This Month

The best cure for wanderlust, short of a plane ticket, is reading about a remarkable trip. This month, we bring you a bevy of books chronicling extraordinary journeys. An intrepid travel writer reports from the torrid zone, while a ghostwriter becomes entangled in intrigue in Budapest. Vikram Seth sneaks into Tibet from China, a child soldier winds his way through West Africa, and a collection of Indiana Jones-wannabes get themselves in trouble in sweltering climes. Vic Darkwood offers a wicked satire of Englishmen abroad; and a Magnum photographer teams up with Orhan Pamuk to sketch a complex portrait of Istanbul. We close with an interview with "Dishwasher" Pete Jordan, who spent ten years trying to wash dishes in all 50 states. The only danger you'll face, of course, is that these tales are as likely to spark your desire to travel as assuage it.