“The worst thing that can happen to you in travel is having a gun pointed at you by a very young person. That's happened to me maybe four times in my life. I didn't like it.”

American travel writer and novelist of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Theroux is best known for his vivid, immersive accounts of global journeys and his sharp observations on culture, politics, and human experience. His works span fiction and nonfiction, blending memoir, satire, and ethnographic insight.