The Best American Travel Writing 2019

October 1, 2019

In the 20th anniversary volume of this series, guest editor Fuller (Travel Light, Move Fast) has chosen a wide range of appealing selections from publications and online sites such as The New Yorker, Buzzfeed, Outside, and Smithsonian. Some authors, including Stephen Benz, tackle grim subjects such as Guantánamo; Devon O'Neil visits the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma. Unusual choices for travel destinations include Chernobyl, Myanmar, and Egypt during a time of civil unrest. These are balanced by a trip to Nashville to discover why that city has become a bachelorette party magnet, while series editor Wilson (The Cider Revival) takes readers on a tour of some international Trump properties, namely sites in Vancouver and Scotland. Articles that deal with climate change and vanishing species, such as the Tasmanian tiger, the Sumatran orangutan, and the reindeer herds of Siberia, demonstrate the reimagining of travel writing as more than a description of a destination. Rahawa Haile's "I Walked from Selma to Montgomery" is a stunning article about how walking can be used as a political action. VERDICT No matter what their mood or interest, readers can find much to move and delight them in this entertaining collection.--Susan Belsky, Oshkosh P.L., WI

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2019
It's pretty easy to find online travel information, and there are a number of books that offer tips for travelers. Armchair travelers, however, and readers hoping for nuanced stories about exotic destinations, look forward to this annual travel-writing compilation, and its twentieth-anniversary edition does not disappoint. After starting with three selections set in global hot spots (Guantanamo, Kashmir, and Myanmar), there are articles about the only remaining finishing school in Switzerland and bachelorette parties in Nashville. The stories swing emotionally back and forth, some wry, some heartbreaking. Selections originally appeared in publications ranging from The New Yorker to BuzzFeed to Airbnb Magazine, and writing styles run from casual accounts to poignant memoirs to in-depth reporting. There are bittersweet tales about trying to go back home juxtaposed against harrowing descriptions of navigating authoritarian regimes. Unique individuals, happenstance encounters, barely avoided catastrophes, and unexpected acts of kindness abound, resulting in one satisfying read after another. Whether consumed cover to cover or savored piece by piece, this newest collection is a worthy addition to travel literature.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)