Rolf's Authors@Google talk in New York

Earlier this month, while passing through New York, I had an opportunity to speak about Vagabonding and long-term travel at the Google office in midtown Manhattan. Google has since posted a video of this presentation at YouTube, and it's a nice encapsulation of my typical book-tour subject matter (including a high-school graduation picture of me in a mullet and Cosby-Show sweater, which at be found at 08:50).

In the interest of making this video easier to navigate (especially for those without an hour to spare), I've broken down the presentation by theme as follows:

00:00 - 01:10: Introduction by Alexander Newman
01:10 - 02:30: Rolf explains the concept of vagabonding
02:30 - 08:20: Rolf reads Chapter One of Vagabonding
08:20 - 18:12: Rolf shares slides of his own international travels
18:12 - 20:05: Q&A - Travel insurance and preparing for emergencies
20:05 - 21:55: Q&A - Overcoming the language barrier abroad
21:55 - 23:20: Q&A - Dealing with anti-Americanism abroad
23:20 - 26:55: Q&A - Is it even possible to avoid being a "tourist"?
26:55 - 29:00: Q&A - The ethics of traveling in poor countries
29:00 - 31:10: Q&A - The challenges of coming home
31:10 - 32:32: Q&A - Managing funds while on the road
32:32 - 33:55: Q&A - Using local economies for transportation, etc.
33:55 - 36:05: Q&A - How to be a travel writer
36:05 - 37:40: Q&A - Traveling solo
37:40 - 39:28: Q&A - Advice for women traveling solo
39:28 - 41:20: Q&A - Where in the world has Rolf not traveled?
41:20 - 43:08: Q&A - Protecting yourself against crime on the road
43:08 - 44:30: Q&A - How to avoid getting in the guidebook rut
44:30 - 46:05: Q&A - Attachment to specific people and places on the road
46:05 - 48:08: Q&A - Bad experiences on the road
48:08 - 51:10: Q&A - Making time for travel (vacations v. sabbaticals v. quitting)
51:10 - 52:50: Q&A - What to pack, packing light
52:50 - 54:40: Q&A - Staying motivated to travel; not getting jaded
54:40 - 56:20: Q&A - Dealing with the prospect of running out of money
56:20 - 56:35: Closing remarks and wrap-up

Feel free fast-forward to the topic that interests you most. For more information on my book, Vagabonding.net contains reviews, resources, and travel information.