‎Books admitted me to their world open-handedly, as people for their most part, did not. The life I lived in books was one of ease and freedom, worldly wisdom, glitter, dash and style.

  Review of Blond Phillip (2010). Retrieved 14 February 2011. Since 1990 he lives with his daughter in Seattle.

Frequently Raban’s autobiographical accounts of journeys taken mirror transformations in his own life or the world at large: Old Glory takes place during the buildup to Ronald Reagan’s victory in the 1980 presidential election Coasting as the Falklands War begins and Passage to Juneau as the failure of the author’s marriage becomes apparent. Though he is primarily regarded as a travel writer Raban’s accounts often blend the story of a journey with rich discussion of the history of the water through which he travels and the land around it.