Cost: $1.95US
Page Count: 272
Picking up Gullible's Travels, I didn't really know what to expect. Therefore, I had zero expectations. Gladly, I must say, that those expectations were exceeded. Cash Peters is a funny fella. I had no idea who he was. But, apparently, Peters has done well for himself by writing and doing other stuff for the BBC.
I've always been kind of a sucker for a good travel narrative. They have to be decent travel books, though. Robert Young Pelton, William Least Heat Moon, and Paul Theroux are a few that do a stupendous job. Their book, however, are usually less on the humor tip and more on the serious side of the genre. In Gullible's Travels, Peters explores the humorist side of travel writing. I liked this. A lot.
Other reviewers have compared Peters with Bill Bryson. This is not fair. Bryson writes well but Peters is far funnier. And a better writer. Sorry Bill.
Anyway, in Gullible's Travels Peters takes you everywhere you never thought you wanted to go. You probably will never go to these place. Like Salem, MA. I've been and the author's summation of the city is so much better than anything that I could ever put into print. There's the Sanitation Museum, the Lizzy Border Bed and Breakfast, Graceland, and the like. Basically, Peters hits all the sights of a tourist that would make Clark Griswold (from National Lampoon's Vacation) ever so proud. On the surface, these places would seem to suck so hard. They probably do. But, Peters' adept writing skills and humorous style bring these little, shitty, pockets of the world to life.
After reading a book for Stale Reviews, I often throw it in a box to be donated or given away. Not so with Gullible's Travels. I will likely read this again sometime. So, on the shelf it goes.
Good stuff. Read it. I'll let you borrow it if you promise to return promptly!
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