Truly unique and illuminating, Airplane Mode asks: What does it mean to be a joyous traveller when we live in the ruins of colonialism? The conditions of travel have long been dictated by the colours of passports and the colour of skin. For Shahnaz Habib, travel and travel writing have always been complicated pleasures. Habib threads the history of travel with her personal story as a child on family vacations in India, an adult curious about the world and an immigrant for whom round-trips are an annual fact of life. 'Habib [is a] ruthlessly honest and funny observer.' New York Times 'Should be required reading.' Los Angeles Times 'Insightful, funny, moving, politically astute . . .' International Examiner