The Joys of Travel ─ And Stories That Illuminate Them

The Joys of Travel: And Stories that Illuminate Them is a collection of Thomas Swick’s personal essays on what he has identified as the seven joys of travel”: anticipation, movement, break from routine, novelty, discovery, emotional connection and heightened appreciation of home.

The Joys of Travel awakens readers to pleasures that, as travelers, they may be taking for granted. It also shows non-travelers what they’ve been missing. It offers tips on how people can get the most out of their trips, as well as the titles of travel classics that will not only prepare them for the places they visit but make those places more meaningful once they get there. And it tells, through memories and stories, the tale of someone who has made a living writing about travel. In fact, the story of Thomas Swick’s life as a traveler neatly parallels the examination of a journey from beginning to end.

Before you next trip, be it a family vacation or a backpacking tour of Europe, readThe Joys of Travel. It will inspire you to get the most out of your time away from home and to get away more often.

Thomas Swick grew up in New Jersey, where he started his writing career with theTrenton Times. He started traveling soon after, moving to Poland where Thomas met his wife and taught English. His first bookUnquiet Days: At Home in Poland centers on this period in his life. Upon Thomas’s return to the United States, he became the travel editor of theSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel, where he remained for almost twenty years. During his tenure, the newspaper’s name appeared in the first nine editions ofThe Best American Travel Writing. (No other newspaper Travel section came close to this distinction, as most of the pieces in the annual anthology came from magazines.) Thomas’s second book,A Way to See the World: From Texas to Transylvania with a Maverick Traveler, was published in 2003 to great reviews. Thomas has traveled to over 60 countries and his work chronicling these travels has appeared inThe American Scholar, The North American Review, The Oxford American, The Missouri Review, The Wilson Quarterly, Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, Afar, the New York Times Book Review andThe Best American Travel Writing. Thomas currently lives with his wife in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.