Twentieth-Century Travel Writings

Hotel Honolulu

A novel by one of the best-known modern travel writers, Hotel Honolulu exploits the tension between fact and fiction in travel accounts. The dust jacket claims that Theroux presents 'the essence of Hawaii as it has never been depicted', combining the piercing gaze of an incisive traveller with the novelty of a new perspective. Few of his predecessors would have gone wrong with such a combination.
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Dunedin Poem

Not only does this pamphlet's content affirm that tourism can be local, but the poem by Thomas Bracken praises our local attractions over a selection of the European highlights.
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Sydney Opera House

Famous buildings and plazas appear throughout this exhibit, but they usually became tourist attractions only upon completion. This 1965 pamphlet celebrated what the Sydney Opera House hoped to become. Would any reader be interested today if the building had turned out to be a flop?
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India

The contents of this pamphlet are far less colourful or exotic than its cover. Although twentieth-century readers expect accurate information, we still like to imagine our voyages as adventures.
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