In Search of Adventure: A Wild Travel Anthology

by Bruce Northam (Editor), Brad Olsen (Editor)

Overview

An epic collection of 100 travelers' tales, this compendium celebrates the wild side of contemporary travel - revealing, humorous, sometimes naughty stories by acclaimed authors. Indeed, a book to heat up the gypsy blood in all of us.

In Search of Adventure offers eyebrow-raising stories that inquire - have you ever?

• Played naked Frisbee with New Guinea natives
• Seduced a Belfast prison inmate
• Crossed a border illegally using the Jedi mind trick
• Had your head examined by a Chinese Witch Doctor
• Been trail-mugged by a gang of Nepalese 8-year-olds
• Had a peak experience on a towering heap of garbage
• Galloped across Inner Mongolia
• Enjoyed young lust on a secluded Greek beach
• Summited Egypt's Great Pyramid

About the Author:

Bruce Northam is a 37-year-old adventure author, speaker and tourism consultant. The demo is complete for his forthcoming TV series American Detour - written and hosted by Bruce, the 52-part series crosses each state in the most intriguing mode while unearthing unsung heros. His animated multimedia presentations - held at universities and seminar centers nationwide - capture the essence of circling the globe freestyle.

His first book, The Frugal Globetrotter, provides rat-race exit blueprints and counsel for people on academic and workaholic binges. A contributing editor for Blue magazine, he's written for Details, Swing, New Choices, Sharing Ideas, Student World Traveler and Student Travels (former Editor-in-Chief).

"Resume" includes piloting a Manhattan horse-drawn carriage, teaching in rural Japan, acting as a stunt man in Chinese action movies, shepherding in Morocco, moonlit beach dancing in Goa, India, walking coast-to-coast across both Northern England and Wales with his father, and playing naked Frisbee with New Guinea natives. Interviewed in "Ask the Experts" (Reader's Digest); Bruce is a regular on CNN, Talk America Radio and Editor-at-Large for the World Peace Through Technology Organization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781888729030
Publisher:	CCC Publishing
Publication date:	03/01/1999
Series:	In Search of Adventure Series
Edition description:	1st
Pages:	465
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.04(d)

Read an Excerpt

In Search of Adventure celebrates the wild side of contemporary travel writing. Revealing, humorous, sometimes naughty stories by acclaimed authors. Eyebrow-raising stories that inquire—HAVE YOU EVER?

• Played naked Frisbee with New Guinea natives
• Seduced a Belfast prison inmate
• Crossed a border illegally using the Jedi mind trick
• Had your head examined by a Chinese Witch Doctor
• Been trail-mugged by a gang of Nepalese 8-year-olds
• Had a peak experience on a towering heap of garbage
• Galloped across Inner Mongolia
• Enjoyed young lust on a secluded Greek beach
• Summited Egypt's Great Pyramid

(From the Backcover)

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: SIMPLY AMAZING The Wild and the Wacky
Mongolia: Adventures in You-Cut Hairstyling Tim Cahill
The Doctor Michael Kirkpatrick
An Air of Incipient Riot Pervades Mary Roach
On the Trail of the Hadza Eric Seyfarth
The End of the Road Mary Beth Bond
Itel'men Tribal Harvest L. Peat O'Neil
Spoke'n Patagonia Anik See
Deep Impressions Cindy Lee Van Dover
Burn Gringo, Burn! Tom Clynes
Chapter 2: SO THAT'S HOW IT WORKS ... or Does It?
Messenger Extraordinaire Simon Winchester
In Gurus' Realm, Pen Is Mightier Than the Laptop Anne Cushman
Another Culture Bites the Dust Doug Fine
"I'm Going to India" Jay Golden
The Blessing Cord Margie Goldsmith
A Perfectly Reasonable Thing to Do Michael Wm. McColl
Campfire Cahoots Gail Howerton
Go Jump in a Lake Robert Ragaini
Chapter 3: MISTAKEN IDENTITY Who (or What) Are You?
Mud (Chorus) Eileen O'Connor
The Great Indoors Ron Gluckman
Questioning the Answer Andrew Bill
Henry Miller's Nephew Tom Miller
Un Favorito, Por Favor Robert Young Pelton
AT&T, the Serpent's Shadow and the Dreadlock Gringo Antonio López
The Hitchhiker Carla King
My Secret is That I'm Green John Ferguson
Chapter 4: SERENDIPITY AND FRIENDSHIP The Kaleidoscope of Personality
Strangers Linda Watanabe McFerrin
The Invisible Jam David Redhill
Sleepless in Siena Don George
The Khan Men of Agra Pamela Michael
What a Difference a Walk Makes Bruce Northam
In Search of Connection Linda Packer
Desiderata Unknown
On the Road to Friendship Steve Zikman
Ubuntu Bridget Henry
All's Fair in Love and War Randall Lyman
Chapter 5: GLOBAL ISSUES & VIEWPOINTS Lost (and Found) Idealism
A Fistful of Rupees Jeff Greenwald
In the Wake of Adventure Richard Bangs
Puppy Chow Bryan Clayton
The Price They Pay for Our Cuppa Joe Kathryn Gardner
Across the American Southwest Without a Clue Bill Shein
Pardon My Country Carolyn Durkalski
No Futuro Antonio López
Earth Freaks Mur
Chapter 6: BOY, WAS I A BONEHEAD OR WHAT? Misadventures
A Turkey in Istanbul Steve Millward
Cracking Wise With an Immigration Officer Eileen O'Connor
Goofus and Gallant Travel Tips Becky Youman and Bryan Estep
Norwegian Ice Toast Susan Parker
Sweet Tooth Ruth Halpern
In the Absurdity of the Moment Sam Khedr
Chapter 7: INTIMACY Love on the Move
Manihi Phil Trupp
The International Mile High Club Bridget Henry
The Scent of Communist Perfume Anonymous
Paris in Pink Katya Macklovich
The Floating Jukebox Hank Rosenfeld
Santorini Style Abby Sinnott
Chapter 8: INNER QUEST The Will and the Why
Geographical Cures Abby Ellin
The Ravens of Arroyo Coyote Douglas Smith
Under the Falling Sky Stephen Capen
RV Damsel in Distress Marcia Reynolds
Ambassador of an Altered State Spencer Rumsey
The Go-For-It Attitude Brad Olsen
The Real World Ann Melville
Gratitude Richard Bellamy
A Perfect Gem Randal Thatcher
Chapter 9: INTREPID ARCHETYPES They Broke the Mold ...
The Man Who Would Be Chief Eric Seyfarth
John Muir: A Man Unafraid Basil Northam, Sr
Pledge Allegiance to the Future Johanna O'Sullivan
Amelia Earhart Swami Dyhan Santosh
Naked Native Frisbee Bruce Northam
Interview With a Wanderer Basil Franklin
Inquiring Emperors Want to Know Brad Olsen
Bush Tucker Larry Habegger
Chapter 10: TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT The elusion of boredom isn't always a vacation.
Curses! It's That Sinking Feeling Robert Ragaini
A or B Andrew Bill
Transcontinental Lynn Cothern
The Bus Plunge Highway Tom Miller
Slides from a Greyhound Bus Christa Kirby
Fridge Over Troubled Waters Claudia J. Martin
Committed to Kalalau Sue Lebrecht
Final Night Marilyn Hope Smulyan
Chapter 11: BEGINNINGS Setting Out
The Discreet Leak Annalisa Layton Valentine
Mushing 101 Brian Patrick O'Donoghue
Beginnings Michael Cervieri
A Bug in My Ear Lori Szczepanik Makabe
New Freedom For Adventure Brad Olsen
Campfire Wanderlust David Hatcher Childress
Travel Canons Bruce Northam
Chapter 12: THRIFTY TRAVEL SAVVY Cheap Tricks
A Stunned, Heavily Perfumed Bunny Anthony Grant
The First Ascent of Mighty Trashmore Paul McHugh
Confession of Nagoya Fats Robert W. Bone
Rules of the Inn Unknown
Balanced on a Thumb Brendan Lake
A Clean, Affordable Buzz Mark Schwartz
Chapter 13: GOING HOME
The Final Hurdle
The Fez Stephen Fine
Blood is Thicker Than Lager Mary Roach
Home Under the Range Ron Gluckman
The Plague Jay Golden
Signs of Inner Peace Swami Dyhan
Road Rage, Hope, and Daddy Ken Chaya
Watch the North Wind Rise Jorma

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
No other generation in the history of civilization could travel as freely as we can today. Never before could someone just get on an airplane and be virtually anywhere on the planet within twenty-four hours. Or whenever was there a time when almost every nation of the world welcomed us with open arms and allowed us the freedom to travel virtually anywhere? Never before has modern transportation been so accessible, available, easy to use, and cheap. And never before has the English language been so commonly spoken and universally recognized. Day after day new places around the globe open up and new travelers go to see them. Basically, there is nothing to inhibit a solo backpacker from going anywhere on the planet as he or she pleases, except the imagination. The explorers of yesteryear would be green with envy at how easy we have it.

Welcome to the golden age of touring Planet Earth.

Extensive world travel is not for everyone. Not just anyone can pick up a backpack and leave the country for months or years at a time. Not everybody has the courage to go to foreign countries they have never seen before. And certainly not everybody wants to. But to the few that do, be certain there are others out there just like you. Come join the world party. Cash in on your New Freedom for Adventure."—Brad Olsen, Bruce Northam

This collection of travel tales doesn't just push the envelope; it shreds it.

San Francisco Examiner

...an engrossing read. And, for anyone who has ever dreamed of escape or imagined a wilder existence, this refreshing and sometimes over-the-top compilation will not disappoint.

Newsweek

...100 pithy travel stories...tales that are smart, funny and even risque.

National Geographic Traveler

...the wanderlust-addicted writers of these exciting travel essays, undergo physical challenges and life-changing insights as they explore seldom-visited places...zany, enthusiastic adventurers and hippie journalists push travel writing far beyond Sunday supplement fare.

Boston Herald

Anything can happen when you travel. And in the new anthology, 'In Search of Adventure,' just about everything does...dozens of writers share 100 amazing tales and take you to places you might never go. The book celebrates the wild side of travel.

New York Post

In Search of Adventure satisfies your appetite for virtual wanderlust.

Trips Magazine

The anthology is a fresh, irreverent look at international travel, and delves into areas often glossed over, including experiences with crime, sex, and religious fraud." _San Francisco Chronicle

San Fransisco Chronicle

Lovers of storytelling and anyone looking for summer vacation inspiration shouldn't miss this (book.)

San Francisco Bay Guardian

You don't have to read a traditional guidebook to gain an understanding of a destination. This compilation of 100 eclectic essays takes readers into the hearts and minds of the authors and the destinations in which their adventures take place. Whether clients are headed to Bhutan or their favorite chair, they will be entertained, enlightened and sometimes shocked by these honest slices of life on the road.

Travel Weekly

The editors had the courage to embark on this border-crossing adventure in publishing and lived to bring back a collection of extraordinary memories, memories that conjure our own most moving journeys and make us hunger for more.

Salon Magazine

Roughing It The rough-and-ready contributors to In Search of Adventure: A Wild Travel Anthology, compiled by Bruce Northam and Brad Olsen would probably eat their luggage before they'd pack a velvet tea gown or shooting tweeds. If they have luggage at all—this is the crowd that travels with a toothbrush, a pair of jeans and a passport. They're an eclectic crew of adventurers and hippies; the most far out of them has to be Mur (no other name given), "one of the original intercontinental overland hippies" who renounced his American citizenshipn "to become an Earth man." Other contributors, including Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman) and Tim Cahill (Jaguars Ripped My Flesh), will be more familiar to mainstream readers.

Washington Post

On the wilder side, In Search of Adventure is an anthology of over 100 tales ranging from the loopy to the erotic to the ridiculous to the sublime. Enjoyable stuff all around, but not for traditionalists.

Big World