Happy Fourth of July

World Hum’s Most Read: June 28-July 3

What We Loved This Week: Def Leppard in Greece, Austrian Competence and Freedom in Colombia

The LAX Theme Building, Then and Now

As a Woman, Can I Really Travel Without Much Fear for my Safety?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

Inside Slum Tourism

With mixed feelings, Rob Verger recently signed on for a tour of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. He looks back on the experience—and the photos he was allowed to take.

Break Bread and Brie in France

Great cheese abounds in the land of Gaul, but dig in and you risk committing any number of faux pas. Terry Ward explains how to partake of the nation’s famed fromage with savoir faire.

10 Wanderlust-Inducing Summer Concerts

Call it world music or global pop or the sound of the world hum. Ben Keene reveals 10 acts on tour that are sure to transport you. Plus videos.

Bryan Mealer: ‘War and Deliverance in Congo’

The former AP correspondent traveled up the Congo River. Frank Bures asks the author of “All Things Must Fight to Live” about following in the wake of Joseph Conrad. 

A Journey Into ‘The Second World’

Some bureaucrats joke that they would never claim expertise about countries they had not at least flown over. In an excerpt from his new book, Parag Khanna argues that real global understanding can only come from serious travel.

‘The Worst Guidebook Writer Ever’?

Lonely Planet author Robert Reid reviews Thomas Kohnstamm’s “Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” and weighs in on the controversy surrounding it

Jackson on my Mind

I’ve always assumed it was Jackson, Mississippi, referred to in the Johnny Cash song, but I don’t really have any evidence to back that up.

While you’re down here, be sure to spend some time in the Mississippi Delta and hit a few juke joints and barbeque and soul food restaurants.  Tunica Mississippi is a weird place to visit, with huge casinos next door to shotgun shacks.  Oh, and Graceland Too, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, is not to be missed.  It’s a shrine to Elvis, run by a rabid and none-too-sane fan, open 24 hours.  Muscle Shoals, Alabama, was an important location in the music industry in the 1960s and 70s and is the location of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, but, unfortunately, there’s precious little else there.

Good question. Always thought it was Mississippi, too. But I looked through some books here at home and can’t find anything.

Eva, you are taking my dream trip. Can you swing by LA on the way and pick me up?

Thanks for the tips, Brad! Muscle Shoals was definitely on my list, but I hadn’t heard of the others before.

TambourineMan - I’d love to. LA is pretty close to New Orleans, right? Just a quick dash across Texas?

The Jackson mystery continues for now, I guess… Complicating matters, I looked up the song’s writers - one is from New York and one is from West Virginia. I may just have to pull over and pose in front of the “Welcome” sign for both.

Never heard of Andrew Jackson either but your road trip should be fun!
Alex

Eva wrote: “Just a quick dash across Texas?”

Exactly.

TIP:
If you’re in the market for a guide book, LP has one called Lonely Planet Road Trip: Blues & BBQ. Don’t know if it’s any good, but I do know it exists.