaking 600 miles of the Niger River to Timbuktu to encountering the devil in Malaysia to finding your ancestral home in China. The perspectives are global and themes encompass spiritual growth, high adventure, romance, and encounters with exotic cuisine.
A Woman’s Passion for Travel
“Reading this book is dangerous. You’ll quit your job. You’ll cash in your savings—or take out a loan. At the very least, you’ll ache to follow in the footsteps of these fine writers on their exciting travels.” — Lucy Jan Bledsoe, author of Working Parts, Everything feels different on the road. It’s a time to test limits, contemplate life from new angles, or create changes big and small. The women in A Woman’s Passion for Travel do this and more, exploring every corner of the globe and every facet of their characters, accepting challenges and delving beneath the surface of cultures. They find inspiration from other women as they discover themselves and turn old stories into daring new adventures. In this remarkable collection, women of all ages take risks, learn, and embrace the joys of the world. Lighthearted or serious, funny or sad, each story will move you—perhaps even to the road itself.
Safety and Security for Women Who Travel
"A cache of valuable advice." —The Christian Science Monitor
Personal safety is a prime concern for women on the road, and this collection of tips and wisdom gives women the tools they need to be secure, confident travelers. Authors and world travelers Sheila Swan and Peter Laufer help lay to rest fears and provide guidance for women to travel securely anywhere in the world. This book includes helpful and entertaining anecdotes from other women.
Whose Panties Are These?
Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures won thousands of fans with its outrageous tales of women’s travels. This new collection from the Mistress of Misadventure, award-winning editor Jennifer L. Leo, is loaded with more hilarious stories from women who have gone to the ends of the earth only to hear the sniggering of the cosmos. From an African village to the Great Wall of China, these stories that weren’t so funny when they happened will prove once again that travel, like laughter, is the best medicine.
- Discover the sex appeal of a big butt with Wendy Soref in Senegal
- Board “The Barf Boat” in Cape Verde with Karla Zimmerman
- Learn Lara Ephron’s secret for keeping perverts at bay on Japanese subways...
A Woman’s Europe
Winner! Gold Medal for Best Travel Book in the Society of American Travel Writers Western Chapter Awards 2005. Here's what the judges had to say.
"In a category filled with transcendent writing, this one stands out because it defies expectation. It deftly avoids the “women’s writing” trap, which produces stories more concerned with the writer’s inner life than with her ostensible subject. This collection more often employs the writer’s sensibility as a filter for conveying the soul of a place—through its castles or its war-torn sidewalks or quirks of its famous citizens, to be sure, but mostly through encounters with its construction workers, pub denizens, landladies and pilgrims. In fact, a couple of these stories border on perfection. And when the story hinges on romance, as many do, we realize before the last page that no matter how enticing the object of affection, the true affair is with this new place, with travel, with life. Refreshing, and masterfully done."
A Woman’s Asia
“Fragrances of frangipani and jasmine, reverberating gongs in golden temples…these worked their way under my skin and into a deeper consciousness. I had fallen under the spell of Asia, and I knew I would always want more.” — Marybeth Bond, from the Introduction. Women have been traveling to Asia in ever-greater numbers for the simple reason that it is the most fascinating continent on earth. From India to China, Japan to Sri Lanka, cultures, cuisines, and adventures form an intoxicating and enlightening web of experiences for women of all ages, interests, and backgrounds.
Women in the Wild
"A spiritual, moving and totally female book to take you around the world and back."
—Mademoiselle
Building on the phenomenal success of A Woman's World, Women in the Wild shares the adventures of renowned women as they foray into the wilderness—kayaking, flying, swimming, hiking, camping, and climbing their way around the globe. Notable authors include: Alice Walker, Jane Goodall, Robyn Davidson, Gretel Ehrlich, and Annie Dillard.
A Woman’s Path
Women journey on a variety of paths to understand both the geographical and the spiritual. This remarkable ensemble of women write about their spiritual awakenings, sharing the experiences that led to their spiritual growth and transformation. How difficult it can be to talk about what is spiritual. We experience moments of "connection" to a "higher power"; times of "communion" with what we sometimes call our "soul." Yet the language we use doesn't come close to capturing the depth of the experiences themselves. Almost by definition, what takes place in the spiritual realm eludes description. How difficult it can be to talk about what is spiritual. We experience moments of "connection" to a "higher power"; times of "communion" with what we sometimes call our "soul." Yet the language we use doesn't come close to capturing the depth of the experiences themselves. Almost by definition, what takes place in the spiritual realm eludes description.
A Woman’s World
Lowell Thomas Award Winner - Best Travel Book Over 70,000 copies sold! These award-winning stories inspire women to set out for adventure and make their dreams real. Notable authors include: Gretel Ehrlich, Robyn Davidson, Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Helen Thayer, and Mary Morris. By Marybeth Bond - Years ago two simple magazine articles appeared in Outside and Self magazines about my solo travels in Asia and Africa. They generated an amazing response from female readers. Although my story intrigued them, my intuition told me that what they really wanted was support and encouragement to make their own escapes. Hence this book, which now appears in this updated edition.
Sand In My Bra & Other Misadventures
Funny Women Have More Fun…
Travel isn’t always what we dream it will be, but oh…the stories we can tell later! For the 29 women in this book, packing a sense of humor was essential to the success of their trips. From Australia to Zambia, Thailand to Kuwait, the true stories in Sand in My Bra will not only have you shaking your head in disbelief, they’ll induce smiles, groans, cackles, and guffaws.
Kite Strings of the Southern Cross
Read an interview with Laurie Gough.
This is a passionate journey of love, discovery, and serendipity that radiates from a remote beach in Fiji to the far reaches of the globe. Author Laurie Gough boldly embraces the pilgrimUs road with wisdom beyond her years. Her story is heartwarming, funny, and wise...a profound testament to the lessons of the road. Related Titles: Travelers' Tales: A Mother's World, Travelers' Tales: A Woman's World, Travelers' Tales: Gutsy Women, Travelers' Tales: Gutsy Mamas, Travelers' Tales: Women in the Wild, Safety and Security for Women Who Travel, A Woman's Passion for Travel, Visit Laurie Gough's web site at www.lauriegough.com.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
Description
From the foremother of today's women travelers--a classic tale from 1878 by the first woman to explore and write about the interior of Japan. Written during a time when women did not travel alone and Japan was still mysterious to most, this is a groundbreaking book-illuminating a side of Japan little known today.The Adventure of Food
From the award-winning editor of Travelers' Tales Food, here is another collection of heart-warming, funny, and sometimes frightening true stories of eating that will make your mouth water while helping you better understand other cultures. Notable authors include: Jeffrey Steingarten, Frances Mayes, Jonathan Raban, John Krich, and Maxine Kumin.
Family Travel
Discover how travel can restore and revitalize family ties, giving us all deeper roots and stronger wings to explore the world. Notable authors include: Paul Reiser, Mary Morris, Tim Parks, Calvin Trillin, Leila Philip, and Michael Crichton.
A Mother’s World
Some of America's most intriguing women writers celebrate motherhood on the road. They discover that their children open doors, worlds, and friendships. Notable authors include: Louise Erdrich, Kathleen Dean Moore, Molly O'Neill, Gabriella de Ferrari, and Mary Catherine Bateson.
Love & Romance
This sexy book is packed with personal stories of love, lust, and romance on the road, exploring the places where passion resides. Experience the tender, funny, and sometimes scary side of love in foreign lands and discover why travel can often be the ultimate form of romance. Notable authors in this collection: Mark Salzman, Meredith Maran, David Yeadon, Lucy McCauley, and Pico Iyer.
Gutsy Mamas
This is an indispensable pocket guide for mothers (and grandmothers) on the road, written by Marybeth Bond, the award-winning editor of A Woman's World and A Mother's World. Whether you have infants, toddlers, or teens, you'll be inspired to pack your bags and explore, from weekend trips to overseas odysseys. Related Titles: Travelers' Tales: Gutsy Women, Travelers' Tales: A Woman's World, Safety and Security for Women Who Travel, A Woman's Passion for Travel.