Embarking on an absurdly boxed-in quest for every highway rest stop from Paris to Marseilles with his wife, Carol Dunlop, Hopscotch author Julio Cortázar compiles this mock-epic chronicle of their adventures. The result is an irreverent assault on — and celebration of — limitations that's full of playfulness, poetry, and back-seat lovin'.

-MR

Thomas Kohnstamm buries the travel-bible myth in Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? Forgoing fact-checking itineraries to befriend retired Israeli mercenaries, ponder ill-fated drug deals, and rumble through the Brazilian landscape littered with accidental lovers and empty beer bottles, this guide guru still manages to stick to deadline in the pura vida spirit.

-RB

Previous Convictions demonstrates why A.A. Gill is simultaneously one of the most beloved and reviled cultural critics in England. This third collection of essays showcases the dagger-tongued author's unique ability to wring poignancy, humor, and acute insight from each of his varied destinations, both at home and abroad.

-EL