The Lonely Planet Travel Anthology

The Lonely Planet Story

by Shannon Leone Fowler

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher

A collection of great travel writing by authors from around the globe, including original stories set in Scotland, Thailand, Malaysia, Moldova, Tanzania, Austria and beyond, edited by long-term Lonely Planet collaborator Don George.

The 35 impassioned stories included in this collection - of fortune tellers, tribal baboon hunters, a friendly Japanese family, and other notable characters - span a worldwide spectrum of themes, styles and settings, but all show how travel in its unexpected turns tests and teaches us, making us aware that we are resilient, that we are not alone, and that there is so much love and connection to be had if we open ourselves up. This collection affirms that if we follow the compass of the heart, we will always find our way. Whether you read the book on the road or in an armchair at home, these tales are sure to entertain, amuse and inform you, and resonate long after the book is finished.

'As you travel through these pages, may your mind be widened, your spirit enlivened, and your own path illuminated by these worldly word-journeys.' ---Don George

With sparkling contributions from some of the most acclaimed names in contemporary fiction and travel writing plus some new voices from around the world, including:

Ann Patchett, Francine Prose, TC Boyle, Karen Joy Fowler, Pico Iyer, Torre DeRoche, Blane Bachelor, Rebecca Dinerstein, Jan Morris, Elizabeth George, Jane Hamilton, Alexander McCall Smith, Keija Parssinen, Mridu Khullar Relph, Yulia Denisyuk, Emily Koch, Carissa Kasper, Jessica Silber, Candace Rose Rardon, Marilyn Abildskov, Shannon Leone Fowler, Robin Cherry, Robert Twigger, Porochista Khakpour, Natalie Baszile, Suzy Joinson, Anthony Sattin, LH McMillin, Bridget Crocker, Maggie Downs, Bishwanath Ghosh, Jeff Greenwald, James Dorsey and Tahir Shah.

About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, gift and lifestyle books and stationery, as well as an award-winning website, magazines, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in.

TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category

'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times

'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2016

About the author

Shannon Leone Fowler is a writer, marine biologist, and single mother of three young children. Since her doctorate on Australian sea lions, she’s taught marine ecology in the Bahamas and Galápagos, led a university course on killer whales in the San Juan Islands, spent seasons as the marine mammal biologist on board ships in both the Arctic and Antarctic, taught graduate students field techniques while studying Weddell seals on the Ross Ice Shelf, and worked as a science writer at National Public Radio in Washington DC. Originally from California, she currently lives in London. Traveling with Ghosts is her first book.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 10th literary anthology from Lonely Planet, although I must admit that I have not read any previous volumes. I enjoy travel writing and this collection includes a number of different essayists, novelists, journalists and travel writers; all writing about one of their own travel experiences. There are 34 stories in this collection which includes various places and times,

This collection really does include some wonderful writers – including Ann Patchett, TC Boyle and Alexander McCall Smith among others – and the writing will take you around the world. In essence though, these are more ‘tasters’ than pieces of writing you can really get involved with. However, this is a lovely collection to dip into and it will, hopefully, introduce you to authors whose writing you may want to investigate more deeply.

Considering recent events, one of the most moving pieces is “I Would Go,” by Anthony Sattin, about a visit he made to Syria. I also loved, “This Blessed Plot, This Earth, This Realm,” by crime writer Elizabeth George about a visit she made to my own city, London, in the Swinging Sixties. A very enjoyable collection with a good range of places and different time periods covered.

[Sharron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just two essays made the grade in my estimation - Ann Patchett's, which was great, and Pico Iyer's, which was pretty darn good. Overall, however, this collection was disappointing. All the more so as it included several authors whose work I really enjoy.

[Paul Reynolds · Rating 1 out of 5]

34 pieces of writing. I liked Anthony Sattin’s and 2 of the 4 pages of Keija Parssinen’s. And...that’s it.

Almost everything else I found to be self-absorbed, delusional waffle. They all seemed fascinated by their own processes and inspirations about writing, spinning them off into universal axioms that all crashed on take-off. They had to pivot so hard from ‘I did this thing’ to ‘here’s a big lesson I learned that the world needs to know’, they must have all ended up serial chiropractic patients.

Half of them wrote like they were doing the publishers a favour by submitting anything, ‘I looked at my copy of Lonely Planet’ was a key phrase many obligingly included in this...Lonely Planet anthology.

Bleurgh.

[Pav Marek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farther you read, more intense it gets - not in the case of the authors getting in any life-endangering situation (although you find that in the book, too) but in the sense of getting "the bigger picture" or "understanding". I actually took a break reading this book somewhere midway through it but am SO glad I picked it up again, reading the second half in one breath. It's not that the stories in the first half wouldn't be good or not so well said, it might be just that the second half just resonated with me a bit better, being a bit "heavier". If you know what I mean...

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I found several of the pieces unsatisfying, in the sense that they felt put together in a rush, for a fast approaching deadline, without the benefit of deeper work to refine the writing. In my copy, Robert Twigger's piece ends in the middle of a sentence due to a formatting problem, and I had to Google him in order to read the ending. (I was disappointed by this, too, in case you are wondering. It fell flat.)
There are a few notable exceptions to this feeling, however: I enjoyed Alexander McCall Smith's piece immensely, especially the very end: "Only love and forgiveness are capable of healing us; distrust, revenge, and confrontation are no solution. The learning of these things, I suppose, is a lifelong process – or at least the reminding oneself of them is. That in itself is a journey."
I also liked Mridu Khullar Relph's piece, which was profound in a no-nonsense kind of way: "Life was going to fuck us all in the ways that life always does. But maybe we could see the beauty, be beautiful in the spaces in between." How great is that?
I enjoyed Carissa Casper's piece "Flight Path" as much for the writing (it was one of the better written ones in the anthology) as for the contents. Her setting descriptions are so vivid, I felt myself there with her.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story for every type of traveler.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love travelling and when circumstances stop me from doing what I love, I turn to the next best alternative, which is to read other people’s stories. Travel writing is a genre so unpredictable and exciting due to the very nature that everybody’s perspective is different even if the paths travelled may be similar. Overall, Lonely Planet Travel Anthology is a good bedtime read. The stories are short and distinct from one another, making every night a new adventure for me. However, certain essays lacked a sense of deeper connection and meaning, whereas some others were a little too exaggerated. My favourites were those from lesser known authors. Ultimately, reading is much like travelling, have the courage to start and be prepared to get lost in it.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story “Tracks in the sand” by Robert Twigger was not complete on my edition but it can be found complete in the Lonely Planet web site ;)

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these kind of stories, always so intriguing to read other people's travel experiences. Its almost like a travel guide for the whole world.

[A-Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical anthology with couple of hits and misses

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided I didn’t need to read about everyone’s life changing travel. What I did read was interesting.

[Mishka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book written by travelers, for travelers, or for those who want to see the world. Each story was beautifully composed in such a way that I felt like I was with the writer on their trip. The beauty about travel is that it always shows us how our world is bigger than what we know.

This is a fun and light read for the wanderers and dreamers. Get lost in a collection of tales that will make you want to book your next adventure.