How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Author: Franklin Foer
Who knew you could learn so much about globalization, economics and politics from soccer? Great read.
Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Author: Julia Cameron
One possible path to re-discovering the creativity you never knew you had.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
Author: Jared Diamond
An admirable crack at explaining why the world is the way it is by way of an anthropological macro-history. This book probably comes up the most in conversation as we travel.
The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
Author: Bill Shore
Inspiring profiles of social entrepreneurs and projects we all can learn from and hopefully replicate to give back to community.
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
Author: John Carlin
Although the storyline is built around the South African rugby team and the 1995 World Cup, this book is more about Nelson Mandela and how he was able to unite a divided country. Inspiring.
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Author: Paul Theroux
The author re-visits Africa and re-assesses the place he once knew... and judges it once and for all. Well written, poignant observations of the thumbprints left by career politicians, aid workers, and everyday people.
Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
A look at the internal and external factors of how extraordinary people got to be, well, extraordinary. One of those books that challenges assumptions and makes you think differently.
Shantaram: A Novel
Author: Gregory David Roberts
Administering first aid in a Bombay slum, selling fake passports and running guns to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Technically a novel, but closely linked to the Author's own experiences. Fantastic read.
People who regularly practice a martial art know that sometimes the greatest power for the positive is the redirection of the negative. People who regularly practice travel and human interaction know this, too.
This little story is case in point. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Personal Growth by: Daniel Noll
19 Comments | 29 February 2012
You guys are the Perception Busters.
– A comment on our Facebook page in response to our arrival in Cairo earlier this week. And a label we’re happy to embrace.
Egyptian man on the streets of Alexandria, Egypt.
If you’ve been following us on Facebook or Twitter recently, you’re probably aware that we’ve been in Egypt this past week.
Egypt? But isn’t it unsafe now? Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Egypt, Middle East, Perspectives, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
17 Comments | 23 December 2011
This is a story of a woman I met on a train in Iran and a letter she wrote to me — a letter I now read through tears.
My heart sank as I watched the news from Iran this morning, scenes of the British Embassy being charged by an angry mob in Tehran. It saddens me – angers me, really – that narrow groups like this who define the world’s perception of Iran and the Iranian people are in reality such a small percentage of the country’s population.
My experience tells me they are the outliers, yet circumstances conspire to convince us on the outside to see them as the norm. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Perspectives by: Audrey Scott
33 Comments | 29 November 2011
This is the story of Iran, a country we once expected to visit last, as a final bow wrapped around a journey that tells the story of making human connections around the world. It’s also an explanation of why we’re going there this Friday.
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Travel by: Daniel Noll
87 Comments | 26 October 2011
On Thursday night I attended the launch of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy’s National Initiative* at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The crowd was typically Washington, D.C. (if you’ve ever lived there, you’ll understand). PhDs, former diplomats, the NGO community, and graduate students were all represented.
So how did I end up there?
I was trying to answer the question: “Do travelers like us offer any value to America’s public diplomacy efforts?” Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Perspectives, Travel by: Audrey Scott
22 Comments | 7 February 2009
