Travel writing Books

Book SynopsisOver the years, authors, artists and amblers aplenty have felt the pull of the Thames, and now travel writer Tom Chesshyre is following in their footsteps. He's walking the length of the river from the Cotswolds to the North Sea - a winding journey of over two hundred miles. Join him for an illuminating stroll past meadows, churches and palaces, country estates and council estates, factories and dockyards. Setting forth in the summer of Brexit, and meeting a host of interesting characters along the way, Chesshyre explores the living present and remarkable past of England's longest and most iconic river.Trade ReviewAn enjoyable refuge from everyday life * Clive Aslet, The Times *I found myself quickly falling into step beside Tom Chesshyre, charmed by his amiable meanderings, pointed observations and meetings with strangers along the way... but most of all Chesshyre champions the joys of a good walk through fascinating surroundings - with beer and blisters at the end of the day * BBC Countryfile Magazine - Fergus Collins *Readers should perhaps prepare themselves for a whole new wave of Whither England? type books in the months and years ahead, and Chesshyre's is a not unwelcome early attempt to answer that seemingly urgent question. * Ian Sansom, Times Literary Supplement *'Beautifully written and exquisite in observation, Tom Chesshyre's latest book, From Source to Sea is a fitting tribute to the mighty Thames that flows like a golden thread through the history of Britain. * Harry Bucknall, author of Like a Tramp, Like a Pilgrim *Chesshyre cuts an engaging figure... He has a true journalist's instinct for conversational encounters - Kurdistani picnickers in the river meadows upstream of London, pub thugs in the badlands of the lower Thames, other Thames Path pilgrims he rubs up against along the way. He also demonstrates a nose for a juicy tale, from a pre-Raphaelite ménage-àtrois at Kelmscott Manor to the discreet nookie column in the Marlow Free Press. Chesshyre's journey is rich in history and thick with characters, fables and happenstance - a highly readable and entertaining saunter along England's iconic river. * Christopher Somerville, author of Britain’s Best Walks *Chesshyre's book stands out from other accounts of walking the Thames Path in its contemporary (post-Brexit, pre-Trump) immediacy. A portrait of England and the English in our time, it is peppered with fascinating historical and literary markers. It's also a usefully opinionated guide to watering-holes and B&Bs from the sleepy Cotswold villages to the dystopian edgelands of the estuary. * Christina Hardyment, author of Writing the Thame *Journalist Tom Chesshyre has produced a readable, richly entertaining and highly informative book in From Source to Sea * Chris Gray, The Oxford Times *The result is this enjoyable travelogue, guiding the reader through the delightful towns and cities strung like pearls along the river, the 'liquid history' of the Thames from the Romans to the Profumo Affair and the beloved works of art and literature inspired by life on its banks, most famously Alice in Wonderland, Three Men in a Boat and The Wind in the Willows... a welcome addition to the Thames cannon. * Richard Tarrant, The Lady *Beautifully written and exquisite in observation, Tom Chesshyre's latest book, From Source to Sea is a fitting tribute to the mighty Thames that flows like a golden thread through the history of Britain. * Harry Bucknall, author of Like a Tramp, Like a Pilgrim *

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Book SynopsisNo land on earth has been so long observed as Egypt, which was attracting travelers back in the days of Herodotus and Julius Caesar. This book includes descriptions about a myth from a papyrus next to Naguib Mahfouz's account of Alexandria, and Florence Nightingale describing Abu Simbel side by side with Ahdaf Soueif's description of Sinai.

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Book SynopsisWill Ferguson has spent the past three years criss-crossing Canada: in a helicopter above the barren-lands of the sub-arctic; in a canoe with his four-year old son; on seaplanes; and on the Underground Railroad. Ferguson's travels have taken him from Cape Spear on the coast of Newfoundland to the sun-dappled streets of Olde Victoria.Delving into Canada's history and landscape along the way, Ferguson's discoveries are fascinating and provocative. Funny, poignant and insightful, Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw is a personal tribute to a quirky and enthralling country.Trade ReviewDeftly weaving in anecdotes... and barmy tales... Ferguson's self-deprecating wit takes the reader on a fascinating tour. * * The Guardian * *...an entertaining, insightful adventure. Like all good travel writing, it gives you very itchy feet. -- Graeme Green * * Metro * *

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Book SynopsisFrustrated by the climate of fear, one man journeys across the world on his motorcycle with a message: We are not afraid and we refuse to hate.

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Book SynopsisIstanbul, A Traveller''s Reader is an wide-ranging and carefully chosen selection of writings, offering a richly layered view of Byzantine Constantinople and Turkish Istanbul. During the thousand-year Byzantine empire that followed its founding by Constantine the Great, Istanbul became a city of fabled riches; after falling to the Turks in 1453, its glories continued, maintained by the strength and wealth of the Ottomans.Drawing on diaries, letters, biographies, travelogues and poems from the sixth century AD onwards, this evocative anthology recreates for contemporary visitors the vanished glories of Constantinople. It provides vivid eyewitness accounts of the coronation of a Byzantine emperor; the funeral of a sultan; the triumphal entry of Mehmet the Conqueror; the building of the Süleymaniye, the most magnificent of the city''s moques; and the death of Atatürk in 1938.It also describes the rampant sexual exploits of the Byzantine empress-to-be Theodora; thTrade ReviewVividly tells the story of that exotic city. - SpectatorProvides as rich and satisfying a patchwork as the metropolis it describes. - TimesBeguiling . . . should prove indispensable in the field. - Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisIn her forties Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis decided to trade in her landlubber life – a nice house in Cardiff and a sensible job at the BBC – for life aboard a small yacht with her husband Leighton, a former bosun with the Merchant Navy and now in his mid-sixties.Trade Review‘Gwyneth Lewis is a writer first and last and her boating book is a surpassing exception … Her view of the way sailors get from A to B is the freshest and truest I've read in the canon of small-boat adventuring. This funny, finally profound and moving sailing memoir is no more for sailors than for gardeners, or anyone who tried to navigate the maelstrom waters of a marriage. Don't pack it away in the boat; take it home’ Guardian Praise for Gwyneth Lewis:‘Felicitous, urbane, heartbreaking, the poems of Gwyneth Lewis form a universe whose planets use language for oxygen and are thus inhabitable’ Joseph Brodsky ‘True stars in poetry like Gwyneth Lewis always match brilliance with warmth. She is one to bet on.’ Les Murray

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Book SynopsisAn enchanting tale of travels among South East Asia’s Sea Gypsies, scattered groups of semi-nomadic fisher people who occupy the spaces between the islands.

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the Man Booker International Prize 2015 Alain Mabanckou left Congo in 1989, at the age of twenty-two, not to return until a quarter of a century later. When at last he comes home to Pointe-Noire, a bustling port town on Congo's south-eastern coast, he finds a country that in some ways has changed beyond recognition: the cinema where, as a child, Mabanckou gorged on glamorous American culture has become a Pentecostal temple, and his secondary school has been re-named in honour of a previously despised colonial ruler. But many things remain unchanged, not least the swirling mythology of Congolese culture which still informs everyday life in Pointe-Noire. Mabanckou though, now a decorated French-Congolese writer and esteemed professor at UCLA, finds he can only look on as an outsider at the place where he grew up. As he delves into his childhood, into the life of his departed mother and into the strange mix of belonging and absence that informs his return to Congo, Mabanckou slowly builds a stirring exploration of the way home never leaves us, however long ago we left home.Trade ReviewThis is a beautiful book, the past hauntingly re-entered, the present truthfully faced, and the translation rises gorgeously to the challenge. * Salman Rushdie *Novels such as African Psycho, Memoirs of a Porcupine and (my favourite) Broken Glass have made his name as a hugely engaging storyteller whose humour, mischief and sheer bravura only throw the melancholy of his forlorn migrant heroes into even bolder relief. Now he, justly, stands among the finalists for the Man Booker International Prize, announced next week...Now he has written an overt memoir, but one that shares with his novels a glorious polyphony of voices and a winning amalgam of frankness and tenderness - deftly carried into English again by his regular translator, Helen Stevenson -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Mabanckou is one of the continent's greatest writers and he's getting better with each book * Guardian *One of Africa's liveliest and most original voices * The Times *Mabanckou is, in fact, incomparable * Financial Times *In search of his past, Mabanckou evokes the light and shadow of Pointe-Noire, his "lost paradise" * Radio France Internationale *A literary blow to the solar plexus ... undulating and poignant, raw and poetic' * La Presse *At the end of this journey, the conclusion is clear - the country that lives within him is no longer his own, but Mabanckou remains loyal to his mother's last wish: "Never forget that hot water was once cold." * Télérama *A rich and astonishing book * L’Express *

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Book SynopsisDown the river on a homemade boat.

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Art of Travel comes a wittily intriguing exploration of the strange non-place that he believes is the imaginative center of our civilization.Given unprecedented access to one of the world’s busiest airports as a “writer-in-residence,” Alain de Botton found it to be a showcase for many of the major crosscurrents of the modern world—from our faith in technology to our destruction of nature, from our global interconnectedness to our romanticizing of the exotic. He met travelers from all over and spoke with everyone from baggage handlers to pilots to the airport chaplain. Weaving together these conversations and his own observations—of everything from the poetry of room service menus to the eerie silence in the middle of the runway at midnight—de Botton has produced an extraordinary meditation on a place that most of us never slow down enough to see clearly. Lavishly illustrated in color by renowned photo

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Book SynopsisA reportage of Nir Baram's journey along the Green Line, revealing this split society with rare insight and complexty

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Book SynopsisIlija Trojanow's journey from Mumbai to Mecca is told in the tradition of the rihla, one of the oldest genres of classical Arabic literature and describes the Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy sites of Islam. 'From the very first moment they realise that the Hajj - the pilgrimage to Mecca - is among the duties of each and every Muslim, the faithful long to go.' Trojanov, with the help of his friends, donned the ihram, the traditional garb of the pilgrim. He joined hundreds of thousands of Muslims who each year go on the Hajj, the greatest demonstration of the Muslim faith. In three short weeks he experienced a tradition dating back over one thousand years This is his account, personal yet enlightening, for the interested non-Muslims who remain barred from the holy sites of Islam.

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Book SynopsisExperience the Rome that changed and inspired Elizabeth Gilbert to write the international bestsellerEat, Pray, Love.Filled with colourful anecdotes about food, language, soccer, life in Rome, and culminating with the episodes in Liz's bestselling memoir told from Luca's side of the table.Trade Review‘Funny, warm and entertaining’ Voyager Magazine'Here you will find the story of their friendship as he welcomes her to the gastronomic delights of the Eternal City, as well as tales of his own travels, all in a warm, joyful style' Italia! Magazine'Luca Spaghetti is not only one of my favourite people in the world, but also a natural-born storyteller... I'm delighted to share my friend through this marvellous book, which I cannot recommend highly enough' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

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Book SynopsisA reissue of E. E. Cummings's long-unavailable, yet pointed and moving story of a journey through Soviet Russia.

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Book SynopsisThe wood used by craftsmen to create many of the world’s legendary stringed instruments comes from seven near-mythic European forests. Jeffrey Greene takes the reader into those woodlands and into luthiers’ workshops to show us how the world’s finest instruments not only contribute to great musical art but are prized works of art in themselves.

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Book SynopsisThe height of Mt. Everest was first measured in 1850, but the closest any westerner got to Everest during the next 71 years, until 1921, was 40 miles. The Hunt for Mt. Everest tells the story of the 71-year quest to find the world's highest mountain. It's a tale of high drama, of larger-than-life characters-George Everest, Francis Younghusband, George Mallory, Lord Curzon, Edward Whymper-and a few quiet heroes: Alexander Kellas, the 13th Dalai Lama, Charles Bell. A story that traverses the Alps, the Himalayas, Nepal and Tibet, the British Empire (especially British India and the Raj), the Anglo-Russian rivalry known as The Great Game, the disastrous First Afghan War, and the phenomenal Survey of India - it is far bigger than simply the tallest mountain in the world. Encountering spies, war, political intrigues, and hundreds of mules, camels, bullocks, yaks, and two zebrules, Craig Storti uncovers the fascinating and still largely overlooked saga of all that led up to that moment in late June of 1921 when two English climbers, George Mallory and Guy Bullock, became the first westerners-and almost certainly the first human beings-to set foot on Mt. Everest and thereby claimed the last remaining major prize in the history of exploration.With 2021 bringing the 100th anniversary of that year, most Everest chronicles have dealt with the climbing history of the mountain, with all that happened after 1921. The Hunt for Mt. Everest is the seldom-told story of all that happened before.Trade ReviewTense and detailed ... A lively and useful addition to the shelves of Everestiana -- John KeayA rich and fascinating book that tells the story of Everest in glimpses from unexpected angles, revealing one face then another, discovering surprising new routes through well-trodden terrain. Getting to the top isn't the point - the point is the mountain itself -- Nick HuntA very readable and entertaining account of the earliest days of Everest, with a cast of great characters and driving narrative which reaches a terrific climax in 1921 -- Mick ConefreyA compelling account of the essential back story to the epic 20th century attempt by British mountaineering expeditions to ascend the world's highest mountain ... This is great mountaineering history -- Maurice Isserman * co-author of Fallen Giants *To climb the world's highest mountain was one thing; to find it quite another. In this compelling new contribution to the cultural history of mountaineering, Storti composes the definitive back story of Mount Everest -- Stewart Weaver * co-author of Fallen Giants *Craig Storti has given us the Everest book that we've needed all along ... The Hunt for Mount Everest is the necessary, and admirably written, historical prelude to the great age of Himalayan mountaineering -- Scott EllsworthAn entertaining and enlightening account of how the British identified the highest mountain, ensured that it was their preserve, and made the first attempt to climb it. -- Peter GillmanThe definitive book on Mt. Everest's discovery, naming, and earliest climbing history. Superlative research and captivating reading! A colorfully-caste detective story about the Empire-building British surveyors, explorers, and mountaineers who adamantly believed this newly-crowned Third Pole must be conquered, absolutely without fail, by an Englishman. * Ed Webster, author of Snow In the Kingdom, My Storm Years on Everest *

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Book SynopsisThe German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is often seen as the quintessential eighteenth-century tourist, though with the exception of a trip to Italy he hardly left his homeland. Compared to several of his peripatetic contemporaries, he took few actual journeys, and the list of European cities in which he never set foot is quite long. He never saw Vienna, Paris, or London, for example, and he only once visited Berlin. During the last thirty years of his life he was essentially a homebound writer, but his intensive mental journeys countered this sedentary lifestyle, and the misconception of Goethe as a traveler springs from the uniquely international influence of his writing. While Goethe's Italian Journey is a classic piece of travel writing, it was the product of his only extended physical journey. The majority, rather, were of the mind, taken amid the pages of books by others. In his reading, Goethe was the prototypical eighteenth-century armchair traveler, developing knowledge of places both near and far through the words and eyewitness accounts of others. In Goethe: Journeys of the Mind, Nancy Boerner and Gabrielle Bersier explore what it was that made the great writer distinct from his peers and offer insight into the ways that Goethe was able to explore the cultures and environments of places he never saw with his own eyes.

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Book SynopsisAs a passionate Londoner, Ken Livingstone has seen London change dramatically over the last 60 years. From playing on bomb sites in an era where St Pauls was the tallest building in the city, to 2019 where the gleaming towers of the Shard and Walkie Talkie dominate the skyline, thanks to new building rules introduced by his administration. With a witty and worldly eye he takes a look at his home town; the people, places and the politics that have shaped the landscape. On this personal journey he shares his views on every aspect of the city from his favourite restaurants and most loved buildings to anecdotes on fellow politicians and the triumphs, and disasters, encountered running the largest metropolis in Europe.

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Book SynopsisWhy Travel Matters explores the profound life lessons that await anyone who wishes to learn what travel has to teach. With engaging prose, delightful wit and a distinctive style, Craig Storti infuses his own experiences traveling the world for 30+ years with quotations, insights, reflections and commentary from famous travelers, great travel writers, historians and literary masters. Storti's vast knowledge of the literature makes him an expert curator of astute gems from the likes of: St. Augustine, Mark Twain, Somerset Maugham, D. H. Lawrence, Bruce Chatwin, Aldous Huxley and more.Trade ReviewThe farther I got into this book, the more I wished I had read it 50 years ago. Invaluable. -- Sandra M. Fowler, President-Elect SIETAR USAFor those who have truly travelled, this is a warm, familiar tale; for those who only tour or sit at home, this may be the spark needed to whet one's wanderlust. * San Francisco Book Review *A philosophical and anthropological exploration of how the act of travelling alters the traveller. -- Nick Hunt, author of 'Where the WIld WInds Are'In practical steps, Why Travel Matters demonstrates ways we can go beyond mere tourism to become enlightened participants in new places everywhere. For all travellers - not to mention interculturalists - this book is a must. -- Fanchon Silberstein, Former Director The Overseas Briefing Center, US Dept. of StateA highly intelligent and deeply engaging book that examines not only the beauty but also the importance of travel. -- Thomas Swick, author 'The Joys of Travel: And Stories that Illuminate Them'

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Book SynopsisA Scotsman and an Englishman, a camera and a notebook. The pictures tell a thousand stories, the words tell the time. This is Scotland, captured at its most crucial point for 300 years. United by a love of Scotland, warts and all. Especially its warts, in fact. Gray and McCredie set out on a journey high and low, mainland and island, rust and heather, to document a country and its people. Here is a country caught and sketched before it disappears, one of flaking pub signs and tenant crofters, Italian cafes and proper fitba’ grounds. Stunning and moving images are coupled with lyrical and nostalgic prose to make a work which will become a reference point, a caledonian comfort, an antidote to shortbread-tin Scotland.

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Book SynopsisAn affectionate travelogue that conveys not only impressions of everyday life and descriptions of unique Tibetan customs and traditions but brings us Tibetan history, politics, and religion from a fresh, unstudied perspective Despite the determined efforts of the Dalai Lama to publicize the Tibetan cause, for many the people, culture, history, and traditions of this country remain mysterious. Niema Ash was one of the first Westerners to enter the country when its borders were briefly opened, and in this highly absorbing and personal account, she relates with wit, compassion, and sensitivity her encounters with people whose humor, spirituality, and sheer enthusiasm for life have carried them through years of oppression and suffering. This journey into a forbidden kingdom gives a fresh insight into the real heart of Tibet.Trade Review"Almost surreal in its assemblage of improbably colliding facts--a marriage of the bizarre and the beautiful that chills the spine as often as it warms the heart." --Times "Excellent--Niema Ash really understands the situation facing Tibet and conveys it with remarkable perception." --Tenzin Choegyal, brother of the Dalai Lama

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Book SynopsisFor two years Monica Connell lived as a paying guest of Kalchu and Chola in the Nepalese Himalayan village of Talphi, ten days walk from the nearest road. This book poetically captures the immediacy of Connell's experience, and her empathy and sense of wonder at the dramas of village life - a boar hunt in winter, the wedding of a young neighbour and the magic of the full-moon festival when the gods descend to dance amongst the villagers.Trade ReviewReading Connell's crystalline prose - sharp, light, sensual and correct - one wonders why can't everyone write this well? - Michael Taylor, Far Eastern Economic Review

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Book SynopsisFrom the medieval cobbles, through Dickensian iron and fog, to the neon lights and bustle of the twenty-first century, the ever-changing streets of London map out the vibrant stories, triumphs and struggles of everyone who ever called London home. From the Roman and Celts marching along the ancient Old Kent Road, to the rattling newspaper presses of Fleet Street, the game of Monopoly has painted London's story across cheerful coloured tiles. But those Monopoly streets live and breathe - they don't just illuminate our history. They open up whole new ways of thinking about it. The mobs have taken to our streets. The overlords have taken them back. Wars have spilled out into them. Lovers have snuck around them, and fires have raged through them. In a city of rags and riches, where folk hero Dick Whittington believed the streets were paved with gold, anything could happen - and everything has. You may think you know the history of London. You don't. Or at least, not entirely. This is the story of the capital as you've never, quite, heard it before.

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Book SynopsisLaurence Blair is an award-winning writer and journalist. He was born and raised in Dorset, southwest England, and studied Ancient and Modern History at the University of Oxford. Since 2014, he has reported from across Latin America for outlets including the BBC, Economist, Financial Times, Guardian, New York Times and National Geographic. He currently lives in Asunción, Paraguay.

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Book SynopsisAfter years on the road performing at sold-out venues, Tyson Motsenbocker returned home to the impending death of his 57-year-old hero and mother. He begged God to heal her, but she died anyway. When they buried her body, Tyson also buried the childhood version of his faith.Shortly before her death, however, Tyson became intrigued by the complicated legacy of Father Junipero Serra, the 18th-century Franciscan monk and canonized saint who dedicated his life to the idea that tragedy and suffering are portals to renewal. Father Serra built Missions up and down the California coast, spreading Christianity, as well as enabling and aiding in the oppression and colonization of the native Californians. Tyson discovered Serra's "El Camino Real," a 600-mile pilgrimage route up the California coast that had been largely forgotten for more than 200 years.Two days after they buried his mother, Tyson set out on a pilgrimage of sorts, intending to walk from San Diego to San Francisco along the El Camino, following in the footsteps of the saint. Tyson's journey takes him down smog-choked highways, across fog-laden beaches, past multi-million-dollar coastal estates, and along the towering cliffs of Big Sur. And as he walks, Tyson also wrestles with his faith, questioning the pat answers and easy prayers he once readily accepted, trying to understand how hope and tragedy can all be wrapped up in the same God. The people he meets along the way challenge his understanding of the meaning of security, of what it means to live a meaningful life, and of the legacies we all leave behind.Where the Waves Turn Back is both part journal and part spiritual memoir, and ultimately, a thrilling and deeply satisfying read that asks questions that will resonate with readers seeking meaning in an utterly disorienting age.

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Book SynopsisIn the run up to the 1987 election Christopher Hope returned to his native South Africa after a twelve-year absence. The nature of that year's whites-only election and the bitter defeat of the liberals led him to write this satirical, evocative portrait of what it looked and felt like growing up in a country gripped by an absurd, racist insanity.Full of exquisite and despairing descriptions, Hope weaves together journalistic commentary and his own personal story as he encounters the bloody battles that have divided his homeland. This is a mordantly witty account of escape, displacement and disillusionment, and a modern classic of journalistic memoir.Trade ReviewVentures deeper and deeper into the theatre of cruelty, enacting a tangled, horrifying dark comedy. * J.M. Coetzee *Hope writes with extraordinary exuberance and invention. * Literary Review *Marvellously chilling * The Times *Mocking, angry and beautiful * Washington Post *Exactly the right note of cold, poetic irony * Financial Times *Breathtaking to the very end * Guardian on 'My Mother's Lovers' *

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Book SynopsisA poetic portrait of Paris that combines prose poetry, diary, and memoir by award-winning writer and poet Henri Cole.Henri Cole’s Orphic Paris combines autobiography, diary, essay, and poetry with photographs to create a new form of elegiac memoir. With Paris as a backdrop, Cole, an award-winning American poet, explores with fresh and penetrating insight the nature of friendship and family, poetry and solitude, the self and freedom. Cole writes of Paris, “For a time, I lived here, where the call of life is so strong. My soul was colored by it. Instead of worshiping a creator or man, I cared fully for myself, and felt no guilt and confessed nothing, and in this place I wrote, I was nourished, and I grew.” Written under the tutelary spirit of Orpheus—mystic, oracular, entrancing—Orphic Paris is an intimate Paris journal and a literary commonplace book that is a touching, original, brilliant account of the city and of the artists, writers, and luminaries, including Cole himself, who have been moved by it to create.

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Book SynopsisThere's popping out for a quick pint, and then there's this - a gloriously preposterous 27,000 mile journey across 25 countries to grab a beer in pubs (bars) at opposite ends of the world. We're talking an epic adventure, from an abandoned Soviet mine 700 miles from the North Pole, to a remote pub at South America's southernmost tip. A journey undertaken in a TVR sports car, a car that many might consider untrustworthy just to drive to the shops. The journey packed a lot into its eight months. From braving the sheer drops of Bolivia's Death Road, to drag racing the locals in Texas. From roaring across flooded salt flats, to sailing the straits of Magellan. From the highs of the planet's best driving roads, to the lows of life in No-Man's-Land, trapped between borders by red tape and bureaucracy. And from looking out for Polar Bears in the High Arctic, to dodging penguins in Tierra del Fuego. The story of the Pub2Pub Expedition is an inspirational account of where your dreams can take you if only you believe in them. Chronicling the epic journey made by Ben Coombs in his TVR Chimaera, this book is both an exciting adventure and a fascinating snapshot of the life and culture of the countries that he drove through.Trade Reviewa rare 21st Century addition to the great motoring adventures of old. - Octane (UK). Very fun and TVR in spirit. - Classic Cars. Combining a 25-country road trip, two pubs and an unreliable British sports car was always going to be a recipe for an interesting read. This book charts Coomb's journey from the world's northernmost to southernmost outs in a TVR Chimaera. It's exciting, funny and in places very deep. An inspirational read. - Auto Express. In many ways the car plays second fiddle to the fascinating snapshot of the life and culture of the countries that Coombs drove through, but it has to rate as one of the world's most epic road trip adventures. - Classics Monthly. It is a tale of how you really can make your dream come true, whatever the odds. - www.silhouet.com. Pub2Pub is an interesting and absorbing read, even non-motoring enthusiast should enjoy following Coombs and his crazy adventure. - New Zealand Classic Car. The book will give you plenty of off-beat ideas of what to visit should you ever head to some of the places visited. - www.silhouet.com. Live the dream with Ben and his team with this fascinating read, with his carefully scripted descriptive text enhanced by a selection of superb photographs. – Fleet Car Magazine. Recommended. The book is highly engaging and I learned much from Ben Commbs' various adventures and unique encounters. – The View Through The Windshield.

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Book SynopsisWhat in the world has the power to liberate women in Iran while provoking antagonism between Catholics and Protestants in Scotland, to lure Nigerians to the cold of the Ukraine while heating up class warfare in the US heartlands, and both profit local gangsters and create local - and international - celebrities? Foer presents an unexpected, uniquely revealing tour of the politics and culture of football from Milan to Tehran. He examines the game''s role in sustaining ancient hatreds and rivalries (Serbia''s Red Star and Croatia''s Dinamo); in supporting the migration of players and the rise of the football oligarchs (such as Silvio Berlusconi, President of AC Milan - and of Italy); and in defending the virtues and vices of old-fashioned nationalism. As Foer brilliantly illuminates, the Balkan War, anti-Semitism, Jewish identity, racism, social integration, media manipulation, and American patriotism have all been influenced by, as well as have had a dramatic effect on, footbTrade Review'Funny, sharp, waspish, alert and reflective.' * Independent *Significantly entertaining if you like soccer, and entertainingly significant if you do not. -- Adam Gopnik'He engages each city and team with the spirit of a true fan, and he emerges with impressions so vivid they feel like they've been whispered into your ear over a nice pint of lager... This superbly written and elegantly reported book.' * Chicago Tribune *'An excellent reporter... An eccentric, fascinating exposé of a world... The book starts off like a house on fire.' * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisAndrew Eames was born in 1958. His career in journalism started in south-east Asia, where he travelled and lived for two years. From there he returned to the UK to work first on specialist magazines and then in guide book publishing. Ten years ago he went freelance, and has been writing travel and general interest features mainly for national newspapers, such as The Telegraph and The Times. He is the author of Crossing the Shadow Line, Four Scottish Journeys and Benn's London. His most recent book was The 8.55 to Baghdad. He lives in west London with his wife and two children.Trade ReviewPaddy Leigh Fermor... would surely approve * Daily Telegraph *Captures the physical joy of travel wonderfully... a journey worth following * The Scotsman *Eames has the adventurousness and pleasantly self-deprecating sense of humour that makes a good travel writer... Few will forget Eames's lament for the demise of the river in the modern era. * Financial Times *Eames is unquestionably a master of travel writing... both entertaining and illuminating * Good Book Guide *A pleasant float through our emerging continent * Wanderlust *

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Book Synopsis'An exhilarating story of freedom and constraint, told with a confident and unwavering verve. This is a journey driven by boundless curiosity, and by the desire for connection - across borders, across languages, across time' MALACHY TALLACKWhen Esa Aldegheri and her husband left their home in Orkney, Esa didn't know that their eighteen-month motorbike adventure would take them through twenty international frontiers - between Europe and the Middle East, through Pakistan, China and India - many of which are now impassable. Charting a story of shrinking and expanding liberties and horizons, of motherhood, womanhood, xenophobia and changing geopolitical situations, Free to Go examines the challenges of navigating a world where many assume that women ride pillion, both on a motorbike and within relationships. Part around-the-world adventure, part-literary exploration of womanhood, Free to Go is about the journeys that shape and transform us.Trade ReviewA very readable tale of adventure, motherhood and the ties that bind. Honest and perceptive, Free to Go perfectly captures the whole tricky business of being a free-spirited woman at large in the world -- LOIS PRYCE, author of Revolutionary RideIn her account of an epic trip by motorcycle, and a similarly scaled expedition into the trauma that was the recent pandemic, Esa Aldegheri opens the book on the most elemental aspects of being alive: tested by trials, gripped by the varieties of love, and crossing borders both internal and drawn on the map. Free to Go is an act of literary generosity, and an expression of clear-eyed beauty -- MELISSA HOLBROOK PIERSON, author of The Perfect VehicleA thought-provoking and elegiac journey through a lost world on a second-hand motorbike, the past, present and life itself -- CHITRA RAMASWAMY, author of Expecting

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Book SynopsisWhen Mike Tomkies moved to a remote cottage on the shores of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland, he found a place which was to provide him with the most profound wilderness experience of his life. Accessible only by boat, the cottage he renamed ‘Wildernesse’ was to be his home for many years, which he shared with his beloved German Shepherd, Moobli. Centred on different landscape elements – loch, woodlands and mountains –Tomkies describes the whole cycle of nature through the seasons in a harsh and testing environment of unrivalled beauty. Vivid colours and sounds fill the pages – exotic wild orchids, the roar of rutting stags, the territorial movements of foxes, otters and badgers, an oak tree being torn apart by hurricane-force gales. Nothing escapes his penetrating eye. His extraordinary insights into the wildlife that shared his otherwise empty territory were not gained without perseverance in the face of perilous hazards, and the difficulties and challenges of life in the wilderness are a key part of this remarkable book.Trade Review 'His writings opened the eyes and changed the lives of others' * The Herald *'A wilderness saga told by a true craftsman with honesty, fervour and an unerring eye for detail' * Country Living *

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Book SynopsisThe Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, and reportage from around the world. Its aim, to break down barriers and introduce the essence of the place. Packed with essays and investigative journalism; original photography and illustrations; charts, and unusual facts and observations, each volume offers a unique insight into a different culture, and how history has shaped the place into what it is today. Brimming with intricate research and enduring wonder, The Passenger is a love-letter to global travel. IN THIS VOLUME, Elif Batuman, Burhan Sönmez, Elif Shafak among other Turkish writers, many of them in self-imposed exile, explore a fascinating yet maddening country. The birth of the “New Turkey,” as the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called his own creation, is an exemplary story of the rise of “illiberal democracies” through the erosion of civil liberties, press freedom, and the independence of the judicial system. Turkey was a complex country long before the rise of its new sultan: born out of the ashes of a vast multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire, Turkey has grappled through its relatively short history with the definition of its own identity. Poised between competing ideologies, secularism and piousness, a militaristic nationalism and exceptional openness to foreigners, Turkey defies easy labels and categories. Through the voices of some of its best writers and journalists, The Passenger analyses how it got to where it is today and finds the bright spots of hope that allow its always resourceful, often frustrated population to continue living, and thriving.Trade Review“These books are so rich and engrossing that it is rewarding to read them even when one is stuck at home.” * The TLS *“Few travel guides are confident enough to tell the stories of a destination’s complex realities as well as those of their beauty. [The Passenger] has a strong focus on storytelling, with pages given over to a mix of essays, playlists and sideways glances at subcultures and thorny urban issues.” * The Stack *“Half-magazine, half-book . . . think of [The Passenger] as an erudite and literary travel equivalent to National Geographic, with stunning photography and illustration and fascinating writing about place.” * Independent.ie (Best series of the year – 2021) *“The Passenger readers will find none of the typical travel guide sections on where to eat or what sights to see. Consider the books, rather, more like a literary vacation--the kind you can take without braving a long flight in the time of Covid-19.” * Publisher's Weekly *“Fresh and diverting, informative and topical without being slight or ephemeral [...] This supremely well-edited combination of current affairs, journalism, commentary, and fun facts is perfect for our pause-button moment.” * Australian Financial Review (Best Books of the Year) *“Tremendously eclectic and classily produced . . . each volume gets under the skin of a country or a city in a multifaceted way that feels essential in these times of narrowing national horizons.” * The Bookseller *Table of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTSTurkey in NumbersThe National Obsession: Raki and Tea - KaleydoskopThe Icon: Bulent Ersoy - KaleydoskopThe Big Dig - Elif BatumanUrban planners in Istanbul have a problem: too much history - and too many agendas: which chapter of the past should they showcase? Turkey's pre-Islamic origins, as promoted by Ataturk, or the Ottoman glories so dear to President Erdogan's heart?Don't Call It Soap Opera - Fatima BhuttoTurkish TV series like The Magnificent Century are rivalling US programmes for international popularity and taking the Middle East, Asia and Latin America by storm. What is the reason for their global success?The Thirty-Year Coup - Dexter FilkinsWas an exiled Islamic preacher behind the attempted military coup of 2016? Dexter Filkins probes the secrets and mysteries of the Gulen movement and its clash with former ally President Erdogan, following decades spent infiltrating Turkish bureaucracy to undermine the secular state.Business a la Turque - Alev ScottA portrait of the Turkish economy, which is driven by an innate entrepreneurial spirit and the great dream of instant wealth but perennially forced to deal with political instability.Eros and Thanatos at the Restaurant - Sema KaygasuzAlthough the Turkish feminist movement is more than a century old, women still find themselves trapped between two opposing but equally suffocating ideologies - one secular and one religious. Only recently have they begun to make their voices heard within a patriarchal system dominated by men who 'love them to death' but have no hesitation in killing them to keep them quiet.A Story of Dust and Light - Burhan SonmezEvery summer the writer Burhan Sonmez returns to the Anatolian village in which he was born - but the only remnant of that unspoiled rural world, with its traditions and apolitical religious faith, is the banned Kurdish language.Turkish Nationalism and Its Historical Roots - Gerhard SchweizerFrom the ruins of the Ottoman Empire - where Turks, Kurds, Armenians and Greeks lived together in peace for centuries in a multi-ethnic state in which language played no role in politics or identity - a new nationalism grew up that would separate the different peoples and impose an enforced Turkification, the principal victims of which were the Armenians.No Fairy-Tale Ending: Hasankeyf and the Ilisu Dam - Ercan y YilmazIn the heart of the Mesopotamian basin, the cradle of the world's most ancient civilisations, the city of Hasankeyf should have been an prime candidate for UNESCO's World Heritage List - but rather than being flooded by tourists it has been drowned following the damming of the River Tigris.'I Can't Stay Silent': Turkish Rap - Begum KovulmazTurkish rap first emerged in Kreuzberg, Berlin, and reached Istanbul in the 1990s, where it remained a niche genre for many years. When it exploded into the mainstream in the late 2010s the time was ripe for it to become the Gezi generation's main forum for protest and the reclamation of their physical and cultural spaces.The Pen(cil) Is Mightier ... - Valentina MarcellaSatire is one of the few remaining channels for criticising the government in Turkey. Undeterred, amid protest and censorship, cartoonists are continuing their fight against attempts to squash the right to freedom of expression.Ultras United: How the Gezi Park Protests Brought the Fans Together - Stephen WoodThe 2013 protest movement was so widespread that it even achieved the miracle of bridging the chasms between football's big three in Istanbul - Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas - some of the most deeply felt rivalries in world football.A Sign of the Times - KaleydoskopAn Author Recommends - Elif ShafakThe Playlist - Acik Radyo and KaleydoskopFurther Reading

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Book SynopsisIn the Footsteps of a Roman Legion - Walking the Via Egnatia (2021) On a blistering September morning in 2016, intrepid friends in their sixties – Kim and Pat – set off on foot from Durrës, Albania towards Istanbul, Turkey. Tracing the route of a Roman road, the Via Egnatia, they dedicate their endeavour to raising funds for refugee relief. Owing to a guidebook that overstates amenities, the trek becomes more challenging than expected. As they negotiate hurdles, test their endurance, and encounter human smugglers and feral dogs, an indomitable sense of humour, a personified GPS, and an imagined Roman legionnaire see them through daily adventures. The Via Egnatia holds over two thousand years of stories - of soldiers, merchants, farmers, refugees and travellers. And this is a gripping one – two travellers (sometimes three?) meet both generous hospitality and surprising hostility with resilience, cold beer and hot coffee. Atlas in one hand and this book in the other - I was transported! Evelyn Gillespie, owner Laughing Oyster Bookshop, Comox Valley. Fun, funny, and endlessly thought-provoking, Kim Letson pulls no punches as she explores some of the bumpier corners of humanity, all while finding the time to celebrate life’s small, simple pleasures. If you like the idea of lacing up your shoes to embark on a grand adventure from the comforts of your favourite reading chair, you couldn’t pick a more capable guide than Letson. Brimming with passion for the road less travelled, Kim Letson has written a page-turner. Joshua Levy, CBC/QWF Writer in Residence 2018, winner of the CBC/QWF Fiction Prize, Prairie Fire Nonfiction Prize, CNFC/Carte Blanche Nonfiction Prize, Grain Fiction Prize, and SLS Nonfiction Prize, poet. Kim Letson first presented her Via Egnatia journey in various draft forms to our writing group. Now, in this compelling book, we accompany her and Pat as they tramp through three Balkan states on their way to Turkey. Readers will learn about Albania’s concrete bunkers as the adventurers endure blisters, encounter poisonous vipers, vicious dogs, human traffickers and armed helicopters before finally relaxing in a steaming Istanbul hammam. Thank you, Kim, for including us on your intrepid walk. Janet Miller, past-president Comox Valley Writer’s Society, author.

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Book SynopsisIn this acclaimed exploration of the culture of others, Rebecca Solnit travels through Ireland, the land of her long-forgotten maternal ancestors. A Book of Migrations portrays in microcosm a history made of great human tides of invasion, colonization, emigration, nomadism and tourism. Enriched by cross-cultural comparisons with the history of the American West, A Book of Migrations carves a new route through Ireland's history, literature and landscape.Trade ReviewTruly exceptional, a paradise for readers. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisAfter reaching the heights as a successful fashion editor, Karen said goodbye to all that and set about renovating a run-down house in rural France, and living a simpler life - until, that is, a gang of macho Portuguese builders, a procession of Brits behaving badly and the ghosts of boyfriends past begin to arrive on her doorstep.

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Book SynopsisThe West Highland Way is Scotland's first official Long Distance Route and runs near 100 miles from Milngavie to Fort William. It was nicknamed the 'Way Way' by a trio from Fife who set off to walk it in the year of the Millennium. This is not a guidebook but an account of their experiences, the highs and lows which any challenge presents of their marvellous, surprising, amusing and weird memories. They met many hundreds of people along the way but, naturally, those they recall were the more eccentric. Although the trio never managed another bigger trip together they realize how lucky, and wise, they had been to grab the chance when it came. There is remarkably pleasant rural walking at the start to reach the Highlands at Loch Lomond, fine woodland on its banks and later, the contrast of lonely, empty miles across Rannoch Moor, the Devil's Staircase and the great pass of the Lairig Mor to finish. Encounters with other people are an important part of Long Distance Routes. Anyone who has walked the Way Way (or is planning to do so) will enjoy this story, bringing back plenty of similar memories of people and places, adventures and misadventures. The illustrations too give a wonderful idea of the rich variety of country traversed and well capture the atmosphere of this walk through Scotland's fine landscapes.Trade Review'Many books have been written about the West Highland Way. Few are joyous, or enjoyable, as this one. ... Our three protagonists are clearly fitter and more experienced than many who walk the West Highland Way, but their hillwalking background tends to make them fairly relaxed about detailed route planning, and as interested in diversions to mountain tops and (especially) pubs as in the precise line of the walk itself.Combine this with the fascinating interplay of three very different characters and the sometimes weird and often wonderful people they encounter, and the result is by turns whimsical, amusing and thought provoking. ... The result is a book which engages you at the beginning, and keeps you engaged and amused all the way through.' Undiscovered Scotland 'This is not to be missed if you're planning your own adventure down this legendary trail.' The Great Outdoors '... you will enjoy this gentle tale of the Physician, the Blacksmith and the Museum Curator. ... The book is greatly enhanced by the historical snippets slipped in by Hamish Brown and by the short, but informative appendices on Wade and Caulfeild, and the 1889 Rannoch Moor fiasco. ...will prove a welcome and informative companion on the Way Way'. Loose Scree 'A livelt account of three friends, the people they meet, and most importantly an adventure shared. There are plenty of interesting snippets of historical detail about the route too... ...if you've already walked the "Way Way", hopefully Hamish's tale will bring back some happy memories'. Scotways ...Hamish Brown, has added another volume to his considerable contribution to Scottish outdoor literature with his light-hearted...account of a walk along the West Highland Way... ...many who have walked the Way, or might be contemplating the journey, will find it fun and... quite imformative'. Cothrom '...the entertaining tale of three friends' incredible journey walking the West Highland Way in Scotland... ...a detailed account of the highs, lows and challenges the trio faced, looking back on their encounters, amusing memories and the rich variety of landscapes they crossed'. LandLove '...the book does give an interesting, and at times amusing, account of walking the West Highland Way. It should appeal to those who have already undertaken this challenging journey as well as anyone considering doing it in the future'. Scottish Home and Country

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Book SynopsisA modern classic of travel and adventure.INCA KOLA is the funny, absorbing account of Matthew Parris's fourth trip to Peru, on a bizarre holiday which takes him among bandits, prostitutes, peasants and riots. He and his three companions seem to head into trouble, not away from it, and he describes the troubles, curiosities and wonders they meet with the spell-binding fascination of a traveller relating adventures over the campfire.'A backpacker's classic: atmospheric, touching, instructive and compulsively readable' THE TIMES

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Book SynopsisThe only thing most people know about Kazakhstan is that it is homeland to Borat - and he isn't even real. Actually this vast place - the last unknown inhabited country in the world - is far more surprising and entertaining. For one thing, it is as varied as Europe, combining stupendous wealth, grinding poverty, exotic traditions and a mad dash for modernity. Crisscrossing a vanished land, Christopher Robbins finds Eminem by a shrinking Aral Sea, goes eagle-hunting, visits the scene of Dostoyevsky's doomed first love, takes up residence beside one-time neighbour Leon Trotsky and visits some of the most beautiful, unspoilt places on earth.Trade Review...extremely entertaining and informative...hilarious. * Daily Telegraph *cracking tale...both hysterically funny and surprisingly moving...you will savour every page. -- News of the WorldDiscovers a misunderstood and changing land ... a superlative addition to the literature of travel. * Observer *Extremely entertaining and informative ... hilarious. * Independent *... an entertaining and chatty guide to a country that has been shrouded in mystery. * Glasgow Herald *A welcome antidote to the made up world of Borat. * The Times Magazine *

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Book Synopsis'Will someone pay for the spilled blood? No. Nobody.' Mikhail Bulgakov wrote these words in Kiev during the turmoil of the Russian Civil War. Since then Ukrainian borders have shifted constantly and its people have suffered numerous military foreign interventions that have left them with nothing. As a state, Ukraine exists only since 1991 and what it was before is controversial among its people as well as its European neighbours. Writing in a simple and vivid way, Jens Muhling narrates his encounters with nationalists and old Communists, Crimean Tatars and Cossacks, smugglers, archaeologists and soldiers, all of whose views could hardly be more different. Black Earth connects all these stories to convey an unconventional and unfiltered view of Ukraine - a country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and the centre of countless conflicts of opinion.Trade ReviewPRAISES FOR A JOURNEY INTO RUSSIA; 'There is a shock of discovery and a shot of pleasure on every page.' The Times; 'A compelling story of an author's journey into deepest Siberia in a quest to meet a woman determined to remain cut off from the outside world' Sunday Telegraph; 'A Journey Into Russia [...] takes Jens Muhling into Russia's riven terrain from Kiev and Moscow to St Petersburg and Siberia and on towards the people of the Steppes, unveiling individual tales of people surviving against the odds.' The Scotsman; '[Muhling] meets a bewildering variety of "old believers" in a broader sense, from members of the sectarian Orthodox Church..., through stubbornly Leninist former Soviet citizens, to newly minted Slavonic pagans. They all want to tell Muhling their life stories which, in his empathetic retelling, provide glimpses into other lives that are vivid and frequently moving.'TLSTable of ContentsPreface xi 1. A Finger on a Map 1 Przemysl-Medyka 2. The Ant Trail 11 Medyka-Shehyni 3. The Love Story of Inge and Bohdan 21 Munich, 1959 4. The Love Story of SC-108 and SD-214 33 Lviv 5. In the Middle of Whatever 55 Dilove-Rakhiv 6. Dr. Stumpp Celebrates a Sad Christmas 77 Berdychiv, 1941 7. Scrape Your Strings Darker 91 Chernivtsi 8. The Miracle of Kalynivka 105 Vinnytsia-Kalynivka 9. At Rabbi Nachman's Grave 121 Uman 10. Philip and the Thief 149 Kiev 11. A German Village 191 Odessa-Dobroolexandrivka 12. Revenge of the Scythians 211 Simferopol-Sevastopol-Bakhchisaray 13. A Handful of Acorns 241 Kherson-Zaporizhia 14. The Love Story of Kovyl and Tipchak 249 Donetsk-Novoazovsk 15. Friendship of Peoples Street 283 Milove Acknowledgements 293

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Book SynopsisA Cycling Year takes its inspiration from an old map of Wharfedale in Yorkshire. Each month of the year writer and artist, Heather Dawe, rides a route around the roads and trails of this Yorkshire Dale. Illustrated with Dawe's paintings the routes come alive, as she explores the geography, history and beauty of the places she visits along the way.

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