Without a Guide: Contemporary Women's Travel Adventures

It's no coincidence that the women who wrote these selections do not belong to the travel writing genre per se. The essays are honest and are a picture of realistic travel. It's not the typical travel stuff that sells--not the waving palm trees and lush tropical islands--it's the nit and grit. What a relief. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me until I read this book. My travels just did not fit in with the Shangri-la, all-enlightening journeys that mainstream travel authors write about to appeal to an American audience. This is a great book, though I admit, it won't necessarily conjour up pictures of paradises that don't exist.