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carolineburt 's review for:
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
I was going back and forth on how to rate this book - I love the adventure and I learned so much, not only about the lands Steves traveled through but also about the political and cultural climate of the late 70s.
But Steves’ stream of consciousness as a 23 year old young man was tough to read at times. The way he talked about women often didn’t sit right and his judgements of caste systems, servants and minorities were misguided, privileged and cringey at times.
I ended up giving this a 4.5 because Steves made it very clear in his prologue that he intended to provide a candid snapshot of this trip based on his journaling and was intentional in not editing to make himself sound wiser and more culturally sensitive than he was at that age.
For that reason ^ this book deserves a good rating, it serves as a window into a different time, even if the cultural standards weren’t perfectly aligned with my own values as a progressive woman in 2025. It was very apparent that this trip was a humbling turning point for Steves and it was fascinating to live through it with him.
I’ve read some of Steves’ guidebooks but would love to read more of his other works as well, I am inspired to book another trip overseas ASAP!
But Steves’ stream of consciousness as a 23 year old young man was tough to read at times. The way he talked about women often didn’t sit right and his judgements of caste systems, servants and minorities were misguided, privileged and cringey at times.
I ended up giving this a 4.5 because Steves made it very clear in his prologue that he intended to provide a candid snapshot of this trip based on his journaling and was intentional in not editing to make himself sound wiser and more culturally sensitive than he was at that age.
For that reason ^ this book deserves a good rating, it serves as a window into a different time, even if the cultural standards weren’t perfectly aligned with my own values as a progressive woman in 2025. It was very apparent that this trip was a humbling turning point for Steves and it was fascinating to live through it with him.
I’ve read some of Steves’ guidebooks but would love to read more of his other works as well, I am inspired to book another trip overseas ASAP!