360 Degrees Longitude: One Family's Journey Around the World

This is a great book for anyone who likes to travel, has a family, likes children, likes foreign destinations, enjoys reading well-written prose, or plain just has a sense of humor.This book covers all of the afore-mentioned topics in an appropriate manner. John Higham and his wife, September, took their two children (Katrina and Jordan) around the world, literally. I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of numerous e-mails from John during the trip. I read each e-mail we received out loud to my family (and translated them into Spanish) and the whole family would ask every day if the next e-mail had arrived yet.My hope was that the book would be as good as his e-mails - and it is.John knows when to write seriously (as in discussing the poverty in some countries) and when to be funny (as when he talks about trying new and unknown foods). His sense of humor is great and he doesn't resort to crude or insulting humor.The book is a real fun read and makes you want to travel, and even bring your children with you.The way John incorporates Google Earth into the book is amazing. You end up with a book that is twice as long as the paperback. You see beautiful photos of incredible places and learn where they are located in the world.This is a wonderful book to read with your children and show them the photos that go along with each story. If you're not able to take 12 months of vacation, this is the next best thing.I recommend you purchase this book, and a comfortable chair that you can place near your computer, and read this book in one hand and have your other hand on your mouse.You can expand your horizons with a simple click and a turn of the page.Do it - you will be glad you did.

I read the Kindle Edition of this enchanting family's journey one year abroad and the format effected my 4 star rating. I'm not sure how the paperback copy was but I wish there were photos included some where, even a select few would have really helped me visualize this story better. There is a "Google Earth" option where you can go online and follow the Highams around the world which includes photos and extra stories, but I found "Google Earth" difficult to navigate through and wish some of it's content was in the pages of "360 Degrees Longitude" and not supplemental. When I read I like to get swept up and away by the story so going online made me feel like I had to step away from and then dive back into their adventure, which I wasn't fond of. Also, the teasers throughout the book to connect with Google Earth drove me crazy, I wish he just included all of it in one place.However, this is a must read for travel junkies, world explorers and/or those who suffer from wanderlust like myself. I wanted to throw all my essentials in a backpack, jump on a bicycle and journey around the world with the Hinghams almost instantly. John is humorous and quirky and the rest of his family is just as loveable. There were times when I wished he gave me more (what year is this, where did Grandma go - wait she's still there?, what Country are they in again?), but overall this book was brilliant and exciting. Going back to format, I hope they re-release this one day as a scrap book, photos woven in, maps and diagrams of where they traveled to and from within the chapters. I think that would have made the story perfect.

I am not one to burry myself in a book for hours at a time. Nor am I the type to read passages out loud to family members and friends but as I read this book I found myself doing both.From the first few pages I found myself drawn in and welcomed as a part of the authors family. It was so easy to become swept away right along with them in their travels. The author does a fantastic job of illustrating with vivid detail the beautiful countryside and then the not so lavish areas as well. There were so many parts where I giggled out loud. As I got caught up in the story going on in my mind I was then able to click on the computer and see first hand the beauty of the landscape and/or the entertaining antidotes of the families travels.The Google earth layer was entertaining. I found myself putting sticky notes in the book at the parts I wanted to view online because I just had to keep reading to find out what the next adventure or family joke would be.I loved that the children helped create this book with their journal entries. It certainly is a different perspective to an already witty, insightful and thought provoking book.I have to admit when I read about some of the locations that this family visited my jaw dropped and I thought to my self `YOU TOOK YOUR KIDS WHERE???'But as I read my preconceived notions were changed and I took on a different perspective (and admittedly that is NOT an easy thing for me to do). And I am so glad that I got the chance to modify my thoughts as did this family. There were many heartendering experiences that will leave an impression on me even though I didn't experience it first hand. It was so easy to see through the eyes of this family, children included.I'm sure that I will never have the opportunity to travel the world but after reading the book I wanted to offer my appreciation to the Higham's for allowing me to share their travels Round-the-World.