In An Innocent Abroad, more than 20 well-known writers and celebrities share the travel experiences that shaped their personalities and changed their lives.

In his introduction, An Innocent Abroad editor Don George explains how innocence and worldliness intertwine into an intricate relationship that enables each to thrive: “As long as we continue into unfamiliar situations, to open our hearts and minds to foreign ways, as long as we are able to keep losing our innocence abroad, that innocence will never end—and our appreciation of the world, our embrace of this unembraceable whole, will extend, and extend, and extend.”

Contributers appearing alongside editor Don George will be Virginia Abbott, Jim Benning, Jeff Greenwald, Larry Habegger, Jenna Scatena, and Lavinia Spalding.

Don George is the Global Travel Editor for Lonely Planet Publications.  In 25 years of wandering, Don has visited more than 60 countries and has published more than 600 articles in newspapers and magazines around the globe.

Virginia Abbott is a lawyer and avid traveler, writer and photographer. She has worked in immigration and criminal law in the United States and international judicial reform in Colombia and the Republic of Georgia. She is currently based in Bogota, Colombia.  

Jim Benning is the Deputy Travel Editor for BBC.com. He has worked for the Travel Channel and various newspapers, and his writing has appeared in various magazines and books. 

Jeff Greenwald has traveled extensively through five continents, working as a journalist and photographer. In addition he has prepared exhibits, lectures and educational programs for San Francisco’s Exploratorium, the University of California, The Body Shop, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. He is the author of Shopping for Buddhas. 

Larry Habegger began publishing his writing about adventure and offbeat travel in 1980. His travel stories have appeared in magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, including Outside, Travel & Leisure, and the Los Angeles Times. 

Jenna Scatena is a San Francisco-based writer, editor, and adventurer. She is an Editor-at-large, for San Francisco magazine. 

Lavinia Spalding is a writer, editor, teacher, and public speaker. She’s series editor of The Best Women’s Travel Writing, and author of two books: Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler, and With a Measure of Grace, the Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant.