Travel writing Books

Book SynopsisFor four months and five hundred miles Colin Thubron walked the mountains of Lebanon, following tracks and rivers. His journey was not only a survey of a remarkable country, but a quest for the gods and divinities who held the secrets of death and rebirth in the land''s ancient cults.He visited almost every place of cultural importance, and lived with the people along his way, recording a country of outstanding natural scenery, rich with a unique medley of races and religions.The Hills of Adonis is both a travel book and a personal journal; for the quest is the search for meaning, a reflection on faith and reason and a poem on the joy and complexity of living.Trade ReviewHe has the mind of a scholar, uses language like a poet and has written a lovely mosaic of a book * Daily Telegraph *An unforgettable experience * Irish Times *Adventurous, observant, modest, poetical, Mr Thubron is a traveller after one's own heart * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisHugh Thomson is the author of five previous travel books, the most recent of which, Tequila Oil: Getting Lost in Mexico, was serialised by BBC Radio 4. He has led many research expeditions to Peru and is a leading explorer of Inca settlements. He has also taken filming expeditions to Mount Kilimanjaro, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Mexican Sierra Madre. His most recent book, The Green Road into the Trees, won the Thwaites Wainwright Prize for UK Nature and Travel Writing.'Everywhere Thomson goes, he finds good tales to tell...' New York Times Book Reviewwww.thewhiterock.co.ukTrade ReviewHe is an illuminating companion…frequently comic, his voice is original and engaging; proof that it is the walker, not the path, that counts. * Independent *An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid. * The Spectator *He records more than impressions: there are fascinating excursions into neglected areas of British history, and conversations with hippies, travellers and farmers, which makes Mr Thomson’s journey a joy to follow. * Country Life *Often funny and always enlightening -- Candida Lycett Green * Countryfile *I would love to walk with Thomson -- John Sutherland * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisChristopher Isherwood was born in 1904. He began to write at university and later moved to Berlin, where he gave English lessons to support himself. He witnessed first hand the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany and some of his best works, such as Mr. Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin, draw on these experiences. He created the character of Sally Bowles, later made famous as the heroine of the musical Cabaret. Isherwood travelled with W.H Auden to China in the late 1930s before going with him to America in 1939. He died on 4 January 1986. His novel A Single Man was recently made into an award-winning film by Tom Ford, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.Trade ReviewEntertaining * Boston Globe *Delightful * New York Times *Intelligent and sensitive * Good Book Guide *

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Book SynopsisCombining the acute observation of a nineteenth-century missionary, and the wit of a Monty Python player, Redmond O''Hanlon is famous for his adventurous travel. His new challenge is the Congo, the most dangerous and inhospitable jungle in the world.

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Book SynopsisIain Sinclair is the author of numerous works of fiction, poetry non-fiction, including Lud Heat; White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings; Downriver; Radon Daughters; Lights Out for the Territory; Rodinsky's Room, with Rachel Lichtenstein; Landor's Tower; London Orbital; Dining On Stones; Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire and Ghost Milk; American Smoke and London Overground. Downriver won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Encore Award. He lives in Hackney, east London.

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Book SynopsisJeremy Clarkson invites us to Motorworld, his take on different cultures and the cars that they drive.There are ways and means of getting about that don''t involve four wheels, but in this slice of vintage Clarkson, Jeremy isn''t much interested in them.Back in 1996, he took himself off to twelve countries (okay, eleven - he goes to America twice) in search of the hows, whys and wherefores of different nationalities and their relationships with cars. There were a few questions he needed answers to:* Why, for instance, is it that Italians are more interested in looking good than looking where they are going?* Why do Indians crash a lot?* How can an Arab describe himself as ''not a rich man'' with four of the world''s most expensive cars in his drive? * And why have the otherwise neutral Swiss declared war on the car?From Cuba to Iceland, Australia to Vietnam, Japan to Texas, Jeremy Clarkson tells us of his adventures on and off four wheels as he seeks to discover just what it is that makes our motorworld tick over. _____________Praise for Jeremy Clarkson:''Brilliant . . . laugh-out-loud'' Daily Telegraph''Outrageously funny . . . will have you in stitches'' Time Out''Very funny . . . I cracked up laughing on the tube'' Evening StandardTrade ReviewBrilliant...laugh-out-loud * Daily Telegraph *Outrageously funny...will have you in stitches * Time Out *Very funny...I cracked up laughing on the tube * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisThe publication of The World According to Clarkson in 2004 launched a multi-million-copy bestselling phenomenon. But to no avail. Jeremy''s one-man war on crimes against common sense has not yet been won. And our hero''s still scratching his head at the madness of it all. But it''s not all bad. He''s learned a little along the way, including: Why binge drinking is good for you The worst word in the English language The remarkable secret of eternal youth The pleasure and pain of middle-aged drumming The problem with America And how to dispose of a seal For anyone who''s ever been driven to wonder just what is the matter with people these days, For Crying Out Loud is the perfect riposte. Surprising, fearless and always laugh-out-loud funny, Clarkson''s back. And he''s got a point . . . Jeremy Clarkson began his writing career on the Rotherham Advertiser. Since then he has written for the Sun, the Sunday Times, the Rochdale Observer, the Wolverhampton Express & Star, all of the associated Kent Newspapers, and Lincolnshire Life. Today he is the tallest person working in British television.Trade ReviewPraise for Clarkson * - *Brilliant...laugh-out-loud * Daily Telegraph *On any page you'll find a blinder * The Times *Very funny . . . I cracked up laughing on the Tube -- Andrew Neather (Environment columnist) * Evening Standard *Outrageously funny...will have you in stitches * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisDara O Briain is the biggest Irish comic to have hit the UK in recent years. Already a huge star in Ireland, O Briain has now moved from being a sold-out festival favourite in Edinburgh to selling out theatres across the country and enjoying mainstream television success with his topical BBC comedy show, Mock The Week. He has been living in England for the past seven years.Trade ReviewA master-class in intelligent stand-up...It's thoughtful stuff, impeccably delivered. With material this strong, you don't need gimmicks * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisVolume 4 in the bestselling World According to Clarkson seriesJeremy Clarkson had a dream. A world where the nonsensical made sense, the idiotic was abolished and the sheer bloody brilliant was embraced. In How Hard Can It Be? our hero embarks on a quest to set the world to rights. Again. En-route he discovers how rhubarb will become the new crack, that a comb over will end anyone''s quest for global domination and what unites a Filipino chambermaid in Abergavenny with Prince Andrew.For anyone who''s ever woken up and thought the time has come to stop the nonsense and celebrate the sensational, read on. Because seriously, how hard can it be?Jeremy Clarkson began his writing career on the Rotherham Advertiser. He now writes for the Sun and the Sunday Times and is the tallest person working in British television.Trade ReviewPraise for Clarkson * - *Brilliant...laugh-out-loud * Daily Telegraph *Very funny... I cracked up laughing on the Tube * Evening Standard *Outrageously funny...will have you in stitches * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisA real-life adventure that inspired countless travellers in fact and fiction, the Penguin Classics edition of Robert Byron''s The Road to Oxiana includes an introduction by Colin Thubron.In 1933 Robert Byron began a journey through the Middle East via Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Teheran to Oxiana - the country of the Oxus, the ancient name for the river Amu Darya which forms part of the border between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. The Road to Oxiana offers not only a wonderful record of his adventures, but also a rare account of the architectural treasures of a region now inaccessible to most Western travelers. Robert Byron (1905-41) was born in 1905, and educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford. He died during the Second World War, when the ship he was serving on was torpedoed by a U-Boat off Cape Wrath. Byron''s The Road to Oxiana is considered by many modern travel writers to be the first example of great travel writing.If y

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Book SynopsisA timeless and majestic portrait of Africa by renowned writer Peter Matthiessen (1927-2014), author of the National Book Award-winning The Snow Leopard and the new novel In Paradise A finalist for the National Book Award when it was released in 1972, this vivid portrait of East Africa remains as fresh and revelatory now as on the day it was first published. Peter Matthiessen exquisitely combines nature and travel writing to portray the sights, scenes, and people he observed firsthand in several trips over the course of a dozen years. From the daily lives of wild herdsmen and the drama of predator kills to the field biologists investigating wild creatures and the anthropologists seeking humanity''s origins in the rift valley, The Tree Where Man Was Born is a classic of journalistic observation. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by groundbreaking British primatologist Jane Goodall.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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Book SynopsisWhy do road cyclists go to the mountains? Many books tell you where the mountains are, or how long and how high. None of them ask Why?'After all, cycling up a mountain is hard so hard that, to many non-cyclists, it can seem absurd. But, for some, climbing a mountain gracefully (and beating your competitors up the slope) represents the pinnacle of cycling achievement. The mountains are where legends are forged and cycling's greats make their names.Why are Europe's mountain ranges professional cycling's Wembley Stadium or its Colosseum? Why do amateurs also make a pilgrimage to these high, remote roads and what do we see and feel when we do?Why are the roads there in the first place?Higher Calling explores the central place of mountains in the folklore of road cycling. Blending adventure and travel writing with the rich narrative of pro racing, Max Leonard takes the reader from the battles that created the Alpine roads to the shepherds tending their flocks on the peaks, and to a Grand Tour climax on the highest road in Europe'. And he tells stories of courage and sacrifice, war and love, obsession and elephants along the way.

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of India: A Portrait, Patrick French''s Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land has been acclaimed as the book that showed the real Tibet for the first time. Tibet has long fascinated the West, but what really lies beyond our romantic image of a Buddhist mountain kingdom of peace and spirituality? Travelling through the country, French meets warrior monks, nomads and a nun secretly fighting Chinese communist rule, but also young Tibetans with a more pragmatic attitude to their situation. Interweaving these encounters with little-known stories of war and turmoil from Tibet''s past, he reveals a more nuanced, fascinating and surprising picture of this complex place than any other book has done. ''Mixes a compelling subject, magnificent prose and deep understanding''   The Times ''Inspired and heartfelt ... shows that Tibet was never the peace-loving paradise so many generations of Trade ReviewMixes a compelling subject, magnificent prose and deep understanding * The Times *Inspired and heartfelt ... shows that Tibet was never the peace-loving paradise so many generations of well-wishers have longed for it to be * Los Angeles Times *Tibet, Tibet, so good they named it twice ... French is a writer of generous talents * Sunday Times *French has produced something very different from what he calls "Tibetophile" literature, something greatly superior in its honesty and lack of false sentiment * Spectator *A gripping mix of history, travel writing and personal memoir... vividly told. * Observer *An accomplished writer and a keen observer (French) reports his findings vividly... French's reporting is excellent and this is an enjoyable and informative tour of Tibet. * The Guardian *First hand accounts of everyday experiences gleaned from close contact with Tibetan priests, politicians and peasants illuminate this moving book of modern day Tibet. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisRedmond O'Hanlon is an explorer in the nineteenth-century mould. In addition to his four bestselling travel books, Into the Heart of Borneo, In Trouble Again, Congo Journey and Trawler, he has published scholarly works on nineteenth-century science and literature. For fifteen years he was the Natural History editor of the Times Literary Supplement. He lives outside Oxford with his wife and two children.

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Book SynopsisSUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERWinner of the Stanford Dolman Lifetime Contribution to Travel Writing Award 2020Beloved travel writer Paul Theroux turns his attention to America, exploring the landscapes and communities of his homeland as an outsider for the first timeFor the past fifty years, Paul Theroux has travelled to the far corners of the earth - to China, India, Africa, the Pacific Islands, South America, Russia, and elsewhere - and brought them to life in his cool, exacting prose. In Deep South he turns his gaze to a region much closer to his home.Travelling through North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, Paul Theroux writes of the stunning landscapes he discovers - the deserts, the mountains, the Mississippi - and above all, the lives of the people he meets.The South is a place of contradictions. There is the warm, open spirit of the soul food cafes, found in every tTrade ReviewPublisher's description. For the first time, renowned travel writer Paul Theroux turns his penetrating gaze homeward, exploring the extraordinary places and peoples of the American Deep South. From soul food and wide open roads to endemic poverty and simmering racial tension, he journeys to the heart of a vivid and mesmerising world. * Penguin *His ability to sum up a people or a city in a few lines is undiminished * Daily Telegraph *Theroux's work remains the standard by which other travel writing must be judged * Observer *The world's most perceptive travel writer * Daily Mail *[Theroux] has the power to transport us and get under the skin of a place... the stories in Deep South make for a compelling listen -- Duncan Minshull, BBC Radio 4This engrossing book reminds us that despite the poverty, maybe because of it, everyone has a story to tell and it's the writer's job to bear such testimony * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisLong recognized as perhaps the greatest non-fiction writer at work in Ireland, for his vast, polymathic accounts of nature and culture in the Aran Islands and Connemara, Tim Robinson is also an essayist of genius whose fascinations range across the globe. In Experiments on Reality, he shines the light of his intelligence on his own life, and on some of the most fascinating questions in science and culture. Robinson brings us to his boyhood in Yorkshire, National Service in Malaya in the 1950s, and his years as a visual artist in Istanbul, Vienna and London. He revisits some of the scenes of his researches for the maps he made of Aran and Connemara, places that continue to throw up remarkable stories and puzzles. And he performs astonishing literary thought-experiments, playing with the boundaries of the essay form, scientific inquiry, and storytelling. Experiments on Reality is a masterpiece from one of the great minds of our time.''One of the grTrade ReviewMany landscape writers have striven to give their prose the characteristics of the terrain they are describing. Few have succeeded as fully as Robinson * Guardian *One of the greatest of all landscape writers ... When the material world is brought forth for us so beautifully, with such rapt attention and illuminating insight, we are reminded of how lucky we are to be part of it -- Fintan O'Toole * Irish Times *Robinson is a stylist of exceptional cadence, tact and ingenuity * Daily Telegraph *He is that rarest of phenomena, a scientist and an artist, and his method is to combine scientific rigour with artistic reverie in a seamless blend that both informs and delights * Guardian *Experiments on Reality offers another side to Robinson. The abstract and algebraic thinking of his early years as both a mathematician and artist bubble back to the surface and meld with the mossy scents of Connacht and the reflections of age * Sunday Independent *One of contemporary Ireland's finest literary stylists * Guardian *In this slim volume of essays, typically lyrical and measured, Robinson burgles the bank of his youth in Wharfedale and later years, including National Service in Malaysia and his time as an artist in Istanbul, Vienna and London, to map out the topography of his own thoughts and travels. * RTÉ Guide *Dazzling * Condé Nast Traveller *Tim Robinson is the Proust of the western seaboard, a Ruskin of the isles * New Stateman *He knows this world as no one else does, and writes about it with awe and love, but also with measured grace, an artist's eye and a scientist's sensibility * Sunday Business Post *Breathtaking ... the West of Ireland has found its ultimate laureate * TLS *Simply one of the best non-fiction prose writers currently at work * Irish Times *The Proust & Ruskin of modern place-writing, deep-mapper of Irish landscapes, visionary thinker, & human of exceptional intellectual generosity & kindness. He was an immense inspiration to & encourager of me & my work. -- Robert Macfarlane

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Book SynopsisA beautifully atmospheric memoir and travelogue from poet Amryl Johnson depicting her journey from the UK to Trinidad in the 1980s''Memories demanded that I complete this book. If what I experienced was, in fact, a haunting, I believe I have now laid these ghosts to rest in a style which I hope will satisfy even the most determined ones.''Amryl Johnson came to England from Trinidad when she was eleven. As an adult in 1983, ready for a homecoming, she embarks on a journey through the Caribbean searching for home, searching for herself.Landing in Trinidad as carnival begins, she instantly surrenders to the collective, pulsating rhythm of the crowd, euphoric in her total freedom. This elation is shattered when she finds the house where she was born has been destroyed. She cannot escape - nor wants to - from the inheritance of colonialism.Her bittersweet welcome sets the tone for her intoxicating exploration of these distinct islands. In evocative, lyrical prose Sequins for a Ragged Hem is an astonishingly unique memoir, interrogating the way our past and present selves live alongside one another.Selected by Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo, this series rediscovers and celebrates pioneering books from Black Britain and the diaspora, which remap the nation and reframe our history.Trade ReviewSequins is a powerful and unusual book, in that it combines the familiar traveller's tales with an account of another kind of journey and process of discovery, as Johnson confronts the 'ghost who was haunting herself' in order that she might come to terms with her sense of a fragmented identity * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA writer for whom the journey has always mattered reinvents the very form itself in this inviting collection of in-the-moment impressions of his journeys

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Book SynopsisPete McCarthy's humorous quest for Irish communities across the world.Trade ReviewA disarming, likeable travelling companion * The Sunday Times *The new book is just as quirky and even funnier. It's full of extraordinary encounters, insightful glimpses of the places he visits and humorous comments on human behaviour, not least his own. * Sunday Telegraph *McCarthy is an accomplished writer, snappy and shrewd * Guardian *McCarthy's sharp and intelligent humour makes this roundabout journey a constant joy * Independent *Praise for MCCARTHY'S BAR:McCarthy mines a rich seam of humour as he finds himself on the receiving end of some warm but unsophisticated hospitality. But then, he could probably make a phone book funny. * Independent on Sunday *Hilarious, informed and intelligent ... a wonderful debut. By the end, we, too, would like to move to Ireland * Amazon.co.uk *An engaging, evocative book. Four out of five stars * Daily Mail *Don't panic - this is not the same story you hear from every tourist you meet ... This book will make you laugh out loud through recognition and embarrassment * Irish News *One of the funniest writers around. If you were asked to choose the ideal travelling companion, you would put Pete McCarthy near the top of your list. But if he doesn't happen to be available, MCCARTHY'S BAR is the next best thing * Yorkshire Evening Post *A riveting piece of storytelling * Observer *

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Book Synopsis* Ghost Riders combines history, travelogue and a revealing personal narrative to create a multi-dimensional map of the travelling soul.Trade ReviewErudite & street-smart... that rare thing: a travel writer who not only amuses & informs but also reappraises a well trodden landscape with brio & originality * MAIL ON S. *Fascinating . . . [Grant] brings to light a range of darkly romantic wanderers who strayed from the American mainstream while exemplifying the American Dream * OBSERVER * *....the freshest travel book on the US in a long time & one of the best short entrees to its history & culture * TLS *Wonderful...the people he talks to are allowed to speak for themselves, and there are many extraordinary stories...a thrilling read * THE TIMES *

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Book SynopsisThey stuck their coaches on ride-on, ride off ferries, whisked through France and Italy moaning about garlic and rudeness, then bored the neighbours to death by having them all round to look at their holiday watercolours''Many people associate the Grand Tour with the baggy shirted Byrons of its 19th century heyday, but someone had to do it first and Thomas Coryate, author of arguably the first piece of pure travel writing, CRUDITIES, was that man. Tim Moore travels through 45 cities in the steps of a larger-than-life Jacobean hero incidentally responsible for introducing forks to England and thus ending forever the days of the finger-lickin''-good drumstick hurlers of courts gone by. Coryate''s early 17th century bawdy anecdotes include being pelted with eggs, pursued by a knife wielding man in a turban and, finally, being vomited on copiously by a topless woman with a beer barrel on her head:- For once, Tim Moore has no trouble keeping up the modern-day side. And his authentic method of travel to replicate these adventures? A clapped-out pink Rolls Royce, of course.Trade ReviewThere won't be a funnier or more original contender until Tim Moore publishes his next volume ... There hasn't been such a fresh voice among itinerant writers since Redmond O'Hanlon or Bill Bryson got started * SPECTATOR *Regularly had me laughing out loud * SUNDAY TIMES *His is a rare comic talent, and his debut a brilliantly sustained piece of travel writing * THE TIMES *One of the funniest travelogues you will ever read * EXPRESS *

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Book SynopsisWhat is visible to the naked eye has been exhaustively raked over; in UNDERGROUND LONDON, acclaimed travel writer Stephen Smith provides an alternative guide and history of the capital. It''s a journey through the passages and tunnels of the city, the bunkers and tunnels, crypts and shadows. As well as being a contemporary tour of underground London, it''s also an exploration through time: Queen Boudicca lies beneath Platform 10 at King''s Cross (legend has it); Dick Turpin fled the Bow Street Runners along secret passages leading from the cellar of the Spaniards pub in North London; the remains of a pre-Christian Mithraic temple have been found near the Bank of England; on the platforms of the now defunct King William Street Underground, posters still warn that ''Careless talk costs lives''. Stephen Smith uncovers the secrets of the city by walking through sewers, tunnels under such places as Hampton Court, ghost tube stations, and long lost rivers such as the Fleet and the TybTrade ReviewBrilliant... so much more than just another city ramble. * MAIL ON SUNDAY *(Smith) offers an enjoyable guide to the subterranean parts of a great city...his sense of the enveloping mysterious is spot-on. * OBSERVER *A notable portrait of London... By becoming a proper witness to the unseen, covert and little-known, [Smith] rescues reportage and makes of it a kind of poetry * Iain Sinclair, EVENING STANDARD *Smith's cast of fluffers (Tube cleaners), flushers (sewermen) and toshers (scavengers) make engaging company * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *

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Book SynopsisThe landscape of the British Isles is filled with history, much of which we miss as it flashes past the car window. Do we even realise that we''re following the same path as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, or that we''re driving past the exact spot where King Harold was killed, shot through the eye with an arrow? As a lover of both history and the British countryside, Charlie Connelly decided to rectify this, and set out on a series of walks that recreate famous historical journeys. En route he retells the story of the original trip while discovering who and what now inhabit these iconic routes. Walking in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Charlie journeys alongside Boudicca''s ghost in Norfolk, relives Bonnie Prince Charlie''s flight to Skye disguised as Flora MacDonald''s maid and takes the same 32-mile round trip as the starving Louisburgh famine walkers. He suffers broken toes, becomes trapped in the Scottish Parliament and encounters dead poets and a surprisingly high number of mad old women in woolly hats. Told with Charlie''s customary charm and wit, And Did Those Feet will reveal the historical secrets hidden in the much-loved coastal, country and urban landscapes of Britain.

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Book SynopsisThe beloved Comma Queen returns with a buoyant and charming book about language, love and the wine-dark sea.Trade Review"Greek, [Norris] concludes, is “sexy”, especially for someone with her logophilic cast of mind. Since ancient Greek has given so many rarefied words to English, Ms Norris gets a small thrill from being asked “dipsas?” (“Are you thirsty?”) The root that shows up in the English “dipsomaniac” is everyday Greek." -- The Economist"Mary Norris has a remarkable gift for conveying and transmitting passion... In her second book, Greek to Me, she demonstrates this gift with still greater aplomb…" -- Times Literary Supplement"Mary Norris's book about her love affair with Greece and the Greek language starts with a terrific chapter about alphabets." -- The Spectator"Greek to Me is a[n]... engaging hybrid, mixing philology, travelogue, memoir and psychoanalysis." -- The Telegraph"A love letter to Greece and its language is full of delightful facts and brims with nerdish, bookish joy... Norris is a jaunty companion, splendidly bookish, full of excellent little facts about, say, the history of the alphabet that you feel pleased to acquire. Greek gives her, she is happy to admit, “an erotic thrill”. She represents a hearty riposte to the very British notion that a love of dead languages automatically renders one a chilly, Olympian elitist." -- The Guardian"I fell in love with Mary Norris’s first book, and am now even more in love with this charming, ribald, highly informed, and always funny excursion through the language, culture, and oddities of Greece and the Greek language. An adventure tale for intellectuals—and also for the rest of us." -- Steve Martin

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Book SynopsisIn 1986 Brian Keenan and John McCarthy were forced to take a journey without maps.Trade Review'One of the funniest and most moving testaments to friendship that one is likely to read' -- Stuart Wavell * The Sunday Times *'Such an absorbing subject, so deeply and warmly expressed' -- Sara Wheeler * Daily Telegraph *'The best travel book I've read so far this year' -- Pete Carthy * Time Out *'They take us every step of the way with a wonderfully infectious joie de vivre' * Independent on Sunday *'Such a vivid and inspiring odyssey that captivated readers will be spurred into booking flights to Chile...Fun glows from every page even in wretched times' * Irish Independent *

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Book Synopsis1955, Kenya. A group of four acquaintances set out to drive from Nairobi to London, via the Sahara desert, in a 8 horse-power Morris Traveller. Under the leadership of Alan Cooper, a down-on-his-luck farmer, the group was made up of a worldly field biologist who recorded the whole trip on her 8mm cine camera, a genteel schoolmistress of uncertain age in search of romance, and a 17-year-old boy whose mother had insisted that the trip would make a man of him. What united them was a desire for adventure.As they set off through Equatorial Africa the omens seemed against them. The Mau Mau uprising against British rule in Kenya was at it''s height and the days of colonial rule were ending. Their journey was to take them through an Africa that very soon would cease to exist. But it was the desert that turned their joyride into a nightmare. What began as an adventure ended as a desperate fight for life in the blazing sands of the Sahara. Trek brings this story to drama

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Book SynopsisFascinating and timely Jeremy BowenHeld hostage for many years by terrorists in Lebanon, John McCarthy is all too familiar with the pain and injustice of being denied your home. Determined to understand the day-to-day complexities of being a Palestian-Arab in modern-day Israel, he embarks on a deeply personal journey from the shores of the Mediterranean to the desert landscape of the Negev. He discovers the hidden stories of the ordinary people who must live out their lives in the shadow of a brutal conflict, and asks the vital question how does humanity endure under such great oppression?Trade ReviewA powerful account of the Palestinians of Israeli citizenship as told in their own words. Eloquent and moving, this book is essential reading to understand the full complexity of Palestinian-Israeli relations. * Eugene Rogan, Author of The Arabs: A History *John McCarthy takes us on an unforgettable journey through a tumultuous and complex landscape. His passion and humanity are all the more remarkable in the context of his own brutal experience of the dark side of its political context. * Tom Bradby, Political Editor, ITV News *From a man who knows much about human spirit’s refusal to be cowed comes a beautifully written, compassionate and insightful account of Israel’s non-Jewish population. You Can’t Hide The Sun does not just champion a people too long bullied, marginalised and ignored – it drives home that without heeding their voice no long term solution of Israel-Palestine is possible. * Tim Butcher, author of Blood River *John McCarthy’s excellent book focuses in on Palestinian citizens of Israel, who sometimes get ignored as a complexity too far. McCarthy doesn’t hide his sympathy for the human beings who have been battered by Middle East conflict. Perhaps that’s because he was caught up in it too when he was held hostage in Lebanon for more than five years between 1986 and 1991. Like Palestinians, and Jews, he longed for the sanctuary of home. McCarthy made it home. But in his journey through Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories he finds Palestinians who are still waiting, hoping and struggling for their homes more than 60 years after Israel was created. Fascinating and timely, and written with the charm of a man who’s still determined to explore the tempestuous region that for five years was just a dream on the other side of his locked cell door. * Jeremy Bowen *

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Book SynopsisStephen Clarke lives in Paris, where he divides his time between writing and not writing.His Merde novels have been bestsellers all over the world, including France. His non-fiction books include Talk to the Snail, an insider's guide to understanding the French; How the French Won Waterloo (or Think They Did), an amused look at France's continuing obsession with Napoleon; Dirty Bertie: An English King Made in France, a biography of Edward VII; and 1000 Years of Annoying the French, which was a number one bestseller in Britain.Research for The French Revolution and What Went Wrong took him deep into French archives in search of the actual words, thoughts and deeds of the revolutionaries and royalists of 1789. He has now re-emerged to ask modern Parisians why they have forgotten some of the true democratic heroes of the period, and opted to idolize certain maniacs. Follow Stephen on @SClarkeWriter and www.stepTrade ReviewHilarious and insightful, Paris Revealed will resonate with anyone who knows the city * France Magazine *

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Book SynopsisPeter Moore is an itinerant hobo who is lucky enough to be able to support his insatiable travel habit (he has visited 92 countries so far) through writing. He is the author of The Wrong Way Home, The Full Montezuma, Swahili for the Broken-Hearted (shortlisted for the WHSmith People's Choice TravelBook Award), Vroom with a View and the classic alternative travel guide, No Shitting in the Toilet. When he is not on the road, you'll find Peter in either London or Sydney watching 'Neighbours'. Sad, really.Trade Review'Its punning title sets the tone for this off-beat travel book...touched by romance and haunted by the glamour of Sophia Loren, it's a larky, laddish tale of roadside picnics, bad behaviour and attempting to re-enact 'Roman Holiday'' * YOU magazine *'Moore has the parched dry wit, the solid brass cojones of a true traveller and rare eye for the madness of the wider world' * JOHN BIRMINGHAM *'Moore is the genuine article, a traveller's traveller...inspirational stuff' * FHM magazine *'Haunted by the glamour of Sophia Loren, it's a larky, laddish tale' -- MAIL ON SUNDAY'Peter Moore...the Jim Carrey of travel writing, has tapped out another racy travelogue' -- SUNDAY HERALD

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Book SynopsisOne day in late summer, Michael Wright gave up his comfortable South London existence and, with only his long-suffering cat for company, set out to begin a new life. His destination was 'La Folie', a dilapidated 15th century farmhouse in need of love and renovation in the heart of rural France.Trade ReviewWhat elevates this book... is Wright's gentle humour and his ability to create a vivid impression of his literal and emotional journey... with such wit and perception * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Hilarious and evocative... Michael Wright's book provides the most startlingly honest answer to the question of "can you live your dreams or do they inevitably turn into nightmares?" -- Dr RAJ PERSAUDWright captures the fun of the countryside perfectly * THE SUNDAY TIMES *

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Book SynopsisOff-grid: a place, building or person without mains water or power. Static or mobile - in a house or a hut, a boat or a camper van - to live off-grid is all about loosending the ties that bind us to teh fmailiar world of commuting, mortgages, no time and fast food, in order to rediscover our place in the natural world. Complete with camper van, Nick sets off around the UK to find off-grid heaven and meet people who are living the dream. Along the way he runs into backpackers and businessmen, radical hermits and right-wing survivalists - and plenty of ordinary working-parent families too. Sincere but irreverent, this is Nick''s guide to avoiding pitfalls, to finding solutions (and some brilliant gadgets) as he strives to perfect the skills of this practical, freewheeling kind of self-sufficiency. ''Timely and highly readable'' Sunday Telegraph '' Nick Rosen has caught the zeitgeist.'' The TimesTrade ReviewWith his book, [Nick Rosen] has caught the Zeitgeist -- Anna Shepard * The Times *This is a timely and highly readable examination of what it really means to live and travel 'off-grid' * Sunday Telegraph *An inspiring, entertaining and irreverent read -- Jillian Bolger * Sunday Tribune *

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Book SynopsisIn mid-career, Michael Frayn took up his old trade of journalism, and wrote a series of occasional articles for the Observer about some of the places in the world that interested him. He wanted to describe ''not the extraordinary but the ordinary, the typical, the everyday'', and his accounts became the starting point for some of the novels and plays he wrote later. From a kibbutz in Israel to summer rains in Japan, bicycles in Cambridge to Notting Hill at the end of the 1950s, they are glimpses of a world that sometimes seems tantalisingly familiar, sometimes vanished forever. Michael Frayn is the celebrated author of fifteen plays including Noises Off, Copenhagen and Afterlife. His bestselling novels include Headlong, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Spies, which won the Whitbread Best Novel Award and Skios, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. All writers of fiction should be

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Book SynopsisBorn in London to a Turkish mother and British father, Alev Scott moved to Istanbul to discover what it means to be Turkish in a country going through rapid political and social change, with an extraordinary past still linked to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and an ever more surprising present under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.From the European buzz of modern-day Constantinople to the Arabic-speaking towns of the south-east, Turkish Awakening investigates mass migration, urbanisation and economics in a country moving swiftly towards a new position on the world stage. This is the story of discovering a complex country from the outside-in, a candid account of overturned preconceptions and fresh understanding. Relating wide-ranging interviews and colourful personal experience, the author charts the evolving course of a country bursting with surprises - none more dramatic than the unexpected political protests of 2013 in Taksim Square, which have brought to li

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Book SynopsisHay-on-Wye is world famous as the Town of Books. But when travel writer Oliver Balch moved there, it was not just the books he was keen to read, but the people too.After living in London and Buenos Aires, what will he make of this tiny, quirky town on the Welsh-English border? To help guide him, he turns to Francis Kilvert, a Victorian diarist who captured the bucolic rural life of his day. Does anything of Kilvert''s world still exists? And could a newcomer ever feel they truly belong?With empathy and humour, Balch joins in the daily routines and lives of his fellow residents. What emerges is a captivating, personal picture of country life in the 21st century. Some things haven''t altered for centuries, while others are changing at an alarming pace.Written with his trademark vivid, reportage style, Balch''s journey sees him meet with a king and his courtiers, publicans, hippies, mayors, old widows and young farmers. In an increasingly mobile, urban world

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Book Synopsis''I have never before in my life kept a diary of my thoughts, and here at the start of my ninth decade, having for the moment nothing much else to write, I am having a go at it. Good luck to me'So begins this extraordinary book, a collection of diary pieces that Jan Morris wrote for the Financial Times over the course of 2017.A former soldier and journalist, and one of the great chroniclers of the world for over half a century, she writes here in her characteristically intimate voice - funny, perceptive, wise, touching, wicked, scabrous, and above all, kind about her thoughts on the world, and her own place in it as she turns ninety. From cats to cars, travel to home, music to writing, it's a cornucopia of delights from a unique literary figure.

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Book SynopsisHeart-breaking, uplifting and full of adventure, The Long Ride Home is the long-awaited sequel to the international bestseller The Horse Boy. Rowan came back from the shamans in Mongolia a changed boy. The three most debilitating effects of his autism - his incontinence, his endless tantruming, and his inability to make friends - were gone.But a year almost to the day since Rowan''s improvement he started regressing: the accidents and tantrums reappeared, terrifying his father Rupert. Something had to be done.Father and son embarked on a new quest, journeying from the bushmen of Namibia to the coastal rainforests of Queensland, Australia and finally to the Navajo reservations of the American southwest, where Rowan was transformed - they had begun the Long Ride Home.''It is probably only once in a critical lifetime that one will be moved almost to tears ... a triumph of the human spirit'' Telegraph (on The Horse BoTrade ReviewThere is enough here to suggest that something - be it the power of mind, ritual or maybe magic itself - can help bring an autistic child from near total darkness out into the world * Daily Mail *It is probably only once in a critical lifetime that one will be moved almost to tears ... a triumph of the human spirit * Telegraph (on 'The Horse Boy') *Magical, miraculous, uplifting * Daily Mail (on 'The Horse Boy') *Amazing, astonishing * Sunday Times (on 'The Horse Boy') *

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Book SynopsisA story about the author's 3,000-mile solo walk across an entire continent, from Namibia's Skeleton Coast to the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar.Trade Review'A fresh and hugely amusing perspective... a heartwarming reflection of Africa's people and places' Metro'A likeable and self-deprecating narrator... I found myself increasingly gripped' Observer'An honest and hugely amusing account... Sandham's love for Africa is contagious' South African Magazine'Classical account of one man's struggle to test himself against Nature... Hope we shall hear more of his travels' The Daily Telegraph'Frank and uplifting, a well-written account' Wanderlust'This is real old school adventure... Great stuff' Adventure Travel'Writes with down-to-earth glee of the personalities, hardships, pleasures and idiocy of a solo walk' Longitude Longitude'Warm and entertaining... It is his enthusiasm for adventure and the variety of human life that makes Traversa so memorable' New Statesman

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Book SynopsisThe surprising story of Ireland's beloved broadcaster.

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Book SynopsisThe celebrated twentieth-century travel writer's remarkable journey through the high Andes of Peru.Trade ReviewPatrick Leigh Fermor is an exquisite among travel writers ... Having a polished sense of poetry and a bright sense of humour, he outshines Lawrence ... This is a delicious book * Sunday Telegraph *Bringing the landscape alive as no other writer can, he uses his profound and eclectic understanding of cultures and peoples ... to paint vivid pictures - nobody has illuminated the geography of Europe better * Geographical Magazine *John Murray is doing the decent thing and reissuing all of Leigh Fermor's main books ... But what else would you expect from a publisher whose commitment to geography is such that for more than two centuries it has widened our understanding of the world? * Geographical Magazine *Enthralling and elegant prose ... There could be no better travelling companion than Patrick Leigh Fermor * Daily Mail *Leigh Fermor's use of English is as exhilarating as the stark beauty of the landscape he describes... there is no one so adept at evoking the melancholy of raw wilderness * Daily Telegraph *His grand style perfectly captures the country's generous people and magnificent landscape ... Leigh Fermor has an individual and attractive voice, his tales are charming and his mind open * Financial Times *He makes exotic and entertaining friends wherever he goes, has read everything, been everywhere, known everyone and writes like a dream * The Times *

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Book SynopsisTim Mackintosh-Smith concludes his travels in the footsteps of Moroccan traveller Ibn Battutah across the 'worlds beyond the winds'Trade Review'Landfalls is a beautifully written account of Islamic life and culture in the 21st century. Whether he is looking for proof of demons off the coast of an island in the Maldives or indulging in a delirious dance to the sound of an ancient Guinean musical instrument, his book is a joyous celebration of cultural diversity' * Sunday Times *'Well paced, erudite, amusing . . . almost always fascinating . . . Landfalls proves that reports of the death of the travel book are premature. Far from it. With its mix of literary adventure, biography and autobiography, this book suggests that, in the right hands, the genre can be as flexible, energetic and rewarding as ever' * Literary Review *'Captivating' * Scotsman *'In this exquisitiely written volume, Mackintosh-Smith establishes himself as a pre-eminent travel writer of his generation, comparable to an earlier D. H. Lawrence of Eric Newby' * Toronto Globe and Mail *'The long-awaited and dazzling conclusion to the Tim Mackintosh-Smith trilogy' * Country Life *'Mackintosh-Smith's third and final volume in the series . . . is as delightful as the first two. What draws readers in is his enthusiasm and wonder . . . Another fantastic voyage of two distinctive travel writers. Recommended for those interested in travel, history and Middle East study areas' * Library Journal *'An entertaining and learned travelling companion. And, if he persuades more people to read Ibn Battutah, so much the better' * TLS *'Mackintosh-Smith's zesty travelogue is packed with eccentric characters and anecdote' * FT *'Landfalls marks the dazzling conclusion to a trilogy' * Middle East *

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Book SynopsisAn engaging and often funny introduction to Arab culture through the experiences of an English family living in the Middle East.Trade Review“Inspiring, challenging, and valuable. It’s not easy to pigeon-hole as it’s autobiography combined with a hugely helpful and well-told narrative about the politics, ecology, cultures, and religions of the region at the crossroads of the world. If you’re puzzled by what’s on the news concerning Iraq, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the rest of the Middle East, this is a great place to start. It’s told with humour and empathy, and most of all with deep love for the people and the places where many of today’s global tensions focus. Read it soon and you’ll not only be better informed, you’ll see the people and region quite differently.” -- Reverend Dave Bookless, Director of Theology, A Rocha International“This is Christianity bringing real hope to the wildlife, wild places, and the people of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and beyond. It is an extraordinary tale of faith in action with cultural and historical insights sandwiched in regional turmoil.” -- David Chandler, co-author of RSPB Guide to Birdwatching“This is a very readable and compelling account of a family living through tumultuous events in the Middle East. I can’t think of a better way of getting beneath the surface and understanding something of the culture, religion and politics of the region than through the very varied experiences of Chris and Susanna and their family. Having lived through some of these same events and seen their creative conservation work in Lebanon, I can vouch for the fact that it made a very significant contribution in a troubled country.” -- Reverend Colin Chapman, formerly lecturer in Islamic Studies, Near East School of Theology, Beirut, Lebanon“The environmental condition of the Middle East is easily forgotten amidst the maelstrom of politics and conflict. This rich and inspiring account of the Naylor family’s adventures in Lebanon, and the setting up of A Rocha’s project to help protect the priceless Aammiq wetlands in the Bekaa Valley, will help put many a conservation battle into perspective. It is thoughtful, wise, and compelling reading, with enough name-dropping of exciting fauna to make you thirst to go there yourself.” -- Dominic Couzens, bestselling natural history writer and author of Secret Lives of Garden Birds“More than the story of a remarkable and pioneering family and the conservation organization they led, Postcards from the Middle East gives a hard-won and deeply grounded perspective on a beautiful and troubled country whose history has come to affect us all. Chris Naylor’s knowledgeable affection for the landscapes and cultures he gave so much to understand, and for the Lebanese people whose current diaspora are found all around the world, shines through every page. With every chapter, we become the beneficiaries of his many years in the region; the extraordinary legacy of his working years there give him a wise and moderate voice that deserves to be widely heard.” -- Peter Harris, President and co-founder of A Rocha“Chris Naylor has reminded me of a carpet weaver in Medhat Bacha market in old Damascus. He was able to skilfully weave in various threads of culture, family, history, religion, mythology, and politics to produce a colourful carpet. Naylor’s lucid and conversational style makes the book an enjoyable reading. I appreciated his cultural sensitivity and authentic sincerity as he shares his and his family’s experiences and adventures. This book deserves to be placed next to Edward Said’s Orientalism, but I assure you that you will read it with lots of smiles and laughter!” -- Dr Riad Kassis, Director, Langham Scholars Ministry, Langham PartnershipTable of ContentsContentsMap of Lebanon 8Acknowledgments 9A Note on Transliteration of Arabic to English Text 10Introduction: To Picnic or Not to Picnic? 11Chapter 1: The Middle East and Back Again 21Chapter 2: The Keys to the House: The Arabic Language 39Chapter 3: Lebanon After the Civil War 55Chapter 4: A History Told in Stone 71Chapter 5: Grounded in the Valley 87Chapter 6: Mission Impossible 101Chapter 7: “Salaam Alaykum and Merry Christmas and Thanks Be to God” 115Chapter 8: How I Got a Gun 125Chapter 9: Crossing Cultures 141Chapter 10: The Day the World Changed 153Chapter 11: Myths, Legends, and Superstitions 165Chapter 12: Valentine’s Day 181Chapter 13: A Summer War 193Chapter 14: The Final Departure 209Chapter 15: A New Country 219Appendix 231The Naylor Family and the Middle East Timeline 237Suggested Reading 239Last Word… 240

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis Follow much-loved Scottish comedian Billy Connolly across Route 66 on this unforgettable journey, filled with music, modern history and hilarious stories.Billy Connolly first dreamed of taking a trip on the legendary Route 66 when he heard Chuck Berry belting out one of the greatest rock ''n'' roll records of all time - and now he''s finally had the chance to do it. Travelling every one of its 2,278 miles on his custom-make motorbike, Billy''s journey takes him past many of the best-known icons in the US: the Gateway Arch in St Louis, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon, and the funky neon-lit gas stations and diners that once lined the route.Billy also has the chance to get to know the people who call it home, from Mervin the Amish carpenter, to fellow banjo enthusiast and obsessive instrument collector Rob, to Angel, one of the many people determined to keep the spirit of the Mother Road alive. Funny, touching and inspiring in equal measure, the tales he gathers on the way tell the story of modern America.With his unrivalled instinct for a good story, and the gregariousness that has made him a comedy legend, Billy Connolly is the ultimate guide to the ultimate road trip.

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Book SynopsisCharley Boorman is back on his bike exploring the world''s second largest country - home to some of the most stunning and challenging terrain known to man. Canada is a country of extremes, and Charley knows all about pushing the limits. He goes dirt biking in New Brunswick, dives through old shipwrecks in Tobermory and rides along Butch Cassidy''s old Outlaw Trail. He also meets a fascinating mix of people on his journey. As he heads across Canada, he plays ice hockey with a legend of the game; spends a day as a Mountie cadet and nearly meets a ghost in Winnipeg . . . Written with Charley''s trademark enthusiasm and humour, Extreme Frontiers is fast-paced, hugely entertaining and packed with adventure (and rather a lot of mosquitoes).

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Book SynopsisA funny and poignant account of life in Buenos Aires, by a young prize-winning writer.

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Book SynopsisA humorous and affectionate look at modern Spain, and a celebration of the country''s greatest book, from the pen of a brilliant young writer.When in 1987 Miranda France spent a year living in Madrid, the post-dictatorship ebullience was at its height. Pornography and soft drugs were legalised alongside more basic freedoms, such as divorce, party-affiliation and kissing in the street. In 1998 she returned to make a journey through the great cities and towns of central Spain - Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca and others. With the new prosperity, much has changed. But much has also endured, as she learns from the people she meets, who include a private detective, a shepherd, various nuns, two belly dancers and a Castilian separatist. She also discovers that Cervantes'' DON QUIXOTE'' published in 1605 and the most translated book after the Bible - is a work of genius which still helps to explain the Spanish character: today''s Spaniards still suffer from Don Quixote''s delusions, and are as stubborn, inflexible and unrealistic as they have always been.

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Book SynopsisForeigner Adrian Gill (a Scot) goes in search of the essence of England and the EnglishTrade Review'In a series of fascinating essays, Gill reveals there is a swell of suppressed anger in the English . . . Much of it is extremely funny, the reader is left with the queasy question: what if he is right?' * SUNDAY TIMES *'An entertaining polemic . . . A thought-provoking, some would say overdue, book that challenges the English self-image of genteel reserve' * CHOICE *'His prose floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee and, just when you least expect it, lands a deft and lethal blow beneath the belt' -- Terence Blacker * SUNDAY TIMES *'The author is on typically quick-witted form' -- Jim Blackburn * WANDERLUST *'It annoys, arouses feelings and forces one to confront received opinions. Whether one sides with it or not, one can admire the zest of the writing and applaud its splendid lack of political correctness' -- Beryl Bainbridge * MAIL ON SUNDAY *'He writes beautifully. His chapter on war memorials should be a set text, his defence of political correctness is bold and true, and he really nails the philosophy of the queue' -- Peter Watts * TIME OUT *'He's as much sentimentalist as satirist - listen to him, some time, eulogising stalking in Scotland - and, as everyone knows, he's very, very funny' * GQ *'The book not only evolves into a surprisingly evocative meditation on England and the English, but it also showcases Mr. Gill's gifts as a writer of rude invective, hyperbolic description and splenetic asides - a writer who seems to have inhaled the prose styles of Auberon Waugh, Clive James and Alexander Theroux and come up with an idiosyncratic voice all his own' -- Michiko Kakutani * NEW YORK TIMES *

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Book Synopsis''Try this tequila oil, Hugito. Just as the alcohol hits your stomach, the chilli will as well and blow it back into your brain. It will take your head off.'' Explorer Hugh Thomson takes on Mexico.It''s 1979, Hugh Thomson is eighteen, far from home, with time to kill - and on his way to Mexico. When a stranger tells him there''s money to be made by driving a car over the US border to sell on the black market in Central America, Hugh decides to give it a go.Throwing himself on the mercy of Mexicans he meets or crashes into, Hugh and his Oldsmobile 98 journey through the region, meeting their fate in the slums of Belize City.Thirty years on, Hugh returns - older but not necessarily wiser - to complete his journey.Trade ReviewA beautiful book, full of appreciation and aphorism, an unashamedly personal story...it takes the reader to places we may not have dreamed of going... * INDEPENDENT *A thrilling travelogue that rails against the homogenisation of the world. * TRAVELLER *Thomson's Mexico is one of beauty, humour and freedom, laced with a tantalising hint of danger. * WANDERLUST *Delightful, celebratory and honest....In a way it is the first installment of his now-complete trilogy, his Cochineal Red and The White Rock being two of the finest books on Latin America of recent years. -- Rory MacLean * GUARDIAN *Thomson steers through a series of hair-raising encounters with wit, wisdom and an easy charm... -- Kathleen Wyatt * TIMES *Utterly beguiling * INDEPENDENT *'A sublime and richly informative travelogue from a true heavyweight explorer * WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY *

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