Without a Guide: Contemporary Women's Travel Adventures

B.J. Busch is associate librarian of academic and information services
at the University of Alberta.

This is a collection of sometimes whimsical or lighthearted, sometimes
sad or oppressive, nonfiction articles by 17 authors, all under the
rather loosely woven heading of “travel adventures.” There are some
connecting threads to the anthology, apart from the travel rubric: the
travelers are more or less contemporary, they are women, and, while not
all are Canadian, they certainly represent pieces of the Canadian
mosaic. Sometimes the writers are returning to the land of their birth
or another place that holds particular significance, such as a displaced
persons camp; other times they are seeking adventure in a strange and
alien culture. Occasionally the experience is life-threatening, although
more often it is exhilarating, or educational in the broadest sense.
These vignettes take the reader to places as far afield as Cairo (with
its visions of decay and overwhelming dustiness), the Grand Canyon
(where death lurks in the desert), and Barcelona (a good city for a
mugging), among others. The internationally known writers selected by
the editor provide stories that share details of their most memorable
journeys. Well written and highly readable, this is a book for the
adventurous.