Gone Travl'n
A road trip to Michigan.
Greetings fellow wanderers,
I am off this week to once again practice what I preach. I’ll be taking a road trip to Michigan with the family to visit friends and am looking forward to touring Ann Arbor for the first time.
If you have been enjoying these ramblings on travel, adventure, and anthropology, please consider supporting my writing, which grants you full access to everything I’ve written on Substack, including excerpts from my upcoming book. In addition, the proceeds will go toward publishing and promoting my forthcoming book, ‘An Anthropology of Wandering: How Adventure Can Alleviate a Fearful Culture’. The book is a first-person account of backpacking the Appalachian Trail that dives into anthropology, travel, fear, and the meaning of adventure in culture and society. If you love social science, adventure, and travel, this book will be for you. Subscribe and stay tuned for more updates.
Read an overview of the book, which includes an excerpt, in my recent post: Summoning the Anthropology of Wandering: A Primer to My Forthcoming Book
I will return next week, but here are some previous posts from Those Who Wander to become more acquainted with my work.
If you are new to Those Who Wander and looking to get caught up on some of my writing, might I interest you in some initial posts?
Consider starting with Those Who Wander’s About Page to get to know a little about me and what I’ve been up to in archaeology and anthropology.
Read about the Motives of Those Who Wander and Motives of Those Who Wander Revisited: Expanding on Why.
Read my first post and the first published excerpt from my book, Our Ancient Narrative.
Check out some of my favorite and popular posts of late:
On what to do about brain rot, see How Do We Combat Brain Rot? Heed Thoreau’s Advice to Live More Deliberately
On the significance of empathy and reflections on human nature, see Wrestling with Human Nature: The Anthropologist’s Dilemma
For a review of Rick Steves in the New York Times and seeking inspiration in the new year, see New Eyes for a New Year: Rick Steves and the Power of Transformational Travel
For a recent piece on the art of wandering, see The Flâneur and the Freedom to Walk
For a review of my recent sojourn in Ireland, see Dublin and Its Environs: A Walker’s City and the Weight of History
On how I was inspired to become an archaeologist, see Mesa Verde and the Power of a Place: An Archaeologist Dwells On Human Memory and the Meaning of Our Past
On the importance of anthropology, see Do We Know Who We Are?: The Significance of Anthropology
On becoming a coffee snob in Italy, see The Subtle Ways Travel Changes Our Habits: A Brief Reminiscence on Italy from the Perspective of a Coffee Snob
On the question of whether adventure writing is dying, see No More Blank Spaces on the Map: Is Adventure Writing Dying?
On the deeper meaning of travel and adventure, see Why Travel and Adventure are Existential Concerns
For a journey into the meaning of death, see Memento Mori: A Venture into Death, Travel, Tattoos, and Recalibrating Worldviews
And for an in-depth look into hunter-gatherers and our problems evaluating human progress, see Hunter-Gatherers and Human Resilience: An Homage to the OG Wanderers and the Problem of Assessing “Progress”
Those Who Wander’s Mini-Manifesto and Business Model
If you’ve been here a while and value this writing, please consider supporting Those Who Wander in whatever way you think is fair. I make 90% of my content free.
Here’s why:
It has always been challenging for new authors to break into the writing scene. This is especially true in today's market and media ecosystem, which vies for everyone's attention. So much content, even great content, is expected to be free, which presents a dilemma for authors, especially aspiring new ones like myself.
What an author cares most about is getting people to read and enjoy their writing. Sharing ideas is what I care most about. This is why I’ve committed to my readers that most of my content will remain free. I care more about people reading, reflecting on, and enjoying my work than making money.
That said, if you value this work and can spare a few dollars, please consider supporting this project via a paid subscription or simply by sharing your thoughts and engaging with the content. Subscriptions are only $5 a month, and you can cancel at any time, so if you want to support me for a single month, I would be eternally grateful.
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Know someone who may enjoy these musings on the anthropology of wandering?
Thank you to everyone who has subscribed and supported Those Who Wander so far. Safe travels and happy reading! Cheers!
-JSB