I liked some of the stories, but felt they were more bogged down with emotion than about quirky travel gaffes or interesting encounters. A couple made me cry, which is a good sign that the story connected, but not the global romp one might hope to get.

I picked this up from the new non-fiction shelf at my library-- fully expecting to read a few tales but not ALL of them while I waited for books on hold to arrive. Instead, I read them all. True, some are better than others but I made note of at least six authors I'd like to learn more about and I admired the bravery of many more. This was a vicarious trip around the world.

I just. No. You guys! You made it sound so good. And then it wasn't. At all. There are only a handful of good or decent stories. The others are anecdotes that either lack structure or make too much of nothing or self-aggrandize the author. I am so disappointed.

Like any book of short stories some were stronger than others, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

This is the perfect book to read over an extended period of time. Read a few chapters - or just 1 - put it down and come back to it whenever! Authors whose fiction I've never experienced as well as authors I'm familiar with writing about their travel experiences . . . what could be better?!?!

...learning is just a gradual revelation of how deep one's ignorance really is. To give up to not knowing, to be uncertain of the name of things: that space is the place where possibility lives....from Kind of Blue by Sophie Cunningham p24The concept is great and the collection lives up to its name. With so many short pieces, not one was a dud; not one failed to arouse my interest. I especially appreciated the short bios that accompanied each piece. I treated myself to one adventure a day, attem...

Reading travel literature is one of my favourite things to do. Unfortunately, some authors seem to believe that the subject matter, I.e the location, makes up for poor writing skills. Imagine how pleased I was to find this book of true travel stories written by really good authors. I loved it and can't recommend it highly enough and it illustrates that the quality of writing is more important than a destination. Good writers can bring any subject to life.

The writing was good, the stories...some good, some not. Overall, not a book I would recommend buying. Borrow it from the library.

What a great collection.Travel stories by great writers. What more could you ask for? I live vicariously through travel essays and I love them. It is fascinating for me to learn about another culture, even if it is second-hand, plus I love reading about how that experience changes the writer. Most of the time, I'm jealous of the person's experience and opportunities, but there are some stories in here that make me think, "Have you lost your frickin' mind?!" [Sudan: The Scarface Express by Joe Yo...

The traveler’s tales genre is alive and well. This book has a little of everything—Antarctica, revolutions, disappearing resorts, death, that one preachy author, train escapes, mangoes. My favorite story was the guy who picked up a live shark off the beach in England to put it back in the sea—twice! He missed the first time! I read that one aloud and my whole family enjoyed it.

This book is a Lonely Planet collection of short stories - all travel related, and all by authors recognised as fiction writers. There are thirty two stories, some of the authors are well known to me, others I have never heard of. The authors are from varied places, but largely - UK, USA, Australia & NZ.The stories are set in varied places, and are varied in their complexity and intensity - some are more about emotion and situation, others are about the adventure, the travel and the experience.O...

It wasn’t. Better than fiction, that is.😉I was disappointed in this collection of travel stories. There were a few I really liked (especially Bryce Courtenay’s “Getting Travel Dirt Under Your Fingernails” as well as Cunningham’s “Kind of Blue,” Finch’s “A Small World After All,” and Kelman’s “Before the Monsoon”), but overall, there just wasn’t enough depth to each story for me. There was also a bit too much of the Westerner using locals as props for a story, which bothered me a lot (“Chasing Mi...

Very inconsistent but has a few gems. Many are not stories so much as anecdotes. My favorites were Joyce Carol Oates, DBC Pierre, and Frances Mayes.

A great selection of all sorts of non fiction travel stories from fiction writers. Many of these will put you right on the streets of Mumbai, an Antarctic base or some other exotic place.

Out of 32 stories, I really liked only 9. The rest were pretty good, not bad, just not that memorable nor good enough to make me want to buy this book.The ones I really liked were: Going South by Kurt AndersonKind of Blue by Sophie CunninghamHuaxi Watermill by Arnold ZableQuetzal by Frances MayesYou, Me and the Sea by Steven Hall A Tango with Freud by Alexander McCall SmithThe Thieves of Rome by M. J. Hyland An Alpine Escape by Aliya WhitleyWho Wants a Girl? by Isabel Allende

There were a few thoughtful and compelling stories, but most of it was shallow and full of humble-bragging. (I'm reminded again of how often traveling/the ability to travel is a status symbol.) I really liked the story about the sad guy saving a beached shark in the rain.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Maybe all the more so as I picked it up as a free book at a popular coffee shop! Inspiring and well written.

Bit of a mixed bag as you might expect, I particularly liked 12 of the 32 including Allende, Gemmell, Iyer, Dapin, Hyland, Jones & Lewycka ... and Jan Morris was the stand out for me.

In his introduction to Better Than Fiction True Travel Tales From Great Fiction Writers, Don George says that despite owning a collection of guidebooks, two novels on Greece, “..proved to be the best guides of all, immersive, enlightening introductions to the landscape, people, and culture I was discovering….As I have learned over and over in my wanderings, some of the best travel writing is fictional.” He certainly will get no argument here.The book, Better than Fiction, a collection of 30+ tra...

An interesting collection of non-fiction travel stories by mostly fiction authors. I did not enjoy this collection as much as A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Adventures Around the World but still enjoyed it. What's great about these collections is that they are like a sampler platter of interesting writers and people and often I make note of names/books to read in the future. Particularly liked "Confessions of a Coconut-Soup Eater", "Arriving in Luxembourg" and "You, Me and the Sea".