Best and Worst Travels: (An Anecdotal Exploration by an Upper Middle Class Adventurer, Traveling to Old and New Worlds, Desiring Comfort, Safety, Good ... Heat & Cold, and Shelter for the Night)

Carver writes in a style not unlike Bill Bryson, candidly regalingreaders with tales of his worst experiences ("Some of the worstwere worse than others.") as well as the best: "I enjoyed a greatAbercrombie & Kent trip to China because it was a greatadventure, a great itinerary, a great tour group with a great tourdirector, great hotels (except for a noisy Sheraton in Guilin), greatweather, and great tour management. Seven greats out of sevenain't bad."He says, "Great expectations when traveling are usually the sourceof my greatest disappointments! I'm like the guy in a New Yorkercartoon studying a brochure telling his travel agent: 'I am solooking forward to this. I can't wait to be disappointed.'"He writes "How to Survive Disasters like Theft, Accidents, etc.,"and at the risk of seeming disingenuously obvious, he provides anexhaustive list covering every possible thing that can go wrong(Getting Sick, Getting Killed, Getting Lost, etc.), offeringsuggestions for solving dilemmas. He concludes with "Did I fail tomention Getting Bored to Death."He describes trips with Yale Exes and travels to Italy, China, andRomania where he taught English with Global Volunteers.