An Absolutely Outrageous Adventure

by John Bougen

The quest was an attempt to visit 191 countries in 150 days, enter the Guinness Book of Records and help promote Save the Children. Driven by the passion of Auckland businessman John Bougen to explore... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143018809
• ISBN13: 9780143018803
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

A Trip Worth Taking

A Trip Worth Taking I read this book while visiting New Zealand because I was eager to know why two Kiwis would undertake such a bizarre trip to 191 countries in 150 days. At first it struck me that it might have been an escapade to satisfy a midlife crisis. When I started reading the book I thought John Bougen was arrogant and his motivation for the trip was to buy his way into the Guinness Book of World Records for the cost of all that air fare. As the tale unfolded, it was apparent that Bougen can afford such extravagances, can wrangle others to work for him, and does rant and rave when things don't go as expected. At least the author didn't try to conceal Bougen's egotism or the fact that the Save the Children promotional campaign was an afterthought. Bougen comes across as rich and self absorbed. At least at first he did. Gradually, though, an extraordinary thing unfolds along the way for Bougen under pressure of the practical matters of such a grueling trip. What initially motivated the trip matters less and less as we move along. By the time I got to the end of the book, I had actually come to like Bougen and appreciate steadfast Irving and their outrageous trip of fleeting impressions--if for no other reason then to discourage any one else similarly tempted. John Bougen really is a better person for having endured the tortuous agenda required to pull this stunt off. On the trip, Bougen wakes up to the recurring blur of ordinary people, many mean-spirited, many extraordinarily kind, and real children, inherently similar even when living in appalling conditions. By talking to children ever so briefly and photographing the encounters for a future book, Bougen himself is transformed. The after thought to promote Save the Children through this trip ended up being the thing that made sense of the trip. It was the children who shook these guys up in ways that later even made the use of the term "quest" appropriate. It's nice to know that the John Bougen's of the world can make a difference in their own way for causes that matter and help children in places we have forgotten, if we knew they existed at all. Read this book even if you have to read the epilogue first, because it is not just about how fast you can travel to every country in the world!

Armchair travel at its best

The perfect way to see every country....learn a bit about it and see it all from the point of view of a couple of madly adventurous Kiwis. It wasn't a best seller in Australasia for nothing.

My Kind of Adventure

This is a book I couldn't put down - I still feel exhausted despite finishing the book last week. If you are looking for an in-depth analysis of the world - buy an Almanac, but if you are looking for a fun whirlwind adventure to all but 2 of the world's 193 countries buy this book and have a laugh. These two "mad" kiwis (as we call them in Australia) have done something I have dreamed of doing all my life i.e. visit every country in the world, but, unlike these two, not in a single journey!!! I didn't matter to me that in some countries they barely touched the tarmac before getting back on the plane for the next destination because it was "me" sitting in that aeroplane; going through customs; staying in dodgy hotel rooms etc. I was on that trip with them every step(page) of the way. As for the Save the Children fund - their profile has been lifted enormously by the "Absolutely Outrageous Adventure" of these two crazy guys who have done something that no one else has done before. Go and buy the book - it is for a good cause no matter what the other review (also from Melboure funnily enough) says. Finally, I would love to know if the two guys are still on speaking terms?????????