An experienced traveler and the author of five books, including How Proust
Can Change Your Life, De Botton here offers nine essays concerning the art
of travel. Divided into five sections "Departure," "Motives," "Landscape,"
"Art," and "Return" the essays start with one of the author's travel
experiences, meander through artists or writers related to it, and then
intertwine the two. De Botton's style is very thoughtful and dense;
he considers events of the moment and relates them to his internal dialog,
showing how experiences from the past affect the present. In "On Curiosity,"
for example, which describes a weekend in Madrid, De Botton compares his
reliance on a very detailed guidebook to the numerous systematic measurements
Alexander von Humboldt made during his 1799 travels in South America.
De Botton compares Humboldt's insatiable desire for detail with his own ennui
and wish that he were home. There are also details about a fight over dessert,
the van Gogh trail in Provence, and Wordsworth's vision of nature. Although
well written and interesting, this volume will have limited popular appeal.
Recommended for larger public libraries.

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