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The Art of Travel

By Alain de Botton

(72)

| Paperback | 9780140276626

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Book Description

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 beContinue

Critics

Toothbrush, bikini... and dead poet

The Art of Travel Alain de Botton Hamish Hamilton £14.99, pp272 Travel is now the world's biggest industry, according to the World Trade Organisation. It beats arms and pharmaceuticals both in turnover and in numbers of people employed. Despite the p ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

Tour d'horizon

The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton 272pp, Hamish Hamilton, £14.99 Alain de Botton, like many Londoners, finds himself staring up at passing aeroplanes with envy. There, high above the mundane artefacts and actions of our everyday lives, those great ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

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4 Reviews

3 people find this helpful

A pleasant, enlightening discussion of the art of travel

Alain De Botton, as in his other books, laid out various philosophers' takes on the art of travel, illustrated by his own attempt at following their leads. The result is a calming and enlightening discourse.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a particularly fascinating read during my previous b ... (continue)

Alain De Botton, as in his other books, laid out various philosophers' takes on the art of travel, illustrated by his own attempt at following their leads. The result is a calming and enlightening discourse.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a particularly fascinating read during my previous business trip. It helped me to re-discover the beauty of the same city/streets/hotel that I visited many times in the past.

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s tsui said on Aug 15, 2007 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

Admittedly, I don't fancy essay (prose?) as must as fiction. I just find the renowned book talks too much. And I think there is a sense of pretentious, like the author's writing the book for the sake of writing the book....
But still, I find some narration quite interesting.

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fruit said on Nov 12, 2008 | Add your feedback

A good book that uses 18th and 19th century artists and travelers with relevance to the Authors travels. The reasons why we travel and what we see.

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JAYSONHOOGY said on Apr 10, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

All about art and travel

Great read when you are visiting a place, or is planning to visit a place mentioned in the book. The author weave together his feelings and the arts that represent the place. A bit abstract, but if you are a lover of art and travel, you should give this book a quick read at least.

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Sibant said on Jan 9, 2010 | Add your feedback