License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport - Paperback >
/ License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport - Paperback

License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport - Paperback

Regular price$19.95
/
(Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.)
✔ Authenticity Guaranteed — Verified Designer Goods
✔ 100% Money-Back Guarantee on Eligible Items
✔ Prices Displayed in Your Local Currency
✔ Final Price = No Surprise Import Fees
✔ Complimentary Insured Worldwide Shipping on Qualifying Orders
✔ Select Collector & Specialty Pieces May Require Secured Delivery Handling
Our authentication process ensures every item meets strict luxury verification standards. Learn more
Complimentary worldwide shipping on qualifying orders

by Patrick Bixby (Author)

This surprising global history of an indispensable document reveals how the passport has shaped art, thought, and human experience while helping to define the modern world.

In License to Travel, Patrick Bixby takes the reader on a captivating journey from pharaonic Egypt and Han-dynasty China to the passport controls and crowded refugee camps of today. Along the way, you will:
  • Peruse the passports of artists and intellectuals, writers and musicians, ancient messengers and modern migrants.
  • See how these seemingly humble documents implicate us in larger narratives about identity, mobility, citizenship, and state authority.
  • Encounter intimate stories of vulnerability and desire along with vivid examples drawn from world cinema, literature, art, philosophy, and politics.
  • Witness the authority that travel documents exercise over our movements and our emotions as we circulate around the globe.

With unexpected discoveries at every turn, License to Travel exposes the passport as both an instrument of personal freedom and a tool of government surveillance powerful enough to define our very humanity.

Back Jacket

Patrick Bixby is a gifted storyteller. License to Travel provides a wide-ranging history of the passport, including a systematic survey of its invention, deployment, and literary repercussions, as well as a series of considerations on contemporary issues facing travel, globalization, and immigration. Bixby has gathered spectacular anecdotes that are not limited to British and American culture, but also engage with German, Russian, Chinese, and French examples, which are all very well chosen and discussed in depth.--Jean-Michel Rabaté, Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania

"This book makes a delightful, thorough, and sprightly contribution to the fields of cultural studies, mobility studies, and travel philosophy. By bringing together texts across different fields and by seizing the timeliness of the current upheaval of travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bixby's book makes for an innovative and informative read around the charged topics of citizenship, belonging, identity, and borders. Employing an easy-to-follow voice and an invitingly open, inquisitive style, License to Travel draws readers into the voyages, conundrums, and passages of an eclectic array of characters and contexts."--Christopher Schaberg, author of Grounded: Perpetual Flight . . . and Then the Pandemic

"Bixby offers us a luminous cross-cultural history of the passport, that precious object that stands at the intersection of the personal and the political. This is an important book for anyone interested in histories of mobility and the politics of border crossing from ancient times to the present."--Deepika Bahri, author of Postcolonial Biology: Psyche and Flesh after Empire

Author Biography

Patrick Bixby is Professor of English at Arizona State University. His books include Unaccompanied Traveler: The Writings of Kathleen M. Murphy.

Number of Pages: 248
Dimensions: 0.6 x 8.2 x 5.5 IN
Publication Date: September 05, 2023
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Backordered, shipping soon
Shop with Confidence
  • ✔ Authenticity Guaranteed — Verified Designer Goods
  • ✔ Sourced from Authorized European/U.S. Luxury Distributors
  • ✔ Secure Checkout — SSL Encrypted Payments
  • ✔ Fast Global Delivery — 3–11 Business Days
  • ✔ Easy Returns on Eligible Items
  • ✔ 100% Money-Back Guarantee — Full Refund if Not Satisfied
Verified Trust Rating: 91/100
Amazon American Express Apple Pay Bancontact Diners Club Discover Google Pay Mastercard PayPal Shop Pay USDC Visa SSL Secure
Amazon Pay Logo Fast checkout with Amazon Pay. Use your Amazon account to skip entering shipping or card info.
Trusted by discerning buyers worldwide — secure, verified luxury sourcing

AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED

Reserved for you — complete your purchase to secure this piece.

Authorized Designer Inventory Secure & Encrypted Checkout Tracked & Insured Delivery

OFFICIALLY AUTHORIZED RESELLER

Discover Officially Authorized Authentic Items at STORE7994.com - Certificates Available on Request!

Independently verified for store quality and customer safety.
Trust score: 91/100

All designer items offered by STORE 7994 are sourced from trusted luxury distributors and verified through independent authentication services.

Learn how STORE 7994 authenticates luxury items

Guaranteed Authentic — Includes Brand Documentation & Third-Party Verification Options.

Shipping information

  • Free Shipping* on all orders over $300 USD to most countries* Estimated delivery: 2-5 business days Mon-Sat to U.S., CA, EU etc.
  • Tracking available: DHL Express
  • Store 7994 Shipping policy
  • Global delivery in 3–9 business days (location dependent).
  • Free Worldwide Shipping $300+. International duties & VAT are calculated by destination country and may be collected upon delivery. UK orders are subject to 20% import VAT upon delivery.

Our innovation isn’t just in the brands we carry — it’s in the way we connect them. From our automation engine that keeps collections globally updated to our commitment to authenticity-first presentation, STORE 7994 exists where timeless design meets modern precision.

Every product we offer is:
Elevated · Intentional · Exclusive · Authentic

STORE 7994 is an authorized reseller of luxury fashion houses. Certificates and proof of authenticity are available to brand owners and partners upon request.

This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Returns & Refunds

We want you to shop with confidence at STORE 7994. If your purchase does not meet expectations, eligible items may be returned under the conditions below.

Return Eligibility
Items must be unused, unworn, and in original condition with all tags, packaging, and accessories included. Items showing any signs of wear or damage will not be accepted.

Return Window
Return requests must be made within 14 days of delivery.

Return Shipping
Customers are responsible for return shipping costs unless the item is defective, damaged, or incorrect.

Luxury Items
Items valued over $1,000 may be subject to a 7% restocking fee upon approved return.

Non-Returnable Items
For hygiene and product integrity reasons, the following items are final sale once opened or used:

• Underwear
• Fragrances
• Any worn or used items

Made-to-Order Items
Custom-designed products, including STORE 7994 hoodies, are made exclusively for each customer and are final sale. These items are not eligible for return or exchange unless defective or incorrect.

If you receive a defective or incorrect item, please contact us and we will make it right.

International Shipping & Duties
Many of our products ship directly from trusted international partners. Any applicable customs duties or import taxes are calculated at checkout and are non-refundable, even if the item is returned.

Returns & Associated Fees
All approved returns are subject to a $24 return processing fee. For international orders, duties, taxes, and return fees will be deducted from the original payment.

Shipping Policy
Complimentary shipping is offered on orders over $300. Orders below this threshold are subject to standard shipping rates at checkout.