Travel writing Books

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Book SynopsisBoychiks in the Hood is your passport to the Hasidic underworld -- a destination far different from popular expectations. Join Robert Eisenberg as he hangs out with an ex-Deadhead in Antwerp, makes a pilgrimage to the grave of the revered Rebbie Nachman in the Ukraine, munches mini-bagels with Rollerblading kosher butchers in Minnesota, discovers the last remaining religious Jews in Poland, talks sex with a karate-champion-turned-rabbi in Israel, and more.Simultaneously respectful and hilarious, Boychiks in the Hood is a surprising and unforgettable journey through the world''s flourishing Hasidic communities that reveals this vibrant tradition as never before.

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Book SynopsisThe Nobel Prize-winning author offers information about the history, culture, landscape, and people of his native Portugal, in an enchanting volume written by combining aspects of a novel, guidebook, and travelogue. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

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Book SynopsisExplore more than forty forsaken urban destinations around the world in a highly entertaining read . . . for history buffs, mystery fanatics and travel junkies alike (GoNomad). Cities are mortal, but the traces they leave behind tell a fascinating story. In Atlas of Lost Cities, an accomplished travel writer reveals the rise and fall of notable places, each pithy portrait illuminated by a vintage map that puts armchair explorers right in the scene. Wander with care through: Ancient and legendary places like Pompeii, Teotihuacà and Angkor Contemporary wonders like Centralia, a nearly abandoned Pennsylvania town consumed by unquenchable underground fire Eerie planned communities like Nova Citas de Kilamba in Angola, where housing, schools, and stores were built for 500,000 people who never came Epecuen, a tourist town in Argentina that was swallowed by water With each map are fantastical illustrations that help the reader envision these hubs as they were in their prime. A perfect gift for the traveler who believes he or she has seen it all.

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Book Synopsis Acclaimed author Rick Bass decided to thank all of his writing heroes in person, one meal at a time, in this rich smorgasbord of a memoir . . . a soul-nourishing, road-burning act of tribute (New York Times Book Review). From his bid to become Eudora Welty''s lawn boy to the time George Plimpton offered to punch him in the nose, lineage has always been important to Rick Bass. Now at a turning point -- in his midfifties, with his long marriage dissolved and his grown daughters out of the house -- Bass strikes out on a journey of thanksgiving. His aim: to make a memorable meal for each of his mentors, to express his gratitude for the way they have shaped not only his writing but his life. The result, an odyssey to some of America''s most iconic writers, is also a record of self-transformation as Bass seeks to recapture the fire that drove him as a young man. Along the way we join in escapades involving smuggled contraband, an exploding grill, a trail of blood through Heathrow airport, an episode of dog-watching with Amy Hempel in Central Park, and a near run-in with plague-ridden prairie dogs on the way to see Lorrie Moore, as well as heartwarming and bittersweet final meals with the late Peter Matthiessen, John Berger, and Denis Johnson. Poignant, funny, and wistful, The Traveling Feast is a guide to living well and an unforgettable adventure that nourishes and renews the spirit.

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Book Synopsis* A non-political travel book about South Africa.Trade ReviewWry and deft ... travel writing of a high order, given steel by [Bell's] keen understanding of the country's contradictions * DAILY TELEGRAPH *A fine, gentle and loving travel book about South Africa which captures the magic of the land and the warmth of its peoples * SCOTSMAN *Wherever Bell goes, he brings a gimlet eye to the human and unusual * YORKSHIRE POST *One of life's great wanderers, at home when he is away ... a lucid, deeply informative and highly entertaining piece of travel prose * GLASGOW HERALD *A warm, sane and illuminating book * Ned Sherrin *

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Book SynopsisOutstanding travel narrative about a journey up the Congo river: superbly evocative writing in the tradition of Paul Theroux and Bruce ChatwinTrade ReviewThe exquisite sheen and might of the Congo itself flow through the pages of Jeffrey Tayler's account. His triumph is his ability to carry us deep into the very heart of Africa, negotiating like an old river-hand the eddies and curves of the dark enigma which is the Congo. There's a rare truth here, the grip, grind and mystery of the African forest, expressed not through a lurid tale of explorer antics, but through Tayler's heroic sensitivity to the everyday lives of river people. Here, in all its sweltering majesty, is the real Congo - the clicking, swirling intensity of one of the greatest of all rivers, as it moves timelessly through the lives of the crocodiles, fishermen and bandits who inhabit its feted shores. * Benedict Allen, author of LAST OF THE MEDICINE MEN and INTO THE CROCODILE NEST *A fascinating record of an often breathtaking journey. Tayler's account is also an incredible adventure story * TLS *A gripping account * BELFAST NEWS *Captivating reading * SUNDAY TIMES *A stirring adventure story, observantly told * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Immensely gripping * Bill Bryson *

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis''Humorous, emotional and useful...Don''t read Departures if you''ve got any annual leave left to play with''GraziaHave you ever turned up on a post-heartbreak holiday hopelessly unprepared and been forced to sleep on the floor wrapped up in a curtain? How about that eagerly-awaited solo adventure when you had to be airlifted home? Or what about the time you went to a fascinating European cultural capital and neglected to visit any of the world-renowned sights because you were in the bar? Well, Anna Hart has been on all those holidays, and more. As an avid traveller and then travel journalist, she''s spent most of her working life on a plane somewhere, and over 10 years writing about the places she''s ended up. In Departures she brings all of that knowledge together with the signature warmth and wit of her journalism. Anna is here to show that even tTrade Review[Anna's] stories of growing up via far-flung adventures and eye-opening city breaks are so warm, witty and gorgeously written that it's hard not to find yourself on Skyscanner within half an hour of cracking the book open. Plus she has the most helpful advice, from how to 'prescribe' yourself a hotel to the real secret to beating jet lag. Perfect snow-week escapism * The Pool *A beautiful memoir about travel and letting go -- Dawn O'Porter * Sunday Telegraph *We defy anyone to read intrepid journalist Anna Hart's travel memoir and not resolve to dust off their passport and embark on some new adventures. A call to action for women everywhere, Hart writes about the transformative and healing power of travel - and how its effect can last way past touchdown at Heathrow * Smallish *Just in time for the summer holidays is this great book from travel writer Anna Hart, which is part memoir, part how-to guide on making any holiday an adventure and having the same adventures back home. From Bali to LA, New Zealand to er, Margate, even armchair travellers will get a vicarious thrill from Departures * Red *Having worked with and been friends with Anna for years, it was fun to read about her globe-trotting adventures. I could hear her laugh behind the tales of some of her crazier adventures and thought it was brave to share some of the scarier and rougher parts of traveling alone as well as an insight in to trying to do it all in the grips of depression. I read it in one day and look forward to experiencing the next chapter with her. -- Jamie Klingler * iNews *

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Book Synopsis''A book that''ll change your perspective on life. You''ll not be able to put it down.'' Fearne Cotton''Everyone should read this book. Sophie Morgan is the epitome of grit and determination. Her writing is thought provoking, honest and in parts hilarious.'' Katie Piper OBE''Wrenchingly honest...eye-opening and deeply moving. *****'' Mail on SundayAs seen on ''Living Wild; How to Change your Life'' a two-part prime-time series on Channel 4, Loose Women and The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2COn the precipice of starting her adult life, aged eighteen, Sophie, a rebellious and incorrigible wild child, crashed her car and was instantly paralysed from the chest down. Rushed to hospital, everything she had dreamed for her life was instantly forgotten and her journey to rediscover herself and build a different life began. But being told she would never walk again would come to be the least of her concerns.Over the next eTrade ReviewA book that'll change your perspective on life. You'll not be able to put it down. * Fearne Cotton *What I love about this book is it's not about "overcoming disability". Instead, it's about learning how to live a good disabled life - one full of friends, love, opportunities and fun. Disabled joy is so rarely seen, but Sophie Morgan has it in spades. * Lucy Webster, Political journalist, writer and disability advocate *Wrenchingly honest...inspirational, eye-opening and deeply moving * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisRobert Twigger goes to the Far East in search of the world's longest snake - 'echoes of Gerald Durrell's trips crossed with Redmond O'Hanlon's foray into the heart of Borneo . . . a fantastic book' DAILY MAILTrade ReviewTwigger's adventures are vastly entertaining and he relates them as well as he seeks his zoological goal * Publishing News *There are travelogue, natural history and mythology here, and the hunt is always entertaining and often hilarious. Twigger is a generous and easygoing observer and participant, even when the going gets rough. * Sunday Times *Funny, immensely readable ... Twigger has found a narrative voice all too rare in contemporary travel writing: clear-eyed, unaffected, deadpan, slyly witty and unobtrusively erudite. By the end you cease to care whether or not he fulfils his mission... Merely to travel in his company is pleasure enough -- James Delingpole * Mail on Sunday *Part travelogue, part boy's own adventure story * The Mirror *Echoes of Gerard Durrell's trips crossed with Redmond O'Hanlon's foray into the heart of Borneo... a fantastic book -- Georgia Metcalfe * Daily Mail *A yarn that manages to be ripping, thoughtful and at times very, very funny * Maxim *A wonderfully enjoyable tale * Independent *Moving and comic, both a poetic quest and a real adventure, Big Snake paints a hitherto unseen portrait of the Malay and Indonesian archipelagos and will leave you checking under your bed for your own hidden monster snake. A terrific read * Irish News *Engaging, humorous, and poignant -- Joe Culley * Irish Times *Robert Twigger's masterful tale is a rare blend of savage reality and poetic finesse -- Tahir Shah * Geographical *

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Book SynopsisThe Scilly Isles, one of the most remote parts of England, are in crisis. With the small population constantly leaving the islands for the mainland, those left behind are having to work harder and harder to make a living, and this summer is crunch time for many of them.Nigel Farrell is our guide through a community he has grown to know and love, filming the islanders over the last two years for the popular BBC2 series ''An Island Parish''. He introduces us to Father Guy, the new priest; another newcomer, Heike, the islands'' German vet and Plymouth policewoman Nikki, who set some hearts aflutter on her summer placement last year. With a cast of fascinating characters and a beautiful setting, this is the story of the events of summer in an idiosyncratic world that is slipping away. Come August Bank Holiday, how will the islanders have fared?

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Book SynopsisIn the great tradition of Darwin''s Voyage of the Beagle, this book is a first-person narrative of daunting travel and scientific discovery in the little-known country of Myanmar. Dr. Kress explored many areas in this enigmatic country, surveying its teak forests, bamboo thickets, timber plantations, rivers, and mangroves to document its incredible botanical diversity. Myanmar is one of the great biodiversity hot spots in Asia, but because of its social isolation and reputation for political repression it has been closed to - or avoided by - many scientists. Nevertheless, Dr. Kress was determined to search for and record plants that had not been studied since they were first discovered by Western botanists over a century ago. Among the rarities he came upon was a new species of plant called the weeping goldsmith, a ginger flower whose Burmese name was derived from the legend that the local goldsmiths were reduced to tears because none of their own creations could rival its exquisiteness. Dr. Kress also relates how he came to appreciate the people and culture of Myanmar through an understanding of their flora, natural habitats, and human-dominated environments. Included are fascinating excerpts from his field journals that serve as counterpoints to the accounts of earlier plant explorers. Illustrating the text are some 200 of Dr. Kress''s own colour photographs of the incredible plants, people, landscapes, and temples he witnessed in his travels as well as 30 archival images of Burma taken by past explorers. The back matter features an illustrated portfolio of representative native plants. This lively armchair exploration should appeal to a general readership as well as to botanists, conservationists, and environmentalists.Trade ReviewPraise for The Weeping Goldsmith: - A Booklist Top 10 Science & Technology Book of 2009 "A fascinating memoir...engagingly written and beautifully illustrated. Highly Recommended" - ChoiceTable of ContentsTable of Contents from: The Weeping Goldsmith Prologue 1. The Weeping Goldsmith 2. Waiting in Rangoon 3. Ancient Cities and Sacred Mountains 4. The Arrival of the Monsoon 5. Across Two Rivers 6. Buddhas Garden 7. The Choir of Cicadas 8. Paradise in Maymyo 9. Up the Chindwin River 10. Dust, Jade, and Prostitutes 11. The Arakan Capital at Mrauk U: Through Bamboo Hell 12. Buddhist Reverence and Respect Help Protect the Forests 13. Mt. Victoria: Walking in the Steps of a Giant 14. Why the Goldsmith Weeps Epilogue Acknowledgements Endnotes Bibliography

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