Travel writing Books

Book Synopsis*A SCOTSMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR* Stranded at Schiphol airport, Ben Coates called up a friendly Dutch girl he'd met some months earlier. He stayed for dinner. Actually, he stayed for good. In the first book to consider the hidden heart and history of the Netherlands from a modern perspective, the author explores the length and breadth of his adopted homeland and discovers why one of the world's smallest countries is also so significant and so fascinating. It is a self-made country, the Dutch national character shaped by the ongoing battle to keep the water out from the love of dairy and beer to the attitude to nature and the famous tolerance. Ben Coates investigates what makes the Dutch the Dutch, why the Netherlands is much more than Holland and why the colour orange is so important. Along the way he reveals why they are the world's tallest people and have the best carnival outside Brazil. He learns why Amsterdam's brothels are going out of business, who really killed Anne Frank, and how the Dutch manage to be richer than almost everyone else despite working far less. He also discovers a country which is changing fast, with the Dutch now questioning many of the liberal policies which made their nation famous.A personal portrait of a fascinating people, a sideways history and an entertaining travelogue, Why the Dutch are Different is the story of an Englishman who went Dutch. And loved it.Trade ReviewIn Why the Dutch are Different, a torch beam of scrutiny plays across the country's past and its lesser known foibles. Author Ben Coates has produced an insightful gem. - Scotsman - Books of the YearA book as quietly appealing as its subject and full of fascinating details. Coates is entirely convincing in his affectionate portrait. - ProspectVivid and informative. Coates intertwines the nation s journey to its modern iteration with his own adaptation to the Dutch lifestyle. An accomplished debut. - GeographicalI thoroughly recommend this book. Why the Dutch are Different provides the answers to all the questions I had but didn't dare ask about the Netherlands. I eagerly sat up late into the night reading, laughing often and enjoying the ride into my adopted homeland. - DutchNewsFascinating. Thoroughly researched and well thought out, Why the Dutch are Different takes us on a journey that goes beyond red-lit windows and Anne Frank to the true depths of the country. Ben Coates's day-to-day life sits effortlessly alongside deeper dives into history and folklore. A friendly read that strikes the right balance between teaching and entertaining. - The BookbagOne of the few books on our near-neighbour, Coates gets under the skin of a nation renowned for its liberalism. - The Bookseller

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Book SynopsisMeet Chris Stewart, the eternal optimist. A man who flies to Spain, sees a peasant farm on the wrong side of the river and, with scarcely a second thought, hands over a cash deposit. And then finds he has acquired not just the farm, but the farmer, too, who has no intention of leaving. Not to mention the lack of running water, electricity or even a bridge. It would be enough to send most people straight back home. But Chris and his wife Ana are made of stronger stuff - and besides, they have sunk all their savings into their farm, El Valero, and buying a flock of sheep. So there is no turning back. Life gets tough, but it also gets good. Driving Over Lemons is that rare thing - a funny, insightful book that charms you from the first sun-lit page to the last. And one that makes running an Andalucian mountain farm seem like a half-decent career move. It has been a major bestseller both in Britain and Spain.Trade ReviewChris Stewart is one of life's bold originals * Independent *When an author is as modest and humorous as this, his story cannot be told too often. -- Elizabeth Buchan * The Times *Exquisite. In Driving Over Lemons the anecdote flourishes once more. -- Penelope Lively * Daily Telegraph *It is easy to enthuse about the simple pleasures of life, but hard to write about them well. Stewart's gift is to do so with the carefree manner of someone you've just met in a bar, and who is buying the drinks. -- Hugh Thomson * Independent *A wonderful book - funny, affectionate and reaching deep beneath the skin. Tuck it into your holiday luggage and dream -- Elisabeth Luard * Daily Mail *A funny, observant and personal account of what a man can learn, and what there is to appreciate in life. Marvellous -- John S. Doyle * Sunday Tribune *You just can't fail to like him and the world he spreads out for you: wayward sheep, eccentric ex-pats, hospitable (and slightly barmy) neighbours... Mr Stewart is that rare thing, the real McCoy -- Rosie Boycott * Guardian *Endearing, heart warming, self-deprecating, sometimes surreal... charming stuff -- William Leith * Standard *

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Book SynopsisThe perfect edition for any Orwell enthusiasts'' collection, discover Orwell''s personal account of life on the streets beautifully reimagined by renowned street artist Shepard FaireyTo be poor and destitute in 1920s Paris and London was to experience life at its lowest ebb. George Orwell, penniless and with nowhere to go, found himself experiencing just this as he wandered the streets of both capitals in search of a job. By day, he tramped the streets, often passing time with ''screevers'' or street artists, drunks and other hobos. At night, he stood in line for a bed in a ''spike'' or doss house, where a cup of sugary tea, a hunk of stale bread and a blanket were the only sustenance and comfort on offer.First published in 1933, Down and Out in Paris and London is George Orwell''s haunting account of the streets and those who have no choice but to live on them.''A man who looked at his world with wonder and wrote down exactly what he saw, in admirable prose'' John MortimerCOMPLETE THE TRIO WITH SHEPARD FAIREY''S NEW-LOOK 1984 AND ANIMAL FARM.Trade ReviewHe saw through everything... Many have tried to imitate his particular kind of clarity without anything like his moral authority -- Peter Ackroyd * The Times *A man who looked at his world with wonder and wrote down exactly what he saw, in admirable prose -- John Mortimer

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Book SynopsisBraving hunger, heat exhaustion, unbearable terrain and cultures largely untouched by civilization, Dervla Murphy chronicles her determined trip through nine countries, through snow and ice in the mountains and miles of barren land in the scorching desert. Full Tilt is a highly individual account by a celebrated travel writer based on the daily diary Murphy kept while riding through Yugoslavia, Persia, Afghanistan, over the Himalayas to Pakistan and into India. Murphy's charm and gracious sensitivity as a writer and a traveler reveals not only civilizations of exotic people and places but the wonder of a woman alone on an extraordinary adventure.

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Book SynopsisOne of Newsweek's six best travel books of the last decade. Winner Guild of Food Writers, Food and Travel Award 2018. Winner Best Food Book of 2017, Gourmand Cookbook Awards. Shortlisted for the Art of Eating Prize. Shortlisted for the IACP, Culinary Travel Book Award. Award-winning food and wine writer and photographer Carla Capalbo has travelled across Georgia collecting recipes and gathering stories from traditional food and wine producers in this stunning but little-known country, nestled between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea. The result is a beautifully illustrated cookbook and personal travel guide. Meet Georgia's best chefs and cooks and sample their vibrant, colourful cuisine, including vegetables blended with walnuts and aromatic herbs, subtly spiced stews and the irresistible cheese-filled khachapuri breads that are served on every table. Georgia is one of the world's oldest winemaking areas, with wines traditionally made in clay qvevri buried in the ground. These wines are some of today's most sought-after by fans of natural and organic viticulture.Trade ReviewAgricultural and food biodiversity are fundamental resources for our survival and we all need to protect them. Carla Capalbo has long played her part through her food writing. She's doing it again here, in this detailed and colourful book about Georgia. With characteristic empathy and engagement, she's documented Georgia's unique gastronomic traditions and the people who have fought so hard to preserve them. - Carlo Petrini, Founder of Slow Food ; A book that shows the world perhaps one of the last undiscovered great food cultures of Europe - Rene Redzepi, noma

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Book SynopsisAs a practising mortician, Caitlin Doughty has long been fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies. In From Here to Eternity she sets out in search of cultures unburdened by such fears. With curiosity and morbid humour, Doughty introduces us to inspiring death-care innovators, participates in powerful death practices almost entirely unknown in the West and explores new spaces for mourning - including a futuristic glowing-Buddha columbarium in Japan, a candlelit Mexican cemetery, and America''s only open-air pyre. In doing so she expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with ''dignity'' and reveals unexpected possibilities for our own death rituals.Trade ReviewEach chapter covers a culture with a highly distinctive and apparently ghastly approach to their dearly departed . . . Think Bill Bryson doing an underworld special. This humane book gently provokes you to wonder: what exactly is your ideal funeral? * THE TIMES *Caitlin Doughty, joyful member of the death-positive movement, describes what happens to our mortal remains with relish . . . Jaunty, boisterous and unsentimental, Doughty believes that we in the West have made death and its aftermath into a corporate, perfunctory affair, in which the meaning of an ending is denied. Her mission is to 'reclaim public understanding of dying' and to bring individuality and joy back into our dealings with the dead -- Nicci Gerard * OBSERVER *Compelling . . . Doughty's writing will give you the giggles as well as send a chill down your spine * GUARDIAN *From Here To Eternity is fascinating, thought-provoking and - who would have guessed? - sometimes funny. Put it on your bucket list -- Neil Armstrong * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Doughty's lively (and charmingly illustrated) cascade of anecdotes about how various cultures handle death spells out how contemporary Western fastidiousness about dead bodies is by no means universally shared. We are introduced to a variety of startling practices . . . and pervading the book is Doughty's ferocious critique of the industrialisation of death and burial that is standard in the United States and spreading rapidly elsewhere. Doughty invites us to look at and contemplate alternatives . . . we have choices beyond the conventional; we can think about how we want our dead bodies to be treated as part of a natural physical cycle -- Rowan Williams * NEW STATESMAN *Doughty is fun, with an eye for the bizarre and the absurd. She hits the road in quest of cultures untroubled by the western taboos surrounding mortality -- Robert McCrum * SPECTATOR *Doughty is a relentlessly curious and chipper tour guide to the underworld . . . a likable, witty companion. It is a difficult high-wire act: to make death interesting and funny enough that we'll drop our fears and read, without losing sight of the gravity of the topic. I couldn't help thinking that her dispatches from the dark side were doing us all a kindness * NEW YORK TIMES *From Here to Eternity is Doughty's tour of the death ways of other peoples, from Bolivia to Barcelona . . . [she] chronicles each of these practices with tenderheartedness, a technician's fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief * THE NEW YORKER *Doughty finds the humanity in other cultures' relationship with death that seems to be lacking in ours * VICE *From Indonesia to Mexico and all points in between, Doughty talks to a wide array of professionals, handling the topic with curiosity, frankness and no small amount of humour -- Doug Johnstone * THE BIG ISSUE *Both sensitive and light, and thoroughly researched, written by an author who genuinely wanted to learn from, not fetishise, other customs * GUARDIAN *Really fascinating -- Alice Waters * NEW YORK TIMES *In her jocular but reverential tone . . . Doughty doesn't offer a simple morbid travelogue; instead, she digs into diverse death experiences with deep veneration and examines ties to socioeconomic, status, female identity and religion * BOOKLIST *A study in cultures, places and profound moments - and with a necessary slice of morbid humour too * WANDERLUST *Moving and inspiring * BELFAST TELEGRAPH *Written with great humour and respect, this book will undoubtedly educate, entertain, and leave you dying to learn more * GEOGRAPHICAL *Far from morbid, but moving * WOMAN'S WAY *[Doughty's] fascinating tour of rituals contains liturgies that readers will surely observe as rare, macabre, unbelievable, ancient, and precious - sometimes simultaneously * KIRKUS *

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Book Synopsis"A sharp-tongued spokesman for Japan's environment and traditions" —The New York TimesIn Alex Kerr's critically acclaimed Lost Japan and Dogs and Demons, he documented the decline of the traditional landscapes of Japan, his adopted home of many years. Here, in Hidden Japan he makes a journey of rediscovery to find the wonders that still remain.Originally published in Japanese as a call to preserve disappearing facets of Japan's rich and ancient culture, Hidden Japan records Kerr's travels to various remote and lesser-known places where pockets of traditional culture can still be found. Some are faraway—like Aogashima Island, 200 miles south of Tokyo—while others are easy to reach, such as Mii-dera temple just east of Kyoto. The ten engaging essays in this book describe surprising remnants of Japan's fragile physical and cultural environment, including: Avant-garde Butoh dancing in the remote village of Tashiro in Akita Prefecture How shochu liquor is distilled from tropical ferns on the Pacific island of Aogashima An austere but delicious kaiseki meal in rural Tottori Prefecture composed of local herbs and meats Anecdotes relating to Kerr's childhood growing up in Japan and his passion for restoring old houses The damage caused by governmental infrastructure and reforestation policies, as well as by tourism Plus many other topics! Kerr's sharp eye for detail and exquisite descriptions of Japanese, arts, architecture and foods will inspire readers who already appreciate his unique look at the "reality" of Japan beyond the romance. His personal involvement and obvious love for his subjects encourage us all to think more carefully about our own traditions and environment, and to challenge ourselves to search for better solutions to preserve what is of value all around us.Trade Review"In spare but elegant prose, Alex Kerr introduces armchair travelers to some of Japan's most precious areas. If you want great insights into contemporary Japan and its treasures, Alex Kerr is the best you can get." --Amy Chavez, author of The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter"A sharp-tongued spokesman for Japan's environment and traditions." --The New York Times"Alex Kerr is on a lifelong quest for beauty." --Issey Miyake

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE ORION BOOK AWARD Part travelogue, part manifesto for wildness as an essential character of life, Wild is a one-of-a-kind book from a one-of-a-kind author''Undefinable, untameable, profound and extraordinary'' Observer _________________________''I took seven years over this work, spent all I had, my time, money and energy. Part of the journey was a green riot and part a deathly bleakness. I got ill, I got well. I went to the freedom fighters of West Papua and sang my head off in their highlands. I met cannibals infinitely kinder and more trustworthy than the murderous missionaries who evangelize them. I found a paradox of wildness in the glinting softness of its charisma, for what is savage is in the deepest sense gentle and what is wild is kind. In the end - a strangely sweet result - I came back to a wild home.'' Wild describes an extraordinary odyssey, courageous and sometimes danTrade ReviewWild is like nothing else I've ever read: thrilling, troubling, frightening, exhilarating. Jay Griffiths' courage and energy are formidable, but so is her sheer intelligence and literary flair * Philip Pullman *Reality is such that both language and imagination have to exaggerate in order to confront it truly. Living with such exaggeration you need a very good head for heights and a lot of bravery. In this book Jay Griffiths has both. If bravery itself could write (by definition it can't), it would write, I believe, like she does * John Berger *

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Book SynopsisMartha was the youngest of sixteen, handpicked reporters who filed accurate, confidential reports on the human stories behind the statistics of the Depression directly to Roosevelt's White House. From these pages, we understand the real cost of sudden destitution on a vast scale. We taste the dust in the mouth, smell the disease and feel the hopelessness and the despair. And here, too, we can hear the earliest cadences of a writer who went on to become, arguably, the greatest female war reporter of the 20th century.

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Book SynopsisPublished to coincide with the Golden Globe Race's 50th Anniversary It lay like a gauntlet thrown down; to sail around the world alone and non-stop. No one had ever done it, no one knew if it could be done. In 1968, nine men - six Englishmen, two Frenchmen and an Italian - set out to try, a race born of coincidence of their timing. One didn't even know how to sail. They had more in common with Captain Cook or Ferdinand Magellan than with the high-tech, extreme sailors of today, a mere forty years later. It was not the sea or the weather that determined the nature of their voyages but the men they were, and they were as different from one another as Scott from Amundsen. Only one of the nine crossed the finishing line after ten months at sea. The rest encountered despair, sublimity, madness and even death.Trade ReviewTold with verve and riddled with drama, you can smell the salty air and feel the spray on every page * Sunday Times *An enthralling tale of human endeavour and courage in the face of adversity ... you don't need to know your spinnaker from your mainsail to enjoy this book * Tatler *As a carpenter purrs over perfect dovetailing, so I rejoiced in the craftsmanship of this book * Simon Barnes *

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Book SynopsisJames Cameron admired Martha Gellhorn above all other war-reporters 'because she combined a cold eye with a warm heart'. The Chicago Times described her writing as 'wide ranging and provocative, a blend of cool lyricism and fiery emotion, alternately prickly and welcoming, funny and stern'. But make your own judgements, and in the process find yourself plunged straight back into Madrid during the Spanish Civil War, feel the frozen ground of the Finno Russian war, the continent-wide Japanese invasion of China, the massacres in Java, the murderously naive intervention in Vietnam and the USA's dirty little wars in Central America. You will also experience the process of the Second World War by the seat of your pants. It is a tough way to learn history, but also one created in bite-sized chunks, that inspire just as often as they shock.

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Book SynopsisAnthony Bourdain is a life-long line cook and author of Kitchen Confidential. Here, he sets off to eat his way around the world. He heads out to Saigon where he eats the still-beating heart of a live cobra, and travels deep into landmined Khmer Rouge territory to find the rumoured Wild West of Cambodia (Pailin).Trade Review'It works extremely well. In large part because Bourdain is a very funny writer; sharp, honest and with a beguiling mix of belligerence and sensitivity' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Brilliantly written up in a raw, stylish gonzo prose, with pitch-black humour and a devilish turn of phrase' EVENING STANDARD

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Book SynopsisChris Stewart''s Driving Over Lemons told the story of his move to a remote mountain farm in Las Alpujarras - an oddball region of Spain, south of Granada. Funny, insightful and real, the book became an international bestseller.A Parrot in the Pepper Tree, the sequel to Lemons, follows the lives of Chris, Ana and their daughter, Chloë, as they get to grips with a misanthropic parrot who joins their home, Spanish school life, neighbours in love, their amazement at Chris appearing on the bestseller lists . . and their shock at discovering that their beloved valley is once more under threat of a dam.A Parrot in the Pepper Tree also looks back on Chris Stewart''s former life - the hard times shearing in midwinter Sweden (and driving across the frozen sea to reach island farms); his first taste of Spain, learning flamenco guitar as a 20-year old; and his illustrious music career, drumming for his school band Genesis (sacked at 17, he never quite became Phil Collins), and then for a circus.Trade ReviewIt is everything that made the first book so hugely successful - endearing, heartwarming, self-deprecating, sometimes surreal. * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisThis prize-winning book is both an illustrated tour of a Tokyo rarely seen in Japan travel guides and an artist's warm, funny, visually rich, and always entertaining graphic memoir.Florent Chavouet, a young graphic artist, spent six months exploring Tokyo while his girlfriend interned at a company there. Each day he would set forth with a pouch full of color pencils and a sketchpad, and visit different neighborhoods. This stunning book records the city that he got to know during his adventures. It isn't the Tokyo of packaged tours and glossy guidebooks, but a grittier, vibrant place, full of ordinary people going about their daily lives and the scenes and activities that unfold on the streets of a bustling metropolis.Here you find businessmen and businesswomen, hipsters, students, grandmothers, shopkeepers, police officers, and other urban types and tribes in all manner of dress and hairstyles. A temple nestles among skyscrapers; the corner grocery anchors a diverse assortment of dwellings, cafes, and shops—often tangled in electric lines. The artist mixes styles and tags his pictures with wry comments and observations. Realistically rendered advertisements or posters of pop stars contrast with cartoon sketches of iconic objects or droll vignettes, like a housewife walking her pet pig, a Godzilla statue in a local park, and an urban fishing pond that charges 400 yen per half hour.This very personal guide to Tokyo is organized by neighborhood with hand-drawn maps that provide an overview of each neighborhood, but what defines them is what caught the artist's eye and attracted his formidable drawing talent. Florent Chavouet begins his introduction by observing that, "Tokyo is said to be the most beautiful of ugly cities." With wit, a playful sense of humor, and the multicolor pencils of his kit, he sets aside the question of urban ugliness or beauty and captures the Japanese essence of a great city in this genuinely vital portrait.Trade Review"His drawings are so wonderfully idiosyncratic and so beautifully detailed that what must have been a labor of love for him is no less a labor of delightful artistic genius." --Publishers Weekly starred review"[Tokyo on Foot] will make readers with wanderlust wish to drop their everyday responsibilities and trek through a foreign city. It will appeal to the armchair traveler who yearns for a bit of the exotic, the wanderer who wants to someday visit the Land of the Rising Sun, and, indeed, anyone who appreciates the marriage of grit and beauty, self-deprecating wit, and losing oneself in good pictures for a while." --ForeWord Reviews"From what Chavouet saw, did, ate--bugs, festivals, storefronts, a fake French mansion, random drinks and snacks--his illustrations catch perfect little details you'll never find in any guidebook. His myriad of people caught in the midst of their everyday lives are undoubtedly the book's highlight. […] By the time he's back in his native France, he's got an award-winning, fascinating book that surely makes for ideal reading for both armchair tourists and peripatetic travelers alike." --Book Dragon (Smithsonian Institute)

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Book SynopsisA guide to some of the world''s most fascinating places, as seen and experienced by writer, television host, and relentlessly curious traveler Anthony BourdainAnthony Bourdain saw more of the world than nearly anyone. His travels took him from the hidden pockets of his hometown of New York to a tribal longhouse in Borneo, from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Paris, and Shanghai to Tanzania''s utter beauty and the stunning desert solitude of Oman''s Empty Quarter''and many places beyond.InWorld Travel, a life of experience is collected into an entertaining, practical, fun and frank travel guide that gives readers an introduction to some of his favorite places''in his own words. Featuring essential advice on how to get there, what to eat, where to stay and, in some cases, what to avoid,World Travelprovides essential context that will help readers further appreciate the reasons why Bourdain found a place enchanting and memorable.Supplementing Bourdain''s words are a handful of essays by friends, colleagues, and family that tell even deeper stories about a place, including sardonic accounts of traveling with Bourdain by his brother, Christopher; a guide to Chicago''s best cheap eats by legendary music producer Steve Albini, and more. Additionally, each chapter includes illustrations byWesley Allsbrook.For veteran travelers, armchair enthusiasts, and those in between,World Traveloffers a chance to experience the world like Anthony Bourdain.

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Book SynopsisThe first book from YouTube motorbike touring sensation with over 2 million followers, Itchy Boots.

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Book SynopsisIn Mezcal, two-time James Beard Award–winning author Emma Janzen explores what sets this cousin of tequila apart from the rest of the pack.*Nominated for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award in the Beverage category* Produced in Mexico for centuries but little known elsewhere until recent years, mezcal has captured the imagination of spirits enthusiasts with its astonishing complexities. And while big liquor is beginning to jump aboard the bandwagon, most mezcal is still artisanal in nature, produced using small-batch techniques handed down for generations, often with agave plants harvested in the wild. Join author Emma Janzen as she presents an engaging primer on all things mezcal that includes:   Mezcal’s long and captivating history in Mexican culture The craft of distilling mezcal, from growing and harvesting the agave to roasting and grinding it, all the wa

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWith a foreword by Diana Gabaldon. Two men. One country. And a lot of whisky.As stars of Outlander, Sam and Graham eat, sleep and breathe the Highlands on this epic road trip around their homeland. They discover that the real thing is even greater than fiction. Clanlands is the story of their journey. Armed with their trusty campervan and a sturdy friendship, these two Scotsmen are on the adventure of a lifetime to explore the majesty of Scotland. A wild ride by boat, kayak, bicycle and motorbike, they travel from coast to loch and peak to valley and delve into Scotland's history and culture, from timeless poetry to bloody warfare. With near-death experiences, many weeks in a confined space together, and a cast of unforgettable characters, Graham and Sam's friendship matures like a fine Scotch. They reflect on their acting careers in film and theatre, find a new awestruck respect for their native country and, as with any good road trip, they even find themselves. Hold onto your kilts... this is Scotland as you've never seen it before.Trade Review'A breath of fresh Scottish air in lockdown, it's one to stick in your sporran and consult when compiling your wishlist of places to escape to once restrictions are lifted.' * Scotsman Magazine *The "Outlandish" tour of Scotland with Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish is the armchair adventure we all need right now. * BBC Scotland *This book is full of anecdotes, history and hilarious interactions between the pair as they travel around Scotland in their trusty campervan. * Express *A breezy roadtrip full of banter between the chalk-and-cheese friends. * Sunday Post *For anyone who wants to know more about Scotland's past or hear the inner monologues of two fine gentlemen, this provides a warm and wicked adventure in a magical land. * Magic Radio Book Club *Their odyssey is self-deprecatingly styled as "the story of two men who know nothing". In fact, Heughan and particularly McTavish are keen students of Highland history * Scotland on Sunday *A joyously eclectic mix of historical trivia, travel diary and journey of self-discovery. * Scottish Field *The actors have a lovely dynamic, which is as enjoyable in the book as it promises to be in the upcoming TV series. * The People's Friend *Clanlands is a must for anyone who loves Scotland... a riotous, engaging and dynamic journey. * Dumfries & Galloway Life *'It all comes across as fun-loving and tongue-in-cheek and that's what raises this book above the usual Scottish history/travel books that have become so prominent.' -- Cameron McNeish * Scots Magazine *

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Book SynopsisFrom one of Germany’s most beloved celebrities, a cross between Bill Bryson and Paulo Coelho.     It has sold over 3 million copies and been translated into eleven different languages. Pilgrims have increased along the Camino by 20 percent since the book was published. Hape Kerkeling’s spiritual epiphany has struck a nerve     Overweight, overworked, and physically unfit, Kerkeling was an unlikely candidate to make the arduous pilgrimage across the French Alps to the Spanish Shrine of St. James, a 1,200-year-old journey undertaken by nearly 100,000 people every year. But that didn’t stop him from getting off the couch and walking. Along the way, he began the journal that turned into this utterly frank, engaging book. Simply by struggling with his physical limitations and the rigors of long-distance walking, he discovered a deep sense of peace that transformed his life and allowed him to forgive himself, and others, more readily. He

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Book Synopsis''The book that redefined travel writing'' Guardian Bruce Chatwin sets off on a journey through South America in this wistful classic travel book With its unique, roving structure and beautiful descriptions, In Patagonia offers an original take on the age-old adventure tale. Bruce Chatwin's journey to a remote country in search of a strange beast brings along with it a cast of fascinating characters. Their stories delay him on the road, but will have you tearing through to the book's end. Trade ReviewElliptical and alive, this is a brilliant travel book * Observer *It is hard to pin down what makes In Patagonia so unique, but, in the end, it is Chatwin’s brilliant personality that makes it what it is… His form of travel was not about getting from A to B. It was about internal landscapes. * Sunday Times *The chameleon traveller…who wrote books in a genre of their own, and whose life was his own subtlest creation… a complex, flamboyantly gifted and rather tragic figure -- Colin Thubron * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis'This is a joy of a book. I know nothing of sweaters and little of Iceland, and this book used pictures and words to open Iceland and its people for me, using Icelandic sweaters and knitting to do it.' - Neil Gaiman In Iceland there’s a piece of knitwear that everybody has but no one has bought: the lopapeysa, or ‘lopi’ for short. This sweater made from unspun Icelandic wool is a treasured piece of the island’s culture passed down from generation to generation, used and cherished. In this guide, Joan of Dark and Kyle Cassidy take you on an 800-mile adventure around Iceland’s breathtaking landscapes to explore and experience the island’s rich knitting tradition and to show you how to make your very own lopi-style knits. By interviewing local experts, wool producers and knitters they trace the history of the patterns and along the way meet rock stars, professors and designers who share their knitting-related stories and reveal some of their country’s hidden gems. From isolated waterfalls, hot springs and iconic movie locations to beautiful Icelandic horses, giant glaciers and erupting volcanos, the book is full of stunning photographs at every turn. The journey inspired 12 beautiful lopi-style knitting patterns all presented here with photographs, charts and detailed instructions to carefully guide you through each project whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced knitter. So pick up your needles and spend some time in the land of ice and fire! Work your way through the projects from the traditional sweater to gloves and hats, a cosy jumper dress and stylish headbands all while finding out why the lopapeysa is so special and so individual to Iceland.Trade ReviewThis is a joy of a book. I know nothing of sweaters and little of Iceland, and this book used pictures and words to open Iceland and its people for me, using Icelandic sweaters and knitting to do it. -- Neil Gaiman, author of 'Norse Mythology'Lopapeysa is a seamless knitting together of the author's travels in contemporary Iceland with one of that splendidly idiosyncratic island's most highly prized and traditional crafts, the art of knitting itself. -- Lawrence Millman, author of 'Last Places: A Journey in the North'Through the story of their travels and the people they met along the way, Joan and Kyle have lovingly captured both the technical and artistic aspects of Icelandic knitting tradition, and the culture that created it. -- Smári McCarth, former member of the Alþingi, Iceland's national parliamentIf you've ever fancied visiting Iceland, or simply admire its timeless knitting pattern styles, then you'll love this book! * The Knitter *Lopapeysa is part travelogue, part pattern collection, making it something you can curl up with and enjoy reading as well as browsing the designs to choose which to knit first. Outstanding photography makes it perfect for your coffee table too… The combination of text and gorgeous photography is enough to get you packing your bags immediately. * Knitting Magazine *It’s an absolute dream to one day travel up there, buy some local wool, and then start knitting one of the dreamy designs from the book. Until then, I’ll enjoy Lopapeysa from my armchair and keep dreaming! * Blackwell's *Table of ContentsIntroduction Our Route Around Iceland’s Ring Road Travel Guide by Kyle Cassidy It’s Easy to Get to Iceland, You Should Go Iceland’s History of Wool About the Lopapeysa Knitting a Lopi in Iceland Getting Started How Is Iceland Even? The Ring Road Getting Around Iceland The Icelandic Handknitting Association The Waterfall at Helgufoss The Hot Springs at Skátalaug Heavy Metal Horses Designer Profile: Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir Knitter Profile: Pálína (Palla) Gunnarsdóttir Reykjavik is a 24-hour Party Fagradalsfjall, an Erupting Volcano Hestaland, a Horse Farm that Lets you Stay Illugastaðir, the Land of Seals and Ghosts Dalvik Camping, Whale Watching Akureyri Grjótagjá Cave, Mývatn's Underground Hot Springs Möðrudalur: The Farm at the Top of the World Námafjall Hverir, the Mývatn Geothermal Area Djúpivogur Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon Skaftafell National Park Black Sand Beaches Vik, Where All the Movies are Filmed Knitter Profiles: Hera, Guðlaug and Anna Halla Knitter Profile: Janina Witzel The Hot River Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach Designer Profile: Védís Jónsdóttir Back Home Coda Knitting Guide and Patterns by Joan of Dark Knitting the Lopapeysa Recipes versus Patterns Sizing Needles Abbreviations Cardigans and Steeking Yarn Important Skills The Patterns Learn to Chart Headband Hot Springs Hat Executioner’s Capelet Everywhere Sweater Hestaland Horse Sweater Puffin Sweater Lakeside Lopapeysa Hiking Gloves Adventure Sweater Waiting Cape Learned Lopi Vik Dress Endnotes Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisLaurens van der Post was fascinated and appalled at the fate of this remarkable people. Ostracised by all the changing face of African cultural life they retreated deep into the Kalahari desert. His fascinating attempt to capture their way of life and the secrets of their ancient heritage provide captivating reading and a unique insight into a forgotten way of life.Trade ReviewThe Lost World of the Kalahari (1958) and The Heart of the Hunter (1961)...are loathed by San scholars and serious ethnologists. But they matter. Van der Post gave a face and a story to a discarded people before anyone else thought to do so. * Guardian *A master storyteller, he had the knack of identifying the significant, poetical image * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis'A fizzingly entertaining and enlightening book' Daily Telegraph 'Mesmerising' Geographical Magazine 'A fascinating delve into uncharted, forgotten lost places. But it's not just a trivia-tastic anthology of remote destinations but a nifty piece of psycho-geography, explaining our human need for these cartographical conundrums.' Wanderlust In a world of Google Earth, in which it is easy to believe that every discovery has been made and every adventure already had, Off the Map is a stunning testament to how mysterious our planet still is. From forgotten enclaves to floating islands, from hidden villages to New York gutter spaces, Off the Map charts the hidden corners of our planet. And while these are not necessarily places you would choose to visit on holiday - Hobyo, the pirate capital of Somalia, or Zheleznogorsk, a secret military town in Russia - they each carry a story about the strangeness of place and our need for a geography that understands our hunger for the fantastic and the unexpected. But it also shows us that topophilia, the love of place, is a fundamental part of what it is to be human. Whether you are an urban explorer or an armchair traveller, Off the Map will inspire and enchant. You'll never look at a map in quite the same way again. Trade Review'An absorbing book packed with remarkable facts… a joy to read’‘Alastair Bonnett’s high-speed world tour of places and non-places whose stories would bring the most somnolent class to life. Bonnett zooms effortlessly around far-off spots – sometimes in person, more often via the internet – but he does not ignore those closer to home. Fizzingly entertaining and enlightening book.’ "Bonnett dares us to rethink exploration in a world that has been fully charted, taking us from micronation Sealand - a forsaken sea fort claimed by a Brit as his own sovereign nation - to Arne, a Second World War decoy city that saved thousands of lives. Forty-seven fascinating essays prove why "our topophilia can never be extinguished or sated" and how these locations over insights into our history and society." "A fascinating delve into uncharted, forgotten and lost places. But it’ s not just a trivia-tastic anthology of remote destinations but a nifty piece of psycho-geography, explaining our human need for these cartographical conundrums." "Bonnett dares us to rethink exploration in a world that has been fully charted, taking us from micronation Sealand - a forsaken sea fort claimed by a Brit as his own sovereign nation - to Arne, a Second World War decoy city that saved thousands of lives. Forty-seven fascinating essays prove why "our topophilia can never be extinguished or sated" and how these locations over insights into our history and society." ‘ Alastair Bonnett’ s high-speed world tour of places and non-places whose stories would bring the most somnolent class to life. Bonnett zooms effortlessly around far-off spots – sometimes in person, more often via the internet – but he does not ignore those closer to home. Fizzingly entertaining and enlightening book.’ ‘ Fearlessly explores the dark side of humanity while constantly challenging our conceptions of place, borders and boundaries, and how we as humans use locations and geography to define ourselves and the world around us. Importantly, Bonnett’ s careful research and fascinating theories are complemented with passages of wonderfully written prose. A thought provoking triumph.’ ‘ A mesmerising study of ambiguous temporary places.’ 'An absorbing book packed with remarkable facts… a joy to read’

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Book SynopsisThe Good Life goes on at El Valero. Find yourself laughing out loud as Chris is instructed by his daughter on local teenage mores; bluffs his way in art history to millionaire Bostonians; is rescued off a snowy peak by the Guardia Civil; and joins an Almond Blossom Appreciation Society.You''ll cringe with Chris as he tries his hand at office work in an immigrants'' advice centre in Granada, spurred into action by the arrival of four destitute young Moroccans at El Valero. And you''ll never see olive oil in quite the same way again...In this sequel to ''Lemons'' and ''Parrot'', Chris Stewart''s optimism and zest for life is as infectious as ever.Trade ReviewWonderful - funny, affectionate, no hint of patronage... Tuck this book into your holiday luggage and dream. * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisIn 1945, Indonesia's declaration of independence promised: 'the details of the transfer of power etc. will be worked out as soon as possible.' Still working on the 'etc.' seven decades later, the world's fourth most populous nation is now enthusiastically democratic and riotously diverse - rich and enchanting but riddled with ineptitude and corruption. Elizabeth Pisani, who first worked in Indonesia 25 years ago as a foreign correspondent, set out in 2011, travelling over 13,000 miles, to rediscover its enduring attraction, and to find the links which bind together this disparate nation. Fearless and funny, and sharply perceptive, she has drawn a compelling, entertaining and deeply informed portrait of a captivating nation.Trade ReviewPisani is relentlessly curious and her ability to pitch up anywhere and grasp the essence of the place is truly impressive. [Indonesia Etc.] gives a vivid sense of what Indonesia feels, smells and tastes like. For anyone about to visit the country, her book is an essential companion -- Misha Glenny * Guardian *Truly memorable... Pisani is a force of nature... vastly intelligent, doggedly curious, spectacularly multilingual... [This is] a treasure of a volume -- Simon Winchester * Wall Street Journal *Pisani takes on many big themes [but] her erudition is never dull... Beautifully written and richly entertaining * Economist *A sharply written, politically infused travelogue. [Full of] comic mishaps, punchy insights and [a] journalist's eye for the telling detail -- Ben Bland * Financial Times *Pisani writes well and has an outsider's eye for the extraordinary and the idiosyncratic... Sharp [and] enjoyable -- Richard Cockett * Literary Review *A lively condensation of some of her encounters with a country that is as disparate in its politics as it is in its geography and people * New Statesman *Pisani's perceptiveness is as honed as her wit is wise -- Tom Adair, ‘Travel book of the year’ * Scotsman *An affectionate portrait of a diverse, dynamic and eccentric country -- Tom Robbins * Financial Times *Lucidly analytical but affectionate... a colourful and entertaining travelogue -- Maria Misra * Prospect *Read it, even if you don't think you're interested in Indonesia-it's inspiring on so many levels, from the boundless curiosity and warmth of the author to the country's spectacular miracle of geo-political confidence and experimentation -- Emma Larkin, author * Everything is Broken *Pisani not only travels a dizzying amalgam of the 13,500 islands that comprise Indonesia, but she also follows their history from the seventh century forward with fluidity and ease. There are few other books - or authors - to attempt such a daunting task -- Eliza Griswold, author * The Tenth Parallel *Intrepid and passionate, Elizabeth Pisani takes readers on board a hilarious series of jury-rigged forms of transportation, from bustling, insane Djakarta to the smallest and remotest islands and country villages of Indonesia. By the end, exhausted, dusty, thirsty, and laughing, we feel we know this idiosyncratic country in all its moving complexity. Profound, lasting, a masterpiece of its genre-and so much fun! -- Amy Wilentz, author * The Rainy Season *A clear-eyed and smart look at a rising Asian giant that has defied all conventional wisdom -- Vali Nasr, author * The Dispensable Nation *A brave, lively writer opens up a wondrous, changing nation * Kirkus *Great * Wanderlust *Pisani is an erudite and adventurous travelling companion. This is a humane, intelligent travelogue that makes an initially daunting subject come gloriously alive * Sunday Business Post *A fascinating travelogue.... Indonesia Etc. is surely the richest account of contemporary Indonesia yet to be published * IndonesiaExpat *An absorbing 13,000-mile ramble around this sprawling, little-known archipelago -- Christopher Hirst * Independent *[Full of] clarity, wit and style -- Duncan Graham * Jakarta Post *Pisani brings to life a beguiling picture of Indonesia... [with] exquisite imagery * Sydney Morning Herald *Pisani is a one-woman word torrent -- Susan Mansfield * Scotsman *Accessible, entertaining [and] vividly described -- Sophie Ibbotson * Geographical Magazine *A warm and punchy travelogue -- Tom Chesshyre ‘Travel book of the year’ * Times *A richly entertaining account -- Books of the year * Economist *

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Book SynopsisA journey along the Irish coast with powerful Irish woman beside you.At a crossroads in her life, Gráinne Lyons set out to travel Ireland?s west coast on foot. She set a simple intention: to walk in the footsteps of eleven pioneering Irish women deeply rooted in this coastal landscape and explore their lives and work along the way. As a Londoner born to Irish parents, she also sought answers in her own identity.As Gráinne heads north from Cape Clear Island where her great-grandmother was a lacemaker, she considers Ellen Hutchins, Maude Delap, Edna O?Brien, Granuaile and Queen Maeve among others from her unique perspective. Their homes ? in places that are famously wild and remote ? are transformed into sites of hope, purpose, opportunity and inspiration. Walking through this history, her journey reveals unexpected insight into emigrant identity, travelling alone, femininity and the trappings of an ?ideal? life.Against the backdrop and power of this great ocean, Wild Atlantic Women will inspire the twenty-first-century reader and walker to keep going, regardless of the path.

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Book SynopsisDespite a glamorous lifestyle full of globetrotting adventures, travel expert and entrepreneur Anna Kloots felt lost and directionless. Now, for every woman searching for her voice, Anna shares her story of finding and believing in her own magic.Trade Review'Captivating and powerful. Anna's story will touch your heart and inspire you to embrace self-love and adventure and go after the life you've always dreamed of living.' * Vanessa Rivers, Travel Writer and Co-Founder of We Are Travel Girls *'I stayed up well into morning sailing through this book and I miss Anna and her enchanted indomitable spirit already. It isn't often I find a book that prompts me to smile and hope again. Hope for love, hope for staying true to that which nurtures, and a deep wish for falling under the spell of wherever I find myself. Anna Kloots writes so effortlessly and thoughtfully about plans derailed, the bliss of travel and the revelation of metamorphosis, I fell asleep wishing I was a part of her energetic and beautiful family. It's a grand place to be, so open this book and read on.' * Selma Blair, actress *'This book is a ride and journey we all need to be reminded what is possible. That listening to our inner voice, dreaming big, loving with all we have, and investing in ourselves like we would for others is our magic.' * Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress *'To expose one's soul, trials, and journey on paper is a feat that Anna does with the adventurous grace, charismatic nuance, and relatable vulnerability in each paragraph. An easy page-turner that made me miss Paris and reinstated excitement for new chapters of life.' * Ashley Park, actress *'My Own Magic is an honest and illuminating, coming of age story about heartache and hope, resilience and reinvention that will inspire all who read it to live life fully and believe in themselves.' * Jamie Beck, New York Times bestselling author and photographer *

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Book Synopsis'A wonderful evocation of Britain's natural beauty and a reminder of our need to connect with the wilderness' The Times Are there any genuinely wild places left in Britain and Ireland? Or have we farmed and built ourselves out of wildness? From forest to moor, mountain to saltmarsh, Robert Macfarlane explores the wild places of Britain to see the wonders we still possess. In his bewitching and inspiring modern classic of nature writing, the acclaimed author of Underland and The Lost Words presents a portrait of a vanishing but still miraculous British landscape. 'Time and again he takes the reader's breath away' Financial Times 'A marvellously evocative portrait of place' Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewA wonderful evocation of Britain's natural beauty and a reminder of our need to connect with the wilderness * Times *Time and again he takes the reader's breath away * FT *A beautiful and inspiring book * Independent *A marvellously evocative portrait of place * Sunday Telegraph *A beautifully modulated call from the wild, that will ensorcell any urban prisoner wishing to break free * Will Self *A powerful and passionate book, essential reading * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisFourteen years after fleeing Kenya with her baby daughter, Corinne returned in the summer of 2004 to meet Lketinga and his family again in their village, Barsaloi. Nervous as she was, and uncertain as to how he would react on seeing her again, she found to her relief that she was welcomed unreservedly by all those who remembered her - by Lketinga, who still thought of her as his 'wife number one', by his brother, James, now a schoolteacher and especially by Lketinga's mother, who had looked after Corinne with such care all those years before. Corinne Hofmann revisits an area of a country which she cares about passionately, describing in her immensely readable style the changes she saw after her time away, and once again bringing to life the atmosphere and characters in the Masai village.Trade Review'Hofmann's publishers are still reeling from the success of her first book, The White Masai, which sold four million copies worldwide. Romantic ... (with) the nobility of African village life and wry reflection on its hardships' - Iain Finlayson, The Times"Her book is a page-turner, an extraordinary tale of love and naivety, folly and determination" - Sun HeraldPraise for The White Masai:'Hofmann is a talented writer, describing with unflinching detail the consequences of a passion that combines the element of a holiday romance with troubling fantasies about the noble savage. Gripping - Joan Smith, Independent'This extraordinary story is a dashing tale of love and adventure in contemporary Kenya' - Mavis Cheek, Daily Mail Critic's Choice'A deliciously readable book - it really is possible to gulp it down in one long sitting' - Mail on Sunday'The White Masai has already sold four million copies in Europe and has now been turned into a big Hollywood film. Theses successes suggest that, in publishing terms at least, Corinne Hofmann has finally struck gold' - Ireland on Sunday'An extraordinary and unputdownable tale' - Bookseller'It's a truly riveting read, better than any reality TV show' - Publishing News

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Book SynopsisThe world's top 500 food experiences - ranked! We asked the planet's top chefs, food writers and our food-obsessed authors to name their favourite, most authentic gastronomic encounters. The result is a journey to Mozambique for piri-piri chicken, Japan for bullet train bento boxes, San Sebastian pintxos bars, and a further 497 of the most exciting eateries anywhere on Earth. Ultimate Eatlist is the follow-up to our bestselling Ultimate Travelist and is a must-own bucket list for foodies and those who love to travel. You'll discover the planet's most thrilling and famous culinary experiences, the culture behind each one, what makes them so special, and why the experience is so much more than what's in the plate, bowl or glass in front of you. How many have you tried and what's your number one? With contributions from Monica Galetti, Curtis Stone, Mark Hix, Ben Shewry, Dan Hunter, Ping Coombes, Gail Simmons, Tony Singh, Elena Arzak, and many more. Entries include: Laksa, Malaysia Grilled octopus, Greece Smorrebrod, Denmark Ceviche, Peru Po boy, USA Steak tartare, France Bibimbap, Korea Dim Sum, Hong Kong Reindeer Stew, Finland Jerked chicken, Jamaica Asado, Argentina Shakshuka, Israel Pho, Vietnam Wildfoods Festival, New Zealand The Fat Duck restaurant, UK Tokyo sushi counters, Japan Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Italy Adelaide Central Market, Australia Grilled fish, Seychelles Irish stew New York Reuben delis, USA About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, on mobile, video and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the National Outdoor Book Award. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of when Dick Proenneke first broke ground and made his mark in the Alaskan wilds in 1968, this bestselling memoir features an all-new foreword by Nick Offerman plus color photographs not seen in print for over 20 years.To live in a pristine land unchanged by man...to roam a wilderness through which few other humans have passed...to choose an idyllic site, cut trees, and build a log cabin...to be a self-sufficient craftsman, making what is needed from materials available...to be not at odds with the world, but content with one’s own thoughts and company...Thousands have had such dreams, but Dick Proenneke lived them. He found a place, built a cabin, and stayed to become part of the country. One Man’s Wilderness is a simple account of the day-to-day explorations and activities he carried out alone, and the constant chain of nature’s events that kept him company. From Dick’s journals, and with firsthand knowledge of his subject and the setting, Sam Keith has woven a tribute to a man who carved his masterpiece out of the beyond.Trade Review"[Proenneke's] journals from the text of this handsome book, and his sparkling color slides illustrate it with a beauty that tugs at your heart and sets your heels to itching just a little. You owe yourself the pleasure of this book." * Biloxi Sun Herald *"The best modern piece of prose about Alaska, the one that gives the truest picture of what living in the bush today is like for the lone individual." * Anchorage Daily News *"This book made a big splash when it debuted in 1973. Keith based the text on the journals and photography of Richard Proenneke, who, after racking up years of 50-hour work weeks, did what many of us only fantasize about: he chucked it all and went to live in the woods. . . Proenneke has become an icon for naturalists. Though few will follow Proenneke's lead, his story can be quite inspiring." * Library Journal *"Richard Proenneke, an emigre from Iowa to Alaska, kept a journal during the time he was fulfilling his dream of living in an altogether undeveloped part of Alaska. Parts of the journal have been made into a book by Sam Keith, along with colored photos that prove Alaska is certainly one of, if not the, most beautiful places anywhere." * Boston Globe *"It is soul-reading -- the simplicity of a man's inner feelings stated in terms which leave no misunderstandings . . . A classic of its kind." * Lansing State Journal *"Many of us will never realize the dream of such an escape from our hectic, complex life to that of the solitude of the wilderness. But in the pages of this book we can share with a man who lived his dream. The book is certain to bring much pleasure to anyone who loves the outdoors." * Portsmouth Times *"This is a record of a man in our own time who went into the bush. It is the story of a dream shared by many, fulfilled by few, brought into sharp focus by the beautiful color photographs and the simple account of Proenneke's life." * Burlington Free Press *"Sometimes it is difficult for a person to know their strengths and weaknesses while living among others; one way to discover them is to live alone. Of course, most people will never venture far from the comforts of home, but Proenneke felt the call of the wild and lived the second part of his life in Alaska. . . . Keith and Proenneke were coworkers on Kodiak Island and formed a friendship that lasted for decades. . . Keith’s writing is clear and descriptive; one can sense each strike of the ax and draw of the knife. The reader feels he is experiencing the adventure as well. The journal descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness flow from the page to the reader." * Foreword Reviews *

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Book SynopsisThe engaging, funny and essential guide to communicating with the FrenchTrade Review'This book confirms what the English have suspected for many years, that French is not so much a language as a dance, a ritual, a code to be cracked. The Bonjour Effect cracks it' David Boyle, author of How to be English'An indispensable linguistic roadmap. A highly enjoyable romp through French culture and its language, written with wit and aplomb' Debra Ollivier, author Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl'Whether you're an expat in France, or simply dream of living there one day, The Bonjour Effect is a helpful resource to cracking the arcane cultural code. Engaging and often funny, filled with examples drawn from the authors' experiences, this is a guide to the most essential of French arts: conversation' Ann Mah, author of Mastering the Art of French Eating'Whether 'bonjour' is the beginning or the end of your French vocabulary, you'll find something fascinating, surprising, or just plain fou on nearly every page. Before reading this invaluable codebook to French language and culture, I feared that I'd somehow insulted every French waiter, shopkeeper, and clerk between Paris and Nice. Now I know I did, but at least I know why!' William Alexander, author of Flirting with French'The ability to speak French doesn't mean you know how to have a conversation in French in France. Journalists Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau break down the 'rules' of French conversation in their new book The Bonjour Effect' CBC'A lively and informative description of the country's cultural habits...' Lysiane Gagnon, The Globe and Mail'Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau unravel the mysteries of French conversation. They take readers beyond what the French are actually saying to explain what it is they really mean' Shannon Broderick, Gonomad.com'Very funny' Rudy Maxa's World with the Careys'Packed with fascinating insights' 49th Shelf

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Book SynopsisThe long-awaited final volume of the trilogy by Patrick Leigh Fermor. A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water were the first two volumes in a projected trilogy that would describe the walk that Patrick Leigh Fermor undertook at the age of eighteen from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. 'When are you going to finish Vol. III?' was the cry from his fans; but although he wished he could, the words refused to come. The curious thing was that he had not only written an early draft of the last part of the walk, but that it predated the other two. It remains unfinished but The Broken Road - edited and introduced by Colin Thubron and Artemis Cooper - completes an extraordinary journey.Trade ReviewNobody could do the job better than the book's editors. Colin Thubron is a travel writer of Leigh Fermor's calibre, Artemis Cooper is his masterly biographer . . . It contains wonderful passages of purest Leigh Fermor . . . Time and again he gives us vivid glimpses of encounters along the way - priests and peasants, the squalors of the back country, high life in Bucharest - and this virtuoso display is embedded as always in his astonishing range of learning . . . full of fun, kindness, easy learning, sophistication and innocence . . . a gently fitting conclusion to his tumultuous masterpiece -- Jan Morris * Mail on Sunday *This is a major work. It confirms that Leigh Fermor was, along with Robert Byron, the greatest travel writer of his generation, and this final volume assures the place of the trilogy as one of the masterpieces of the genre, indeed one of the masterworks of post-war English non-fiction -- William Dalrymple * Guardian *Colin Thubron and Artemis Cooper have put this book to bed with skill and sensitivity . . . Friends and fans, acolytes, devotees and disciples can all rest easy. It was worth the wait -- Justin Marozzi * Spectator *The editors have done a fine job * Literary Review *It is magnificent. Cooper and Thubron have done an immense service in bringing the book to publication, for it unmistakably stands comparison with its remarkable siblings. The prose has the glorious turbulence and boil of the first two books, and the youthful magic of his 'dream-odyssey' is still potent * Robert MacFarlane, The Times *A fitting conclusion to his masterpiece . . . This book is momentous * Mail on Sunday *The pages are filled with brilliant evocations of his life on the road, none richer than the time he spent in a Romanian broth . . . It is a fitting epilogue to 20th-century travel-writing and essential reading for devotees of Sir Patrick's other works * The Economist *I set off along The Broken Road laden with expectations that I would have to make allowances. Yet almost from the off, I realised that I would have no use for these. Here was a wealth of descriptions that only Leigh Fermor could have conjured up . . . In a stroke of brilliance, Thubron and Cooper have included the separate diary that Leigh Fermor kept of the month he spent exploring Mount Athos in Greece immediately after leaving Istanbul. So, the Athos diary, aglow with rich experience, finally brings the journey to its rightful end in the spiritual heart of the country that was to prove, though the young author did not yet know it, Leigh Fermor's "real love and destination" * New Statesman *This is a picaresque essay, a virtuoso tapestry of anecdote in the author's best tradition * Country Life *The first two volumes were a joy to read, not least for Leigh Fermor's ability to recapture in later life the intense excitement of being a young man lighting out. The latest book offers similar joys . . . Also evident are another of the joys of the earlier books - the pyrotechnics of his writing. Exuberance is expressed in heightened suggestions . . . it captures the joy of the open road, the fresh view he gives of Europe as it began to show the stresses that led to world war, and the glimpses of a long-lost life and innocence * Observer *The Mount Athos diary - untampered with by his older self - reminds us what an extraordinary young man he was . . . This early style is more immediate, more youthful; a pleasure to read in a wholly different way from the later magnificence * Financial Times *A road trip that is as illuminating as it is incomplete made by a traveller, warrior and jewelled stylist * Independent *There is plenty to enjoy, so much so that the reader often forgets to wonder how much is true, and how much the revisionist work of an inventive and poetic mind . . . the pleasure lies in its combination of erudition, exuberant speculation, lively anecdote and meticulous, picture-painting language . . . Gorgeous imagery, granted, yet it is in Leigh Fermor's disarming cameos that The Broken Road excels * Sunday Times *His literary executors have topped, tailed and polished with such sympathy and skill that their interventions cannot be detected. This is pure Paddy: these are his feelings, perceptions and responses, his the observations, his the descriptions, consummate in a phrase, acute and intense when extended to paragraph or page; this is his style yet it is in many ways a youthful text, its core the adventure of a very young man, its embellishments the experience, curiosity and wisdom of his older self * Evening Standard *What a poignant and somehow fitting finale for a legendary procrastinator. It was certainly worth the wait * National *This final leg, through Romania and Bulgaria rounds off a classic trilogy * i *For readers of the other two books, to see the odyssey at last (almost) concluded, will naturally be irresistible. For everyone else there is the discovery of a unique writer * Sunday Express *The final volume confirms the trilogy as one of the 'masterpieces' of English travel writing * Week *A scintillating continuation of the prodigious walk that took the young Leigh Fermor right into the heart of magically different pre-war Europe and beyond . . . his journey is complete, his world task accomplished, with the whole undertaking as thick in marvels as Aladdin's cave * Irish Times *The perfect present for anyone with wanderlust * Good Housekeeping *The third unfinished volume of Leigh Fermor's enchanted journey through Mitteleuropa is here at last * TLS Books of the Year *Glorious . . . Artemis Cooper and Colin Thubron created THE BROKEN ROAD from a rejected essay on walking (15 times the size requested of Paddy), some failed drafts and a pair of flimsy travel journals. But the author is arguably more present in their loving editorial hands . . . than in any of his other books. There is also that infectious enthusiasm for the road and the lived experience, for spoken language, oral knowledge and for everything Byzantine and Greek * Daily Telegraph, Best Books of the Year *His epic journey's erudite conclusion will not disappoint his many fans * Saga *Offers a fascinating glimpse of a lost time and talent * Financial Times, Books of the Year *My favourite book this year was the final, unfinished and posthumous volume of Patrick Leigh Fermor's walking trilogy . . . it is every bit as masterly as Between the Woods and the Water * Observer, Books of the Year *Glorious . . . Artemis Cooper and Colin Thubron created The Broken Road . . . but the author is arguably more present in their loving editorial hands . . . than in any of his other books. There is also that infectious enthusiasm for the road and the lived experience, for spoken language, oral knowledge and for everything Byzantine and Greek * Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year *Offers a fascinating glimpse of a lost time and talent * Financial Times, Books of the Year *Its rich depictions and liquid language make this a masterpiece to savour * Sunday Express *In magnificent prose [Patrick Leigh Fermor] describes liaisons with countesses in crumbling castles, changing landscapes, now lost forever, and the delight of a young man with nothing but himself and his quest for adventure. Travel writing at its most sublime * Daily Express *His award-winning biographer Artemis Cooper and travel writer Colin Thubron have painstakingly and sensitively worked on Paddy's draft of the final leg of his epic journey and ghosted a wonderful account of his swashbuckling journey . . . It conjures up a life that's unimaginable in more cautious modern times and is beautifully written * Daily Mail *Like many really good things, it's hard to say why The Broken Road, the final volume of Patrick Leigh Fermor's account of his walk from Holland to Constantinople, is so satisfying. But it is * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisOne grey dismal day, Janine Marsh was on a trip to northern France to pick up some cheap wine. She returned to England a few hours later having put in an offer on a rundown old barn in the rural Seven Valleys area of Pas de Calais. This was not something she’d expected or planned for.Janine eventually gave up her job in London to move with her husband to live the good life in France. Or so she hoped. While getting to grips with the locals and la vie Française, and renovating her dilapidated new house, a building lacking the comforts of mains drainage, heating or proper rooms, and with little money and less of a clue, she started to realize there was lot more to her new home than she could ever have imagined.These are the true tales of Janine’s rollercoaster ride through a different culture – one that, to a Brit from the city, was in turns surprising, charming and not the least bit baffling.Trade ReviewWarm, uplifting, and effervescent...Janine's voice and humor bubbles right off the page, making you want to pack your bags and visit her fixer-upper home in rural France * Samantha Verant *If you've ever dreamed of discovering "the real France," you won't want to miss this delightful book * Keith Van Sickle *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Prix Renaudot 2019 A New York Times Best Book of 2021 ‘Extraordinarily beautiful… a long last loving glance at the planet.’ Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild The Art of Patience sees the renowned French adventurer and writer set off for the high plateaux of remotest Tibet in search of the elusive snow leopard. There, in the company of leading wildlife photographer Vincent Munier and two companions, at 5,000 metres and in temperatures of -25ºC, the team set up their hides on exposed mountainsides, and occasionally in the luxury of an icy cave, to await a visitation from the almost mythical beast. This tightly focused and tautly written narrative is simultaneously a dazzling account of an exacting journey, an apprenticeship in the art of patience, an acceptance of the ruthlessness of the natural world and, finally, a plea for ecological sanity. A small masterpiece, it is one of those books that demands to be read again and again.Trade Review‘In The Art of Patience: Seeking the Snow Leopard in Tibet, the French writer Sylvain Tesson chronicles his rapturous journey through Tibet’s Chantang plateau with the wildlife photographer Vincent Munier. Tesson’s words, in a ravishing translation by Frank Wynne, paint pictures as vivid as any photograph.’ -- Liesl Schillinger, New York Times, 'Best Books of 2021', Travel‘Tesson is a transcendent travel writer… [The Art of Patience] inspires action, thought, silence – and perhaps also prayer.’ -- BBC Countryfile Magazine, Best Books of 2021‘A wonderful evocation of waiting and watching for nature.’ -- Tim Birkhead, author of Bird Sense‘Beautifully written, beautifully translated, intensely moving and totally absorbing.’ -- Stanley Johnson, author of Where the Wild Things Were‘The Art of Patience is extraordinarily beautiful, a narrative of prose that flows with poetry, a long last loving glance at the planet, a visit to the vital bedside of a living world determined to stay alive.’ -- Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild: How Animals Learn to be Animals‘I found it hard to resist… there is so much more to this elegantly written book than the story of a search. It is also a philosophical consideration of the benefits of silence, waiting and personal reflection; an ode to the psychological effect of natural beauty; and a poetic eulogy to the planet.’ -- Big Issue‘[One of] the best books of the year.’ * Financial Times on Consolations of the Forest *‘I thought I’d rip through this book. But it’s not something you want to read fast. Tesson, who I came to like more and more, is trying to rearrange his relationship with time. Being alone, miles from anywhere, encourages him to sit still and watch things.’ * Spectator on Consolations of the Forest *‘He comes across as the brainiest, daftest, sternest, funniest, most companionable hermit you'll ever meet.’ * Guardian on Consolations of the Forest *

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Book Synopsis'Impossible to put down' Observer'One of the great books of the century' Times Literary SupplementRebecca West's epic masterpiece not only provides deep insight into the former country of Yugoslavia; it is a portrait of Europe on the brink of war. A heady cocktail of personal travelogue and historical insight, this product of an implacably inquisitive intelligence remains essential for anyone attempting to understand the history of the Balkan states, and the wider ongoing implications for a fractured Europe.Trade ReviewThe sheer quality and depth of the writing make it one of the great books of the century * * Times Literary Supplement * *Impossible to put down, both timeless and of its time - a travel book and epic narrative history brimming with passion, anger, scholarship and intuition, hatred and love * * Observer * *One of the supreme masterpieces of the twentieth century . . . As a book about Yugoslavia it's a kind of metaphysical Lonely Planet that never requires updating -- GEOFF DYERIt is hard to convey the flavour of a book so rich in observation, history, philosophy, political ideas and ironic humour * * The Times * *It is a brilliant antidote to the disease that would have us believe that these are faraway countries about which we know nothing * * Guardian * *Such incandescent writing - you find yourself wanting to mark every sentence in order to go back and relish it again -- BRIAN ENORebecca West's magnum opus . . . one of the great books of our time * * New Yorker * *You will search in vain for a more original, assured and companionable guide to former Yugoslavia * * Financial Times * *Dame Rebecca, the finest reporter of her generation, saw everything . . . A remarkably easy read * * Sunday Telegraph * *Written with a fierce intelligence that any journalist must envy and admire * * Daily Telegraph * *

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Book SynopsisBookshop Tours of Britain is a slow-travel guide to Britain, navigating bookshop to bookshop. Across 18 bookshop tours, the reader journeys from the Jurassic Coast of southwest England, over the mountains of Wales, through England's industrial heartland, up to the Scottish Highlands and back via Whitby, the Norfolk Broads, central London, the South Downs and Hardy's Wessex. On their way, the tours visit beaches, castles, head down coal mines, go to whiskey distilleries, bird watching, hiking, canoeing, to stately homes and the houses of some of Britain's best-loved historic writers - and last but not least, a host of fantastic bookshops.

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Book SynopsisOut of a lifetime of travelling, Martha Gellhorn has selected her best horror journeys. She bumps through rain-sodden, war-torn China to meet Chiang Kai-Shek, floats listlessly in search of u-boats in the wartime Caribbean and visits a dissident writer in the Soviet Union against her better judgement. Written with the eye of a novelist and an ironic black humour, what makes these tales irresistible are Gellhorn's explosive and often surprising reactions. Indignant, but never righteous and not always right, through the crucible of hell on earth emerges a woman who makes you laugh with her at life, while thanking God that you are not with her.Trade Review"one of the funniest travel books of our time" Dervla Murphy

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Book SynopsisAt a time when that 1960s notion of air travel as decadent and exceptional is experiencing an unexpected revival, this book ... could be the G&T in a plastic glass you need.' The SpectatorTravel writer Julia Cooke's exhilarating portrait of Pan Am stewardesses in the Mad Men era.Come Fly the World tells the story of the stewardesses who served on the iconic Pan American Airways between 1966 and 1975 - and of the unseen diplomatic role they played on the world stage.Alongside the glamour was real danger, as they flew soldiers to and from Vietnam and staffed Operation Babylift - the dramatic evacuation of 2,000 children during the fall of Saigon. Cooke's storytelling weaves together the true stories of women like Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few African American stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of a jet-set life.In the process, Cooke shows how the sexualized coffee-tea-or-me stereotype was at odds with the importance of what they did, and with the freedom, power and sisterhood they achieved.Trade ReviewJulia Cooke's entertaining, sexism-skewering history shows how female flight attendants were also flag-flying diplomats' * Financial Times *Cooke is good on the way an industry with rigid, deep-rooted notions about female service, looks and behaviour became a ticket to unparalleled independence . At a time when that 1960s notion of air travel as decadent and exceptional is experiencing an unexpected revival, this book . could be the G&T in a plastic glass you need.' * The Spectator *

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Book SynopsisA seasonal meander through the wilds of Scotland.'If Clanlands was a gentle road trip through Scotland, this almanac is a top down, pedal to the metal up and down odyssey through the many byways of a Scottish year. An invitation to anyone who picks up the book to join us on a crazy camper van exploration over 12 glorious, whisky fuelled months. Mountains, battles, famous (and infamous) Scots, the alarming competitiveness of Men in Kilts, clans, feuds, flora, fauna, with a healthy sprinkling of embarrassing personal reminiscences thrown in. Much is explored, all is shared. It is a camper van cornucopia of all things Alba'.From First Footing to Samhain, Fringe Festival follies to whisky lore, Sam & Graham guide readers through a year of Scottish legends, traditions, historical and contemporary events, sharing personal stories and tips as only these two chalk-and-cheese friends can.As entertaining as it is practical, The Clanlands Almanac is a light-hearted education in Scottish history and culture, told through the eyes of two passionate Scotsmen. The perfect escapist guide, The Clanlands Almanac is intended as a starting point for your own Scottish discoveries.

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Book Synopsis'The most exhilarating history of mountaineering ... a riveting read' Jeremy Paxman 'A truly inspiring read' Sir Ranulph Fiennes 'It simply fizzes with insights into the sublime madness of mountaineering' Roger Deakin Once we thought monsters lived there. In the Enlightenment we scaled them to commune with the sublime. Soon, we were racing to conquer their summits in the name of national pride. In this ground-breaking, classic work, Robert Macfarlane takes us up into the mountains: to experience their shattering beauty, the fear and risk of adventure, and to explore the strange impulses that have for centuries lead us to the world's highest places. WINNER OF THE GUARDIAN FIRST BOOK AWARDTrade ReviewA truly inspiring read -- Sir Ranulph FiennesA marvellous, distinguished book that jolted my heart ... It simply fizzes with insights into the sublime madness of mountaineering -- Roger DeakinA gripping history of man's irresistible and sometimes fatal attraction to big hills -- Sunday TimesA magnificent book * New Scientist *A brilliant book, beautifully written -- GuardianMacfarlane's writing is exquisite and so evocative of his surroundings. As a reader it's difficult not to be drawn into his excitement for his subject matters. The books don't just make you want to keep reading, they make you want to climb or lose yourself or roam or hike, and experience some of what he's experiencing * Bath Life *

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Book SynopsisIan Skeet travelled across the vast sand deserts and arid highlands of Muscat and Oman in 1966 8, preparing the wary inhabitants for the coming of oil, visiting its isolated walled cities, fortified oasis communities and independent-minded Bedouin tribes.

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Book SynopsisHailed as Newby''s ''masterpiece'', Love and War in the Apennines is the gripping real-life story of Newby''s imprisonment and escape from an Italian prison camp during World War II.After the Italian Armistice of 1943, Eric Newby escaped from the prison camp in which he''d been held for a year. He evaded the German army by hiding in the caves and forests of Fontanellato, in Italy''s Po Valley. Against this picturesque backdrop, he was sheltered for three months by an informal network of Italian peasants, who fed, supported and nursed him, before his eventual recapture.Love and War in the Apennines' is Newby''s tribute to the selfless and courageous people who were to be his saviours and companions during this troubled time and of their bleak and unchanging way of life. Of the cast of idiosyncratic characters, most notable was the beautiful local girl on a bike who would teach him the language, and eventually help him escape; two years later they were married and would spend the rest ofTrade Review'His masterpiece' Spectator 'Superbly funny … as civilizing, generous and affecting as “Vivere in Pace”, and the men, women and children, weather and woodsmoke are as fresh as yesterday' Observer 'A vivid description of Italian village life, full of notable characters … and the reactions of one sensitive man to being out of the war in the middle of one' Daily Telegraph 'It is necessary to state with emphasis that this is a very good book indeed' Times Literary Supplement 'An exciting story, superbly told. And wisdom, courage and generosity illuminate it' Punch

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Book Synopsis“The kind of book Steinbeck might have written if he’d traveled with David Letterman.” —New York magazineAn inspiring and hilarious account of one man’s rediscovery of America and his search for the perfect small town.  Following an urge to rediscover his youth, Bill Bryson left his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that would take him across 38 states. Lucky for us, he brought a notebook. With a razor wit and a kind heart, Bryson serves up a colorful tale of boredom, kitsch, and beauty when you least expect it. From Times Square to the Mississippi River to Williamsburg, Virginia, Bryson''s keen and hilarious search for the perfect American small town is a journey straight into the heart and soul of America.

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