Aside from the requisite cultural misunderstandings, skin rashes and homicidal drivers, Wheelan wisely focuses his book on the way the family navigates meltdowns, hurt feelings and all the high-stakes transactions of life on the go. I loved this family. Wheelan is a lucid and likable storyteller, and his antic family dialogues are spot-on, but he is not — and does not pretend to be — a poet of place.

The whys behind this nearly-year-long trip are interesting but not especially noteworthy or requiring extensive commentary. The places visited turn out to be fairly arbitrary, dictated by various family members’ interests and opportunities to visit friends or stay in accommodations arranged by them. The people involved make this journey notable, particularly Wheelan’s three children, all brought to life on the page through the sort of telling, and often embarrassing, details it takes a parent to reveal.

... a swift and refreshing escape during these isolated, isolating times. It is also a disarming repudiation of those patronizing and "powerful social forces" that prevent too many families from similar adventures, and a waggish examination of nuclear (pun intended) family dynamics.

A sprightly account of an unusual family vacation: a nine-month-long Marco Polo-ish odyssey often visiting nontraditional tourist destinations.

A vivid chronicle of a family's intrepid sojourn.

A professor of economics at Dartmouth College, delivers a humorous account of the year he spent traveling the world with his family.