Where did passports come from? Why did 1930s stewardesses carry wrenches? And how did teetotalers shape the modern vacation? Wanderlust answers these questions and more, as author Laura Byrne Paquet delves into the social history of travel. Now a multi-billion dollar industry, travel is also one of the world's oldest.

Paquet follows hypochondriac Greeks to the Oracle of Delphi, checks out the bedbugs in medieval coaching inns, enjoys a Finnish sauna with a group of well-bred Victorian ladies, and relaxes on a transatlantic liner with some of England's Bright Young Things from the 1920s. In breezy style, she explains the difference between a traveller and a tourist and explores the future of travel, from grand plans for commercial space travel to underwater hotels. As the book reveals, we've always loved to travel — the only thing that keeps changing is how we get from here to there.

Laura Byrne Paquet is the author of The Urge to Splurge: A Social History of Shopping. Her articles have appeared in more than 70 publications in Canada, the U.S., and Europe, including National Geographic, Traveler, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, enRoute, Chatelaine, Canadian Living, and The Ottawa Citizen. Between her globe-trotting adventures, she finds time to write romance novels from her Ottawa home.

Laura Byrne Paquet's profile page

"If you love fascinating facts about travel, you will definitely enjoy Wanderlust."

<i>VIA Destinations</i> magazine

"Intriguing."

<i>Calgary Herald</i>

"Rich in out-of-the-way facts and piquant observations."

George Featherling