The book
For the past ten years, Rolf Potts has taken his keen postmodern travel sensibility into the far reaches of five continents for such publications as National Geographic Traveler, Salon.com, and The New York Times Magazine. This book documents his boldest, funniest, and most revealing journeys — from getting stranded without water in the Libyan Desert, to crashing the set of a Leonardo DiCaprio movie in Thailand, to learning the secrets of Tantric sex in a dubious Indian ashram.
Marco Polo Didn't Go There is more than just an entertaining journey into fascinating corners of the world. The book is a unique window into travel writing, with each chapter containing a commentary track — endnotes that reveal the ragged edges behind the experience and creation of each tale. Offbeat and insightful, this book is an engrossing read for students of travel writing as well as armchair wanderers.
Excerpt
Read the Marco Polo Didn't Go There introduction chapter here.
Reviews
Reviews and blurbs for Marco Polo Didn't Go There from domestic and international media online here.
Book Tour Diary
Follow Rolf as he travels around North America promoting Marco Polo Didn't Go There in bookstores and bars and on college campuses. Regular updates online here.
Buy the book:
Amazon.com
Powell's
Barnes & Noble
Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr
Amazon.co.jp
Teaching Guide
The "commentary track" endnotes in Marco Polo Didn't Go There make the book a uniquely effective text for travel writing or creative nonfiction students. Teachers interested in desk copies or teaching tips for the book can direct queries to teachers@rolfpotts.com.
"Armchair travelers will get an enormous kick out of this thoroughly entertaining book."
— Booklist
"Rolf Potts' name may not be as familiar as Paul Theroux or Jan Morris, but he's as skilled a travel writer as anyone out there."
"Marco Polo Didn't Go There is a charming, eye-opening and — I hate to say the phrase because it's so cliched — laugh-out-loud funny book."
— Pauline Frommer, "The Travel Show"
"Rolf is one of the sharpest minds among the new generation of travel writers."
— Rick Steves, "Travel With Rick Steves"
"Potts knows quite well what travel in the 21st century is all about."
— La Repubblica (Italy)
"Rolf Potts is at the forefront of a new generation of literary travel writers that came of age with the Internet."
For more reviews, click here