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Amazon.co.uk Review
As much-lauded travel writer Rory (Stalin's Nose, The Oatmeal Ark) MacLean cheerily admits on the first page of his latest book, the conception of Next Exit Magic Kingdom was an accident. He had been intending to write a dark, deeply researched thesis on Germany but then glanced in some tabloid travel pages and realised no-one took holidays in Germany, and that lots of people took holidays in Florida. So, in search of sun, sea, sex--and better sales for his book--off he went to the land of Goofy and conch fritters. The result, for all its shambolic construction and its air of affable laziness, is a minor triumph of the travel writer's art; this is probably because, as MacLean discovers, Florida is itself the camp, self-regarding epicentre of pleasure-seeking recreation. Whether he's drinking "Celestial Seasoning Red Zinger tea" in a new age cafe, visiting the "Fern Capital of America", swimming in the swampy seas in his "Like Naked Fig-Leaf Swimwear", or just hanging out with the rollorblading "bohunks" of Miami Beach, MacLean finds a US state that is a state of mind, or rather, a state of laid-back, languid, post-ironic, sun-baked mindlessness. There are serpents in this airhead Eden, of course. As MacLean points out, the hot mosquito-riiden Florida panhandle might be relatively crime-free, but that's got something to do with the 1.8m American citizens in prison. And the suburbs of Miami might be a vivid palette of cultures and skin tones, but they are also sitting on the faultline of some potentially violent ethnic sensitivities. This is not a flawless book. The ending is weak, the writing sometimes self-indulgent. But it is a sharp, funny, engaging and rather brave attempt to pin down the essence of a very strange, yet strangely magnetic place. --Sean Thomas
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘The best book I’ve read for a very long time’
John Wells on Stalin’s Nose
‘One of the most original and innovative travel books for years’
Alexander Frater on The Oatmeal Ark
‘I cannot imagine a better book on the beauty and terror of Burma. Read it, read it, read it’
Fergal Keane on Under the Dragon
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Walt Disney didn't just reshape the landscape of Florida when he spawned Disney World in its swamps. The socio-economic balance of the state was altered too. Rory Maclean recounts his journey of discovery, finding plenty of entertainment, the odd angry German, and not a little magic, in a forgotten Florida, away from the crystal castles and cotton candy commercialism.
Format:Hardcover
I thought I knew Florida. I've been there four times. This wonderful, dangerous romp through the 'Suunshine State' really tells it like it is. So hide in the parks if you want to be no where, but get out into the magic kingdom beyond the Magic Kingdom if you want the REAL Florida. A great, beach read.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a book that every person emarking on a holiday should read. This is how it should be done.
I've never read a travel book that has been as enlightening, or one so reassuring of the goodness of human nature. Rory Maclean set out to find a soul in a soul-less place, and has achieved just that.
I've never read a travel book that has been as enlightening, or one so reassuring of the goodness of human nature. Rory Maclean set out to find a soul in a soul-less place, and has achieved just that.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Should have gone to Germany
Self-indulgent meaningless waffle. Maclean tries to hold his account of superfical America together with weak considerations of fate and destiny. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2002
Read it! A LAUGH!
Great, great rollocking romp through Mickey's home state. I loved it! Florida as you've never seen it before.
Published on 22 Jun 2000
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