Back in January I posted about the imminent publication of this book, and wound up promising to say more after I'd read it. But then 2020 intervened, and there have been other things to do and think about. But the promise has been nagging me, so here goes:
The book begins with a consideration of the nature of travel, which is characterized generally by "otherness"; we travel to experience otherness. This seems right, though incomplete (as Rick stresses, we also do, or should, travel for educational purposes). Also, it invites a universe of follow-up considerations that are either not discussed, or mentioned briefly (what is otherness? does visiting a neighbor's very strange home amount to travel? how much physical dislocation is necessary for travel? can a person who feels out of place in his/her home area--as I did, after the family moved from MI to CA--be said to be traveling while living there? if one has been to a foreign city so many times that it feels comfortable, is that still travel?, etc.).
The book continues with a number of chapters organized around given themes, including maps, the Grand Tour, travel writing, mountains, and so on. All the themes are loosely connected both to a trip the author made to Alaska and to travel in general. The writing is entertaining and easy to both read and follow, and there is a wealth of quotations, anecdotes, facts, and references that are entertaining whether or not they have a direct connection to travel. (For example, the early scientist Francis Bacon died as a result of pneumonia he caught while experimenting with freezing a chicken to preserve the meat; he wrote from his deathbed that "the experiment was a success"; and the ghost of the chicken is apparently seen from time to time.) I definitely recommend the book as a good read.
For all that (and as a former philosophy professor), I have to say that the philosophical content is a bit thin overall. There are discussions of the possible "maleness" of the very idea of travel, and on the ethics of "doom tourism"--seeing X before it is gone--but plenty of ground remains to be covered, for example, the relation between immigration and travel, issues of authenticity (does tourism necessarily corrupt?), "taking more than your share" (as when I reserved two consecutive time slots at Giotto's Padua Chapel, and a forum member called me on it), Airbnb issues, visiting corrupt countries, and personal gratification vs. donating; there are even questions related to aesthetics, for example, whether a town that reconstructs a ruin to appeal to tourists is purveying a "fake experience".
Happy holidays and stay safe to all.