Book Review: Travel as a Political Act
Steves, Rick. Travel as a political act. Nation Books, 2009.
Best selling travel writer and PBS host Rick Steves inspires readers to travel more purposely. In Travel as a Political Act, Steves encourages international travelers to remain open to new experiences and to seek options to get out of their comfort zone by becoming a temporary “local.”
Steves says that the best vacations are both fun and intensely educational. The goal is to relax and have fun, while learning and broadening one’s perspectives. Thoughtful travel comes with powerful lessons and an American traveler can learn about US society by observing with an open mind and by connecting with people that one would never meet at home.
This book is an easy read with only 200 heavily illustrated pages. Steves lays out his framework for travel and then takes the reader to seven different locations inclusing Iran, El Salvador and Denmark. The last chapter describes how travel has changed his political views and encourages the reader to put a global perspective into action at home.
© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.
Tags: Globalization, Travel
November 30th, 2009 at 7:21 am
I agree. Travel and exploring places can educate a person in ways that learning within the confines of school can’t.
December 18th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
it’s good to try to fit in whenever traveling, but don’t try to be TOO local, it will only make you look dumb and you could potentially offend someone.