Push the Red Button
When traveling by train in Italy, you could be on the right train to Venice and then all of a suddenly learn that you are not. You could be on an island in Greece and learn that you are not allowed to die there (not that you would want to). You could have a disagreement with a cow in Ireland or get caught up in a bizarre parade in Brussels. This book describes little things such as these that make traveling an adventure.
Push the Red Button is a collection of anecdotes and stories experienced by the author over years of travel. Mr. Chesnutt's dry humor and sense of the absurd is what makes you feel like you are seeing the world with him.
Sample Segment Titles:
- Buckets of Water
- No Shared Machine Guns
- We're on the Wrong Train
- The Knife
- These Horses Have a Problem
- You Cannot Die Here
Being a traveler as well I found Push the Red Button very refreshing (I love the title!).
It brought back many memories of crazy experiences my husband and I also had over the years.
This is a great book for experienced travelers and may be even a better book for those just
starting to travel. The stories are not only descriptive of the places visited but also fun
to read. The author teaches you about various destinations and how to flow with the out of
the ordinary situations that can and will occur when traveling outside the USA. It reminds
you that the out of the ordinary situations can lead you to memorable and in many cases once
in a life time experiences. This book could also be considered a great travel guide of where
to go, what to see (and maybe not see), where to stay, where to eat, and how to get around
in various countries. It is also an easy read and doesn’t get too bogged down in the tiniest
of details.
SM-Issaquah, WA.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. As an avid traveler myself, I can relate to some
of the situations the author describes here and he has inspired me to jot down more notes
about my own unique and priceless ones. After all, how often will I experience a helicopter
rescue from the Viking Sky cruise ship in distress in high seas off the Norway coast
(March 24, 2019).
RL-Seattle, WA.
I had so much fun reading the many vignettes of the Chesnutt travel sagas; at times laughing out loud. Whether swimming with sharks in Bora Bora or finding themselves on the wrong half of train headed to Venice or finding some very unusual toilets through out their journey, humor always wins the day. Also, we learn to always look for the Red Button. NW-Key Largo, FL.
Great read! Funny! Fantastic for those who travel and find humor in the little things. VH
With Push the Red Button, author Van Chesnutt has made a funny, informative, and delightful
contribution to the literature of travel. More impressive, he has pushed, stretched, and
invigorated the travel genre. Readers who don’t want another sleepy travelogue will be much
impressed by Chesnutt’s compact narratives, humble humor, and unpredictability. If he and his
wife visit a magnificent winery, he might tell it straight. But just as often, he’ll describe
a journey to a town or island as a string of anecdotal misadventures in a style that recalls
the most amusing Wodehouse novels. Even the structure is unpredictable. Some sections are
arranged geographically, while one early section is devoted to the challenges posed by
“Things Mechanical.” Push the Red Button is refreshing and genuine. It reminds us that one
vacation was memorable for an exhibit of classic paintings, while another was made unforgettable
by a note from hotel management politely explaining there had been a coup on the island you
were visiting. Some people yearn for an interminable book on English country gardens. For the
rest of us, there’s Push the Red Button.
MS-Renton, WA.