Italy from a Backpack

Whether it's discovering the ruins of Pompeii, hiking the hilly back roads of Tuscany, or sleeping on a park bench in Venice, this collection of youthful adventures (and misadventures) will keep aspiring and experienced travelers laughing, cringing, and turning the pages for more. "

Real Stories from Young Travelers

If you've ever wanted to backpack in Europe... If you want to relive your adventures... If you love good travel writing... Better than guidebooks, these first-person accounts paint vivid pictures of a traveler's experience in Europe. Like familiar music and favorite scents, they'll awaken a taste for adventure in those who have yet to travel, and bring back memories for those who have. Romance, surprise, discovery and wisdom all bubble through these authors' inviting pieces. At last, a collection of first-person eye-witness adventures that will keep you laughing, wondering, and walking with the well-traveled story tellers who take you inside Europe's must-see places. Sneak past Vatican guards to see Michaelangelo's Pietà. Break out of a locked hostel to catch the morning train to Rome. Find a surprise romance in the fresh sea air of Cinque Terre. Meet your cheek-pinching, food-loving Sicilian relatives in the old country.

Boston Globe

The work is intended to go deeper than a typical travel guidebook, to convey the youthful follies of journeying with a backpack.

Mark Pearson is an avid reader and traveler. After studying art history in Rome and backpacking around Europe for four weeks, Mark decided to compile a collection of the best backpacking stories he could find. So, he created the Europe From a Backpack series. He also publishes other non-fiction books through Pear Press. Martin Westerman, who has lived in and backpacked around Europe, is the author of How to Flirt, Easy Green, TheBusiness Environmental Handbook and hundreds of articles. He lectures on communications and sustainable business practices for the University of Washington Business School in Seattle, Washington, where he lives with his wife, two sons, and edible garden.