Book recommendation: Art of Travel

[Darin Boville]

I've just finished an extraordinary little book: The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton. Quite a lot there for the photographer. Not to say too much but the book is basically a series of essays (e.g. "On Curiosity," "On the Sublime") which mixes art, literature and exploration. For example, "On Curiosity" is introduced as taking place in Madrid and being guided by Alexander von Humboldt while "On the Sublime" intertwines Edmund Burke, Job, and the Sinai desert.

Somehow I hadn't read anything by de Botton before though he is nothing if not prolific--and judging from his web page, indefatigable.

Highly recommended for all photographers.

--Darin

[ross]

Darin:

That book has been on my list to buy for awhile. Interesting that you recommend it for photographers as well. I'll check it out.

[Darin Boville]

Ever read Proust's "In Search of Lost Time"? Me neither. Although I almost read it when I was a teenager. There was a Walden Books (remember those) in the mall near my house. This was in the early 1980s. maybe late 1970s. A new edition of the book was out. I was intrigued by it, tempted. But it was three volumes and I didn't have the money. I went back every time I visited, a least for a few weeks, and looked at the volumes again. Never did buy them, never did read them.

However, I did just finish reading Alain de Botton's "How Proust Can Change Your Life." A sort of self-help book based on Proust's work by the same author of "Art of Travel," mentioned above.

And there's lots here, too, for the photographer. I'm thinking maybe you could put together a decent undergraduate curriculum in art just from this guy's writings.

Another highly recommended, easy to read, fairly short book.

--Darin