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labunnywtf's review
5.0
Read for Book Roast's Magical Readathon: NEWTs Exams. Subject: History of Magic, E Level. (Over 5 years since published)
March 25, 2015: Won in a library silent auction for $13. Just flipping through, I'm in love with these images.
I've had this on my shelves for 3 years. I had literally no clue it was autographed. I am so blown away and a little sad that I really do have a piece of Anthony Bourdain on my shelves now.
I wish I'd read this before he died this year, because it would be all joy. These are the true definition of candid shots, taken while filming for the show. Some are highly emotional, some are hilarious, some are just plain beautiful. The book is split into chapters based on locations, starting with Asia and ending in South America. Each chapter has an introduction where Bourdain talks about what each visit meant to him, what each country left him with, the good, the bad, the ugly.
There is no sugar coating here. I will definitely not be visiting Uzbekistan, but if I have to, I'm bringing my own personal port-a-potty.
There is just enough sprinkled in here, though, to absolutely break your heart. His passage about the glacier in Argentina is something I'm never going to forget.
March 25, 2015: Won in a library silent auction for $13. Just flipping through, I'm in love with these images.
I've had this on my shelves for 3 years. I had literally no clue it was autographed. I am so blown away and a little sad that I really do have a piece of Anthony Bourdain on my shelves now.
I wish I'd read this before he died this year, because it would be all joy. These are the true definition of candid shots, taken while filming for the show. Some are highly emotional, some are hilarious, some are just plain beautiful. The book is split into chapters based on locations, starting with Asia and ending in South America. Each chapter has an introduction where Bourdain talks about what each visit meant to him, what each country left him with, the good, the bad, the ugly.
There is no sugar coating here. I will definitely not be visiting Uzbekistan, but if I have to, I'm bringing my own personal port-a-potty.
There is just enough sprinkled in here, though, to absolutely break your heart. His passage about the glacier in Argentina is something I'm never going to forget.
laila4343's review
4.0
I love this man! If you like the show, you'll like this book. It's got some background on the episodes, in Bourdain's no-B.S. style.
psyckers's review
3.0
More of a collection of photographs from the No Reservations series than an actors book,. It is the commentary that goes with the photographs, the stories start getting more known.
It is an interesting book anyway with Anthony's particular view of the world of food again coming to the fore.
It is an interesting book anyway with Anthony's particular view of the world of food again coming to the fore.
tommyhousworth's review
4.0
It's an act of tragic irony that I already had this book in-hand from the local library when Anthony Bourdain's life ended earlier this week. I had been reading a few pages of the book at a time, but accelerated this weekend after the heartbreak of his death.
I've always loved Bourdain's candor, and his cultural/culinary Kerouac persona. He was gruff, funny, vulnerable, and very human.
This book captures all of that, as he takes the reader through a photojournalist's journey of the many lands he visited during his tenure on The Travel Channel's "No Reservations". From rice patties across Asia to warthogs and bonfires in Namibia, Irish pubs to Peruvian ayahuasca rituals, it's all here in glorious color with Bourdain's illustrative prose to provide context, wit, and wonder.
At over 250 pages, it's still a fast read, as the book is dominated by breathtaking photos, making me wish it was more of a coffee table book for the sake of larger imagery. But it serves well as a cultural atlas, not only offering insights into what is served at meager dinner tables and corner diners around the world, but also a hint at the people and rituals that make each destination unique.
Most powerful was the crew's trip to Beirut, which turned into a nightmarish ten days as Hezbollah and Israeli fighters began a battle of bombs, setting the airport aflame and leaving Bourdain and his team with little to do but hole up in their hotel, drink too much, and navigate a safe way home.
What I most appreciate about Bourdain in this particular book is how he seeks out the normalcy within a culture. He'd rather sit on the floor and eat seal with Icelanders than seek out the finest Parisian haute cuisine. (Not that he liked the seal, mind you.). He has as much or more respect for those that tend rice patties and roll out udon noodles in the crowded corner of their shanty as those who wear refined white chef's attire, it seems.
I'll miss him. He was a journeyman, a modern day Dharma Bum of sorts, and one who believed all cultures contribute to the tapestry of our humanity. In today's America, that's a very refreshing ideology to have served up for wholehearted consumption.
I've always loved Bourdain's candor, and his cultural/culinary Kerouac persona. He was gruff, funny, vulnerable, and very human.
This book captures all of that, as he takes the reader through a photojournalist's journey of the many lands he visited during his tenure on The Travel Channel's "No Reservations". From rice patties across Asia to warthogs and bonfires in Namibia, Irish pubs to Peruvian ayahuasca rituals, it's all here in glorious color with Bourdain's illustrative prose to provide context, wit, and wonder.
At over 250 pages, it's still a fast read, as the book is dominated by breathtaking photos, making me wish it was more of a coffee table book for the sake of larger imagery. But it serves well as a cultural atlas, not only offering insights into what is served at meager dinner tables and corner diners around the world, but also a hint at the people and rituals that make each destination unique.
Most powerful was the crew's trip to Beirut, which turned into a nightmarish ten days as Hezbollah and Israeli fighters began a battle of bombs, setting the airport aflame and leaving Bourdain and his team with little to do but hole up in their hotel, drink too much, and navigate a safe way home.
What I most appreciate about Bourdain in this particular book is how he seeks out the normalcy within a culture. He'd rather sit on the floor and eat seal with Icelanders than seek out the finest Parisian haute cuisine. (Not that he liked the seal, mind you.). He has as much or more respect for those that tend rice patties and roll out udon noodles in the crowded corner of their shanty as those who wear refined white chef's attire, it seems.
I'll miss him. He was a journeyman, a modern day Dharma Bum of sorts, and one who believed all cultures contribute to the tapestry of our humanity. In today's America, that's a very refreshing ideology to have served up for wholehearted consumption.
elise_dragon13's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
mackellis's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Love seeing him happy.