The Best American Travel Writing

Edited by Frances Mayes

Read January 2003

The usual range from sublime to immediately forgettable. The gems here are William Booth's "Throw Junior from the Car" (funny), Elizabeth Nickson's "Where the Bee Sucks" (biting), Rod Davis's "A Rio Runs Through It" (moving), Kate Hennessy's "Slow Flying Stones" (touching — the trite opening is a prelude to a sudden turn emotionally south), Tom Mueller's "Ancient Roads, Walled Cities" (thoughtful) and Toni Mirosevich's "Lambs of God and the New Math" (offbeat). Who's even heard of DoubleTake (Hennessy) or Hemispheres (Mueller)? Oh: Hemispheres is United's in-flight rag. Sadly, DoubleTake has run out of finances (as of this writing, January 2003). Here's wishing them luck.