The Art of Travel (Tpb) - Softcover
From the author of the Number One bestseller, THE CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY, this is an inspirational and witty guide to how to make our travels go better. Calling upon such guides as Hopper, Flaubert and Ruskin, de Botton accompanies us on an eye-opening and entertaining tour of the philosophical questions behind our desire to travel - and the capricious nature of our thoughts and emotions when we do.
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Review:
The urge to be somewhere else is one of the abiding traits of human nature; in The Art of Travel author Alain de Botton (The Consolations of Philosophy, How Proust Can Change Your Life) sets out to discover why in his own inimitably witty and discursive way.
Review:
Of course, the proximate reasons we travel are many and various: as de Botton explains. Using the travel experiences of great writers and artists, like Van Gogh, Ruskin, Huysmans and Wordsworth (in Provence, Venice, Belgium and the Lake District respectively), de Botton shows that men will travel to see beautiful buildings, or climb beautiful mountains, or make love to beautiful (and comparatively amoral) women. But, using the same artists, de Botton also shows that there is an underlying theme to all travel: the urge for difference, for the rhapsody of change. That this is an urge more often disappointed than gratified only makes the condition more poignant. One of de Botton's best chapters, on Flaubert, amplifies this tragicomic point: the French novelist spent enervating years in genteel Normandy longing for the sensual splendours of Egypt, then, when he finally reached the pyramids, he promptly lapsed into maudlin nostalgia for rainy, bourgeois Rouen.
If there are flaws in this, de Botton's latest and perhaps most readable book, they are the usual suspects: just occasionally the author comes across as a bit long-winded and self-regarding. However, this is such a pleasant and effortless read even these flaws can be taken as endearing characteristics--like the lizards who kip in the bath in your otherwise idyllic holiday villa.--Sean Thomas
'Lucid, fluid, uplifting' Sunday Times
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- PublisherHamish Hamilton
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 0241140129
- ISBN 13 9780241140123
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages272
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The Art of Travel
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ISBN 13: 9780241140123
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The Art of Travel (Tpb)
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ISBN 13: 9780241140123
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The Art of Travel This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780241140123
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The Art of Travel (Tpb)
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ISBN 13: 9780241140123
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR004278589
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780241140123
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Book Description Softcover. Condition: Bon. Ancien livre de bibliothèque. Légères traces d'usure sur la couverture. Ammareal reverse jusqu'à 15% du prix net de cet article à des organisations caritatives. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Book Condition: Used, Good. Former library book. Slight signs of wear on the cover. Ammareal gives back up to 15% of this item's net price to charity organizations. Seller Inventory # E-190-321
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. "Few activities seem to promise us as much happiness as going travelling: taking off for somewhere else, somewhere far from home, a place with more interesting weather, customs and landscapes. But although we are inundated with advice on where to travel to, we seldom ask why we go and how we might become more fulfilled by doing so. With the help of a selection of writers, artists and thinkers - including Flaubert, Edward Hopper, Wordsworth and Van Gogh - Alain de Botton's bestselling The Art of Travel provides invaluable insights into everything from holiday romance to hotel mini-bars, airports to sight-seeing. The antidote to those guides that tell us what to do when we get there, it tries to explain why we really went in the first place - and helpfully suggests how we might be happier on our journeys." 400gms weight; B&W Illustrations; 12mo 7" - 7½" tall; 262 pages. Seller Inventory # 36909
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