Marco Polo Didn't Go There

September 15, 2008
This could be the first travel book ever to open with a discussion of the word postmodern, which Potts uses to mean placelessness, or dislocation as a result of travel. Many of these stories first appeared online, too, while Potts was in the midst of a two-year vagabonding journey across Asia and Europe. In fact, this could be the essenceof postmodern travel writing: stories written in the field, filed electronically, and instantly available to readers anywhere. But even if youre coming to these stories for the first time in the comfort of your own living room, you get a very vivid sense of what Potts experienced in such locales as Thailand (where he tried to infiltrate a Leonardo DiCaprio movie set), Vietnam, Turkey, and Cambodia. Potts is an enthusiastic traveler, eager to try new things and meet new people, and hes an energetic writer, making sure he describes not onlythe sights of the places he visits but also the sounds, the smells, and the tastes. Armchair travelers will get an enormous kick out of this thoroughly entertaining book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)