The endorsement on the back of this book is from Seth MacFarlane. I chose to read it anyway. The guys who wrote it are like the idiot douche-bags you see around and probably are or have been in your twenties. They're funny and sarcastic and think they're way smarter (and funnier) than they actually are. If they're your friends, they're hilarious; if they're just some of the other drunks at the bar, they're just, well, annoying.But they went around the world, they made some interesting comments about the places they visited, they recognized some of the inherent dilemmas of traveling for fun in a world where that's not actually available to everyone. A totally entertaining book. At the end, Steve gets a little maudlin, and I don't buy that the U.S. is the "pretty girl" in the "world as high school" analogy. But I appreciate him for the lover of the past that he is and for finding the romance in a journey around the world without airplanes. And Vali is a nice counterpoint for him, applying history to the present and reveling in modernity, and he did in fact push himself to find some out-of-the-way places.They both spend a significant amount of time focusing on how great the stories they can tell from this trip will be. How they'll talk about it at parties and out-do each other. I understand that travel IS in part about the stories you get to tell, but shining a light on that makes it seem like they weren't totally in the moment. That they care too much about appearances and status and things. Herein lies the douche-bag problem: they care about appearances and finding out about cool stuff, until they get falling down drunk and then all bets are off. Read this on and off while traveling in September and finally finished it. It definitely has its moments, but it was nothing too impressive. Two guys race around the world without the use of airplanes, but right away one of them cheats, so that kind of ruined it for me in the same way that Bryson ruined A Walk In The Woods for me by not actually finishing the Appalachian Trail. But, it was enjoyable and got me excited to visit new countries and places. I want to hope that all of the stories and anecdotes are true, but I don’t know for sure.
What do You think about Die Wette (2009)?
A hilarious account of a crazy wager between two adventurous young men. I laughed on every page!
—mentaripagi
Terrific read. Not quite as inventive as "How I Became a Famous Novelist," but just as funny.
—Butter
Hilarious! The authors' dry, clever wits prompted many a guffaw from me.
—Stacey
This was a funny, quick read dialogue. I liked it quite a bit!
—CableChic
