Books Division Vol. It was interesting to explore the many ways the authors devised to do their traveling, but there is another kind of travel book that involves less actual traveling and more the delight of investigating a whole new way of life. These books are essentially autobiographies of individuals who left one country behind to take up residence in another and who recount their many discoveries, both good and bad, about their new homes and neighbors. It's apparently been quite fashionable in recent years to find an old dilapidated house in a village in France or Italy and restore it to be a full or part-time home. Both explore the travails of dealing with local workmen, unaccustomed traditions, and the idiosyncrasies of a sometimes unfamiliar language as well as the joy of finding new delights ranging from local produce and wines to new friends.
Similar books set in different time periods provide a snapshot of life in a certain time and place.
Wright Morris decided, in the heart of the Depression, that a year in Europe would help prepare him to become a writer. The two books offer a glimpse of India at a time when British influence was still strong. Other autobiographies describe trips made to celebrate endings or beginnings. M. Scott Peck used a three week trip to explore the megalithic monuments of England, Scotland and Wales as a restorative and opportunity to reflect. The Library has many other books, both biographical and descriptive, that explore other cultures and times from a very personal point of view.