Why do we travel? Don George knows why he travels—it’s why he became a travel writer. Each of his short stories reveals a part of himself, and his experiences feed his insatiable curiosity about other lands and peoples, their customs and beliefs. He views travel as a classroom and believes it “paves the pathway to global understanding, evolution, and peace.
This first anthology of George’s travel stories, The Way of Wanderlust, chronicles his journey from traveler to travel writer.
This attractively-designed book is a collection of George’s essays spanning many years, beginning with his first article, “Climbing Kilimanjaro,” which was published in Mademoiselle magazine in 1977.
George’s experiential writing style immerses readers in his journeys, engaging their senses so they feel each place as if they were there.
Thus, we share his wonder, fear, and his reflection.
The Wonder of Nature and Ancient Civilizations
Don George whisks us across the globe as he describes the wonder of nature in vivid essays about whale-watching in Baja, California, and a family vacation to the Galapagos teaming with red and blue-footed boobies. His descriptive prose conveys the wonder of ancient civilizations such as Machu Picchu and Petra.
In one chapter, I found myself in George’s Zodiac in Baja. I, too, saw the enormous grey whale approach. ”… she swam straight at us, a blue-white underwater mammal-bus hurtling our way.” I felt George’s excitement. This encounter fulfilled one of George’s life list of Things To Do, which was to touch a whale. Now, I find myself wanting to touch a whale.
Paralyzing Fear
The paralyzing, white-knuckled terror he succumbed to while climbing the steep cables on Half Dome in Yosemite manifested itself in my core. Humorously, this was far from a free solo ascent. He was climbing a well-worn path with his young family, and yet his vivid descriptions raised my blood pressure when I suddenly found myself in his shoes on that bald mountain.
“One thing you should never do–or at least one thing I should never do–when climbing Half Dome is look around at the view. The view can kill you. You stop and brush your brow with your sleeve, and your eyes steal a look to the left and—whoa—it’s a long, long way down. Your view drops right off the side of the cliff to green trees the size of matchsticks and postage-stamp meadows. You don’t want to see this, and you definitely don’t want to think about it. I swayed and held onto the cables and stayed frozen, letting other climbers brush by me, until the dizziness and the wave-swells in my stomach stopped.”
During the annual Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference in Corte Madera, CA in August 8-11, 2024, Andrew McCarthy, the Hollywood actor, TV director, author, and travel writer, hilariously grilled Conference Chair Don George about looking for something in all his travels.
See my writeup in Spotlight on Travel: Rediscovering the Soul of Travel Writing & Photography.
Reflections and Illuminations
George reflects on his travels throughout this book. Good travel writing is about building “experiential bridges between reader and writer,” he writes. His stories take us, his armchair travelers, on a journey. Writers and travel writer-wannabes can learn much from George’s evocative, poetic writing style.
His journey to Jordan exemplifies immersive travel. George isn’t merely sightseeing; he actively engages with the local culture, people, and history. He converses with shopkeepers about their interpretations of Saddam Hussein’s motives, which differ significantly from what we read in the US. We enter Petra through George’s vivid descriptions.
“To reach this site, you have to walk for twenty minutes along a sinuous slit sliced between whorling sandstone walls. Your footsteps echo on stones laid two millenia ago, twisting in and out of sunlight, until you turn a bend and suddenly the rose colored columns of the Treasury soar before you, carved in exquisite designs out of the red rock. You step into a broad plaza, and the façade appears in full, heart-stopping grandeur, the intricate columns and statues still awe-inspiring in their artistry twenty-one centuries after Nabatean hands carved them.”
More on Don George's Writing Style
His stories are full of positivity, enthusiasm, and spirituality. George believes travel teaches us about love. He believes the best we can do with our lives is to embrace people, places, cultures, and vulnerability. He says, “to have faith that whatever energy we put into the world will come back to us a hundredfold.”
This travel writing is inspirational. You won’t see the gritty side of his destinations or encounter unpleasant people in his wanderings. Nor will you find him hacking his way through jungles or kayaking in the Arctic like an adventure travel writer. He often explores with tour guides, wanders alone through museums, cathedrals, and quiet streets, or writes about trips with his family or friends. He wants us to “approach unfamiliar cultures and peoples with curiosity and respect.” In so doing, he teaches us to see the magic and open ourselves up to new experiences.
Pick your way through The Way of Wanderlust. Select stories based on destinations or categories: Pilgimmages, Encounters, and Illuminations. Let George captivate you with his refreshing sense of wonder.
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For more travel book reviews from Travel The Four Corners, please see “Journeys in Travel Literature.”
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