This Book Is About Travel

I initially funded this book on Kickstarter because I wanted the *concept* to succeed.

When the book arrived in the mail a few days ago, I could not have been prepared to find the result so enjoyable!

Andrew Hyde's writing captures the experience of contemporary travel like non-other. The stories elicit emotions of laughter, anger, sorrow, and love. The author plucks anecdotes from countries that leave your mind racing. The advice is pragmatic, honest, and self-aware. Most of the stories hinge on Andrew's openness to new experiences with a try-and-see attitude, but not everything is so happy-go-lucky. There is non-voluntary fasting! There are death threats! There is wrestling!

The book presents stark contrasts between "always-on, always-connected" experiences (the author publishes on article in Los Angeles that appears on the front page of Nepal News the next day) with moments of social isolation (the author travels without wallet or phone through central Texas and the Great Barrier Reef alike). He wakes up in cities where the skyline changes by the hour and goes to sleep in shacks with a view of mountains that have not changed in eons. All along the way, the fascinating people he meets are catalogued, the experiences are distilled, and the reader is left in awe of the human condition.

Love the part about "Marks, Sues". The author does a great job sharing his own travel tips and insights.

Sometimes hilarious, sometimes philosophical, but most importantly -- this book will inspire you to pack a backpack and scratch your own travel itch (and be who you are)!

This is the kind of book that makes you want to drop what you're doing and walk out the door and experience the world around you. It could be in your own neighborhood, somewhere a few hours away by car, by plane or half-way around the world. In fact, this book inspired me to go to one of the places IN the book - the Dude Ranch in Colorado!

I'm an avid traveler but it doesn't matter if you've seen the world or don't own a passport. This book lets you experience new places, cultures, food and people as-if for the first time.

I highly recommend this book, the narrative is addicting, honest and refreshing. I hope the author keeps writing and sharing his experiences from his nomadic/minimalist lifestyle!