THE BEST AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITING 2000

With any anthology, some pieces naturally stand out among others, and this is especially true for audio anthologies, where there are narrators as well as authors to contend with. David Halberstam’s "Nantucket on My Mind" is a lovely bit of "it used to be nicer on Nantucket" nostalgia delivered with just the right cranky edge by George Guidall. But one wishes that Joe Barrett had read Dave Eggers’s strong and affecting "Hitchhiker’s Cuba" with a bit more irony. Alden Jones reads her own essay about her time in Costa Rica, "Lard Is Good for You," with aplomb. And David Lansing’s "Confessions of a Cheese Smuggler" as read by Joe Barrett is just plain funny. This is a nice collection for road trips, but there’s enough reflection mixed with the varied adventures that armchair travelers will enjoy it just as much. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]