Adventures of a Continental Drifter

Review by Mary Keener

At the advice of a strict, unhappy vegetarian who tells the author (then working as a flight attendant) to "get away", Elliott Hester sets off on a six-continent adventure. A reading adventure the book promises to be, solely from the introduction. Antarctica is not on Mr. Hester's agenda, due to his "...visions of clattering teeth and frostbitten testicles." He outlines some of his upcoming adventures putting the reader in an expectant spirit of what lies ahead - lows and highs and probably something in between.

Food - its pleasures and perils - are the topic of many of the articles, not surprising, but I could have done without reading about the author's lustful thoughts (more for shock and marketing impact, I assume, also limiting his readership). However, his sense of humor, wonder, openness, gratitude and willingness to see another perspective were refreshing and rather hilarious at times - certainly dangerous as well.

Every so often Mr. Hester inserts information that gives the reader a better appreciation of an area or the circumstance in which he finds himself - some historical tidbit, a political fact. I would have liked more. Far too much was devoted to impress, shake, rattle and roll. I sensed I was supposed to be on a constant high. It was exhausting and annoying at times.

The benefits of travel are limitless. It changed me and I am always delighted and awed with its influence on others. "Globe-trotting broadened my view of the world, which has broadened my sense of self," writes Elliott Hester. Not bad at all.