Bewildered Travel ─ The Sacred Quest for Confusion

Ruf (theology, Georgetown U.) explores the action of traveling, of voluntarily leaving what we know as familiar in exchange for unpredictability and confusion. He views this break from the familiar as a key aspect of a spiritual life, noting the important role of pilgrimage in religion. As he explores the purpose of travel he discusses his own experiences, as well as those of other Americans, including Henry Miller, Paul Bowles, Jack Gilbert, Alphonso Lingis, Susan Brind Morrow, Diane Johnson, Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Mark Twain. The book is a serious discussion but is accessible to general readers. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Frederick J. Ruf, Associate Professor of Theology at Georgetown University, is the author of Entangled Voices: Genre and the Religious Construction of the Self.