The World Is Your Oyster (1939)
"Since This Seems to Be an Age When Nobody Knows What's Going to Happen Next, You Might as Well Travel with Your Savings"
Yates, Helen Eva. The World Is Your Oyster. The Art of Traveling Smartly. New York: Henry Holt, 1939.
Octavo. Hardcover. 1st Edition, Advance Review Copy.
Rare first edition, advance review copy, of this rollicking guide to travel in the late 1930s, with publisher's review slip affixed to front pastedown, in the original illustrated dust jacket. "Enthusiastic survey of various kinds of travel, in the Americas, Europe, the Orient, around the world; the methods, what different lines have to offer, the advantages of freighters, tourist and luxury classes; bus travel, train and plane. Kinds of drinks and foods to try in different countries. What to buy and what not to buy. How to prevent customs from being a nightmare. How to make yourself travel and the advantages. General coverage, with prices in round figures. Bibliography of books to read. Listing of freight lines, itineraries, passenger space. This does not plan trips, but merely whets the appetite... [A] very useful item" (Kirkus). Yates' writing is engaging, funny, and practical. While her age of travel is well past, reading about the experience of travel in the pre-war years offers new insight into the lives and recreational habits of those who would soon be thrust into World War II. Book about-fine, dust jacket extremely good with only mild toning and shallow chipping to extremities. A desirable ARC in the original dust jacket.