Book Details

Edited by professional adventurer and National Book Award–winner William T. Vollmann, this collection delivers an eclectic batch of the year’s most exhilarating travel writing from Bryan Curtis, Lynn Freed, J. Malcolm Garcia, Peter Gwin, Pico Iyer, Mark Jenkins, Dimiter Kenarov, Robin Kirk, Kimberly Meyer, Paul Theroux, and more.

 

Contents

Foreword by Jason Wilson

Introduction by William T. Vollmann

 

MONTE REEL. How to Explore Like a Real Victorian Adventurer
from The Believer

PETER GWIN. The Telltale Scribes of Timbuktu
from National Geographic

HENRY SHUKMAN. Chernobyl, My Primeval, Teeming, Irradiated Eden
from Outside

ELLIOTT D. WOODS. Garbage City
from VQR

THOMAS SWICK. My Days with the Anti-Mafia
from The Missouri Review

ROBIN KIRK. City of Walls
from The American Scholar

J. MALCOLM GARCIA. Now Ye Know Who the Bosses Are Here Now
from McSweeney’s

PAUL THEROUX. The Wicked Coast
from The Atlantic

MICHAEL GORRA. Letter from Paris
from The Hudson Review

KENAN TREBINCEVIC. The Reckoning
from The New York Times Magazine

BRYAN CURTIS. The Tijuana Sports Hall of Fame
from Grantland

KIMBERLY MEYER. Holy City of the Wichitas
from Ecotone

DIMITER KENAROV. Memento Mori
from The Believer

PICO IYER. Maximum India
from Condé Nast Traveler

LYNN FREED. Keeping Watch
from Harper’s Magazine

LUKE DITTRICH. Walking the Border
from Esquire

MARK JENKINS. Amundsen Schlepped Here
from Outside

MARK JENKINS. Conquering an Infinite Cave
from National Geographic

AARON DACYTL. Railroad Semantics
from Railroad Semantics

 

Contributors’ Notes

Notable Travel Writing of 2011

A-B
Alexander, Caroline The Man Who Took the Prize National Geographic, September.
Bautman, Elif The View from the Stands The New Yorker, March 7
Brown, J.S. The Codeine of Jordan Bellevue Literary Review, Fall.
C-D
Denison, Dave Your Total Strike Feeling The Atlantic, November
Dyer, Geoff Poles Apart The New Yorker, April 18
E-F
Edwards, Haley Sweetland Our Own Apocalypse Now WorldHum, March 7.
Farley, David Bad “Carma.” WorldHum, August 11
Finkel, Michael Here Be Monsters GQ, May.
Franzen, Jonathan Farther Away The New Yorker, April 18
G-H
Gessen, Keith Nowheresville The New Yorker, April 18
Gillis, Clare Morgana What I Lost in Libya The Atlantic, December
Gorokhova, Elena From Russia with Lies New York Times Magazine, October 23
Grossman, Elizabeth Trading Places Earth Island Journal
Gwynne, S.C. The Lost River of Divine Reincarnation Outside, August.
Hansen, Eric The Killing Fields Outside, August
Henion, Leigh Ann In the Glow of Night Washington Post Magazine, September 18.
I-J
Iyer, Pico From Eden to Eton Harper’s Magazine, November
K-L
Knafo, Saki Operation Iraqi Vacation GQ, April.
M-N
McCarthy, Andrew The Art of the Deal National Geographic Traveler, January/February.
McLane, Daisann Can Japan Recover? Slate, August 30.
O-P
Osborne, Lawrence A Pilgrimage of Sin Harper’s Magazine, March.
Osnos, Evan The Grand Tour The New Yorker, April 18.
Perrottet, Tony The Secret City Slate, December 5.
Q-R
S-T
Saltzstein, Dan Greek Paradise, Lost WorldHum, September 21.
Scott, Amy Lee BabyLand Southern Review, Spring.
Shea, Neil Under Paris National Geographic, February.
Shteyngart, Gary The New Russia Travel + Leisure, October.
Smith, Jesse Let’s Put On an Air Disaster Drill! Smart Set, June 21.
Stevenson, Seth Why Would Anyone Go to Burning Man? Slate, September 18.
Sullivan, John Jeremiah The Last Wailer GQ, January.
Symmes, Patrick Sand Storm Outside, May.
Tabor, Damon Like Butterflies in the Jungle Harper’s Magazine, February.
Trebay, Guy The Global Nomad Travel + Leisure, October
U-V
W-X
Winchester, Simon How Fast Can China Go? Vanity Fair, October
Y-Z