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Praise for Breakfast for Alligators

"Succulent travel writing."
       Publishers Weekly


"An anthology of rollicking, sometimes baffling adventures (and plenty of misadventures)....A bunch of great stories."
       Spud Hilton, The San Francisco Chronicle


"Gritty, funny, street-savvy, boisterous, and informative."
       William Caverlee, Perceptive Travel


"Read Breakfast for Alligators: Quests, Showdowns and Revelations in the Americas for the loving attention to detail, the frenzied trips through muddy fields, in backs of SWAT vans, in boats, even submarines. Read it for the food, familiar and weird, but most of all, read it for the journey that one man takes, and his observations of the mundane in a world that is familiar, and yet unknown."
       Madhushree Ghosh, Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel


"Refreshing, clever, and thoroughly entertaining."
       Sheri Hoyte, Reader Views


"Breakfast for Alligators is an eye-opener for both the untraveled and the well-traveled alike because this is no shiny tourism guide, this is down-home firsthand experience, and all the more charming for it."
       Glenn Dallas, San Francisco Book Review


"Darrin DuFord's thoughtful, reflective prose offers a short episodic-type glimpse of the moments in question--competing wine festivals that weren't all that competitive in Chile, a slice of the drumming life in Montevideo, Uruguay....There's plenty to entertain."
       Chris Backe, One Weird Globe


Praise for Is There a Hole in the Boat?

"A collection of lively travel stories from an award-winning writer."
       Guidebook author Richard Arghiris' description of Is There a Hole in the Boat? Tales of Travel in Panama without a Car in The Panama Handbook by Footprint Books


"Darrin DuFord is a travel and food writer whose richly descriptive and humorous work stands up to the best of Peter Mayle and Anthony Bourdain."
       Tim Patterson, former editor at the Matador Network of Travel Sites and Director of Advancement at Sterling College


"DuFord...does what few nonfiction writers can do. His words transport us to another world."
       Lynn Peterson, BookReview.com


"This ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Finalist managed to intrigue and engage in the first page and didn't let up until the last word. Highly recommended."
      Laurel Johnson, Midwest Book Review


"Darrin DuFord is a modern-day Herodotus."
      John L. Hoh, Jr., BookIdeas.com


"Once you start reading, this talented storytelling spins, weaves and pulls you through the book."
      Comments by Lowell Thomas Journalism Competition Judges on silver medal winner Is There a Hole in the Boat?


"DuFord introduces us to the people of Panama, and he does it hilariously and most perceptively."
       Eric Jackson, The Panama News


"I consider this little book an exceptional, fun read and highly recommend it."
      Kaye Trout's Book Reviews and The Midwest Book Review


"an engaging read."
       Terry South, Quality Book Reviews


"...a true, up close and personal picture of another world -- one full of vivacious human spirit, mouth-watering odors and vibrant color."
       Sue Vogan, BookPleasures


"Whether or not you are planning a trip to Panama, Is There a Hole in the Boat? is a worthwhile read. Darrin DuFord brings a country and its people to life, and in the process tells some very good stories."
       Alex McGilvery, Armchair Interviews


"DuFord is a talented travel writer, and does a good job of mixing political/social context with human observation."
       Levi Asher, Literary Kicks


"Darrin DuFord's tales of wanderlust provide an invigorating read.... DuFord's powers of description glow with a precision that creates flashes of images in the mind's eye, making this as visually stunning and creatively intoxicating. I can highly recommend this to you if you enjoy culinary adventures and vivid descriptions of exotic locales."
       Rebecca Johnson, The Rebecca Review


"Mr. DuFord has a style of writing that brings the landscape to life and makes even the most questionable meal, such as bush rat, sound delicious....If you are interested in travel or other cultures, add Is There a Hole in the Boat? to your reading list. You will not be disappointed."
       Lisa Kisner, ReaderViews.com



Past Interviews

Tampa Bay Times, July 27, 2017

Transitions Abroad, January 5, 2017

Perceptive Travel, August 24, 2010

Queens Courier, February 22, 2007

Travel Hub Radio, December 2006



Awards

Breakfast for Alligators won a gold medal in the 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Breakfast for Alligators won an honorable mention in the 2016-2017 Reader Views Literary Awards.

Breakfast for Alligators is a finalist for ForeWord INDIES 2016 Book of the Year Awards.

"A Chef in Cartagena Has Elevated Rodent to Fine Dining" (a.k.a. "The Swankiest Rodent in Cartagena") won a gold medal in the 2016 NATJA Travel Journalism Awards and a gold medal in the 2017 Solas Awards.

"What the Walls Taught Me" won a gold medal in the 2017 Solas Awards.

"Speaking in Hats" won a gold medal in the 2015 NATJA Travel Journalism Awards and a gold medal in the 2016 Solas Awards.

"Off the Deep End in Captain Karl's Homemade Submarine" won a bronze medal in the 2015 NATJA Travel Journalism Awards and a bronze medal in the 2016 Solas Awards.

"Maw versus Maw"(published under the title "Man versus Fish" in Roads & Kingdoms last year) won a gold medal (Animal Encounter category) in the 2015 Solas Awards.

"The Death of the Red Devils" won a silver medal (Culture and Ideas category) in the 2015 Solas Awards.

"Love, Death, and Protein" won a bronze medal (Travel and Food category) in the 2015 Solas Awards.

"Istria's Edible Empires" won a bronze medal (Culinary Travel category) in the 2014 NATJA Travel Journalism Awards.

"The Death of the Red Devils" won first place in Transitions Abroad's 2014 Narrative Travel Writing Contest .

"The Power of a Stare" and "Dark Meat, Bright City" each won a gold medal in the 2014 Solas Awards.

"A Message for the Cabbage Head Man" and "The First Astrotourists of Panama" each won a bronze medal in the 2014 Solas Awards.

"Leaping into Croatia's frog leg tradition" won a bronze medal (Culinary Travel category) in the 2013 NATJA Travel Journalism Awards.

"Journey by Bottle" won a gold medal (Travel and Shopping category) in the 2013 Solas Awards.

"Showdown at the West Esplanade Canal" won a silver medal (Travel and Food category) in the 2010 Solas Awards.

"Subdued by Street Vendors" won a silver medal (Travel and Food category) in the 2009 Solas Awards.

"The Comb of Rebellion" and "The Peanut Fiends of Guayaquil" won a bronze medal (Funny Travel category) and an honorable mention, respectively, in the 2008 Solas Awards.

Is There a Hole in the Boat? won the silver medal in the 2007 Lowell Thomas Journalism Competition, held by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.

Is There a Hole in the Boat? was chosen as a finalist for ForeWord Magazine's 2006 Book of the Year Award.