Well, I guess I should fess up as to what I plan to read during the Alaska cruise:

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond (the guy who wrote Guns, Germs and Steel: the fates of human societies)

Jump the Shark: When Good Things Go Bad by Jon Hein

If you haven't heard about "Jumping the Shark" I suggest you visit the following website

www.jumptheshark.com

I guarantee a good laugh

Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends ~~M. Angelou~~