Of course, the proximate reasons we travel are many and various: as de Botton explains. Using the travel experiences of great writers and artists, like Van Gogh, Ruskin, Huysmans and Wordsworth (in Provence, Venice, Belgium and the Lake District respectively), de Botton shows that men will travel to see beautiful buildings, or climb beautiful mountains, or make love to beautiful (and comparatively amoral) women. But, using the same artists, de Botton also shows that there is an underlying theme to all travel: the urge for difference, for the rhapsody of change. That this is an urge more often disappointed than gratified only makes the condition more poignant. One of de Botton's best chapters, on Flaubert, amplifies this tragicomic point: the French novelist spent enervating years in genteel Normandy longing for the sensual splendours of Egypt, then, when he finally reached the pyramids, he promptly lapsed into maudlin nostalgia for rainy, bourgeois Rouen.

If there are flaws in this, de Botton's latest and perhaps most readable book, they are the usual suspects: just occasionally the author comes across as a bit long-winded and self-regarding. However, this is such a pleasant and effortless read even these flaws can be taken as endearing characteristics--like the lizards who kip in the bath in your otherwise idyllic holiday villa.--Sean Thomas --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Synopsis
Few things are as exciting as the idea of travelling somewhere far from home. Somewhere with better weather, more interesting customs and more inspiring landscapes. So why are we so often dissatisfied with the reality of travel? In "The Art of Travel" Alain de Botton, author of "The Consolidations of Philosophy", takes us on a journey through the satisfactions and disappointments of travelling. Dealing - among other things - with airports, exotic carpets, holiday romances and hotel mini-bars, this book reveals the hidden motivations, expectations and complications of our voyages into the wide world. Accompanying him on his journey are writers, artists and thinkers who were inspired by travel in all its forms: Gustave Flaubert, Edward Hopper, Baudelaire, Wordsworth, Van Gogh, Ruskin - all ready to give us their insights on the curious business of travelling. The perfect antidote to those guidebooks that tell us what to do when we get there, "The Art of Travel" tries to explain why we really wanted to go there in the first place - and modestly suggests how we could learn to be happier on our journeys.