Travel Writing

Naipaul was born to Indian Hindu parents in Trinidad. His international perspective has informed both his fiction and nonfiction, which are often set in post-colonial countries. His newest book, A Turn in the South, explores the culture of the United States' Southern states.

The British author and travel writer recently passed away. His acclaimed books include Songlines, a semi-fictional account of the myths that structure the lives of Australia's aborigines, and the travel book In Patagonia.

Book critic John Leonard reviews African Madness, a new collection of travel essays by Alex Shumatoff, a New Yorker staff writer who seeks to capture the changing face of sub-Saharan African.

The fiction writer sought adventure, so he followed the Equator around the world. His new book describes the different cultures, colonial vestiges, and natural phenomena of his various stops -- many of which the locals described as the "middle of nowhere."

Writer Paul Theroux. Since his first book, Waldo, was published in 1966, Theroux has written prolifically. His extensive travels have taken him through Africa, Asia and Central America, and a central theme of his work is the ironic examination of the clashing and mingling of Western and Third World cultures. Theroux's newest book, Riding the Iron Rooster, is an account of his travels by train through China.

Book critic John Leonard says many of the conclusions about indigenous culture in Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines are wishful thinking. But that doesn't mean the book isn't a great read.