Doug Mack's Blog

More than three years ago, I began working on a book about the U.S. territories. I traveled more than 31,000 miles to visit these far-flung islands, flying on ocean-crossing jets and shoebox-size planes, riding on ferries and in the back of pickup trucks, and slooowly easing rental cars along potholed mountain roads. I spent even more time writing and rewriting and rerewriting and paging though books and scrolling through microfiche and tracking down old newspapers.

Today, the book is officia...

The morning of November 8—election day—my wife and I and our one-year-old daughter eagerly wore our Hillary for President shirts. The H-with-an-arrow logo seemed to embody our daughter’s nimble, energetic, hopeful spirit. We even had a t-shirt for her teddy bear, and as she hugged it, she flashed a gap-toothed, triumphal smile.
I thought about the letter to my daughter that I’d recently begun. I was going to finish up that night, when Hillary Rodham Clinton was elected our first female preside...

So I have a new book coming out on February 14th. It's called The Not-Quite States of America and it's all about the U.S. territories and Booklist says, "One will never think about the United States in quite the same way after this enjoyable read" and you can preorder it from your local bookseller or via Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, direct from W.W. Norton, or from that giant website named for a river ... and there's lots more info right over here.

But let's go back to the February 14t...

This evening in Rio de Janeiro, thousands of athletes will march into Maracanã Stadium, representing 207 teams—which is not to say 207 countries acknowledged as such by the United Nations.

There will also be, among others, a refugee team and the “Independent Olympic Participants” and the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory. And if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice a few delegations from “countries” you may have thought were part of the United States—the American territories of P...

My new book has a cover and a description and a publication date: February 14, 2017.*

Preorder now via the W.W. Norton website or your local bookstore or retailer of choice! Ask for it by name: The Not-Quite States of America: Dispatches From the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA

And here's a description:

An entertaining and eye-opening journey to the most overlooked parts of America.

Everyone knows that the USA is made up of fifty states and, uh, . . . some other stuff. Th...

I woke up on Sunday and heard the news and held my baby daughter close as I wept and apologized for this world, this world, this messed-up world. Forty-nine people killed by a hate-filled man armed with a military-grade weapon "designed for slaughter in war zones."

Throughout the day, politicians tweeted out their "thoughts and prayers for the victims," and we had yet more national flash-debates about terrorism and religious extremism and gun control. There's been plenty said about all of that...

Hello there, Travel People. Welcome to the MallOfAmericaville, also known as the Twin Cities.
You may be wondering: If I leave the Mall, will I have to get around via sled dog? Do all the local restaurants serve Jell-O or just most of them? How do I get to Prince's house (#RIP #PurpleRain #WaitHeLivedHereNotIndianapolisRight)? 
Well. I’m Doug. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I have answers and guidance for you. 
I trust that the following goes without saying ... but I still nee...

Paris. 
My heart breaks.
What do you say? I chose to say this, directly to the people of France.  
(If you want to know why I’m writing this, scroll to the English section at the end. But the why isn’t really the point.)
* * *
Paris. France. Mes amis.
Je pleure et debout en solidarité avec vous que je vous écris cette 6.765 kilomètres de distance, à Minneapolis.
Votre courage et votre résilience étonner constamment moi-votre belle nation forte a résisté face à la violence tant de fois.
Com...

As I've worked on my book about the US territories (still in progress, thanks for asking), I've been thinking about the role of the territories in two separate versions of American history: the collective-memory mythology and the actual, factual master narrative.

In the process, I've also been pondering what, exactly, the mythology version looks like. Here's where my mind is right now: I think that the USA largely sees itself as living out its own rags-to-riches tale. Or, to put it another way...

Most travel experts recommend packing light, but some people cannot or will not follow this advice.

In the annals of extreme over-packers, you have two categories: Dandies and Badasses. Those who are perpetually ready to host the Queen and her entourage in their hotel rooms, and those who are, with no delusion, preparing to fight polar bears.

In the Dandy category is Temple Fielding, a prominent travel guidebook writer in the 1950s and 1960s (the man made the cover of Time, such was his fame)....