Travel writing Books

Book Synopsis20-something and uncertain about her future, Florentyna Leow is exhilarated when an old acquaintance offers her an opportunity for work and cohabitation in a little house in the hills of Kyoto. Florentyna begins a new job as a tour guide, taking tourists on elaborate and expensive trips around Kyoto's cultural hotspots. Amidst the busy tourist traps and overrun temples, Florentyna develops her own personal map of the city: a favourite smoky jazz kissa; a top-shelf katsuobushi loving cat; an elderly lady named Yamaguchi-san, who shares her sweets and gives Florentyna a Japanese name. Meanwhile, her relationship with her new companion develops an intensity as they live and work together. Their little kitchen, the epicenter of their shared life, overlooks a community garden dominated by a fruitful persimmon tree. Their relationship burns bright, but seasons change, the persimmon tree out back loses its fruit, and things grow strange between the two women.Trade Review"O would let Leow's writing take me anywhere, but in these pages Kyoto transpires to be a particularly meaningful and enchanted destination for her to transport her reader. Friendship, food, language, tour-guiding, and all the myriad kinds of love-whatever she's addressing in the moment, her fragrant, juice-filled prose is coated in a crispy-soft casing of wisdom, self awareness and compassion." - Polly Barton, author of Fifty Sounds; "This writing is so beautiful it makes you feel tipsy and warm like a sherry at Christmas." - Kathryn Williams, singer, songwriter and novelist (The Ormering Tide); "So atmospheric and transporting, I couldn’t wait to get back to it and keep reading." - Emily Itami, author of Fault Lines; "The book does not gush about Japan, which I appreciate, nor does it tear it down. She never holds back when it comes to her own emotions. But when it comes to the outside world in which she positions herself as an onlooker, she is generous, funny, blunt as she needs to be, mindful of where she stands. The persimmon tree. Just read how she writes about the persimmon tree. You will fall in love." - Yuki Tejima, @booknerdtokyo; "Leow's collection is a beautifully written exploration of friendship, making a city your home and heartbreak through food writing, travel, cultural and social explorations and elements of memoir. It should be too much for such a slim volume, but it works perfectly." - Sophie for Books, Burgers and Backpacks; "Leow has a way with words that carried me into each moment so evocatively that I devoured this short novel in one session: there is a lyricism to every description she delivers...The writing is beautiful, the language evocative and the experience of reading this one to remember. I definitely recommend getting hold of a copy" - Bookaholic Bex; "It took approximately one sentence for me to know this was going to be one of my favourite books of this year. Leow's storytelling is simply exquisite and I could envision the settings and moment so vividly in my mind that I barely wanted to put the book down to write this. It's a book that I want to both devour immediately but also savour slowly to try and appreciate the work Leow has put into it" - Rhi, @thewordslikedust

Read more less

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

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the wake of the EU referendum, the United Kingdom's border with Ireland has gained greater significance: it is set to become the frontier with the European Union. To uncover its secret landscape, with a troubled past and an uncertain future, Garrett Carr travelled Ireland's border on foot and by canoe. This invisible line has hosted smugglers and kings, runaways, peacemakers, protestors and terrorists, revealing the tumult of a border, changing the way we look at nationhood, land and power. From encounters with border dwellers to uncovering rituals, hidden pathways and ancient monuments, this book presents the borderland as a unique realm of its own, and asks what it holds for the future.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWinner of the the British Academy Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding 2018 Winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2017 Winner of the 2017 Highland Book Prize Winner of the Saltire Society Book of the Year 2017 Shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2018 Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2017 Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize 2017 Shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award 2018 Shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2017 Shortlisted for the National Circle of Critics Award 2017 When Kapka Kassabova was a child, the borderzone between Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece was rumoured to be an easier crossing point into the West than the Berlin Wall so it swarmed with soldiers, spies and fugitives. On holidays close to the border on the Black Sea coast, she remembers playing on the beach, only miles from where an electrified fence bristled, its barbs pointing inwards toward the enemy: the holiday-makers, the potential escapees. Today, this densely forested landscape is no longer heavily militarised, but it is scarred by its past. In Border, Kapka Kassabova sets out on a journey to meet the people of this triple border - Bulgarians, Turks, Greeks, and the latest wave of refugees fleeing conflict further afield. She discovers a region that has been shaped by the successive forces of history: by its own past migration crises, by communism, by two World wars, by the Ottoman Empire, and - older still - by the ancient legacy of myths and legends. As Kapka Kassabova explores this enigmatic region in the company of border guards and treasure hunters, entrepreneurs and botanists, psychic healers and ritual fire-walkers, refugees and smugglers, she traces the physical and psychological borders that criss-cross its villages and mountains, and goes in search of the stories that will unlock its secrets. Border is a sharply observed portrait of a little-known corner of Europe, and a fascinating meditation on the borderlines that exist between countries, between cultures, between people, and within each of us.Trade ReviewIn Kassabova's study these tragic borderlands are brought to life with poetic grace, and her interaction with their inhabitants confers a haunting power on her journey -- Colin ThubronThe literature of place is crying out for a talent as magical, brilliant and original as Kapka Kassabova's. She writes with taut intelligence and poetic intensity, a shrewd and grown-up worldliness and a rapt sense of all that isn't in the world, a combination that I've been looking for this entire century. When Border arrived in my life, I felt as if I'd been struck by lightning -- Pico Iyer'Kassabova writes with such energy and style that you feel she could visit the dullest place on earth and make it burst into life. But she has found somewhere extraordinary, full of dazzling human stories played out against a ceaseless round of brutal wars and shifting empires. A brilliant and hugely satisfying book' -- Philip MarsdenShe has achieved something remarkable: a book about borders which makes the reader feel sumptuously free. An effect achieved by the way she moves between literary borders so gracefully: travelogue and existential drama; political history and poetry -- Peter PomerentsevLike the places it describes, this book holds you in a kind of mysterious electrical charge. It hums with the mystery, superstition, and terrible beauty of a place crushed between man-made borders but also defiantly announcing its sacred otherness. I can't stop thinking about it -- Frances Stonor SaundersThis is a dazzling work of art and reportage, an iridescent book, glittering with stories of horror, comedy and actual magic. Kassabova is a brilliant traveller, an astonishing interviewer and writer with a near clairvoyant understanding of the real lives of men and women. In Border, she follows some fierce, sorcerous current which carries us all towards frontiers; there is an urgent and engrossing story here -- Horatio Clare[A] brilliantly diverse and skilful writer... [Kassabova's] narrative nonfiction is almost renowned... Fascinating -- Exciting Books Coming in 2017 * Big Issue *[This] beautiful, tragic and universal new book may just be the most important you read in this year of Brexit * Skinny *This smokily intense and quaveringly powerful travel book is about the wild, forested and tragic borderland between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. Kassabova [...] has the travel-writer's core skill of acute sensitivity to her physical environment, together with a poet's turn of phrase and a poet's emotional rawness... Kassabova is, above all, sensationally good at meeting extraordinary people, and that is surely the travel writer's essential kit... [Border] is aromatic, lyrical, disturbing - and very, very fine -- James McConachie * Sunday Times *[Kassabova] has an old-fashioned gift for storytelling... Border brilliantly reveals the effects of a millennium of kaleidoscopic shifting. Thoughtful and impressive -- Sara Wheeler * Observer *With the deft touch of a historian, she connects the voices of those who have struggled to cross borders across the centuries... Kassabova is a poet, and her writing is beautiful - moving and witty by turns... In a world ever more divided, ever more threatened by Mexican walls, restrictive new passports and fear of the unknown, we need books like this -- Alev Scott * Financial Times *[Kassabova's] hunger and fascination with this little known region has resulted in Border, one of those books that elevates travel writing to art... Mystery, of course, is at the heart of her book. The mystery of marginal points and marginal people -- Teddy Jamieson * Herald *[A] timely and moving book... Her writing powerfully weaves history, folklore, reportage and personal reflections... Border is illuminating, passionate and sometimes funny. It brilliantly ventriloquizes the voice of this mysterious, plundered part of Europe, revealing the ironies of nationalism and the profound way in which ethnicity can affect the human psyche * Country Life *A marvellous book about a magical part of the world... It shows more starkly than anything else I have read what the border did to the people who lived along it, and how its legacy endures... Kassabova, a poet, writes lyrically and effectively about the astonishing natural beauty of much of the area... as [she] arcs across countries and centuries in an effort to free herself from the enchantment of this strangest of regions. In the end she leaves, but the spell remains -- Mark Mazower * Guardian *Written with compassion and intelligence, the prose here is as clear and fresh as a mountain stream. This is a timely and important book, and I can't recommend it highly enough -- Doug Johnstone * Big Issue *An accomplished poet and polyglot, [Kassabova] writes exquisite prose, dripping with scorn for the politicians whose bone-headed rules and careless greed despoil the land and ruin the lives of those who still live there -- Edward Lucas * 1843 Magazine *Kapka Kassabova's poignant, erudite and witty third book, border, brings hidden history vividly to light... She treads lightly but distinctly through the stories she tells, displaying an enviable mixture of rapport with her subjects and detachment from their peculiarities... It is a "melancholy miracle", writes Ms Kassabova, that "odd ragged bits of this one-rich human tapestry" survive. They could have no better chronicler * Economist *An exceptional travel book that's every bit as good as the writing of Patrick Leigh-Fermor * Sunday Times *This is an exceptional book, a tale of travelling and listening closely, and it brings something altogether new to the mounting literature on the story of modern migration... the strength of Kassabova's book lies in the skill with which she interweaves the narrative of [today's refugees] into that of the inhabitants of the borderlands, giving the context for their lives in a way that the dozens of current books on the travels and travails of modern refugees seldom do... an important reminder that refugees are not a separate species, moving inexorably away and towards, but part of a vast, complicated pattern of history... Border makes for timely reading -- Caroline Moorehead * New Statesman *[A] valuable book [that] brings to life not just a neglected region but also one of the themes of our time: borders, open and closed... A book of our time -- Simon Kuper * Spectator *A magical book... Kassabova captures the lingering ethnic tapestry of the region, its pagan-like religions and fire-walking cults, in poetic prose of mystical elegance * Scottish Legal News *Kapka Kassabova is a modern Scheherazade - a dazzling writer who tells stories as if her life depended on it... As this wonderful book goes on, a kind of deep background music begins to be heard: themes and images which recur and weave all the voices into a pattern... Spell binding -- Neal Ascheron * Scottish Review of Books *Like a sharp-eyed magpie, [Kassabova] travels across the borders in this place with three alphabets, picking up intriguing titbits of history and folklore... With a lightness of touch, [...] the tragedies, ironies and curiosities of this often-overlooked corner of Europe, with hotchpotch of peoples, are captured by Kassabova's vivid phrasings -- Robbie Millen * The Times *Passionately lived... [Kassabova's] descriptions of place are lyrical and gorgeous... but it's her encounters with people which bring the book to life... She lets the echoes in the stories she hears tell a wider story -- James Robinson * Literary Review *[Kassabova] seques seamlessly between myth and history, memoir and reportage. Border is a great [travel book]. But it's more than that: it's a big-hearted book for what seems an increasingly mean-spirited age. It spells out the human consequences of nationalism and totalitarianism; of divisions and fences and walls designed to keep "them" from "us" -- Michael Kerr * Daily Telegraph *[A] remarkable personal exploration of the borderland between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey. The Bulgarian-born poet converses with strangers - guards, treasure-hunters, botanists, refugees, smugglers - to release unusual, vivid, poignant human stories. She comes to it with a poet's sensibility and a journalist's curiosity. A wonderful, luminous combination * New Internationalist *Haunting... a splendid book -- William Armstrong * Hurriet Daily News *Kassabova writes beautifully about the millions of refugees exchanged between Greece and Turkey -- Sameer Rahim * Prospect Magazine *An extraordinary book... There are moments of dynamism and hope in these pages... It's to be hoped that Kassabova, with her glorious prose and open heart, always takes care but never abandons the quest [of storytelling] * Geographical Review *This exceptional book about a journey through Bulgaria's dark, often magical borderland is every bit as good as the travel writing of Patrick Leigh Fermor * Sunday Times *She picks up intriguing bits about folklore, history and modern living [and] has a light touch... Vividly written * The Times *Border is not just a topical book but an urgent one, for is spells out the human consequences of nationalism and totalitarianism; of a narrow focus on identity and ethnicity; of divisions and fences and walls designed to keep 'them' from 'us' * Telegraph *Kassabova's Border is quite possible the book of the year. Both timely and timeless, this travelogue around the outer reaches of Europe has Cold War history echoing into our modern times, where desperate refugees attempt to cross those all-too important lines on a map. It is beautifully poetic, heart-breaking, and humane. The book will transform you * Skinny *Exquisite -- Featured in round up of best books on Europe’s troubled politics * Independent *Her lyrical memoir-cum-history of borderlands among Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey, has only become more topical, as the Turkish-Greek land crossing for migrants is increasingly as treacherous as the Aegean -- Book of the Year selected by AE Stallings * TLS *Not just topical, but urgent, for it spells out the human consequences of nationalism and totalitarianism; of a narrow focus on identity and ethnicity; of divisions and fences and walls designed to keep "them" from "us" -- Michael Kerr * Sunday Telegraph *[Kassabova] reveals how people define borders - and how they define us in turn...a startlingly relevant read * Wanderlust *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''One of the great books of our century . . . It speaks with a human voice'' Susan SontagTristes Tropiques begins with the line ''I hate travelling and explorers'', yet during his life Claude Lévi-Strauss travelled from wartime France to the Amazon basin and the dense upland jungles of Brazil, where he found ''human society reduced to its most basic expression''. His account of the people he encountered changed the field of anthropology, transforming Western notions of ''primitive'' man. Tristes Tropiques is a major work of art as well as of scholarship. It is a memoir of exquisite beauty and a masterpiece of travel writing: funny, discursive, movingly detailing personal and cultural loss, and brilliantly connecting disparate fields of thought. Few books have had as powerful and broad an impact.Trade ReviewA magical masterpiece -- Robert ArdreyOne of the great books of our century ... It speaks with a human voice -- Susan Sontag

Read more less

Book Synopsis'The next Bill Bryson' New York TimesTwo tigers cannot share the same mountain - Chinese proverbDespite geographical proximity, cultural similarities, and shared status as highly powerful nations, China, Korea and Japan love to hate each other. Why?In search of an answer, Michael Booth journeys across East Asia to explore the mutual animosity that frequently threatens to draw the world into all-out war. From misjudged cake decorations to electoral meddling, contradictory origin myths to territorial disputes, this deeply researched and hugely entertaining book shows that no conflict is too small to keep the fires of neighbourly hostility burning.'A fine summary of East Asian cultures and conflicts...useful, fact-packed and readable' SpectatorTrade ReviewIn this enjoyable and information-packed travelogue…[Booth] is a terrific observer… his chatty style disarms his subjects and entertains the reader. It is a hard act to pull off when dealing with tragedy. His deft, accurate summaries of the contentious history in each place work well. -- Michael Sheridan * Sunday Times *Three Tigers, One Mountain is a fine summary of East Asian cultures and conflicts, with a chummy, affable tone and profound interest in its subject… useful, fact-packed and readable. -- Mike Cormack * Spectator *In this entertaining travel book…[Booth] becomes our genial host on a tour of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China… It’s a credit to Booth’s skill as a writer that he keeps us both entertained and informed in every chapter. -- Jasper Becker * Literary Review *[Booth is] an engaging travel companion. Not only is he serious about his reportage, but he is also a fine descriptive writer… the journey [in Three Tigers, One Mountain] is well worth the ticket. -- Christian Tyler * Oldie *Four years after Booth exploded the myth of the Scandi utopia, he enhances his reputation for getting to the truth of societal attitudes with this exploration of why, despite sharing much, the giants of East Asia - China, Japan and Korea - just don't get on. * i *

Read more less

Book SynopsisW.G. Sebald was born in Wertach im Allgäu, Germany in 1944. He studied German language and literature in Freiburg, Switzerland and Manchester. In 1966 he took up a position as an assistant lecturer at the University of Manchester, and settled permanently in England in 1970. He was Professor of European Literature at the University of East Anglia, and the author of The Emigrants, which won a series of major awards, including the Berlin Literature Prize, the Heinrich Böll Prize, the Heinrich Heine Prize and the Joseph Breitbach Prize; The Rings of Saturn, and Vertigo. W.G. Sebald wrote in his native tongue, German, and worked closely with his translator, Michael Hulse, to translate his work into English. He died in December 2001.Michael Hulse has translated Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther and Jacob Wasserman's Caspar Hauser, as well as the contemporary German authors Luise Rinser, Botho Strauss and Elfriede Jelinek. He is also an award-Trade ReviewA novel of ideas with a difference: it is nothing but ideas. Framed around the narrator's long walks in East Anglia, Sebald shows how one man looks aslant at historical atrocity. Formally dexterous, fearlessly written (why shouldn't an essay be a novel?), and unremittingly arcane; by the end I was in tears -- Teju Cole * Guardian *A great, strange and moving work * James Wood, Guardian *The finest book of long-distance mental travel that I've ever read * Jonathan Raban, Times Literary Supplement *A desperate intensity of feeling is thrillingly counterpoised by the workings of a wonderfully learned and rigorous mind * Sunday Times *Sebald is surely a major European author...he reaches the heights of epiphanic beauty only encountered normally in the likes of Proust * Independent on Sunday *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn exhilarating and deeply moving story of one man's attempt to sea kayak the areas of the Shipping Forecast, perfect for fans of The Salt Path and Attention All ShippingForeword by Charlie Connelly, author of Attention All Shipping The Shipping Forecast has been described as the UK's national lullaby: a source of dependability and calm in our often chaotic world, it has charmed millions of listeners and aided generations of seafarers across the decades. No stranger to weathering a storm after living with a rare life-limiting condition and facing the death of his brother, avid kayaker Toby Carr set out to explore the areas of the Forecast.On a journey that took him to the harshest and most tranquil stretches of our sea, Toby found the real people, places and stories behind the familiar names and imagined environments of the well-loved BBC broadcast. From the wildness and peace of the sea, looking back at the land, Toby hoped to gain the strength and balance he knew nature could provide and to discover what anchors us to each other.Written by Toby's sister Katie from his extensive notes and recordings after his untimely death, Moderate Becoming Good Later is both an epic adventure - sometimes choppy, constantly moving - and a personal voyage of discovery that includes old friends and new, plenty of wildlife, and the ever-present sea.Trade ReviewHeartbreaking, and utterly wonderful. A journey that had to be made, and a story that had to be told. * Alex Bescoby, adventurer and author *The sort of adventure I've often dreamed of late at night, with additional layers of poignancy and love. * Alastair Humphreys, adventurer and author *A very moving tale, in every way imaginable. * Tristan Gooley, author of The Natural Navigator *What a special book. A manifesto for living, loving and laughing full-heartedly, whatever life's storms and forecasts bring. A guide and companion for us all, whether we are embarking on voyages of our choosing or dealing with waves and storms dealt to us. * Sarah Outen, adventurer and author *Toby was a true adventurer, undaunted by rough seas or the waves his own health lashed upon him. Like the broadcast shipping forecast, this is a voyage against the clock. Toby's outrageously fearless spirit and good humour will not fail to uplift and spur you on to pursue your own adventures. * Zeb Soanes, broadcaster and author *You can almost taste the sea air reading Moderate Becoming Good Later. This incredibly moving story weaves together one family's story and shows the sense of hope and love that can be found through adventure even when things don't go according to plan. It's a privilege to be allowed a glimpse into life offshore Britain through Toby and Katie's words. * Elise Downing, adventurer and author of Coasting *The perfect book for our times: from tragedy and stormy seas, come hope, connection, and elemental awe. Exceptionally beautiful and moving, a book that conjures connection to people, places and the ocean with the immediacy, grace and clarity of a kayak cutting through sea spray. * David Gange, historian and author of The Frayed Atlantic Edge *An incredible read of adventure and life that will draw you in and inspire you to pursue your own journeys. Katie has truly honoured her brother with this gripping recount. * Jenny Tough, adventurer and author of Tough Women Adventure Stories and Solo *Moderate Becoming Good Later is a wonderfully salty adventure, a quixotic odyssey driven by equal parts grit and good humour around the stormy shores of western Europe. But what really elevates this above other travellers' tales is the astonishing and moving story of the book's completion - a remarkable collaboration across the ultimate gulf. * Tim Hannigan, travel, nature and history writer *As enduring as any ancient Scandinavian saga, this is a candidly honest tale of a risk-laden, yet existentially meaningful and powerful sea kayaking project. The descriptive and eloquent storytelling had me entranced from their first lines. I read this wonderful book often with a lump in my throat, many tears in my eyes and a racing pulse, because of the pure adventure of his inspirational physical and emotional endeavours. * Nick Ray, expedition sea kayaker and author *What a brave and tenderly written account of one man's fortitude in coming to terms with a shortened life using visits by kayak to the familiar shipping forecast sea areas as "stepping stones" on his final journey. * Peter Jefferson, broadcaster and author of And Now The Shipping Forecast *Courageous, uplifting and exquisitely written, Moderate Becoming Good Later is a tale of the indefatigable resilience of the human spirit, the unbreakable bond of family, the life-affirming kindness of strangers and the perpetual freedom of exploring the unknown. It's a testament to how a shared passion can break down borders - when kinship with our peers from abroad is needed more than ever. I'll never hear The Shipping Forecast the same way again. * Si Willmore, journalist, author and editor *Toby Carr's epic adventures by kayak fill with colour and life those familiar yet mysterious areas of the Shipping Forecast. Thrilling and moving in equal parts, it should inspire us all to get out into the world and embrace its beauty. * Wyl Menmuir, author *Moderate Becoming Good Later is not just the brave and revelatory account of Toby Carr's long kayak around the Shipping Forecast, it is also a sensitive and nuanced portrayal of the author's emotional journey as he paddled from Fair Isle to FitzRoy, from Thames to Trafalgar. One of the most moving and affecting books I've read in a long time, it is profound, thoughtful, fascinating and, above all, beautiful. * Charlie Carroll, author of The Lip, No Fixed Abode and The Friendship Highway *Engaging, well-observed, well-written and full of life wisdom. Anyone who liked The Salt Path will love this book. * Nic Compton, photographer, sailor and author of The Shipping Forecast: A Miscellany *A mesmerising and poignant story that shares how the sea can bring together people, places and purpose. This is a must-read book not just for sea kayakers, but for anyone looking for inspiration to make the most out of life. * Doug Cooper, author of Scottish Sea Kayaking and coach *It's rare to read a book that links place and motivation so clearly. Toby's story of seizing life's opportunities despite obstacles should inspire all of us to not let life pass us by. And the love of his sister Katie in finishing this story for Toby is profoundly moving. * Ash Bhardwaj, travel journalist and broadcaster *A fascinating account of the people, places and conditions encountered in paddling a kayak around some of the areas covered by the well-loved Shipping Forecast. * Storm Dunlop, author of The Weather Almanac *Armchair travel at its best. And I say "armchair" because I was very happy to just read this one, with all its thrills and spills, without feeling the need to go and do it myself. At times, I could practically feel the ocean churning beneath me, and my queasy stomach doing somersaults. A unique and heart-warming adventure, and beautifully written too. Bravo. * Simon Parker, journalist and author of Riding Out *A beautiful, poignant but ultimately uplifting reminder to us that life is an adventure and we need to snatch every minute before it's gone. * Gavin Knight, author of The Swordfish and The Star *

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book Synopsis"I see the hut, its weathered state a focus for an artist's eye; worn and brown amid white-gold sand, a shape to break blue sea and sky ..." Cumbria, Spain, Devon and France - a beautiful poetry collection written on location. Hilda Cochrane sets out on a journey filled with humour and a magical sense of place.

Read more less

Book SynopsisKuki Gallmann was born near Venice and moved to Kenya in 1972 with her husband and young son. Following their deaths, she set up the Gallmann Memorial Foundation to promote new ways of combining development and conservation, and to provide sponsorship for the education of Kenyans. I Dreamed of Africa was first published in 1991 to international acclaim and it became a world-wide bestseller. Her subsequent books, African Nights and Night of the Lions, were also published by Penguin. She lives in Kenya with her daughter and her dogs.Trade ReviewPowerful, poetic, unbearably moving: I wept * Clare Francis *'This is a book that belongs on a shelf with the memoirs of Olive Schreiner, Elspeth Huxley, Beryl Markham – and with Out of Africa Judith ThurmanMs Gallmann captures perfectly the magic of Kenya, creating an almost overwhelming picture of beauty and drama, pain and joy, death and resurrection . . . Vividly reminiscent of Isak Dinesen * New York Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisBorn in Sofia, Kapka Kassabova grew up under the last years of Cold War Communism in the 1980s, emigrated after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and has loved and hated her homeland in equal measure ever since. Thirty years later, as Bulgaria was joining the EU club, Kapka revisited the country of her childhood and her own relationship to it to discover just how much it - and she - had changed. With the irreverence of an expat, the curiosity of a visitor, and the soul of a poet, Kassabova brings to life the past and present of Bulgaria, as well as probing the complicated connection between place and mind, between geography and fate.Trade ReviewA fascinating book - at once evocative, disturbing and chock-a-block full of charm -- Jan MorrisA unique memoir of what it was like to grow up in a Communist satellite country. In the mosaic of books about the bad old days, this book is the piece that was always missing. Now we have it, and it shines -- Clive JamesNot many books on the travel shelves have the force of revelation, but this one does ... Kapka Kassabova leads us into a country most of us have hardly read about with an elegant assurance, an acid wit and a heart-rending precision that can make you see the world quite differently. This book is a treasure -- Pico Iyer

Read more less

Book SynopsisHEARING BIRDS FLY is Louisa Waugh''s passionately written account of her time in a remote Mongolian village. Frustrated by the increasingly bland character of the capital city of Ulan Bator, she yearned for the real Mongolia and got the chance when she was summoned by the village head to go to Tsengel far away in the west, near the Kazakh border. Her story completely transports the reader to feel the glacial cold and to see the wonders of the Seven Kings as they steadily emerge from the horizon. Through her we sense their trials as well as their joys, rivalries and even hostilities, many of which the author shared or knew about. Her time in the village was marked by coming to terms with the harshness of climate and also by how she faced up to new feelings towards the treatment of animals, death, solitude and real loneliness, and the constant struggle to censor her reactions as an outsider. Above all, Louisa Waugh involves us with the locals'' lives in such a way that we comeTrade ReviewWith a skill and art quite extraordinary for a first book ... the reader is drawn into the world she describes through the warmth of her friendships and the sympathy and generosity with which she treats all aspects of her subject. I put the book down finally with a sense of absolute satisfaction, having spent the last few hours beneath the spell of a writer of real integrity and power * Chris Stewart *Her great strength is telling the villager s' stories, which she does with an engaging blend of charm, directness, humour and awe at the power of nature... It is a mark of Waugh's success that the romantic terra incognita she describes, helped by unsentime * TLS *An elegy to a remarkable part of the world. * SUNDAY TIMES *Waugh has captured the starkly beautiful landscapes in restrained descriptive passages, but the most fascinating aspect of her narrative is her portrayal of the villagers and the nomads she meets higher up the mountains... HEARING BIRDS FLY is an extraordi * OBSERVER *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTreading Ancient Trails Seeking solace after the death of her husband, Kim Letson discovers a passion for long- distance walking. Through historical and cultural prisms, accompanied by memories, curiosity, and friends, Letson connects ancient and modern journeys. The Coast to Coast, Cornish Coastal Path, and Ridgeway in England offer opportunities for adventure. As a pilgrim, she explores a Portuguese Camino from Porto to Santiago, the Pilgrims’ Way from Winchester to Canterbury, and then the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome. Readers share both the wonders and challenges of the journeys, from mountain passes to wind-swept beaches, from Gothic cathedrals to mysterious stone henges. Kim Letson has created a curative elixir with Canterbury and Other Tales, a sumptuous blend of adventure-memoir, escape, loss and healing shared in concise, engaging vignettes. Letson’s prose shuttles us into each trek, as though granting exclusive peeks into the author’s personal travel diary. A series of stories you won’t want to end. Bill Arnott – poet and bestselling author. This book vividly brings back the joys of walking and riding many of the same pathways and facing some of the same challenges which Letson presents with unvarnished candour. While the journeys do not all carry the title of pilgrimage, they all share the pilgrim sense of an inner search – a need to fill the void of the tragic loss of her husband and mother with both a rationale for her own existence and her relationship with the world. Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed, The dear repose for limbs with travel tired; But then begins a journey in my head, To work my mind, when body’s work’s expired: William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 27,” 1609 Paul Chinn – author of the Lightfoot Guidebooks. Kim Letson has done it again. In this latest collection of journeys, she shares intimate moments, challenges of the terrain, encounters with both fellow travellers and those who host pilgrims such as her. Walking alongside shadows of the past, she describes intriguing details and the broad sweep of historical context for her travels and surroundings. Her insights are often humorous and sometimes wry, but it is her accomplishments and tenacity which leave us in awe and just a little envious. Christine Dickinson – historian and author. Like their namesake, these tales are much more than a guided tromp across some of Europe’s best treks and pilgrimages. They are also reflections on love, friendship, loss and what it means to be human. Letson shares lyrical glimpses of the landscapes and history she encounters: the uphill grinds, the wet boots, the soaring cathedrals and sweeping views. In her deft hands we are changed. Jeanette Taylor – historian and author.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Okavango Delta, Botswana: a lush wetland in the middle of the Kalahari desert. Aged 19, Peter Allison thought he would visit for a short holiday before going home to get a 'proper job'. But Peter fell in love with southern Africa and its wildlife and before long had risen to become a top safari guide.In Don't Run, Whatever You Do, you'll hear outrageous-but-true tales from the most exciting safaris. You'll find out when an elephant is really going to charge, what different monkey calls mean and what do in a face off with lions. Sometimes the tourists are even wilder than the animals, from the half-naked missing member of the British royal family to the Japanese amateur photographer who ignores all the rules to get the perfect shot.Don't Run, Whatever You Do is a glimpse of what the life of an expert safari guide is really like.Trade ReviewHis misadventures make Don't Run, Whatever You Do an absorbing read. . . . The material is rich, and Allison is a gifted storyteller. And the only thing stranger than African fiction is African truth * National Geographic Adventure *An endless supply of campfire stories * Scotsman *He writes beautifully and viscerally about the rhythms of bush life... This is an absorbing book: as a reader you can't help but get caught up in the author's infectious enthusiasm for Africa's beauty and its beasts. On turning the last page, booking to first plane out to Botswana was most tempting. * TNT Magazine *Peter Allison's engaging account of his life as a safari guide in the Botswana bush complete with flatulent zebras and accident-prone tourists. * Wanderlust *Compelling, hair-raising, hilarious. Allison makes you feel like you are there with him as he experiences the awesome * Good Book Guide *Allison's infectious enthusiasm for both the African bush and his job showing its wonders to tourists is readily apparent * Booklist *An engaging and at times eccentric account of life as a safari guide in Botswana * The Bookseller *After reading this entrancing memoir, an African safari may move to No. 1 on your travel wish list. The only catch is you'll want the author as your guide * Chicago Sun-Times *If you love animals and are thinking of heading out on a safari, you must first read DON'T RUN, Whatever You Do. * Organic Spa magazine *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn her mid-twenties, shortly before her father's death, Davina Quinlivan moved from her family home in west London to begin a transitory life in the countryside: here she felt restless and rootless, stuck between Deep England and the technicolour memories of her family's migration story. Beginning in colonial India and Burma, from the indigenous tribes from which the women in Quinlivan's family are descended, and reaching the streets of Southall and Ealing, the stories of her ancestors persisted in the tales, the language, the cooking and culture of her family. Quinlivan conjures a place between continents and worlds in a lyrical debut of migration, and homecoming, marking the arrival of an exceptional new voice.Trade Review'Davina Quinlivan is a writer of rare gentleness and insight: In Shalimar she winds us into the skein of her extended diasporic family, expressing the complexity of identity today. Deftly she weaves back and forth in time, as she braids these memories, in a sustained, observant, poetic act of attention, and love.' Marina Warner; 'Evocative and heartfelt.' Helena Lee; 'A haunted archive, a casket full of memories, myths and dreams. A strange and startling cargo of ancestors, brought vividly to life by a magician.' Jeff Young; 'Shalimar is dreamlike and full of sensation. Quinlivan constellates memory, place and belonging with rarely-seen subtlety.' Jessica J. Lee

Read more less

Book SynopsisEnglish spas have a long and steamy history, from the thermal baths of Aquae Sulis in Bath to the stews of Southwark, the elegant pump rooms of Cheltenham and Buxton to the Victorian mania for hydrotherapy and Turkish hammams. 'The Secret History of English Spas' is an informative but light-hearted social and cultural history of our obsession with drinking and bathing in spa waters. It tells the stories of the rich, the famous, the poor and the sick, all of whom visited spas in hopes of curing everything from infertility to leprosy and gonorrhoea. It depicts the entrepreneurs who promoted these resorts – often on the basis of the most dubious scientific evidence – and the riotous and salacious social life enjoyed in spa towns, where moral health might suffer even as bodies were cleansed and purged. And yet English spas also offered an ideal of civility and politeness, providing a place where social classes and sexes could mingle and enjoy refined entertainments such as music and dance – all part of the fashionable pastime referred to as ‘taking the waters’.Table of ContentsContents Map Chapter 1: Salus per Aquam: The Origins of English Spas Chapter 2: Taking the Plunge: The Development of Spaws in England Chapter 3: Bladud’s Realm: Beau Nash in Bath Chapter 4: Sense of Humours: Bathing and Drinking the Waters Chapter 5: ‘All the Amusements’: A Season at Bath Chapter 6: The Wells of Scandal: Men (and Women) Behaving Badly Chapter 7: I Do like to be Beside the Seaside: a Dose of Vitamin Sea Chapter 8: The Water Cure: The Victorian Mania for Hydrotherapy Chapter 9: A Lot of Hot Air: Vapour Pumps and Turkish Baths Chapter 10: Leisure and Luxury: The Modern Spa Appendix 1: Definition of Mineral Waters Notes Bibliography Picture Credits Index

Read more less

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

Read more less

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

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisAfter living in China for five years, and learning the language, Peter Hessler decided to undertake an even more complicated endeavor: he acquired his Chinese driving licence. An eye-opening challenge, it enabled him to embark on an epic journey driving across this most enigmatic of countries. Over seven years, he travelled to places rarely explored by tourists, into the factories exporting their goods to the world and into the homes of their workers. Full of extraordinary encounters and details of life beyond Beijing, it is an unforgettable, unique portrait of the country that will likely shape all our lives in the century to come.Trade ReviewModern China has seldom been better explained than by Peter Hessler in this imaginative and illuminating book, one that gives us a steering wheel-up view of the country's giddying economic and social transformation. -- Tim Butcher, author of Blood RiverFunny and brilliantly written. I have not read anything quite like it before on China. -- Chris PattenA masterly, learned, entertaining, kind and endlessly fascinating panorama of life in 21st-century China. -- Jan MorrisAn extraordinary, genre-defying book . . .Beautifully constructed . . . Hessler's reportage is vivid. * * Daily Telegraph on Oracle Bones * *Highly entertaining, hugely informative. * * Good Book Guide * *[Hessler] has a sensitive eye for the sort of detail that can bring his account vividly alive even to those of us who have never been near the Far East, as well as an easy conversational style that almost makes you feel you have met him yourself. -- Nicholas Bagnall * * Sunday Telegraph * *[Hessler] is very entertaining...he is engaged without being patronising, and offers insights into a country undergoing phenomenal change. -- Judith Rice * * Guardian * *Impressively researched. ... [Hessler] writes with the authority of experience [yet] retains a delighted and delightful wonder. -- Laura Silverman * * Daily Mail * *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA remarkable and moving history of the Soviet Union told through the people who lived through it. 'The most passionate, engaging and historically profound account of the Soviet empire that I have read' Michael Ignatieff Imperium is the story of an empire: the constellation of states that was submerged under a single identity for most of the twentieth century - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. From the arrival of Soviet troops into his hometown in Poland in 1939, to just before the Berlin Wall came down, as the USSR convulsed and died, Kapuscinski travelled thousands of miles and talked to hundreds of ordinary Soviet people about their extraordinary lives and the terror from which they were emerging. It is a classic of reportage and a literary masterwork by one of the great writers and witnesses of the twentieth century. 'Enchanting... A triumphant combination of bleak history and black comedy' The New York Times Book Review 'When our children's children want to study the cruelties of the late twentieth century...when they wonder why revolution after revolution betrayed its promises through greed, fear and confusion, they should read Ryszard Kapuscinski' Wall Street Journal

Read more less

Book SynopsisTravels with Herodotus records how Kapuscinski set out on his first forays to India, China and Africa with the great Greek historian constantly in his pocket. He sees Louis Armstrong in Khartoum, visits Dar-es-Salaam, arrives in Algiers in time for a coup when nothing seems to happen (but he sees the Mediterranean for the first time). At every encounter with a new culture, Kapuscinski plunges in, curious and observant, thirsting to understand its history, its thought, its people. And he reads Herodotus so much that he often feels he is embarking on two journeys the first his assignment as a reporter, the second following Herodotus' expeditions.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOn the same day that his wife gave birth to twins, Anthony Doerr received the Rome Prize, an award that gave him a year-long stipend and studio in RomeFour Seasons in Rome' charts the repercussions of that day, describing Doerr''s varied adventures in one of the most enchanting cities in the world, and the first year of parenthood. He reads Pliny, Dante, and Keats the chroniclers of Rome who came before him and visits the piazzas, temples, and ancient cisterns they describe. He attends the vigil of a dying Pope John Paul II and takes his twins to the Pantheon in December to wait for snow to fall through the oculus. He and his family are embraced by the butchers, grocers, and bakers of the neighbourhood, whose clamour of stories and idiosyncratic child-rearing advice is as compelling as the city itself.This intimate and revelatory book is a celebration of Rome, a wondrous look at new parenthood and a fascinating account of the alchemy of writers.Trade Review‘Anthony Doerr is dazzling in this book, in the way he celebrates the joys as well as the pain of being a parent and in love, being a writer and being in Rome, reminding us that certain experiences never grow stale when they are expressed through the fresh eyes of a real writer.’ Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran ‘Anthony Doerr found himself in the perfect Eternal City with the eternal Paternal Problem: how to care for two beautiful newborn twins while still doing his work as a writer and student and observer. The result is a funny, precise, touching account of cultural barricades crossed and fatherly exhaustions overcome; a story of the universalities of parenting and the specificities of Roman life that will lift the heart of every parent and delight the mind of every lover of Italy.’ Adam Gopnik, author of ‘Through the Children's Gate and From Paris to the Moon’

Read more less

Book SynopsisJosé Saramago takes us on a thrilling literary journey through the land, history and culture of his native country.From the misty mountains of the north to the southern seascape of the Algarve, the travels of Nobel Laureate José Saramago are a passionate rediscovery of his own land. Embarking in the autumn of 1979, Saramago resolves to travel to Portugal, as well as through it. As his country emerges from an authoritarian dictatorship, he traverses his beloved homeland, neglecting its grand 'sights' in favour of Romanesque churches and cobweb-ridden chapels, determined to find belonging in the landscape which went on to inform his greatest works of fiction.Trade ReviewNo portico, farmhouse or ancient church is left undisturbed in Saramago's readable, if labyrinthine, tale of travelling across his homeland in 1979 -- Samuel Muston * Independent *None but a Portuguese could have written this book; none but Saramago could produce travel writing like this. It is a wholly appropriate tribute to that astonishing juncture where the sea ends and the land begins -- Henry Sheen * New Statesman *A book that...is a search for his country's heartbeat... The writing is, as always with Saramago, dense: a labyrinth of meaning and innuendo. But what is clear is that he loves Portugal. -- Simon Blow * Independent on Sunday *One feels privileged to be in his company... This book is a joy to pick up and a delight to read -- Hugh O'Shaughnessy * Tablet *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''I remember seeing the lion looking yellow and heavy-headed and enormous against a scrubby-looking tree in a patch of orchard bush and P. O. M. kneeling to shoot him. Then there was the short-barrelled explosion of the Mannlicher and the lion was going to the left on a run, a strange, heavy-shouldered, foot-swinging cat run. I hit him with the Springfield and he went down...''Returning to his love of the African continent and its wildlife, Hemingway captures brilliantly the thrill and excitement of the hunt for big game. In some of the most vivid, intense and evocative travel writing, and memoir of his career, he describes the vastness of Africa and the brutality of its ''sports'', showing even in this slim volume why he was one of the great American writers of the twentieth century.Trade ReviewA fine book on death in the African afternoon. . .The writing is the thing; that way he has of getting down with beautiful precision the exact way things look, smell, taste, feel, sound * New York Times *If he were never to write again, his name would live as long as the English language, for Green Hills of Africa takes its place beside his other works on that small shelf in our libraries which we reserve for the classics * Observer *This book is an expression of a deep enjoyment and appreciation of being alive - in Africa. There is more to it than hunting; it is the feeling of the dew on the grass in the morning, the shape and colour and smell of the country, the companionship of friends ... and the feeling that time has ceased to matter * TLS *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn his eightieth year, Colin Thubron takes a dramatic and often treacherous journey from the Amur's secret source to its giant mouth, covering almost 3,000 miles.'Thubron on top form. Richly detailed, immaculately written and full of insights and encounters that bring a complex corner of the world to life' MICHAEL PALINRising in the Mongolian mountains and flowing through Siberia to the Pacific, the Amur River forms the tense border between Russia and China. This is the most densely fortified frontier on Earth.Harassed by injury and by arrest from the local police, Thubron makes his way along both the Russian and Chinese shores. By the time he reaches the river's desolate end, a whole, pivotal world has come alive.'A masterpiece' William Dalrymple'Unforgettable' Antony Beevor'An epic journey along a frozen, fraught frontier... Fascinating' The Times'This book is a triumph' Daily TelegraphWinner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award 2022Trade ReviewA miraculous late-style masterpiece, the equal of any of [Thubron's] earlier works, which will cement his reputation as one of our greatest prose writers in any genre... The Amur River is not just a literary triumph in itself, it is also a demonstration of the continued power of great travel writing -- William Dalrymple * Daily Telegraph *A fascinating read packed with curiosities and incident * The Times *Thubron's journey makes for a gripping read...with fascinating political insight * Sunday Times *Excellent... Thubron's observations are perceptive and lightly delivered * Literary Review *[Thubron] summons both landscape and people with nuanced sensitivity... Here is a writer at the top of his game, one from whom those toiling on the lower slopes have much to learn * Spectator *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA captivating new book from Wade Davis - winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Into the Silence - that brings vividly to life the story of the great Río Magdalena, illuminating Colombia's complex past, present, and future.For Wade Davis, Colombia was the first country that captured his heart and gave him license to be free. Here, he tells of his travels on the mighty Magdalena, the river that made possible the nation. Along the way, he finds a people who have overcome years of conflict precisely because of their character, informed by an enduring spirit of place, and a deep love of their remarkable land.Braiding together memoir, history and journalism, Magdalena is at once an absorbing adventure through a spectacular landscape and a kaleidoscopic picture of Colombia as it stands on the verge of a new period of peace.'Outstanding... Davis tells epic tales of passion, violence and ambition with tremendous narrative verve' Sunday Times, Books of the Year'A wonderful evocation of a lifetime's travel in Colombia' Spectator, Books of the YearTrade ReviewAnyone who wishes to understand this mysterious corner of the world deserves Magdalena. It is a capacious, generous and illuminating book -- —Juan Gabriel VásquezAfter all our agonies, Wade Davis, through the evocative power of his writing and the clarity of his understanding, gives us all reason to once again love Colombia. That is the wonder of his book, which in many ways reads as a love letter to a nation -- Héctor Abad, author of OblivionDavis stocks his lively narrative with piquant characters, dramatic historical set pieces, and lyrical nature writing. The result is a rich, fascinating study of how nature and a people shape each other * Publishers Weekly *Shimmering... Never wincing from dark histories, yet never abandoning hope, Wade Davis shows us why Colombia stole his heart as a young traveller and holds it still -- Kate Harris, author of Lands of Lost BordersA magnificent, hugely important book, breathtaking in its scope and vision … a masterpiece … an epic journey across the nation and into its beating heart …essential reading for anyone wanting to understand Colombia -- Anna Lewington

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Peter's own words: These are the stories of a not particularly brave safari guide . . . As a child I knew that I was afraid of heights, and while uncomfortable admitting any phobia, was glad to have only one. Then I met my first crocodile. Now I know that there are at least two things in the world that unhinge my knees with fear, sour my breath, and overwhelm me with an urge to squeeze my eyes shut and wake up somewhere else. In this companion to Don't Run, Whatever You Do, Peter Allison encounters ravenous lions, stampeding elephants and lovesick rhinos. He recounts his hairy, and often hilarious, adventures in a private section of South Africa's famous Kruger National Park and in Botswana's Okavango Delta, where desert animals from the Kalahari make their homes next to aquatic creatures like hippos, and where the unusual becomes commonplace. It is written with a wonderful, gentle humour evocative of Gerald Durrell. One can almost feel the heat from the campfire flames as the stories are told.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a book about stories – old stories of people and place, and of the more-than-human world. A vivid account of a journey through the Scottish Highlands, The Bone Cave follows a series of folktales and myths to the places in which they’re set. Travelling mostly on foot, and camping along the way amid some of Scotland’s most beautiful and rugged landscapes, Dougie Strang encounters a depth of meaning to the tales he tracks – one that offers a unique perspective on place, culture, land ownership and ecological stewardship, as well as insights into his own entanglement with place. Dougie sets out on his walk at the beginning of October, which also marks the start of the red deer rut. The bellowing of stags forms the soundtrack to his journey and is a reminder that, as well as mapping invisible landscapes of story, he is also exploring the tangible, living landscape of the present.Trade Review'This is a glorious read: measured, insightful, wistful and replete with meaning... a gem of a book' * Scottish Field *'The Bone Cave is a meditation on the move; a listening to the voices of bird, wind and river, a holding onto tree and stone, a watching of deer. And in the fullness of presence to this landscape, it summons the spirits that inhabit story and place. As Strang pitches his tent across the Highlands, kindling fire and memory, he draws us into the enfolded layers of landscape, wildlife and folktale that tell us who we were and yet might be. Wise and wonderful' -- Merryn Glover, author of The Hidden Fires'I loved The Bone Cave. I loved tracing Dougie Strang’s journey through the Highlands on maps and in my mind. The places he describes come alive through his attentive, respectful presence, his affinity for the landscape, and his ability to infuse his travelogue with history, stories, memoir and folklore. It is an inspiring and beautiful book' -- James Macdonald Lockhart, author of Wild Air and Raptor'Dougie Strang will guide you through the "carrying stream" of places, stories and deep time. Go confidently! You are in the hands of one of Scotland’s finest navigators' -- Alastair McIntosh, author of Soil and Soul and Poacher’s Pilgrimage'Much more than a travelogue... it's the author's exploration of the connections between the places he visits and elements of Scottish folklore that make this such a special book' * Undiscovered Scotland *'A mesmerising journey through remote Scotland, full of myth and self-reflection' -- David Robinson * Books from Scotland *'a sensitive exploration of land, time, modernity and masculinity... ache[s] with a profound, not-quite-lost connection to Earth' * The New Statesman *'Although the book shines with folk tales and quirky lore, it doesn’t shy away from the real tragedy of the Highlands, where people remain dispossessed and land-ownership and ecological destruction remain a brutal fact of life' * Bella Caledonia *'A fascinating insight into the ways in which landscape and folklore are intertwined here in Scotland... The ways in which these stories are linked to the landscape - and to the daily lives of the people who used to inhabit it - are expertly teased out by Strang' -- Roger Cox * The Scotsman *'A unique perspective on place, land, ownership and ecological stewardship... a beautiful book' * Oban Times *'Excellent book' -- Kathleen Jamie'A lovely well-written book... I really enjoyed my dip into Scottish folklore, the landscape that houses its memories and the tramping of the author’s boots on soggy ground' -- Mark Avery

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Guardian Best Nature Book of the Year The magic and mystery of the woods are embedded in culture, from ancient folklore to modern literature. They offer us refuge: a place to play, a place to think. They are the generous providers of timber and energy. They let us dream of other ways of living. Yet we now face a future where taking a walk in the woods is consigned to the tales we tell our children. Immersing himself in the beauty of woodland Britain, Peter Fiennes explores our long relationship with the woods and the sad and violent story of how so many have been lost. Just as we need them, our woods need us too. But who, if anyone, is looking out for them?Trade Review‘Extraordinary… Written with a mixture of lyricism and quiet fury…Fiennes’s book winningly combines autobiography, literary history and nature writing. It feels set to become a classic of the genre.’ * Observer *‘Steeped in poetry, science, folklore, history and magic, Fiennes is an eloquent, elegiac chronicler of copses, coppicing and the wildwood.’ * Sunday Express *‘Peter Fiennes writes with a piercingly urgent tone as he examines what he sees as the desperate state of our trees.’ * BBC Wildlife *‘Fascinating…This passionate book should inspire readers to plant more trees, support woodland campaigns and participate in active conservation.’ * BBC Countryfile Magazine *‘Lyrical, angry and often very funny. I loved it.’ -- Tom Holland‘Rich, personal, evocative, rousing.’ -- Robert Penn, author of Woods: A Celebration and The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees‘A passionate ramble through Britain’s complicated relationship with its woodland.’ * Daily Mail *‘A joy of a book and a delight to read.’ * The Great Outdoors *‘A wonderful wander into the woods that explores our deep-rooted connections – cultural, historical and personal – with the trees.’ -- Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground‘A tender hymn to the trees, a manifesto for a woodland society, a contemporary gazette of ideas and attitudes radiating into the future like annual rings from the original pith… In this lyrical, informative, unashamedly arboreal propaganda, one man’s walk in the woods can inspire a generation.’ -- Paul Evans, author of Field Notes from the Edge‘Peter Fiennes really can see the wood for the trees – he blends mythology, natural history and a sense of righteous anger to produce a paean of praise to our ancient woodlands and modern forests, and the life support system they provide.’ -- Stephen Moss, author of Wild Kingdom: Bringing Back Britain’s Wildlife‘Passionate and thoughtful in exactly the way the best nature writing should be…the woodlands of Britain have found their perfect advocate.’ -- Hugh Thomson, author of The Green Road into the Trees‘Fiennes is the best of guides, gently, eloquently and with a fierce humour telling a sad story – relating chapters of fascinating detail to brighten his tale and quoting the poets as he goes.’ -- John Wright, author of A Natural History of the Hedgerow

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn To the Island of Tides, Alistair Moffat travels to - and through the history of - the fated island of Lindisfarne. Known by the Romans as Insula Medicata and famous for its monastery, it even survived Viking raids. Today the isle maintains its position as a space for retreat and spiritual renewal.Walking from his home in the Borders, through the historical landscape of Scotland and northern England, Moffat takes us on a pilgrimage in the footsteps of saints and scholars, before arriving for a secular retreat on the Holy Isle. To the Island of Tides is a walk through history, a meditation on the power of place, but also a more personal journey; and a reflection on where life leads us.Trade Review[To the Island of Tides] is often beautifully evocative of places, the past and the landscape . . . compelling and revealing * * The Times * *Written with both wisdom and love . . . This is a wonderfully rich and consoling book . . . and it is very good indeed * * Scotsman * *Extraordinary . . . a triumph . . . This book is an intriguing account of St Cuthbert and his times, a lyrical testimony to the wonder of nature and a beguiling account of the power of place in all lives. But . . . it becomes something more, something sublime in the realm of memoir . . . There is a powerful, natural beauty in Moffat's writing * * Herald * *This is a book written by a living bard of the Borders, who has walked his way into knowledge and found real magic with his eyes wide open * * Country Life * *This pilgrimage incorporates local lore and biblical references, touching self discovery and a Saint's life. Above all it is a homage to the importance of family and of belonging * * Wee Review * *Praise for The Hidden Ways: Our ancestors walked everywhere, unless they lived by a river or loch and travelled by boat, or were rich enough to keep a horse or pony. So Moffat will walk. He will walk over much of Scotland, following, sometimes struggling to follow, old roads that are now sometimes hard to find. This book is the story of a dozen such walks. This is a splendidly rich book - a treasure-house of information, memories and speculation -- ALLAN MASSIE * * Scotsman * *This fascinating and compelling narrative will leave you spellbound and in no time you'll be looking for your hiking boots and waterproofs . . . An absorbing and thought-provoking addition to the literature of Scotland's byways * * Countryfile * *The Hidden Ways makes us think about Scotland and its history in a completely different way . . . A truly fascinating read * * Sunday Mail * *Retracing and walking Scotland's lost paths makes Alistair Moffat reflect upon the country's history in a different sort of way . . . From Perthshire to Ballachulish, Moffat explores the land in a personal, inquisitive way and searches for evidence of the people who helped shape it * * Outdoor Photography * *A treasure trove of stories * * The Great Outdoors * *

Read more less

Book SynopsisDriven by a yearning to experience the vast skies and frozen beauty of the North, Gavin Francis goes in search of the people living along the northern limits of Europe. From the first Greek explorers to the Vikings to modern polar adventurers, he travels through history and legend to find out why - and how - we are drawn to the North. Francis''s encounters in the Arctic teach him as much about that sense of longing for the North, and of belonging to the North as the seafarers, warriors, monks and poets whose stories he follows. In Shetland, the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard and Lapland, Francis finds a way of life characterised by both peace and unease, threatened as it is by the shadow of climate change and the tense, ever-increasing importance of Arctic Europe in global power politics.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Crackles and sparks with life like an exploding box of Diwali fireworks' -William Dalrymple'One can only envy Monisha Rajesh as she embarks on this epic journey' -Tim ParksWhen she was a child, Monisha Rajesh's family uprooted to Madras in the hope of making India their home, but soon returned to England with a bitter taste in their mouths. Two decades on, Monisha turns to a map of the Indian Railways and takes a page out of Jules Verne's classic tale, embarking on an adventure around India in 80 trains, covering 40,000km - the circumference of the Earth.Her journey takes her on toy trains, luxury trains, Mumbai's infamous commuter trains and even a hospital on wheels. Along the way she meets a kaleidoscope of characters and discovers why the railways are considered the lifeline that keeps the country's heart beating. Most of all, she hopes that these 80 train journeys will lift the veil on a country that has become a stranger to her.Trade ReviewA wonderfully wry and witty debut. Crackles and sparks with life like an exploding box of Diwali fireworks.I love train trips and I love travelling around India. If you do too, then this book is a wonderful companion.A great big lovely shambling train ride of a book, offering wonderful views, hilarious interludes, all sorts of dodgy characters and some very peculiar smells, all for the one ticket.One can only envy Monisha Rajesh as she embarks on this epic journey through the vast tangle and bewildering extension of India's railways. The ticketing bureaucracy is mad, the travelling companions infinitely varied, the pleasure, discomforts and revelations such that she is guaranteed what even the wriest and most sceptical traveller yearns for: some deeper knowledge of oneself.A promising debut from a writer to watch. I am stung with jealousy, not just for the epic journey she makes rediscovering her Indian heritage on ordinary trains, luxury trains, Mumbai's packed commuter trains, even a toy train but just for the talismanic power of such a ticket: the idea that you could have one in your hand tomorrow and just go! * Condé Nast Traveller *This beautifully written book is a witty and insightful traveller's-eye view of the country from inside its rail network. It is also an account of a life-shaping journey. An assortment of mustachioed maharajas, wicked wedding-crashers, pinstriped Sikhs, indignant inspectors, spotty know-it-alls in Che Guevara T-shirts and crafty rickshaw drivers bursts from the pages... all of this is done with the lightest of touches and a dry wit. There are laugh-out-loud moments at which seasoned and fresh Indian travellers will cringe with recognition: male snoring on the trains; the drastic effects of the Imodium pill; 87 very good reasons why you should never eat Indian bacon. This excellent debut will stand the test of time. Just like India's railways. * Sunday Telegraph *Remember Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited, about train journeys in India? Here's the book version. You'll be booking a flight by the final page. * Company *Amusing and thoughtful by turns, Rajesh has sidestepped the navel-gazing pitfall common to many wannabe travel writers and piped up with an informative, yet fresh and engaging voice that we will surely be hearing more of. Rating: 9/10 * The Press Association *A rollicking account of Modern India at express pace: from the good sprawling temples and scrapping tigers to the bad groping passengers, churning stomachs and officious ticket inspectors. Rajesh's quick-fire writing is unflinchingly frank, with details packed in as tightly as passengers on Mumbai's commuter trains. A lively read. * Lonely Planet Magazine *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''It has been hand-planted by Tsarinas and felled by foresters. It has been celebrated by peasants, worshipped by pagans and painted by artists. It has self-seeded across mountains and rivers and train tracks and steppe and right through the ruined modernity of a nuclear fall-out site. And like all symbols, the story of the birch has its share of horrors (white, straight, native, pure: how could it not?). But, maybe in the end, what I''m really in search of is a birch that means nothing: stripped of symbolism, bereft of use-value . . . A birch that is simply a tree in a land that couldn''t give a shit.''The birch, genus Betula, is one of the northern hemisphere''s most widespread and easily recognisable trees. A pioneer species, the birch is also Russia''s unofficial national emblem, and in The White Birch art critic Tom Jeffreys sets out to grapple with the riddle of Russianness through numerous journeys, encounters, histories and artworks that all sharTrade ReviewA natural-political exploration of Russian relationships with the birch tree across past, present, and future. Moving from the Tsarina's garden to the Soviet Gulag, from Chernobyl to Lake Baikal, The White Birch is elegant and intrepid, like its subject -- Daisy Hildyard, author of The Second Body and Hunters in the Snow'Genuinely revelatory' -- Sophy Richards * TLS *There could be no better guide through the thickets of meaning, history and imagery that entangle with the birch tree than figurative forester Tom Jeffreys -- Melissa McCarthy, author of Sharks Death SurfersA beautiful and profound meditation on the way landscape shapes art and life. I was entranced by The White Birch, a book that comes close to encapsulating the vast enigma of Russia in the form of a single tree -- Alex Preston, author of Winchelsea and As Kingfishers Catch FireI love this book. Jeffreys admits he doesn't know where he's going at every turn, but trusts his instinct - and his ear for a good story - as he tries to untangle myth from fact . . . This is the great joy of The White Birch -- Mark Hooper * Caught by the River *

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisRecords the author's journey to Sardinia and back in January 1921. This title reveals author's delighted response to a landscape and people and his uncanny ability to transmute the spirit of place into literary art.Table of ContentsSea and SardiniaNote on the Penguin Lawrence EditionChronologyIntroductionNote on the TextAdvisory Editor's NoteSea and SardiniaAppendix: Maps of Sardinia, Sicily and southern Italy (c. 1921)Explanatory NotesGlossary of ItalianFurther Reading

Read more less

Book SynopsisAbridged editionIt had never been done before. Not in 4000 years of Japanese recorded history had anyone followed the Cherry Blossom Front from one end of the country to the other. Nor had anyone hitchhiked the length of Japan. But, heady on sakura and sake, Will Ferguson bet he could do both.The resulting travelogue is one of the funniest and most illuminating books ever written about Japan. And, as Ferguson learns, it illustrates that to travel is better than to arrive.Trade ReviewA fantastically offbeat odyssey brimming with irony, poetry and insight * * Scotsman * *Beneath that thick skin lies a poetic soul: he may drink too much, and end up sweaty and alone in sad 'Love Hotels', but he can write about Shintoism, history, nature and architecture with real sensitivity. Hitching allows him to give us a fresh and funny perspective on a nation that can be both mysterious and "beyond surreal" * * Sunday Times * *I enjoyed Hokkaido Highway Blues immensely - Mr Ferguson is a very gifted writer -- Bill BrysonLoaded with insights and highly original observations, this is overall an outstanding piece of travel writing. That so much of it is side-splittingly funny helps * * Insight Japan * *A mild stroke of genius . . . it's difficult not to warm to his free-wheeling style. It always sounds stupid to describe something as "laugh-out-loud-funny", but parts of his concisely-sectioned travelogue are savagely hilarious * * Sunday Herald * *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA stunning companion to Elly Griffiths' beloved crime series, the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, and a photographic journey through magical Norfolk.Norfolk, a land of peaceful broads, marshy fens, sprawling coastline and shady brecks, is the home of Dr Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist. A place steeped in folklore and history, visibly shaped by the lives of those who have come before, it has become an integral character in Elly Griffiths' bestselling crime series.In this book Elly takes us through a year in the Norfolk landscape, featuring the fascinating locations that have inspired her series and her writing. From seascapes to farmlands, wetlands to woodlands, churches to cottages, this beautiful book captures Norfolk in all its glorious variety and is the perfect gift for any Elly Griffiths fan.

Read more less

Book Synopsis*WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION* A major Channel 4 series and a Sunday Times bestseller ‘A real adventure’ ObserverOne of the greatest adventures of the twenty-first century. 4,250 miles, nine months, six countries, one vast continent . . . on foot. In 2013, Levison Wood decided to take on a challenge that nobody had attempted before: to trek the length of the Nile on foot. The challenge was immense. Starting at the source of the Nile in the forests of Rwanda and concluding at its mouth on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, Levison recounts his epic journey and looks back on the extraordinary people he met, the natural wonders he encountered and the unique wildlife he came face-to-face with in some of the region’s most remote and spectacular locations.Thoughtful, inspiring and dramatic throughout, Walking the Nile is not only a tale of one great adventure, but a vibrant picture of an ever-changing continent. ‘Thoughtful and informative, an extremely good book’ Daily Mail

Read more less

Book SynopsisFamously referred to as part of the ''Axis-of-Evil'', North Korea remains one of the most secretive and mysterious nations in the world today. A series of manmade and natural catastrophes have also left it one of the poorest. When the fortress-like country recently opened the door a crack to foreign investment, cartoonist Guy Delisle found himself in its capital Pyongyang on a work visa for a French film animation company, becoming one of the few Westerners to witness current conditions in the surreal showcase city. Armed with a smuggled radio and a copy of 1984, Delisle could only explore Pyongyang and its countryside while chaperoned by his translator and a guide. But among the statues, portraits and propaganda of leaders Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il - the world''s only Communist dynasty - Delisle was able to observe more than was intended of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered. His astute and wry musings on life in the austeTrade ReviewDelisle has drawn an unforgettable picture of Pyongyang * Time *Combining a gift for anecdote and an ear for absurd dialogue, Delisle's retelling of his adventures makes a gently humorous counterpoint to the daily news stories about the axis of evil, a Lost in Translation for the Communist world. Delisle's simple but expressive art works well with his account, humanizing the few North Koreans he gets to know and facilitating digressions into North Korean history and various bizarre happenings involving brandy and bear cubs. Pyongyang will appeal to multiple audiences: current events buffs, Persepolis fans and those who just love a good yarn * Publishers Weekly *News coverage from North Korea is scant - the regime of the world's last true totalitarian state is not exactly welcoming to foreign journalists. But a new graphic novel gives a rare, tragicomic, glimpse into everyday life in the drabbest of world capitals * Independent *The reigning king of the graphic travel memoir... Delisle's curiosity and amusement at the country's bizarre relationship with foreign visitors is equally funny and fascinating * Guardian, *Top 10 Funny Comic Books* *

Read more less

Book SynopsisHave you been taken to what you''ve been assured is the perfect house deep in the French countryside, only to find there''s no electricity or running water? Gone to the doctor with a nasty cough, and been diagnosed with a rather more personal complaint? Walked into an half-empty restaurant, only to be told that it''s complet?If the answer to any of the above is oui, Talk to the Snail is the book for you.Find out how to get served in a restaurant; the best way to deal with French hypochondria; learn the language of love, sex and suppositories (not necessarily in that order); it''s all here in this funny, informative, seriously useful guide on how to get what you really want from the French.With advice on essential phrases and bons mots to cover all eventualities, and illustrated with witty real-life anecdotes, Talk to the Snail is a book that no self-respecting Francophile - or Francophobe - can afford to be without.DoTrade ReviewEdgier than Bryson, hits harder than Mayle * The Times *Done more for the Entente Cordiale than any of our politicians * Daily Mail *Must have comedy-of-errors diary about being a Brit abroad * Mirror *Clarke renders the flavor of life in Paris impeccably: the endless strikes, the sadistic receptionists, the crooked schemes by which the wealthy and well-connected land low-rent apartments... Clarke's eye for detail is terrific * Washington Post *Call him the anti-Mayle. Stephen Clarke is acerbic, insulting, un-PC and mostly hilarious * San Francisco Chronicle *

Read more less

Book SynopsisShortly after the 2005 London bombings, Tahir Shah was thrown into a Pakistani prison on suspicion of spying for Al-Qaeda. What sustained him during his terrifying, weeks-long ordeal were the stories his father told him as a child in Morocco.Inspired by this, on his return to his adopted homeland he embarked on an adventure worthy of the mythical Arabian Nights, going in search of the stories and storytellers that have nourished this most alluring of countries for centuries. Wandering through the medinas of Fez and Marrakech, criss-crossing the Saharan sands and tasting the hospitality of ordinary Moroccans, he collected a treasury of traditional stories recounted by a vivid and eccentric cast of characters: from master masons who work only at night to Sufi wise men who write for soap operas and Tuareg guides addicted to reality TV. Himself a link in the chain of scholars and teachers who have passed such tales down from father to son, mother to daughter, Shah reveTrade ReviewInspired and funny...this beguiling book shows that there has never been a better time to value the free-thinking storytelling tradition within Islam * INDEPENDENT *A refreshingly innocent and exuberant travel narrative about his quest to understand how stories work, where they come from and if they still matter * SUNDAY TIMES *A refreshingly innocent and exuberent travel narrative about his quest to understand how stories work, where they come from and if they still matter * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Let us turn our faces towards Asia'', exhorted Lenin when the long-awaited revolution in Europe failed to materialize. ''The East will help us conquer the West.'' Peter Hopkirk''s book tells for the first time the story of the Bolshevik attempt to set the East ablaze with the heady new gospel of Marxism. Lenin''s dream was to liberate the whole of Asia, but his starting point was British India. A shadowy undeclared war followed. Among the players in this new Great Game were British spies, Communist revolutionaries, Muslim visionaries and Chinese warlords - as well as a White Russian baron who roasted his Bolshevik captives alive. Here is an extraordinary tale of intrigue and treachery, barbarism and civil war, whose violent repercussions continue to be felt in Central Asia today.Trade Review'The stuff of a dozen adventure movies . . . everything a ripping good yarn should be' * New York Times *'A classic example of truth outpacing fiction' * Times Literary Supplement *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Edge of Silence isa profoundly moving and poignant book that explores the author's hearing loss as he journeys in search of endangered British native species. Neil's journey takes him to the mountaintops and islands of the Scottish Highlands to the marshes of England and the hills of Wales.

Read more less