How can we think more deeply about our travels? Part philosophical ramble, part travelogue, this trade monograph traverses the places where philosophy and travel intersect. It investigates Michel de Montaigne on otherness, John Locke on cannibals, and Henry Thoreau on wilderness. We discover the dark side of maps, how the philosophy of space fuelled mountain tourism, and ask whether intergalactic travel will affect human significance in a leviathan universe.
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“The Meaning of Travel could not have come at a more poignant and appropriate time… profound… with verve and lilt” The Wall Street Journal
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“Thomas has used her command of the philosophical canon to extend our understanding of an impulse that many of us share but few examine in such depth. The Meaning of Travel is a manifesto for the virtues that travel can bestow on the traveller — not just an increase in knowledge, but a deep humility at the scale and diversity of the world, and an enduring wonder that we live on such a planet.” The Spectator
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“It is timely… to examine the philosophy of travel… [a] searching book… exceptionally thoughtful” Literary Review
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“The byways and highways of Thomas’s subject are well-illuminated. Delineating, direct and droll by turns… Novelty, knowledge and insight can be found in travel. It can make us wiser as well as better-informed… having read this book, I am now both.” Standpoint Magazine
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“No one could ask for a more congenial companion than Emily Thomas on her 2,000-plus year journey through The Meaning of Travel for major Western philosophers from Plato to Simone de Beauvoir… The Meaning of Travel succeeds in offering an engaging primer on how travel has transformed both what we know and how we think.” Times Higher Education “Book of the Week”
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“This is the finest kind of travel: not just across continents, but through time, space and our infinite minds. The journey is the joy, and Emily Thomas a terrific guide.” Mike Parker, author of Map Addict
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“At last – a book not about where we travel, but why. The Meaning of Travel illuminates the reasons we’ve been tempted to set out on untrodden paths for centuries.” Dea Birkett, author of Serpent in Paradise
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“An original, engaging book… Thomas has a lightness of touch that never undercuts the seriousness and complexities of the issues discussed.” Julian Baggini, author of How the World Thinks
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“Brilliantly researched and detailed, while staying humorous throughout, ‘The Meaning of Travel’ is a fantastic exploration of how travel can broaden the mind.” Much Better Adventures
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Full book reviews: Tunku Varadarajan, The Wall Street Journal. Philip Marsden, The Spectator. Sara Wheeler, Literary Review. Richard Larschan, Times Higher Education. Stephen Leach, Philosophy Now. Graham Elliott, Standpoint. Stuart Kenny, Much Better Adventures Magazine. Five Books: Summer Reading. Peter Smith, Logic Matters. Couchfish. The Philosophical Quarterly.
Radio book interviews: BBC Radio 4 Start the Week. Talk Radio Europe, TRE Bookshop. Nightlife (discussion) & Saturday Extra, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking. CBC Ideas, Canadian National Radio. BBC Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed.
Podcast book interviews: CBS News Eye on Travel. Monocle Reads. New Books Network. Primaphilosophy. Possible Podcast. Travel with Meaning. Dihedral. Travel Commons. Between the Mountains. Dilemma.The Philosopher and the News. You Should Have Been There. Rolf Potts’ Travel Podcast. The Soul of Travel Podcast.
Print book interviews: New Humanist. The Irish Times. Five Books. Psychology Today. Much Better Adventures Magazine.
Selected honourable mentions: Times Higher Education “Book of the Week”. Wall Street Journal “Best Books for Retirement”. Five Books “The Best Philosophy Books of 2020″.
