Since time immemorial, man has sought to explore new lands, to get to where man’s foot has not yet set foot, to discover uncharted lands. Since then, a lot of water has flowed, and now in the modern world, probably, there are no more places left unexplored by man.
However, the thirst for travel because of this did not become less. After all, this is not only a way to know the world, see the diversity of nature, get acquainted with other cultures. During the journey, we delve deeper into ourselves, begin to become aware of our personality and understand our soul, and learn to listen to our heart. While traveling, we simultaneously join the vast external world, get a sense of belonging to it and plunge into our inner world, find harmony.
Traveling through the pages of books
Many of the travelers, having visited interesting places, then write the most exciting, most interesting books about travel, about their adventures, about what they saw in distant lands, about how the new environment and people they met on the road influenced them. Reading such books, together with their authors and their heroes, you can travel to an uninhabited island or find yourself in a crowded bustling metropolis; plunging into the story of the work with your head, you can feel the breath of the sea salty breeze or hear the clatter of the wheels of an approaching train, which is ready to take you to where you have not had time to visit.
What books about traveling around the world will definitely not leave you indifferent? Which of them will be the most fascinating, believable and useful? Here are ten interesting travel books. According to readers, they are the best of all the works ever written on this topic.
"On the way"
One of the first in the ranking of interesting travel books is often the novel of the twentieth century American writer Jack Kerouac, "On the Road." This book was written by him back in 1951, but in Russia its separate publication appeared only by 1995 (before that, in 1960 it was published in three different parts).
This novel tells the story of the journey of two friends Sala Paradise and Dean Moriarty to the United States of America and Mexico, which they made between 1947 and 1950. It is worth noting that the author himself and his friend are hiding under fictitious names, and all the events described in the work are based on real events. Heroes visit New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hidalgo, Mexico City and other cities, and each of which takes place some important event. On the road, good and bad things happen to them, they meet friends and ill-wishers, find love and lose, quarrel, make peace ... Each of them finds his own way, his own way. And we are already talking about the road of life.
"Eat, Pray, Love"
One of the most interesting books about traveling around the world is the novel of the American writer Elizabeth Gilbert, whose full name is: “Eat, Pray, Love: One year in the life of a woman on a trip to Italy, India and Indonesia in search of EVERYTHING.”
To be precise, this is not a novel at all, but a collection of Gilbert's memoirs, because she herself visited three such dissimilar countries and described her journey. The purpose of her trip is to find harmony, to find herself, because ordinary life has not pleased the heroine for a long time: divorce from her husband, another unhappy love, routine at work. The feeling of emptiness and moral exhaustion forced the young journalist to hit the road.
The first country Elizabeth reached was Italy. Here she eats, and not just eats, but enjoys the local cuisine, tastes new dishes. The next point of the journey to yourself is India, where the heroine prays - seeks spiritual purity and strength. The last step on the path to harmony is Bali, on the island the girl finds love.
Closer to the classics. The cycle of novels Jules Verne
Let’s distract from modern books about travels around the world and move on to classical literature, because in the past they created good works on this subject. We are talking about the adventure cycle of Jules Verne’s novels “Extraordinary Travels”, which includes more than ten works. All of them are certainly worthy of the attention of readers. If you like books about traveling around the world, we recommend that you take a closer look at Vern's work.
"Around the World in Eighty Days"
In the meantime, about one of the most successful novels from this cycle, according to most readers. Phileas Fogg, an extraordinary and charismatic Englishman, is the protagonist of the work. He argues that he will be able to circumnavigate the world in eighty days (recall, the action takes place in the nineteenth century, so the hero’s idea is just reckless). However, along with his servant Jean Passepartout, overcoming the dangers, participating in various alterations, Fogg still wins the bet. He managed to circumnavigate the globe from west to east in 79 days. A happy navigator, returning to his homeland, marries his beloved.
It is also interesting in this book that it describes in great detail how to control different modes of transport of the nineteenth century, from sledges to sails and to schooners. So, after reading a book about a trip around the world, you can take the theoretical course of the navigator. It is a pity that these skills are not useful in the modern world.
Travelers from Russia and their "One-Storied America"
There are books about traveling around the world and in Russian-language literature. One of the authors of such a work is Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov. The co-authors, together with their guides - the Adams spouses - traveled across the United States of America in the direction from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and vice versa. Travelers moved by car, their trip lasted about two months (late 1935 - early 1936).
Each of the essays is dedicated to a specific place, person, or event. American natural beauties are vividly and colorfully described in them, it is described in detail in a work about the life of ordinary Americans, and the coloring of the life of Aboriginal people is also conveyed (writers visited the village of the Indians). Also, readers from the pages of the book are introduced to the cult personalities of the States, including the writer Ernest Hemingway, actress Bette Davis, and industrialist Henry Ford. Through the eyes of Ilf and Petrov, we see cities - both megalopolises like New York, and very small towns. From the book we can even learn about how the meeting of the President of the United States of America with reporters in the White House. By the way, due to the fact that Theodore Roosevelt held this position at that time, determined to draw closer to the Soviet Union, the authors of essays moved around the country so freely.
The work made a splash, because Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov opened up a new, unfamiliar world to the Soviet reader - America from the inside, and essentially became Columbus of American life. And despite the fact that only one country is described in the book, it is nevertheless one of the most interesting travel books by reader reviews. It’s not only Russian, because the essays have been translated into English, French, Spanish and other languages.
"Traveling with Charlie in Search of America"
Another great piece about traveling around America. This time it is an American who commits it with his dog Charlie. John Steinbeck writes about how he rediscovered his own country for himself, recognized it from new perspectives, and tried to understand that there were real Americans.
It is interesting that Steinbeck took this trip in his truck, which the author jokingly named after Don Quixote’s horse Rocinante, when death was already at his doorstep (the writer was seriously ill). Nevertheless, the book turned out to be very optimistic and has been inspiring many readers for decades.
"Shantaram" - a man of the world
Shantaram is a largely autobiographical novel by Gregory David Roberts, which tells about the life of a fugitive criminal who is hiding in the Indian city of Bombay, who gets acquainted with the life of completely different sections of the population from poor people from slums to the elite of society. This book will be interesting not only to lovers of travel books, but also to fans of philosophy, because the novel shows the worldview of the Indian nation.
"Simpletons abroad"
The next book about travels around the world that we advise you to read is Mark Twain’s novel, "Simpletons Abroad." In this work, the author in detail in a humorous form with his characteristic humor describes his journey through Europe. For over a hundred and fifty years this book has been popular among readers of a wide range.
"Three cups of tea"
Another autobiographical book on how travel has changed lives. Greg Mortenson, the author of the novel, was the most ordinary resident of the United States - he worked as a medical officer, did not have his own housing, was poor ... And his sister also died. But he did not despair, but decided to act - on the pages of the book the author tells in detail about his ascent to one of the most dangerous peaks of the world.
"Beach"
Now we’ll transfer from the tops of the mountains to the sandy beach. After all, it is there, on the beach of a desert island, that the heroes of Alex Garland’s book “The Beach” go in search of the promised land. At first it seems to them that a paradise has been found - here they indulge in all the possible pleasures of life. What violated the idyll of three travelers, you will find out if you read the book to the end.
On two wheels
Do you like to ride a bike? Just like David Byrne, who wrote the book "The World. Notes of the Cyclist." The author traveled around the whole world on his iron horse: he visited Asia and Europe, in the north and in the south ... And he described all his adventures in his work. In addition, you will find on the pages of the book the author’s thoughts on a variety of abstract topics.
These were the top ten books about traveling around the world, but the list is not limited to them, so read and travel more.