The problem with a lot of popular travel literature is that it tries to make adventure out of trivial stuff. Even though I consider P. Theroux's train book a complete failure and discredits him as an author for me, at least he keeps reminding the reader how mundane travel is. Instead, a lot of the books I come across now sound like this, "Aghhh, haggled by a taxi driver!" "Noooo, another line," "May god have mercy on our souls. Outdated infrastructure," (though this can pose a serious risk, I think it is blown out of proportion a lot of times).