There's No Toilet Paper . . . on the Road Less Traveled: The Best of Travel Humor and Misadventure (Travelers' Tales) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1932361278 ISBN 13: 9781932361278

Publisher: Travelers' Tales, 2005

Synopsis

The perfect trip, where nothing goes wrong, is surely not the memorable trip, which is where everything goes wrong and one lives to tell the tale — and laugh about it. This collection captures the wackiest and most bizarre experiences of well-known writers whose travels have taken a detour. Stories include Nigel Barley escorting a monkey to the movies in Cameroon, Dave Barry vainly trying to learn more Japanese than how to order a beer, Alan Zweible high-tailing it to a nudist camp, Donna Marazzo bravely attempting to use a high-tech Italian toilet, and Richard Sterling feasting on deep-fried potato bugs in Burma. There are even practical tips here too; readers can surely learn from Mary Roach, who discovers that utilizing an Antarctic ice-sheet outhouse at the very moment a seal chooses to use its opening as a blowhole may not be the best way to start the day.

About this title

Review

Good travel writing is inspirational. It can inspire you to set off for unpronounceable capitals of wee, distant kingdoms, or, in the case of There's No Toilet Paper, inspire you to burn your passport and settle more securely into your comfy chair, feet up, and eyes riveted to the next more-humorous-in-the-retelling-than-it-was-in-the-experiencing story. It also makes pleasant airplane fodder on your way to your own misadventure. Doug Lansky has collected a fine trove of comic (when it's not happening to you) travel moments, as told by the best in travel humor. Dave Barry writes eloquently about failing to learn any Japanese save for how to order beer (pronounced "bee-roo") and big beer (pronounced "big bee-roo"). Mary Roach points out that utilizing an Antarctic ice-sheet outhouse at the very moment that a seal chooses to use its opening as a blowhole is an inauspicious way to start the day. And Bill Bryson stumbles disconsolately about Paris, wondering "Why does everyone hate me so much?" There are 28 stories in all, by 20 very funny writers who traverse the world and provide a great deal of amusement for those of us who aren't locked in a Dutch public bathroom without a handle or a light. --Stephanie Gold

Review

Travelers' Tales is a valuable addition to any pre-departure reading list

About this edition

• Publisher: Travelers' Tales
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1932361278
• ISBN 13: 9781932361278
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216
• Editor: Lansky Doug