How to Travel the World for Free

Starred review from October 15, 2013

Wigge, a journalist and anchor for the German television program London Calling, has produced a hilarious and touching account of his 25,000-mile trip in 150 days, starting in Berlin and ending in Antarctica, without bringing along any money. He first agreed to work on a cargo ship from Argentina to his destination and then set out from Berlin to meet the ship by bartering, bargaining, hitchhiking, and depending on the kindness of strangers. Wigge learned how to eat by dumpster diving and convincing restaurant owners to fund his travel project with handouts. He found places to sleep on the computer site couchsurfing.com and earned money by working various jobs, including as a porter on the Machu Picchu trail and as a farm helper in Amish country in Ohio. He became a butler for hire and offered $1 pillow fights, as well as pushes up the hills, in San Francisco. He became a "human sofa" for tired sightseers at Fisherman's Wharf. He charged $1 to put sunscreen on beach bathers in California, often getting paid to leave bathers alone and go away. VERDICT Wigge is extremely inventive, innovative, and entertaining on his quest, and the book illustrates people's generosity toward crazy-sounding human endeavors, adding a new perspective to travel and its literature.--Melinda Stivers Leach, Wondervu, CO

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