Travel can be sacred, an escape, and always enlightening. Women explorers and travelers are a special breed. Some were also incredible writers, recording their cross-cultural impressions with stunning vividness, often crossing into the most patriarchal cultures. The editors and a team of contemporary writers profile 22 courageous women who form a grand tradition. Among them, Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839), Fanny Lewald (1811-89), Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922), Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), Isak Dinesen (1885-1962), Anais Nin (1903-77), Freya Stark (1893-1993), Ruth Gruber (1911- ), Oriana...