You Have to Read This:

This book taught me to travel: Paul Theroux, The Great Railway Bazaar.

Published in 1975, his account of traveling by himself by trains roundtrip from London to Tokyo provides as many lessons about dealing with life's challenges as it does with travel. He taught me to look at things for myself, to distrust guides (written or human) and to arrive at your own conclusions. Theroux can be judgmental, even innocently ethno-centric at times, but he trusts his eyes and accepts what he meets on his own well reasoned terms. There is a recently published (2005) companion-piece, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, in which he retraces his '75 bazaar. His keen observations are presented in lean, incisive prose that's satisfying to read and conducive to personal reflection.