Travel writing Books

Book SynopsisThis is the personal journal of a young American woman, living for six months amongst the Dodoth cattle-herdsmen in Northern Uganda. It is also an adventure story, for during this period the Dodoth were caught up in an escalating cycle of violence with their age-old rivals, the Turkana tribe. The animating tension of this feud was the tradition of cattle raiding, but it escalated to unprecedented levels of violence when the new nation states of Uganda and Kenya were drawn in to police these ancient clan frontiers. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas s total immersion in the life of this tribe in 1961 takes us with her, as with clarity and a lyrical eye for detail she brings their whole culture alive. For though she was not an academic herself, she had spent much time in the field with her mother, who was the world s leading authority on the Bushman of the Kalahari. So it was natural for Elizabeth Marshall Thomas to take her own young children on this adventure, where she proves herself such a brave, humane and unshockable witness to the life of the warrior herdsmen.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHave you ever imagined giving up your day job and heading for the hills in search of gold? Journalist Steve Boggan decided to do just that when the price of the precious metal scaled dizzying heights in the wake of the global financial crisis. Clueless, and with neither equipment nor experience, Boggan flew to California and followed in the footsteps of the '49ers', miners who fuelled the original Gold Rush of 1849. Along the way, terrified of bears, bubonic plague and rattlesnakes, he met a cast of colourful characters, including a former Navy Seal who risked his life every day and a man who once went on the run for five years in the mistaken belief that he was wanted by the law. In charming and witty prose, gold-fevered Boggan recaptures the excitement, the hopes and disappointments of the hunt, going beyond the story of modern prospectors to give a moving insight into the birth of modern America.Trade Review'Entertaining, informative and interesting…Carefully researched, funny and inspiring'. * The Sun *'Among his fellow miners [Boggan] found acceptance, comradeship and a wealth of personal stories, many tragic but most concealing a golden glimmer of hope beneath the sadness'. * Daily Mail *'A really fascinating, and funny, cautionary tale of the unexpected allure of lives spent in search of "the colour"'. * World Travel Guide *‘The expectation of the prospecting, the excitement of the panning, the thrill of the find… conveys powerfully the extent to which gold transformed America… moving’ * Daily Telegraph *‘A lively narrative history… Boggan is a hugely likeable companion… this book is a romp’ * Spectator *‘[Boggan] has a wonderful time, respectful of men prepared to give up everything in return for very little, but roguish enough to drop the wink on their ornery, old-fashioned optimism’ * Saga *'A perfect mixture of travelogue, history and down and dirty experience, leavened by rich veins of humour and pathos. A gem, or should I say a nugget.' -- Mick Conefrey – author of Everest 1953'Terrific. Pack your bag, grab your pick, and set out with master storyteller, Steve Boggan, for a trip in this highly original travelogue.' -- Daniel Klein – Sunday Times bestselling author of Travels with Epicurus‘Gold Fever is a wonderful mix of history, journalism and good old-fashioned adventure. It is this last aspect that really lends the book a unique appeal; Boggan is not afraid to get his hands dirty, and he shares his experiences and findings with great depth, humour and charisma.' -- Leon McCarron, author of The Road Headed West: A Cycling Journey Through North America‘A well-crafted story with heady fast-forward momentum. A dogged investigator’s obsessive quest for Californian gold, and the backstory of the gold fields.' -- Iain Sinclair, author of London Orbital‘Boggan does a good job relating this story’ * Independent *"Steve Boggan takes the reader on an exciting adventure and proves that prospecting is as much about digging for humor and hope as it is finding gold." * Jennifer Pharr Davis, author of Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisCourland is an entity that no longer exists. With the Gulf of Riga to the north, the Baltic to the west and Lithuania at its southern border, and now part of modern Latvia, the region was occupied by Nazi Germany and returned to Soviet Russia after the war, remaining largely inaccessible until 1991. It is now a nowhere land of wide skies and forests, deserted beaches, ruined castles and ex-KGB prisons. For years Jean-Paul Kauffmann has been irresistibly drawn to this buffer between the Germanic and Slav worlds. His digressive travels at the wheel of a Skoda become an investigation into the whereabouts of a former lover, a search for an excavator of tombs, and a journey in the footsteps of Louis XVIII, for whom Courland was once a place of exile.Trade Review'A seductively exciting historical exploration of a country that no longer exists ... Kauffmann is the ideal literary detective' Irish Times. * Irish Times *'A triumph ... superbly translated by Euan Cameron, provides a vivid amalgam of opinion, history and travelogue; I was absorbed from start to finish' Financial Times. * Financial Times *'Curiously engaging and even tantalising book ... this book is something of a tour de force' Spectator. * Spectator *'Kauffmann is a gripping narrator. The minute he lands in Riga ... you're hooked' The Lady. * Lady *'This wonderful writer has come up with another winner' Giles Foden. * Giles Foden *Table of ContentsMaps. Prologue. I - THIRTY YEARS LATER: Mara from Canada. The 'Grand Oral'. Circe. Where Is Courland? The Resurrector Appears. II - THE JOURNEY TO COURLAND: A Red Skoda Favorit. The Lecturer from Liepaja. Gwenaelle K. The Polytonal Rocker. The Battle of Tsushima. Manor House or Palace? III - THE PROFESSOR: In the Corridor. The Sabile Vineyard. Fluffy Soviet Blankets. Moricsala. Gambia and Tobago. The Courland Cap. Romantic Courland. The Venus of Blankenfeld. Madame Royale's Tree. IV - THE HOUSE ON THE LAKE: Winter. The Resurrector is a Painter. Encounter with the Resurrector. Crocodile Dundee. The Survivor. 'It's a German Name'. Mythological Courland. The Cemetery. The Stranger. V - THE RETURN: Revenge. A Letter. Index. Chronology. Notes. Suggest Reading. Acknowledgements.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'I have come to thank dark places for the light they bring to life.'Thomas Cook has always been drawn to dark places, for the powerful emotions they evoke and for what we can learn from them. These lessons are often unexpected and sometimes profoundly intimate, but they are never straightforward.With his wife and daughter, Cook travels across the globe in search of darkness - from Lourdes to Ghana, from San Francisco to Verdun, from the monumental, mechanised horror of Auschwitz to the intimate personal grief of a shrine to dead infants in Kamukura, Japan. Along the way he reflects on what these sites may teach us, not only about human history, but about our own personal histories.During the course of a lifetime of traveling to some of earth's most tragic shores, from the leper colony on Molokai to ground zero at Hiroshima, he finds not darkness alone, but a light that can illuminate the darkness within each of us. Written in vivid prose, this is at once a personal memoir of exploration (both external and internal), and a strangely heartening look at the radiance that may be found at the very heart of darkness.Trade ReviewA fascinating, troubling memoir from a fine writer -- Mick Herron * Geographical Magazine *Cook writes movingly, perceptively, fulfilling his assertion that "there is much to be gained where much has been lost" * Irish Times *Cook writes with a tender precision . . . a stunning and revelatory book that will haunt you for months to come * Catholic Herald *Cook can achieve a palpable, vivid sense of place, often in a few sentences, sometimes in a few words, while smoothly integrating the factual background data into his narrative * Bookbag *

Read more less

Book SynopsisJulian Sayarer grew up riding a bicycle. Working as a bike courier in London, he learned the world record for a circumnavigation by bike had been broken, and that cycling into the sunset had been bought by banks and big business. Determined to do things differently, Julian set out to take back the record for the people. Life Cycles is his story of that record, riding 110 miles every 24 hours for 6 months on only GBP8.84 a day - a route through jungles, snow and 20 different countries. He found himself stranded without money in the deserts of Kazakhstan, held up by insurrections in northwest China, and sleeping under motorway bridges in America's Deep South. Taken by life on the road and a spirit of adventure, he loved every minute of it. A tale of excitement and world politics by bicycle, travelling at 12mph, Julian found that the Tartars of Central Asia aren't so different to the trailer families of Louisiana. This book is a reminder that the world is out there - and it's waiting for us.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHeyrick Bond Gunning was on the first civilian plane into Baghdad after the airport had been secured following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Armed with a camp bed, some baked beans and $25,000 in cash, his mission was to establish a foothold for one of the world’s largest logistics businesses in one of the world’s most inhospitable markets. Baghdad Business School charts the challenges, the characters and the comedy of trying to do business in a war zone. It also provides a unique perspective on the Iraq conflict and is proof of the adage that, the more you put into life, the more you get out of it.Trade Review"Vividly describes how it feels to be thrown in at the deep end" – The Economist

Read more less

Book SynopsisBarry Stone, author of 1001 Walks You Must Experience Before You Die, delves into some of the lesser-known aspects of the world's most famous - and not-quite-famous-yet - trails.The perfect accompaniment to practical guidebooks, Stone relates how slings and carabiners kept him from falling headlong off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and reports on the progress of the continental-wide monster, the Trans Canada Trail, gaps in which are still being filled by countless grass-roots communities.With walks that will appeal to everyone regardless of ability, The 50 Greatest Walks of the World includes British classics such as the Pennine Way, Offa's Dyke Path, and the Old Man of Hoy as well as personal favourites such as Italy's Cinque Terre Classic and the Isle of Skye's Trotternish Ridge, one of Britain's finest ridge traverses with almost 2,500m of ascents. Whether it's a climb, a stroll, or a life-changing slog, this book has the walk for you.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJourneying along London's waterways on a canal boat called Pike, Helen Babbs puts down roots for two weeks at a time before moving on. From Walthamstow Marsh in the east to Uxbridge in the west, she explores the landscape in all its guises: marshland, wasteland, city centre and suburb.From deep winter to late autumn, Babbs explores the people, politics, history and wildlife of the canals and rivers, to reveal an intimate and unusual portrait of London - and of life.Trade ReviewAdrift is an engaging introduction to living on a narrow boat, held together with atmospheric descriptions of reconnecting with life's simple pleasures ... It is at its best when capturing the transition from a life on land to a life on board, as well as mapping the evolving relationship between urban building developments and the canal's ecology. -- Times Literary SupplementBabbs is an excellent nature writer, evoking the lives and emotions tied to the water. Charming -- Steven Cooper * Waterstones Events Manager, The Bookseller *A compelling exploration of river living * Homes and Gardens *One of the best waterways books for decades * Waterways World *A treat ... Babbs's effortless prose is tight and lyrical, moseying along at a calm, steady pace, but there are moments both barbed and cutting ... A serious and fascinating book * Hackney Citizen *Chapter after chapter of utterly captivating prose * Caught by the River *Waterways writing at its finest: the breathtaking, boat-eulogising Adrift. -- @TheBookBarge

Read more less

Book SynopsisReturning to the UK in September 2010 after serving in Iraq as the political adviser to the top American general, Emma Sky felt no sense of homecoming. She soon found herself back in the Middle East travelling through a region in revolt. In A Time of Monsters bears witness to the demands of young people for dignity and justice during the Arab Spring; the inability of sclerotic regimes to reform; the descent of Syria into civil war; the rise of the Islamic State; and the flight of refugees to Europe. With deep empathy for its people and an extensive understanding of the Middle East, Sky makes a complex region more comprehensible. A great storyteller and observational writer, Sky also reveals the ties that bind the Middle East to the West and how blowback from our interventions in the region contributed to the British vote to leave the European Union and to the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.Trade ReviewA fascinating account by someone who both knows the region and cares. -- Christina Lamb * Sunday Times *Sky's clear, unadorned and unpretentious style is a reflection of her intellectual and emotional commitment to a region that she evidently loves and understands... Accounts of the complexities of the parts of the region she knows best are riveting. -- Jason Burke * Guardian *Table of Contents0: Prologue: What had it all been for? 1: Hold your head up, you're an Egyptian! 2: Dégage! 3: 'Assad - or we burn the country' 4: They are all thieves 5: Zero neighbours without problems 6: Better sixty years of tyranny than one night of anarchy 7: . to the hill of frankincense 8: We have no friends but the mountains 9: ... but surely we are brave, who take the Golden Road to Samarkand 10: The Islamic State: A caliphate in accordance with the prophetic method 11: What happens in the Middle East does not stay in the Middle East 12: And even though it all went wrong 13: Epilogue: The sun also rises

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Extraordinary... A fascinating and intelligent book.' Sunday TimesNew islands are being built at an unprecedented rate whether for tourism or territorial ambition, while many islands are disappearing or fragmenting because of rising sea levels. It is a strange planetary spectacle, creating an ever-changing map which even Google Earth struggles to keep pace with. In The Age of Islands, explorer and geographer Alastair Bonnett takes the reader on a compelling and thought-provoking tour of the world's newest, most fragile and beautiful islands and reveals what, he argues, is one of the great dramas of our time.From a 'crannog', an ancient artificial island in a Scottish loch, to the militarized artificial islands China is building in the South China Sea; from the disappearing islands that remain the home of native Central Americans to the ritzy new islands of Dubai; from Hong Kong and the Isles of Scilly to islands far away and near: all have urgent stories to tell.Trade ReviewExtraordinary... Bonnett writes with an acerbic charm... A fascinating and intelligent book. It brings geography to life in a way that felt-tip drawings of Dutch polders never could. * Sunday Times *Fascinating... Man-made territories provide the most interesting moments in Alastair Bonnett's tour of our planet's many islands. * Daily Mail *A knowledgeable world tour of different types of islands, much enhanced by self-deprecating accounts of his own often shoestring visits... Bonnett expertly covers the different kinds of islands... and rightly points out the ecological consequences of human building projects worldwide. -- James Hamilton-Paterson * Literary Review *A beguiling, fact-filled account of the world's headlong dash to build artificial islands. * TLS *As well as being a love letter from a geographer to his subject, it serves as a whistle-stop tour of a world in flux and crisis. * Newcastle Evening Chronicle *In The Age of Islands, Alastair Bonnett combines a deep knowledge of history and contemporary geopolitics with a seasoned travel writer's eye for the telling detail, as he gives us a tour of our terrifying but often beautiful new world. -- Joshua Keating, author of Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of NationhoodAlastair Bonnett's reporting of islands new and ancient: from trash islands to military islands to brand-new, environment-trashing 'ultra-star' islands to approaching-extinction islands is a well-researched and open-handed cautionary tale for our times. -- Dan Boothby, author of Island of Dreams: A Personal History of a Remarkable PlaceAn ambitious journey by wing, sail, rubber and road to find the lost, emerging, off-limits and artificial islands of our fast-changing world. Once again, Bonnett respectfully drags geography back to its roots. -- Brad Garrett, author of Bunker: Building for the End TimesSheer vulnerability and bold architecture live cheek by jowl in this Age of Islands. If islands did not exist, we would have to invent them. And now we do. This book helps us understand how and why. -- Godfrey Baldacchino, University of Malta; President, International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA)A great primer on the concept of islands in the modern age. . . . Engagingly written. * Library Journal *Table of Contents0: Introduction Part One: Rising 1: Why We Build Islands 2: Flevopolder, The Netherlands 3: The World, Dubai 4: Chek Lap Kok, Airport Island, Hong Kong 5: Fiery Cross Reef, South China Sea 6: Phoenix Island, China 7: Ocean Reef, Panama 8: Natural, Overlooked and Accidental: Other New Islands 9: Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, Tonga 10: The Accidental Islands of Pebble Lake, Hungary 11: Trash Islands Part Two: Disappearing 12: Disappearing Islands 13: The San Blas Islands of Guna Yala, Panama 14: Tongatapu and Fafa, Tonga 15: The Isles of Scilly, UK Part Three: Future 16: Future Islands 17: Seasteading 18: Dogger Bank Power Link Island, North Sea 19: East Lantau Metropolis, Hong Kong 20: Not an Ending

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn extraordinary memoir of one woman's experiences in China. ******************************** Tessa Keswick first travelled to China in 1982 and immediately fell in love with its history, culture and landscape. Over the next thirty years, she travelled extensively in China, visiting its temples and landmarks, the sites of its most famous battles, and the birthplaces of its best-known poets and philosophers. She also witnessed China's transformation, as hundreds of millions were lifted out of poverty and the country emerged as an economic superpower in waiting. Keswick's observations of life in China are perceptive and full of insight. Her narrative is rich in microhistories of people encountered and places visited. By presenting a colourfully woven tapestry of contrasting experiences and localities, she allows the reader to glimpse the sheer diversity of China and its vast population. A multi-textured and revealing survey of the world's largest country, as seen through one woman's eyes, The Colour of the Sky After Rain offers a compelling portrait of China in an age of radical change, and charts the key staging posts in its recent, remarkable history. ******************************** 'Tessa Keswick provides joyous insights into her life with husband Sir Henry Keswick' Sunday Times. 'Keswick is an engaging, lively guide and she is at her best when writing about the Chinese landscape' Daily Mail. 'At precisely the time that we need to understand China more than ever, along comes a book that is incisive, honest, witty, and beautifully written which explains the Chinese people and society to a Western audience superbly. Impossible to categorize, The Colour of the Sky After Rain is part-memoir, part-travelogue, part-history, part-thoughtful musing, and packed with insights into the Chinese state and soul that forces us to look afresh at the world’s thrusting new superpower' Professor Andrew Roberts. 'If you want an enthralling read about China and to learn a lot about that extraordinary country at the same time, read Tessa Keswick's The Colour of the Sky After Rain. I derived so much pleasure and excitement from the story that I hardly noticed all the history I was imbibing. The Colour of the Sky aAter Rain is both serious and seriously entertaining. It is strongly recommended' Lady Antonia Fraser. 'The Colour of the Sky After Rain made me want at once to leap on to a plane and travel to Zhongdian, to Jiayuguan, to Suzhou, to Xinjiang (and on and on)... I learnt a great deal from this book about the history of China over the millennia and especially over the last fifty years' Neil MacGregor.Trade ReviewTessa Keswick provides joyous insights into her life with husband Sir Henry Keswick * Sunday Times *Keswick is an engaging, lively guide and she is at her best when writing about the Chinese landscape * Daily Mail *At precisely the time that we need to understand China more than ever, along comes a book that is incisive, honest, witty, and beautifully written which explains the Chinese people and society to a Western audience superbly. Impossible to categorize, The Colour of the Sky After Rain is part-memoir, part-travelogue, part-history, part-thoughtful musing, and packed with insights into the Chinese state and soul that forces us to look afresh at the world's thrusting new superpower -- Professor Andrew RobertsIf you want an enthralling read about China and to learn a lot about that extraordinary country at the same time, read Tessa Keswick's The Colour of the Sky after Rain. I derived so much pleasure and excitement from the story that I hardly noticed all the history I was imbibing. The Colour of the Sky after Rain is both serious and seriously entertaining. It is strongly recommended -- Lady Antonia FraserA gorgeous book... A must if you've been to China, if you're going to China, or if you know of somebody who's done that or who is going to do that... It's a factual book, but it's fascinating, it'll get you a direct 'in' into the culture' * BBC Radio Guernsey *The best parts of this beguiling but unusual book – part memoir, part travelogue and part paean to a people she admires – are those describing how Jardines overcame its opium war stigma and rehabilitated itself with Beijing. The story she tells is both evocative and emblematic of its time * Financial Times *Made me want at once to leap on to a plane and travel to Zhongdian, to Jiayuguan, to Suzhou, to Xinjiang (and on and on)... I learnt a great deal from this book about the history of China over the millennia and especially over the last fifty years' -- Neil MacGregorPart history, part social history, part gossip and part travelogue, her book is in the mode of the late Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor. It sheds more light on the cultural and social history that animates the Chinese mindset, give them their self-reliance, their sense of determination and ability to outwit the obstacles placed in their paths, than a reader could reasonably have hoped for * Catholic Herald *

Read more less

Book SynopsisDiscover some of the world’s most awe-inspiring and holy places, from Stonehenge to Uluru, and Walden Pond to Angkor Wat. Humans have always searched for and created meaning in the world around them, whether in breathtakingly stunning natural features and phenomena, acknowledging the ancient home of a particular faith or movement, or honouring the location of a significant event. In this beautifully illustrated guide, Alice Peck discusses what makes a place spiritual – whether reaches of time, geography, the provision of sustenance or inspiration, or mystery and magic – and then explores 80 such locations around the globe. Rather than a comprehensive travel guide, the description of each one includes a detail or tip – something beautiful, strange, relatively unknown or unfamiliar – to allow readers to deepen their focus and perhaps experience the place in a different way than they might expect. If you are unable to travel at this time, this book will help you plan your next adventure. And if you are trying to limit your carbon footprint, each destination is accompanied by a related meditation, prayer, practice or quotation to help you connect to the spirit of it from your own home.Trade ReviewLets seekers immerse themselves in awe - Publishers Weekly The ultimate armchair guide for the spiritual seeker - Spirituality & Health magazine “Peck’s book will surely make people slow down and contemplate the intangibles that make certain places feel so powerful - Inhabitat.com

Read more less

Book SynopsisInveraray, Oban, Kintyre, Glencoe, Loch Awe, Loch Lomond, Appin, Islay - all the glories of Argyll are described in this book. From Dumbarton to Campletown and north to Loch Etive there is a great wealth of beauty unmatched in Scotland. It is a quiet and lonely land, a land still unspoiled, a land of history and legend, a land of unsurpassed glory. Tom Atkinson describes it all, writing with deep insight into the land he loves. There could be no better guide to its beauties and history. Once Atkinson has taken you there, these lands can never feel lonely.Trade ReviewHere, you will find ‘that curious pastiche of myths and legend and history that the Scots use to describe their heritage... A lively counterpoint to the more standard, detached guidebook... Intriguing. THE WASHINGTON POST

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis ‘new journalism’ by Irish Times women writers originally appeared on the Women First pages during the 1970s. Together, the pieces reflect the enormous social and political upheaval of the years when, as the first woman’s page editor Mary Maher put it, “Irish women were invented”. The voices of this exciting anthology, diverse, sparkling, irreverent, record with wit and intelligence an Ireland on the brink of transformation. Changing The Times showcases the best of this writing, by Maeve Binchy, Mary Leland, Gabrielle Williams, Christina Murphy, Geraldine Kennedy, Maev Kennedy, Eileen O’Brien, Caroline Walsh, Theodora FitzGibbon, Nell McCafferty, Renagh Holohan, Elgy Gillespie and others. Issues of the day are articulated and explored: pregnancy, fashion, first loves, sexuality, a burgeoning feminism, an imploding Catholic Church, an exploding North. Nell McCafferty profiles a young Ian Paisley, visits New York and talks to the family of a girl tarred and feathered in Derry; Maeve Binchy interviews Samuel Beckett and Iris Murdoch; Mary Holland follows the North, while Renagh Holohan is caught in its explosions; Elgy Gillespie encounters Muhammed Ali, Tyrone Guthrie and Robert Lowell; while Mary Cummins interviews Bernadette Devlin about having her first baby. As the mirror of a confident young nation, and a window onto one of the most eventful decades in recent Irish history, Changing the Times gives these writings the afterlife they richly deserve.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Shannon Navigation traces the history of the River Shannon as a navigation up to the present day from the 1750s when the early works were commenced under the Commissioners of Inland Navigation and subsequently under the Directors General of Inland Navigation from 1800 to 1831. These works, which took many years to complete, were not very successful and were badly maintained. In the 1830s the arrival of steamers focussed attention on the poor state of the navigation, which coincided with the efforts of the government to initiate public works to relieve distress by providing employment. During the 1840s a major scheme was carried out creating the fine navigation that is enjoyed today. The works were designed to address the combined issues of navigation and drainage but only partially improved the extensive problems of flooding. The age of the steamers was cut short by the coming of the railways and a second attempt to provide passenger boats in the early 1900s did not live up to expectations. The subsequent history of the navigation is traced including the harnessing of the river as a hydro-electric scheme, which had a substantial impact on the navigation. The gradual decline in the use of the river for commercial trade saw it entering a trough until recent years, which have seen the growth in the use of the river for tourism and recreation, with the great works of the mid-nineteenth century utilized to their full potential for the first time. This magnificent documentary history is illustrated by over two hundred and fifty photographs, engravings, posters, maps and drawings, and contains invaluable appendices detailing the Acts and parliamentary papers, the works, the tonnage carried, and information about steamers and other boats.

Read more less

Book SynopsisShortlised for the Saltire Society Non Fiction Book of the Year Award Almost every adult and child is familiar with his Treasure Island, but few know that Robert Louis Stevenson lived out his last years on an equally remote island, which was squabbled over by colonial powers much as Captain Flint's treasure was contested by the mongrel crew of the Hispaniola.In 1890 Stevenson settled in Upolu, an island in Samoa, after two years sailing round the South Pacific. He was given a Samoan name and became a fierce critic of the interference of Germany, Britain and the U.S.A. in Samoan affairs - a stance that earned him Oscar Wilde's sneers, and brought him into conflict with the Colonial Office, who regarded him as a menace and even threatened him with expulsion from the island.Joseph Farrell's pioneering study of Stevenson's twilight years stands apart from previous biographies by giving as much weight to the Samoa and the Samoans - their culture, their manners, their history - as to the life and work of the man himself. For it is only by examining the full complexity of Samoa and the political situation it faced as the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, that Stevenson's lasting and generous contribution to its cause can be appreciated.Trade ReviewA bracing amalgam of history, biography and travel . . . Farrell has done his compatriot proud. -- Ian Thomson * Financial Times. *Scholarly, engaging and deeply thoughtful, Joseph Farrell's account of Stevenson's last four years in Samoa has the feel of an instant classic in studies of the writer. The Navigator Islands had fascinated Stevenson for years, but when he went to live there in 1890, frail and famous, the realities of life in on the margins of his own culture, language and society changed him forever. Rarely can a place and a writer have had so much effect on each other: Joseph Farrell's brilliant study takes us further into this fascinating relationship than ever before. -- Claire Harman, author of Robert Louis Stevenson: A BiographyMarvellously done, thanks to the lively fair-mindedness of Farrell's excellent prose. Vivid, scholarly, informative, but above all a really good read. -- Liz Lochhead, Scots Makar 2011-16Joseph Farrell's is the best book I have seen on Stevenson's years in Samoa, the most enviable of any writer's ever. Farrell is fair to both his sunburnt Bohemianism and his unremitting hard work. -- James BuchanStevenson in Samoa is very good indeed . . . It is full of interest and repays the attention it demands. -- Allan Massie * Scotsman. *A sparkling account of the last years of Stevenson's life . . . An emeritus professor at the University of Strathclyde and translator of literary works from Italian, Farrell comes armed with perceptive, elegant prose and a revealing understanding of Stevenson's peculiarly Scottish frame of mind. * Literary Review *A very profound examination of Stevenson's Samoa in light of current and present ideologies. -- Brian Morton * Glasgow Herald. *Farrell provides a welcome service by offering us the fascinating story of Stevenson's last great roll with the dice. -- Peter Carty * Spectator. *By adeptly detailing colonial politics in which Stevenson intervened, Farrell takes us well beyond the image of the romantic exile in Robert Louis Stevenson in Samoa. -- Christine Bold * T.L.S. *A warm and intelligent account of the novelist's life and work in his last years in the South Seas. -- Allan Massie * Catholic Herald Books of the Year *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTo celebrate 60 years of sailing Scottish waters, the author single-handedly sailed Halcyon, a 32' wooden yawl, from Fairlie on the Clyde, round the Mull of Kintyre by way of numerous inner islands to Barra in the Outer Hebrides and to the Atlantic side of the islands, not often visited by cruising yachts. Bad weather forced a diversion to explore the sea lochs of the west coast of Harris and Lewis, the islands of Taransay (of the BBC's Castaway series) and Scarp, famed for its ingenious 'Rocket Post' experiment. While visiting these numerous islands, he met local people and experienced the sometimes violent extremes of weather such as when he was storm-bound in Stornoway for several days. There are stories galore about the island people, snippets of interesting history, legends and folklore, tales of the sea and island life, the Hebridean fishermen and lighthouses - thus uncovering another dimension of island life. Bob recounts his travels and tales, some previously unpublished, in a relaxed and highly-readable style. As well as being a unique travel book, it is an insight into the rapidly-changing ways of island life and a useful sailing guide to the Western Isles and anchorages in the Hebrides. It would be of immeasurable help to sailors keen to venture into some of the lesser-known sailing areas of Western Scotland. This vivid and entertaining story of adventurous sailing among Scotland's beautiful but challenging Western Isles will be enjoyed by keen sailors and armchair travellers alike - a truly memorable journey of over 1000 miles!Trade Review'...this book presents its readers with a fine opportunity - to journey with him. ...he reveals encounters, supplies appropiate connections, provides historical insights through anecdotes, but, above all, he is a combination of a skipper and steward who, through his words, embodies the essence of good company.' Scottish Island Explorer '...it is an adventure... ...and ready for sharing. ...a valuable sailing guide for those planning to embark on such an expedition. ... For the less adventurous among us, find a couple of quiet hours, board a comfy armchair, sit back and enjoy the journey.' Whitehaven News 'The Hebridean Islands are not for the faint hearted, but the rewards for the plucky cruiser are great. Bob Orrell delved into 60 years of cruising the area to rediscover the thrill and beauty of this treacherous coastline, this time sailing single-handed.' Sailing Today 'Along the way, the author rejoiced and grimaced through Scotland's changeable weather; met fascinating people and visited places with fabulous stories, enjoyed adventures and described Scotland's amazing western coastline through a sailor's eyes. Bob is a lovely writer and brings to life the atmosphere and sights of his intrepid expedition around one of the most stunning coastal areas of Scotland.' FionaOutdoors '...a wonderful book. Well written, engaging, and unusually compelling for a work of non-fiction, this is a book that reveals the Hebrides in what for many readers will be an entirely new light.' Undiscovered Scotland

Read more less

Book SynopsisOn 26th April 2014 Huw kayaked away from Anzac Cove at Gallipoli, Turkey, taking the next three months to navigate around the coasts of Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Croatia. Following this, he spent three months walking the full length of the European Alps, taking on Mont Blanc, at 4810m Europe's highest mountain, in the process. Having left the Alps behind, he biked through Southern France and across Spain before paddling his sea kayak along the coast of Andalucia to Gibraltar and across the Straits of Gibraltar, between the Pillars of Hercules, to North Africa. This was a major achievement, a full traverse of Europe in eight months; 7,500 km from Turkey. However, for Huw, this was only the half-way point. During winter, the coldest and stormiest for many years, Huw continued the journey by bike through Morocco, Algeria and into Tunisia. The ever-worsening situation in the region forced him to abandon his bike in favour of an alternative mode of transport. A wonderful set of coincidences and circumstances saw Huw use an ocean rowboat to row, by night and day, the 1,500 km to Turkey with a young Slovenian adventurer. It was the first time he had ever rowed in his life.For the final month Huw kayaked the last 1,000 km to where it all began along a Turkish coast now awash with the flotsam and jetsam of the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. After 363 days Huw arrived back to Gallipoli, in time for the centenary commemoration of Anzac Day. His incredible journey included many memorable events such as being held on a Turkish military island after inadvertently landing to camp, meeting an amazing one-legged hiker while crossing the Alps and arriving dog-tired and starving by kayak to Africa after local kindnesses beat back British and Spanish political differences over Gibraltar to allow a crossing of the Straits of Gibraltar. Huw took in the extraordinary land and seascapes, the rich and varied cultures and peoples and the current state of many of those countries. This is a fascinating story of endurance, and throughout this epic journey Huw raised funds for the children of war-torn Syria, in the process becoming Save the Children Australia's highest-ever individual fundraiser.Trade Review`The reader travels with a man constantly making life-changing choices, whether based on data, rumour or gut instinct; pushing through injury, weather, red tape or sheer bad luck'. Getaway Magazine -------------------- `...an eye-opening journey around some extraordinary land and seascapes... ...a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in travel and Mediterranean culture'. Lifeboat RNLI -------------------- `...forms the engaging and insightful book Mediterranean... This charming book also gives a beautifully written account of the people the author met along the way, and paints an evocative picture of the landscapes encountered. ...is a wonderful example of the steely determination and optimism that sees him pick his end point and move heaven and earth to reach it'. Flybe Flight Time Magazine -------------------- `If you're looking for a great read then you can't go past Mediterranean... ...an inspiring and entertaining read for all armchair adventurers'. Great Walks Magazine - --------------------`...Huw's travel tale becomes a story of human kindness and resilience'. Australia Geographic Outdoor Magazine -------------------- `...this is a must read'. Outer Edge -------------------- `...Huw's many experiences in the countries he visited are both insightful and entertaining. An inspiring read and proof the world is still full of adventure'. Australian Geographic Magazine --------------------- '...if this book doesn't get the travel juices going, then nothing will!' Burnley Express -------------------- 'Charming tale of a maritime adventure. ...engaging and insightful book...a story of enthusiasm... This charming book also gives a beautifully written account of the people the author met along the way, and paints a picture of the wonderful landscapes he encountered'. Nautilus Telegraph -------------------- '...a good read filled with how the 'Aussie' Huw overcame many obstacles in his quest to travel around the littoral of the Mediterranean by human power alone. ...this is a colourful documentary aided by a number of pictures...' Royal Naval Sailing Association -------------------- '...well illustrated...will have you chuckling at the humour. This is very much a book for adventurers, avoiding the tourist hotspots, of which there are plenty, and, instead, meeting a wide range of people off the beaten track'. Canoeist -------------------- 'This book details that journey - and much more. ... As one follows the remarkable journey so the character of the author begins to appear, there is an element of fun...contains excellent photographs highlighting the journey...' The Munro Society Newsletter -------------------- `...dozens of intrepid exploits... have made Huw something of a legend among outdoor adventurers' Highlife Magazine -------------------- `…a well written tale … Presentation is neat and crisp with useful maps in addition to a comprehensive photo gallery of people and places’. Climbers’ Club (CC) Member’s Newsletter -------------------- `…An entertaining page-turner that should not be missed. … excellent colour photographs’. Sea Breezes

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a diary of Sir Henry Rider Haggard's tour of South Africa in 1914. It captures his feelings and perceptions on the change of Southern Africa, and of himself, since his departure in 1881. In 1914, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, returned to South Africa. He had left in 1881, in his mid-twenties, an unknown, he returned a houshold name, after the success of his novels, such as "King Solomon's Mines" and "She". Touring the country as a member of the Dominions Royal Commission, Haggard found it hard to recognise the South Africa of his youth; war and politics had left their mark. Haggard had also changed, he considered himself a "man of affairs" rather than as a novelist. This account of his journey through Southern Africa shows his feelings and views on the changes he encountered and shows his thoughts on the plight of the Zulus and his meeting with John Dube, the first president of the African National Congress.Trade Review'Anyone who is interested in South African history or the British Empire at its zenith will be intrigued by Haggard's descriptions of the country and its leaders shortly after the end of the Boer War. [A...] Haggard's diary is a collection of fading sepia images of another time and another world, full of interesting notes and appendices.' -F.W. de Klerk, The Times, August 2001Table of ContentsFrom youth to age; this land of troubles; a sad story in truth; chief from old! Father!; I felt like one returned from the dead; is it a white man's land?; 400 miles through Zululand; a Zulu of high blood; running along the coast; it is done.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe ''pilgrimage'' alluded to in the title of this work describes a five-month journey undertaken by an Englishwoman, in 1878, to the great central desert region of Arabia. That a woman should venture on such a perilous journey at all was unusual enough in the mid-nineteenth century, and the resulting narrative throws a refreshing and sensitive light on the people and places of those times. Lady Anne Blunt (1837-1917), Arabic scholar, horsewoman, musician, traveller, has left a unique record of her journey. Her narrative contains all the romance of the desert and excels in the portraiture of its inhabitants. Yet also described are the awful hardships she faced in one of the world''s harshest environments. Here reproduced in facsimile, the work was originally published in two volumes edited by the author''s husband, Wilfred Scawen Blunt. Himself an active supported of Muslim aspirations and of nationalism in Arab countries, he accompanied his wife on her travels. The journal remains a sympathetic and worthy account of their adventures.This book recounts the exotic journeys of Lady Anne Blunt to Arabia in 1875. Blunt was a talented artist, author of Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates, and the founder of the famous Crabbet Stud of England.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisSyria: The Desert and the Sown presents a unique and sensitive picture of the Syrian people whilst under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Originally published in 1907, the book studies the effects of western cultural advancements in the area, as the devastating upheavals of the First World War were yet to come. Syria was then: ''merely a geographical term corresponding to no national sentiment in the breasts of the inhabitants'', Lady Bell writes. Syria was infinitely divided into sects, castes and tribes, each following their own age-old customs and laws. Various Arab-speaking races were prevented from waging constant war on one another only by ''the ragged half fed soldier who draws at rare intervals the Sultan''s pay''.Bell attempts to see deny her orientalist tendencies by envisioning her experience through the eyes of an Arab nomad. She becomes aware that the desert ''is set thicker with human associations than any city. Every line of it took on significance, every stone was like the ghost to a hearth in which the warmth of Arab life was hardly cold, though the fire might have been extinguished this hundred years''.Her sympathy with the people she meets, and her respect for their traditions, raises Syria: The Desert and the Sown well above the ordinary travel book. The strong sense of history conveyed by the writing is reinforced by the author''s own photographs of ruins, including temples and shrines on the ancient roads between Jerusalem and Antioch.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFirst published in 1881, East of the Jordan recounts the results of an archaeological expedition organised by the American Palestine Exploration Society in 1875-77. In two years the expedition members covered much of the region between Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) and the Dead Sea, in the upper and lower Jordan Valley. Along with meticulous descriptions of the major towns and sites of archaeological interest, the author also records details of the everyday lives of the inhabitants. These seemingly incidental occurrences, combined with the exquisite illustrations, endow the work with a quality of lasting interest, and great historical value. Selah Merrill (1837-1909), the leader of the expedition, was an American Congregational clergyman who combined a love of travel with the authorship of a number of works on the Middle East. He later became American Consul at Jerusalem.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTravels in Syria and the Holy Land is a masterpiece in descriptive and scholarly travelogue. It describes the author''s various journeys throughout the Holy Land between 1810 and 1816 win which he records every aspect of the life of the inhabitants, their religion and culture. He also provides fascinating details of topography, natural history and archaeology.John Lewis Buckhardt (1784-1817) is among the most intrepid and veracious o all the early European explorers of the interior of Africa. His many journal, published, after his death, by the African Association are remarkable alike for their interst and evident truthfulness.Having studied and prepared himself for the rigours of the life of an explorer, Burckhardt travelled widely throughout North Africa and Asia, surviving in a hostile Muslim world by passing himself off as a pilgrim. Indeed, so proficient was he in the Arab language and knowledge of their religion that learned Arabs unwittingly commended him as a great Muslim scholar.The present edition is taken in facsimile from the rare first edition of 1822, including its maps and line drawings.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the early decades of the nineteenth century European interest in Africa was reaching its height. Places such as Timbuctoo, seemingly as remote as the moon, were seen as vital links in the establishment of new trade routes to the African interior. In 1822 the Scottish explorer, Alexander Gordon Laing was successful in reaching Timbuctoo but was murdered by Arabs, a fate awaiting any discovered Christian, infidel or traveller.In 1826 the Geographical Society of Paris offered a large prize for the first person to reach and successfully return from Timbuctoo. Rene Caillie, already familiar with trade in North Africa, accepted up the challenge and embarked upon a hazardous year-long journey, reaching the mysterious desert kingdom in April 1828. On his triumphant return Caillie published an account of his travels, a vivid picture of desert life, and the Arabs and their customs.Originally published in 1830, and here republished in facsimile, this two-volume work is a classic among the works of early travellers. Caillie''s eye for detail, along with his description of the perils of travel in a hostile world, provides a fascinating and exciting account of early exploration.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the early decades of the nineteenth century European interest in Africa was reaching its height. Places such as Timbuctoo, seemingly as remote as the moon, were seen as vital links in the establishment of new trade routes to the African interior. In 1822 the Scottish explorer, Alexander Gordon Laing was successful in reaching Timbuctoo but was murdered by Arabs, a fate awaiting any discovered Christian, infidel or traveller.In 1826 the Geographical Society of Paris offered a large prize for the first person to reach and successfully return from Timbuctoo. Rene Caillie, already familiar with trade in North Africa, accepted up the challenge and embarked upon a hazardous year-long journey, reaching the mysterious desert kingdom in April 1828. On his triumphant return Caillie published an account of his travels, a vivid picture of desert life, and the Arabs and their customs.Originally published in 1830, and here republished in facsimile, this two-volume work is a classic among the works of early travellers. Caillie''s eye for detail, along with his description of the perils of travel in a hostile world, provides a fascinating and exciting account of early exploration.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhile an anarchist group blows up the equestrian statue of General Gough in Dublin’s Phoenix Park during the 1950s, the narrator recalls his mother’s Kiplingesque tales of childhood in India, recreating the atmosphere and events of the Irish abroad in the service of the British Empire. The life of John Henry Foley (1818-1874), Queen Victoria’s favourite sculptor, is interwoven with those of some of his principal subjects, Hardinge, Montgomery, Outram and Lawrence, Foyle College boys from Derry, who formed a remarkable constellation of soldier-administrators in northern India during the nineteenth century. The powerful, suggestive sketches of these Irishmen speak for generations gone. Engagements, atrocities and counter-atrocities are colourfully drawn in a language of heroism that conveys that turbulent, chaotic thing that was Britain’s empire in Asia. Gough himself was a hero of the Peninsular War, wheeled out in the 1840s to pursue the punitive Opium War in China and to conquer the Punjab. Ronan Sheehan has created a remarkable imaginative work through these related narratives, shifting between nineteenth-century set-pieces and modern-day Ireland. The statue from which the book derives its name, the vulnerable and defiant figure of Asia below subverting Albert above in the Hyde Park memorial, expresses the conflicted loyalties at the heart of Foley’s finest monuments. By exploring these fractured identities and interrogating the past, Foley’s Asia enriches our understanding of this sculpted world.Trade ReviewThe unlikely world of monumental sculpture opens up an incredibly varied series of tableaux in Foley’s Asia. A meditation on arms, oppression and empire, it offers a unique insight into Irish and Indian colonial experience.’ – Neil Jordan ‘Foley’s Asia suspends itself quite beautifully between contradictory worlds. Like Foley’s sculpture, it is a book which poses provocative questions about art, colonialism, violence, and even the nature of fiction itself. It’s a brave book, agile, evocative and understated. It belongs on the shelf with others of the ‘international bastard’ brigade – W.G. Sebald, Michael Ondaatje and John Berger.’ – Colum McCann

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisPeople travel for many reasons, some looking to escape and some looking for adventure. You have the right to feel and experience highs and lows within your own social context-what you find hellish may be heavenly for somebody less privileged. This eclectic collection of travel stories and poems captures the essence of traveling-to experience the unknown, be it heavenly or hellish, and return to tell the tale. Amusing, informative, dramatic and compelling, this anecdotal collection is an enchanting-and occasionally shocking-journey into the lives of intrepid globetrotters.Trade Review'Travel tales we guarantee you won't find in brochures.' Maxim 'Celebrates the highs and lows of life on the road' The Independent on Sunday 'An inspirational experience. I couldn't wait to leave the country and encounter the next inevitable disaster' The Independent

Read more less

Book SynopsisA journey through Cambodia with the simple and romantic ambition to find the folkloric spirit trees, the powerful connecting force between man and nature, Ken Finn's travels turned out to be anything but simple. Back-wearing motos, immobilizing gastric assaults, unexpected road blocks, and monkish processions all contributed to the journey, but most dramatically, instead of enriching forests, destruction was found: the black market timber trade. A new voice was found as Ken followed the trees on their journey to the furniture factories of Vietnam and subsequently a house somewhere on the North Circular, London. The book chronicles his trip not just through Southeast Asia but the inner transition from traveler to activist. It charts the unlocking of a conscience and the discovery of a new sensitivity and passion showing that it is not a major shift in behavior to save the destruction and corruption of the planet and that it is important to care.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSeeking Sanctuary is a rich and detailed journey into Sudan, a country that crystallizes present fears and prejudices about Islam, extremism and borderless global terrorism. It is told through the eyes of converts-people intimately familiar with the western world but who have chosen Sudan and its apparent discomfort over their former existence. The result is not the cliched clash of cultures, or a narrative of awkwardness, but an uplifting account of joyful assimilation. The book provides an extraordinary insight into the religious journey to conversion. Its focus on the individual stories reveals the enormous complexity of motive, the subtlety of the experience, and the need for sensitivity rather than commonplace suspicion. It explains how the concerts have molded their own belief systems out of a common set of values to create an existence that allows them to feel comfortable about themselves and their environment for the first time. It contains a fascinating collection of intimate portraits, and individual discoveries.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn April 1999, the authors set off on a gruelling journey, on horseback, following the trail of the elusive and most successful outlaws of the Wild West - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Trade Review"A bumptious and entertaining adventure story. Not Paul Newman and Robert Redford but wonderful chroniclers of the sights, sounds and feelings of that grand, harsh country." "--Time "magazine "A glorious story, part adventure, part history, full of . . . marvelous characters and amusing episodes . . . Highly recommended." --Douglas Preston, author, "The Cabinet of Curiosities "and" Impact" "Many aficionados of the history of the American West wonder how the outlaws survived in that daunting environment, and if it was an exciting existence. As "Riding the Outlaw Trail" amply demonstrates, each generation in its own environment provides its own unique and daunting challenges, and perhaps we are all born into the situation that fits us best." --"Wild West History Journal"

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen your Dad can crash his airplane into two water buffalo, life is unlikely to go according to plan. Even so, Emily Joy puts on her rose-tinted glasses, leaves behind her comfortable life as a doctor in Britain, and heads off for two years to a remote hospital in Sierra Leone. There she finds the oranges are green, the bananas are black, and her patients are very ill. There's no water, no electricity, no oxygen, no amputation saw--and Dr. Em is no surgeon. And there's no chocolate to treat her nasty case of unrequited love. Dr. Em's problems are tiny compared to those faced by the people of Sierra Leone on a daily basis. If they can remain so optimistic, what's Em's excuse? Our green doctor is a bit of a yellow-belly, often red-faced, trying to fight the blues. But green oranges give sweet orange juice. Never judge a fruit by its color.Trade Review"Illustrates the tenacity and determination of the people of Sierra Leone." --Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York "Very down to earth, very funny, very human." "--Yorkshire Evening Post" "Very down to earth, very funny, very human." --Yorkshire Evening Post

Read more less

Book SynopsisMany would balk at the idea of a white woman traveling India aloneand in particular, a blind woman. Throughout her childhood Nicola Naylor had been fascinated by images of the subcontinent and was determined both to realize her dream of visiting and to push back the stifling constraints imposed by perceptions of her disability. While depending on her third eyeor sixth senseshe explores India from the inside. Her account is both sensuous and enormously visual as she gradually rebuilds her shattered self-confidence, regains her desire to live life, and rediscovers her almost forgotten love of writing."Trade Review"Inspiring story." "--Daily Mail" "Beautifully told with both insight and compassion, this remarkable story of one woman's triumph over adversity will be an inspiration to all its readers." "Woman and Home"" "Inspiring story." "Daily Mail""

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrank and often outrageous, this is an account of a 40-something Englishwoman's epic 4,000 mile cycle ride from Seattle to Mexico, via the snow-covered Rockies, mostly alone and camping in the wild. She runs appalling risks and copes in a gutsy, hilarious way with exhaustion, climatic extremes, dangerous animals, eccentrics, lechers, and a permanently saddle-sore backside. We share her deep involvement with the West's pioneering past, and with the tragic traces that history has left lingering on the land. When she rides the faded trails of the vanished American Indian nations she displays a strong sensitivity to the atmosphere of the spectacular landscape, as if the moments of its vibrant past are hanging in the air, only waiting for her to conjure them up vividly--sometimes with humor, and frequently with passion. As she travels, the ghosts of Lewis and Clark, Chief Joseph and Geronimo, Custer and Crazy Horse--all the legendary figures of the Old West--ride with her.Trade Review"A beautifully written book which achieves the delicate balance between poetic description, gritty humor, and well-paced storytelling." "--Manchester Evening News" "The book is written in a fluid and beautifully descriptive way." "--London Cyclist" "A fantastic read." "--Cycling World"

Read more less

Book SynopsisIsolated and terrifyingly cold, the South Pole is every adventurer's dream and every adventurer's nightmare. In a bid to carry messages of peace to speak out at the Pole to help the harmony of the Earth, Tess and partner Pete would venture to the very end of the world. They join the historic South Pole Race, to compete with the likes of Olympic champion James Cracknell and Ben Fogle in the first race to the South Pole since Scott and Amundsen. To complete this mission they would have to battle severe medical problems, lack of money, hardship and deprivation. For Tess it was more than combating cold hands with a warm heart, it was a journey to push out the reaches of the human mind.Trade Review"These pages offer inspiration to put in the extra mile." Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisOff the western seaboard of Scotland are hundreds of islands. Beginning on Arran, Jonny Muir sets out to explore these places with a single ambition: to reach the St Kilda archipelago, the islands at the edge of the world. On the way he attempts to finds his inner peace on Holy Island, takes part in a punishing foot race across the mountains of Jura, confronts the Inaccessible Pinnacle on Skye and walks the white-sand beach on Berneray. He encounters sharks and whales, discovers gory histories and follows in the footsteps of Boswell and Johnson, but island life is not without its challenges. ‘Man-eating’ midges live up to their reputation on Rum. An Atlantic storm threatens to rip his tent to shreds on Barra. Wicked weather lashes the Outer Hebrides, leaving his prospects of reaching St Kilda balanced on a knife-edge. An intensely personal account of a journey through some of Britain’s most extraordinary landscapes. Complete with twenty five beautiful colour plates.Trade Review‘A wonderful, inspiring book about a journey undertaken by the author to a series of Hebridean islands. ’ * Undiscovered Scotland *‘An excellent book... One man’s physical and emotional journey, laced with humour, that will have you booking your Island Rover ticket and looking for the most waterproof tent you can find.’ * Love Scottish Islands blog *

Read more less