The Best American Travel Writing 2002

by Jason Wilson, Frances Mayes

Release Date: 15 October, 2002

Edition: Hardcover

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Worth it

Although I didn't like most of the stories in this anthology, there were a few that I really, really, really loved. And they made it worth the price of the book, over and over.
The introduction by Frances Mayes is a gem and really sets the tone. Especially if you were wondering why a report on 9-11 would qualify for "travel writing". (After you read that introduction, you'll -unbelievably - have to agree that it does).

The story "40 years in Acapulco" is worth the price of the book by itself. I came away feeling almost guilty like a voyeur, as if I had just gotten a sneak peek into somebody elses life. I was literally transported.

The 2000 version is much more upbeat than this one. But then, I suppose we were living in a much more upbeat "travel" world then.

Travel the world without leaving your living room

If you like short stories and travelogues you'll love this book. These are the best of the best. And like some reviewers have already mentioned, there are a wide variety of experiences and information in this collection of essays. I found myself laughing in Devin Friedman's "Forty Years in Acapulco" and Lawwrence Millman's "In the Land of the White Rajahs" and learning new information from Molly O'Neill's "Home For Dinner." I admit, however, that I did enjoy soem of the essays much better than others, but they are all very well-written and image provoking. It's as if I traveled the world without leaving my room.