The Conde Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Volume II: Great Writers on Great Places
*Starred Review* Poetry may be literature’s nirvana, but travel writing occupies a celestial sphere only fractionally inferior in sublimity. Anthologies of travel writing abound, most of them like a pirate’s chest filled to the brim with gems. This one, the second gathering of articles published originally in Condé Nast Traveler magazine, has mostly diamonds for contents. The strongest pieces here—among all strong pieces, that is—include famous food critic Calvin Trillin’s Some Like It Not Hot, in which he shares experiences visiting the Ecuadorean city of Cuenca, calling it a walking around city (which he characterizes as often short on well-known sights but having small-item appeal nevertheless). The Greatest Show on Earth, by Condé Nast Traveler senior correspondent Guy Martin, observes Berlin’s colorful renaissance after decades of Cold War grayness. New Orleans is always fun to read about and to write about as well, as evidenced by Julia Reed, a New Orleans–based journalist, in A Street Named Sazerac, a humorous take on the Big Easy (Drinking is to New Orleans what gambling is to Las Vegas: the point). Jump into these addictive pages anywhere, but be advised that pulling back out will be difficult. --Brad Hooper