12,000 Miles in the Nick of Time: A Family Tale

I liked the idea of this book -- take your kids around the world and reconnect as a family, while opening everyone's eyes to the world around them. I liked the book, but not for the reasons I expected to. The Jacobson parents decide to take the three kids on a round-the-world trip for three months when the kids are in their teens. The kids resist, but end up going. The family does seem stronger after the trip. The trip consisted of places the parents had visited in the past, when they were earnest counterculture humanities students. Lots of third world, poverty-stricken, overpopulated cities. I can't say how much the kids got out of places like that, but it certainly made them stick close together for safety. And they were really glad to get back home. The best parts of 12,000 Miles were the chapters written by the daughter, Rae. Even though she was going through some rough times as a teenager in New York, she still seemed more together than her father. And I'll bet twenty years from now, she doesn't drag her kids through filth-infested streets trying to save them from the horrors of television.

i really enjoyed this book, mark jacobson is down to earth and funny. reading about his experiences with his children felt very open and honest, i really felt the intensity of emotions when he described how his relationship changed with his older daughter. i have two daughters and i can see how bittersweet their growing up has been and will continue to be. this was a funny account of his trip and also an emotional ride about being a parent, i loved this book.

Jacobson is a comedic genius with serious intent. Give this to a friend with "problem" kids...after you've read it. It is a hillarious travelogue thesis on parenting with social commentary. It documents the "advance" of civilization into the 4th world. To examine its pages is to examine cultural values through a myraid of "fun-house mirrors" all relating to how a family finds truth in their internal and private communications. Only in honest writing can these subjects be broached and Jacobson gives us rare insights on "How love, time and concern will make a family work".Is there any subject that is more important?

I can't agree more with the writer above. I read this in one go. Then my wife took in from me and wouldn't leave the house until she finished it. Sure, its a great travel book, really funny, but its also a fabulous book about parenting -- for those who are, and for those who want to become parents. Jacobson's observations about New York are terrific too (esp. about the schools) and it seems that he's passed on his writer genes to his daughter very well.

My wife stole the book from me before I was 20 pages into the text, so this is an osmosis review based on her unusual reactions to this chronicle. Susan, a world traveler in her own right, is enslaved to this book in a way not seen before. She says, "Jacobson is brilliant in the way he writes smoothly in the same patterns as we think. He immerses his family in a deep sea of third world realities and records everyone's responses as they experience education most rare. The pages are packed with colorful and rich insight." This book has become a major conversation piece and I can't wait to read more.