The Third Tower Up from the Road : A Compilation of Columns from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency’s Kevin Dolgin Tells You About Places You Should Go

Title: The Third Tower Up from the Road : A Compilation of Columns from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency’s Kevin Dolgin Tells You About Places You Should Go
Author: Kevin Dolgin
Release Date: June 2009
Pages: 312
Price: $16.95
Category: Travel
ISBN: 209781595800435
Size: 5 ½ x 8 ½
Binding: Paperback

The Third Tower Up from the Road is a humorous and entertaining collection of travel essays made up of old favorites as well as new commentaries from Kevin Dolgin’s popular McSweeney’s Internet Tendency column, "Kevin Dolgin Tells You About Places You Should Go." The work celebrates the distinctive qualities of locales the world over, and each globetrotting essay focuses on a specific place, capturing the flavors and cultures through individual observations and exceptional experiences.

Funny, irreverent, and insightful, these writings eschew the bland, touristy veneer experienced by most travelers as they seek to discover what is special and unique about each destination.

Covering a wide range of places and interests, from unusual experiences and humorous traveler’s foibles to voyages that are intensely personal and moving, the selected columns include "The Best Falafel in the World: Beirut, Lebanon," "The Door to Hell: Paris, France," "Kafka’s Erotic Dream: Prague, Czech Republic," "The Nesting Habits of Roman Cars: Rome, Italy," "Of Romans and Pussycats: Provence, France," and "The Third Tower Up from the Road: Huanghuacheng, China."

Also featured is "The Corsican Swallowtail: Corsica, France," which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

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Author Information

Kevin Dolgin

is a professor of marketing at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He writes the column “Kevin Dolgin Tells You About Places You Should Go” for McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and regularly contributes to Opium Magazine. His stories have been published in numerous literary journals, including Absinthe Literary Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, CrossConnect, and Night Train. He lives in Paris.

Reviews

Starred Review!
“In this wide-eyed travelogue, there are no phone numbers, websites, addresses or other helpful resources: “you’ll get pretty much no practical advice whatsoever in these pages… [but] if you’re looking for a reason to travel, then perhaps this book might provide what you need.” New York-born, Paris-based writer Dolgin, a frequent business traveler, has a gift for opening up the world in his popular McSweeney Internet Tendency column, dozens of which are collected here. Dolgin has been seemingly everywhere: Beirut, Prague, Rome, Provence, Huanghuacheng (China), and the Grand Canyon are just a few destinations covered. Quite a few columns are devoted to the island of Corsica, where Dolgin has a summer home with his family. A perfect travel companion, Dolgin has friends (and the ability to make new ones) all over the world, a droll sense of humor and an insatiable curiosity about local history. Again and again, he introduces his readers to charming, unique aspects of familiar and exotic locales, doing an excellent job conveying sights “too wonderful to be imagined.” A highly enjoyable read, this should charm any sightseer, and inspire a number of travel plans.”
— Publisher’s Weekly

“When you spend your work life traveling the world as Dolgin does, you tend to stumble upon some of the less touristy places on the map. Dolgin’s irreverent column, “Kevin Dolgin Tells You About Places You Should Go in Europe,” has been published since 2003 at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. The bulk of the humorous dispatches cover European and Asian locales. Verdict: Reminiscent of the writing of Dave Barry or Tim Cahill, Dolgin’s observations will leave you wishing he was your traveling partner. Even though some of the shorter pieces include little actual travel advice, this book will make an excellent companion in your armchair or on your own adventure.”
— Library Journal

“The essays manage to be entertaining while still providing information and a good glimpse at the region or site under discussion.”
— ForeWord Magazine

“The Third Tower Up from the Road is worth checking out. The $16.95 book includes essays on 60 topics that range from the exotic to the accessible, most written with humor and wry observation.”
—Salt Lake Tribune