Small World broadens the mind with postcards and intelligence from everywhere at a time when the growth of international air travel has shrunk the definition of proximity and the internet has enabled the globalised media industry to bring distant events and places tantalisingly close. Affluence has made Australians more mobile than ever. The notion of travel as a recreational pursuit of the wealthy is long past. Last year, a third of the national population travelled abroad, joining almost a billion tourists in the air, on the road, on board ships and trains. Some of Australia's best authors and journalists are featured, including an exclusive extract from Murray Bail's forthcoming novel The Voyage. Other contributors include: Inez Baranay, Nicholas Haeffner, Brett Caldwell, Dianne D'Alpoim, Patrick Holland, Kristina Olsson, Olivera Simic, Maria Tumarkin, Elma Softic-Kaunitz, Lesley Synge, Chris Flynn, Desmond O'Grady, Sam Vincent, Sally-Ann Jones, Mira Robertson, Pat Hoffie, Heather Taylor Johnson and a striking photo essay by Michael Hall.