Among the world's foremost equivalencers, Susan Sontag is a perpetual curiosity, especially noteworthy for her unequivocal promotion of unlikely equations whose virtues she apparently considers self-evident. In the title of her latest venture, I, etcetera, she manages a truly impressive equilibration. The reference to I is pretty clear, however, the etcetera could mean any number of things, as for instance: I, me, myself and mine; I came, saw, conquered, think therefore etc.; I want-see-say-do-will-can-am; or more probably, I, everyone and everything else. But no matter which you choose, etcetera has a way of equalizing whatever falls into its demesne; it renders further account or discrimination not only unnecessary but impossible….

The first piece, "Project for a Trip to China," introduces what might be called Sontag's trademark—that is, her careful attention to the phenomenon of acquisitiveness. (p. 13)

The theme of travel as accumulation harks back to On Photography...