APRIL 3 , 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 13

Off The Shelf

TRAVEL WATCH How You Can Get Those Airline Upgrades It turns out that getting bumped up isn't a byzantine process. Nor is it a popularity contest Detour At an altitude of 4,000 m and a visa fee of $700, the ancient Himalayan kingdom of Mustang is a doubly steep proposition Off The Shelf Life on Testosterone Planet is never dull Hot Deals If you're thinking of escaping to the Antipodes, take a look at Air New Zealand's '100% Pure New Zealand' package

Testosterone Planet
(Travelers' Tales; 294 pages)

It's a man's world. Or so it seems in the pages of this book. And not always in the macho, pathetic way you might expect, given the title. Authors Frank McCourt, Tim Cahill, Jon Krakauer and many others take readers through rites of manhood all over the world. The essays offer intelligent, insightful takes on ordeals ranging from surviving torture or receiving the perfect punch in the face. Krakauer's piece, The Devil's Thumb, explains what motivates a reckless solo adventure in the mountains of Alaska. Journalists Sebastian Junger and Michael Herr share their experiences of covering conflict under heavy fire in Bosnia and Vietnam, respectively. More memorable than the man-vs.-man and man-vs.-nature pieces is Ray Isle's tale of man-vs.-bird. In Wild Turkey, Isle battles a vicious gobbler bent on pinning him inside his car during the blistering heat of a Texas afternoon. Life on Testosterone Planet is never dull.