Tuesday, June 29, 2010

THE LUNATIC EXPRESS: PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE LUNATIC EXPRESS

BY CARL HOFFMAN

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Indonesian Ferry Sinks. Peruvian Bus Plunges Off Cliff. African Train Attacked by Mobs. Whenever he picked up the newspaper, Carl Hoffman noticed those short news bulletins, which seemed about as far from the idea of tourism, travel as the pursuit of pleasure, as it was possible to get. So off he went, spending six months circumnavigating the globe on the world's worst conveyances: the statistically most dangerous airlines, the most crowded and dangerous ferries, the slowest buses, and the most rickety trains. The Lunatic Express takes us into the heart of the world, to some its most teeming cities and remotest places: from Havana to Bogotá on the perilous Cuban Airways. Lima to the Amazon on crowded night buses where the road is a washed-out track. Across Indonesia and Bangladesh by overcrowded ferries that kill 1,000 passengers a year. On commuter trains in Mumbai so crowded that dozens perish daily, across Afghanistan as the Taliban closes in, and, scariest of all, Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., by Greyhound.

The Lunatic Express is the story of traveling with seatmates and deckmates who have left home without American Express cards on conveyances that don't take Visa, and seldom take you anywhere you'd want to go. But it's also the story of traveling as it used to be -- a sometimes harrowing trial, of finding adventure in a modern, rapidly urbanizing world and the generosity of poor strangers, from ear cleaners to urban bus drivers to itinerant roughnecks, who make up most of the world's population. More than just an adventure story, The Lunatic Express is a funny, harrowing and insightful look at the world as it is, a planet full of hundreds of millions of people, mostly poor, on the move and seeking their fortunes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carl Hoffman has driven the Baja 1000, ridden reindeer in Siberia, sailed an open dinghy 250 miles, and traveled to 65 countries. When he's able to stay put for more than a few months at a time, he lives in Washington, D.C., where his three children make fun of him on a pretty constant basis. He is a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler and Wired magazines, and his stories about travel and technology also appear in Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Men's Journal and Popular Mechanics.
REVIEW:

WATCH FOR MY REVIEW AND BONUS ENTRIES COMING SOON!


GIVEAWAY

THANK YOU TO MY FRIENDS AT
BROADWAY/RANDOM HOUSE, I HAVE
ONE COPY OF THIS INTERESTING BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY WINNER!



--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE INFORMATION FOR THE LUNATIC EXPRESS ABOVE THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO WIN

+1 MORE ENTRY:
BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND THEN COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED. ONLY ONE THIS TIME, PLEASE!

+5 MORE ENTRIES???:
COMMENT ON IF YOU ARE A SUBSCRIBER TO SWAGBUCKS WITH ME AND IF SO, GO TO SWAGBUCKS AND SEARCH AND WIN SOME BUCKS, COME BACK AND TELL ME HOW MANY YOU WIN AND YOU WILL GET ENTRIES UP TO +5 IF YOU WIN 5 OR MORE SWAGBUCKS! THERE IS A WIDGET AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE IF YOU WANT TO SEARCH FROM THERE AS WELL AS IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN!


GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, JULY 12