Today marks the release of the new National Geographic book My Favorite Place on Earth: Celebrated People Share Their Travel Discoveries, by Jerry Camarillo Dunn Jr., who also happens to have written for us here at National Geographic Traveler. Jerry had to pull a lot of strings to compile the book (see below) so we pulled some of our own to get the inside details about putting it all together. He'll be guest blogging about his experiences here for the next few weeks.
For My Favorite Place on Earth, I asked 75 famous people, ranging from the Dalai Lama to Will Ferrell, to talk about the one place they love more than anywhere else on the planet. Hearing the concept, my friends said, "Great idea!" Then they'd add, "I can't believe nobody's done it before!"
My (admittedly simple) idea grew out of a question people ask me when they find out I'm a travel writer: "You must have been everywhere. So what's your favorite place?" I decided to ask the same question of highly accomplished people, so readers could see some fascinating spots through their eyes.
But how exactly could I get famous folks to talk with me?
I sent out hundreds of letters to people I admire, explaining the book and asking them to be part of it. Sometimes success was sublimely easy. The phone would ring and a voice would say, "Natalie Portman would love to talk with you," or "Jerry, this is Jeff Foxworthy."
For My Favorite Place on Earth, I asked 75 famous people, ranging from the Dalai Lama to Will Ferrell, to talk about the one place they love more than anywhere else on the planet. Hearing the concept, my friends said, "Great idea!" Then they'd add, "I can't believe nobody's done it before!"My (admittedly simple) idea grew out of a question people ask me when they find out I'm a travel writer: "You must have been everywhere. So what's your favorite place?" I decided to ask the same question of highly accomplished people, so readers could see some fascinating spots through their eyes.
But how exactly could I get famous folks to talk with me?
I sent out hundreds of letters to people I admire, explaining the book and asking them to be part of it. Sometimes success was sublimely easy. The phone would ring and a voice would say, "Natalie Portman would love to talk with you," or "Jerry, this is Jeff Foxworthy."
Other times, sublime turned to ridiculous. I called on every friend who
had even a sixth-degree of separation from a celebrated person I
sought. One friend - let's call her Susan - lived a few blocks from a
rock star. I sent her a request letter to drop in his mailbox. When she
got to the house, though, there was no mailbox. (Many famous people
don't accept mail at home.) Her clever plan? She slipped my letter into
a baggie, tied it to a large rock, and heaved it over his fence. Um, I
never heard back.But stars like Robin Williams signed on, and he thoughtfully prepared for our conversation about his hometown of San Francisco. (One great line: "Another famous neighborhood is Haight-Ashbury. It's like a Civil War re-enactment done by Timothy Leary.") Of course, other requests didn't pan out. One kind refusal came on heavy stationery engraved with "Buckingham Palace," and it began, "The Queen has asked me to thank you for your letter . . . "
For more behind-the-scenes stories and other fun things from My Favorite Place on Earth, please check back at IT blog regularly. And go to www.myfavoriteplacenatgeo.com for a list of the book's "big names," then tell me which ones you'd like to hear about in future posts (you can email me at: jerry@myfavoriteplacenatgeo.com or leave the suggestions in the comments here). Thanks!
You can pick up a copy of My Favorite Place on Earth at National Geographic Books or Amazon.com.
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It's too bad the Queen refused, it would have been an interesting read. As for Robin Williams, it might be more entertaining if his was a video interview. His animated impressions never fail to crack me up!
Congratulations for your unyielding spirit to get this book completed.
Wow! Even a rejection letter from the Queen is a cool memento to have. This book is such a great idea!