SOURCE: Rose, Peter I. “Around the World in 15 Years.” Christian Science Monitor (27 July 2000): 17.

In the following review, Rose offers a positive assessment of Fresh Air Fiend, but notes the uneven quality of the work's diverse selections.

Paul Theroux is the author of nine travel books. In The Pillars of Hercules, he journeys from one side of the Straits of Gibraltar to the other, the long way around the Mediterranean; in Kingdom by the Sea, a favorite of mine, he describes a shorter but slower trek, circling Britain, absorbing then conveying in painterly language the sights and sounds of the English seaside, the smell of dank cottages, the taste of fish ‘n’ chips.

Theroux is also known for his novels, many of which also readily fall under the rubric of “Travel Writing.” Some of them are based in Africa, some in Asia. Some, like The Mosquito Coast, are set...