Robyn Davidson's fascinating book is an anthology in its truest sense - it is a treasure trove of writing that challenges what we define as travel writing: moving effortlessly from Flaubert in Egypt to Elizabeth David in the Mediterranean by way of runaway slaves; the moon; hallucinating in Las Vegas; and going home. The book is arranged as a journey (not chronologically) with an introduction by Robyn Davidson. Davidson, in her fantastic selection, takes us on a fascinating journey of writers and discoverers (Chekhov, Darwin, Doris Lessing, Tobias Wolff, VS Naipaul, Tim Mackintosh Smith, Pankaj Mishra).

By turns funny, revelatory, engaging and surprising this is a gem of a book for readers of every taste.