The Bird Man and the Lap Dancer: Close Encounters with Strangers

Some incredible stories, what an amazing traveler Eric Hansen is

The most enjoyable read I've had in a while. All the short stories are about Hansen's experience with people that he didn't know before, but he writes about them in such a thoughtful way that it seems as if he's know them for years. What surprised me the most was the amount of emotion that I felt reading through the stories. This will be a book that I send to friends to read...more

The most enjoyable read I've had in a while. All the short stories are about Hansen's experience with people that he didn't know before, but he writes about them in such a thoughtful way that it seems as if he's know them for years. What surprised me the most was the amount of emotion that I felt reading through the stories. This will be a book that I send to friends to read for years to come.   hide

just finished this...would recommend to anyone who enjoys travel writing.

This is one of the best examples of travel literature I have ever had the pleasure to read. Hansen has an incredible sense of timing, it seems, that enable him to consistently find himself in the right place at the right time...to wittness the most bizarre and heartwarming events in the lives of the strangers he meets. I frequently found myself in awe at his ability to get by in...more

This is one of the best examples of travel literature I have ever had the pleasure to read. Hansen has an incredible sense of timing, it seems, that enable him to consistently find himself in the right place at the right time...to wittness the most bizarre and heartwarming events in the lives of the strangers he meets. I frequently found myself in awe at his ability to get by in "foreign" cultures with only a basic understanding of the language, and his ability to infiltrate and interview Americans living out surreal existences in places like Manhattan or the California coast.I think I've got a new hero.   hide