Travel writing Books

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Book SynopsisThis volume tells the story of David Chaffetz's experience of Afghanistan shortly before the Soviet invasion. His account is an intimate portrait of the Afghan people and the vast landscape which surrounds them.

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Book SynopsisFocusing on scenes as broad as a citywide arts festival and as small as a single paving stone in a cobbled walk, this title renders Lisbon from a perspective that varies between wide-eyed and knowing. It reveals the author's struggles with (and love of) the Portuguese language as well as an awkward meeting with Nobel laureate Jose Saramago.Trade Review"A good part of the reason I feel so passionately positive about The Moon, Come to Earth is how well Graham is able to convey his compassionate, generous, and comic spirit to the reader. Unfailingly endearing, whether he's trying to figure the number of cobblestones in Lisbon or trying to find an ATM to buy tickets for a futebol match, Graham becomes the reader's traveling surrogate in the best sense. But this book is as much about parenthood as it is about Portugal, with Graham's daughter Hannah as the most constant figure in the narrative. The portrait of this father-daughter relationship is about as lovely as l've seen." - Robin Hemley, author of Do-Over!"

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Book SynopsisThe rugged land between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus is the front line of a fascinating and formidable clash of cultures; Russia on one side, the predominantly Muslim mountains on the other.

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Book SynopsisIn this volume, Gorden MacCreagh recounts his adventures with eight "Eminent Scientificos" as they set out to explore the Amazon in 1923 without any idea of what lies ahead of them: rapids, malaria, monkey stew and "dangerous savages".

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A delightful and immersive guide to the city of Rome and the philosophical tradition it embodies concerning the good life, or as we would say today, the meaning of life. Travelers seeking ancient wisdom among the city’s famous buildings and works of art could ask for no better companion.” * Donald Robertson, author of 'How to Think Like a Roman Emperor' *“I have been a Roman for over half a century, but I’ll be sure to use Samuelson’s Guide the next time I visit my native city. I will look at it quite differently!” * Massimo Pigliucci, author of 'How to Be a Stoic' *“Rome as a Guide to the Good Life immerses us in glorious works of art and architecture. But in Rome, every aspect of life, from Raphael to food to gesticulation, is an art. Rather than guiding us through the labyrinth of the city’s streets, Samuelson guides us through the labyrinth of life, more daunting than any streetscape.” * Ingrid D. Rowland, author of 'Giordano Bruno' and 'The Collector of Lives' *“In this elegantly written book, Samuelson takes us by the elbow and leads us to his favorite places and works of art in the Eternal City, spinning stories about their history, pointing out their beauties and contradictions, and reflecting on their philosophical meanings. Whether you travel to Rome with this book as your guide, or read it from the comfort of an armchair, Samuelson teaches us ancient lessons that can enrich our modern lives.” * Lori Erickson, author of 'Holy Rover,' 'Near the Exit,' and 'The Soul of the Family Tree' *"A stimulating, thoroughly readable mix. . . For the seasoned Romanist as well as a first-time visitor, this is an excellent vade mecum for our times. All will read it with profit and enlightenment: it will certainly accompany my next trip." -- Sir Michael Fallon * Classics for All *"A breezy and eclectic tour of the Eternal City in which [Samuelson] introduces readers to both physical and philosophical delights.” * WORLD *"The book stands out in its dual appreciation for Rome as a locus for the sweet life and the life of the mind. . . . The author’s wit, enthusiasm, and willingness to turn his head and squint his eyes while looking at what seemingly has been picked over by centuries of cicerones makes reading Rome as a Guide like being on the most engaging of walking tours." * ClassicalEd Review *"As he leads us through the city, Samuelson introduces the largest philosophical questions and shares what the legacy of Roman culture has to teach us by way of answer. The result is an erudite guide to the city’s heritage that offers eloquent instruction on how to conduct ourselves and make meaning in the face of life’s enduring uncertainties.”​ -- James Mustich * In the Company of Books newsletter *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Philosophy as a Guide to la Dolce Vita I Build Not Thereon 1 Die on Your Journey: The Question of Rosa Bathurst’s Tombstone 2 Build on Tragedy: The Humility of Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath 3 Put Down Roots in the Uprooted: The Piety of Bernini’s Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius II Remember Death 4 Be Not for Yourself Alone: Cicero in the Ruins of the Forum 5 Take the View from Above: Marcus Aurelius in the Saddle III Reap the Day 6 Conquer Your Fear: Lucretius versus the Roman Triumph 7 Dare to Be Wise: Horace’s View of the City IV Love and Do What You Will 8 Hold Humanity Sacred: Seneca or Augustine versus the Colosseum 9 Crash through the Floor: The Mysteries of the Basilica of San Clemente 10 Make a Golden Ass of Yourself: The Metamorphoses in Agostino Chiti’s Villa V Make a Palace of Your Memory 11 Be the Conversation: The Philosophy of Raphael’s School of Athens 12 Unlock the Soul in Your Soul: Giordano Bruno in the Campo de’ Fiori Conclusion: What Resists Time Is What’s Ever Flowing Acknowledgments Appendix: Rome by Way of the Winged Eye Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Sitting down with this collection of tales is setting off on a series of adventures in which the reader is enticed to share vicariously one exceptional experience after another. The experiences are presented in succinct, entertaining essays and striking images--some poignant, some humorous, some bordering on the incredible, and all informative. Susan Post and Michael Jeffords speak from decades of professional experience and a lifelong passion for natural history that has endowed them with an exceptional receptiveness for nature's curious events, those events rarely witnessed and those that often pass unnoticed and unappreciated."--James B. Nardi, author of Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners"Michael Jeffords's and Susan Post's book is unique in its rich compilation of entertaining narratives and beautiful photographs of natural history phenomena across the world. Their beautiful descriptions of the adaptations and behaviors of creatures large and small incorporate important issues such as invasion of exotic species, extinction, environmental change, and habitat destruction and will inspire others to look more closely at the natural world."--Bonnie Styles, Director Emeritus, Illinois State Museum System

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFeldman successfully shows how deeply the political and religious dimensions are intertwined and enacted when guides and pilgrims navigate a sacred landscape marked with politically potent barriers. This kind of material makes A Jewish Guide in the Holy Land a wonderful case study to use in teaching about pilgrimage and tourism in a space marked by multiple narratives of competing nationalisms. * American Ethnologist *The book is recommended for anyone who has ever visited the Holy Land or worked with groups in it. * Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations *A comprehensive tour of the implications, challenges and irritations of Christian tourists guided by US-born or Sabra Jewish Israelis sharing a common, often violent history but from unequal power positions – a journey to the mutual other. In a wonderful playful way - in the most serious sense of the word – he describes his own and other guides' paradigmatic experiences as holders of the keys" to Christian pilgrims' experience of the Holy Land. All take part in a journey exploring theology, religion, politics and human nature in an enormously complex field of encounter. An intense and sometimes breathtaking, sometimes very funny, learning experience for every reader - Jewish and Christian, religious and nonreligious, pilgrim or skeptic. -- Professor Christian Staffa * Evangelische Akademie zu Berlin *Here, the author chronicles his experiences shepherding tourists, mostly Protestants, on pilgrimages to the Holy Land. . . . A unique lens through which to view the conflicted Promised Land. * Kirkus Reviews *One of the personal points that he makes is that guiding Christian pilgrims and tourists contributed towards his development of his Israeli identity. It is interesting that working myself in this specialized industry also made me more aware of my Palestinian identity and in thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that it is the "Land" that we both share. Quite a bit of the Old and New Testament writing; often enough, is expressed metaphorically. In other words, what was written was not always what was meant. The Old Testament writers and Christ himself expressed themselves in parables, allegories, and proverbs, drawing images from the land and its culture. To me it is clear that this shared land that gave rise to two national narratives, can and must incorporate these narratives. It is truly a one Land with two Nations and three Monotheistic Religions. -- Hani Abu Dayyeh * Near East Tours, President *Table of Contents1. How Guiding Christians Made Me Israeli2. Guided Holy Land Pilgrimage—Sharing the Road3. Opening Their Eyes: Performance of a Shared Protestant-Israeli Bible Land4. Christianizing the Conflict: Bethlehem and the Separation Wall5. The Goods of Pilgrimage: Tips, Souvenirs, and the Moralities of Exchange6. The Seductions of Guiding Christians7. Conclusions: Pilgrimage, Performance, and the Suspension of Disbelief

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFeldman successfully shows how deeply the political and religious dimensions are intertwined and enacted when guides and pilgrims navigate a sacred landscape marked with politically potent barriers. This kind of material makes A Jewish Guide in the Holy Land a wonderful case study to use in teaching about pilgrimage and tourism in a space marked by multiple narratives of competing nationalisms. * American Ethnologist *The book is recommended for anyone who has ever visited the Holy Land or worked with groups in it. * Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations *A comprehensive tour of the implications, challenges and irritations of Christian tourists guided by US-born or Sabra Jewish Israelis sharing a common, often violent history but from unequal power positions – a journey to the mutual other. In a wonderful playful way - in the most serious sense of the word – he describes his own and other guides' paradigmatic experiences as holders of the keys" to Christian pilgrims' experience of the Holy Land. All take part in a journey exploring theology, religion, politics and human nature in an enormously complex field of encounter. An intense and sometimes breathtaking, sometimes very funny, learning experience for every reader - Jewish and Christian, religious and nonreligious, pilgrim or skeptic. -- Professor Christian Staffa * Evangelische Akademie zu Berlin *Here, the author chronicles his experiences shepherding tourists, mostly Protestants, on pilgrimages to the Holy Land. . . . A unique lens through which to view the conflicted Promised Land. * Kirkus Reviews *One of the personal points that he makes is that guiding Christian pilgrims and tourists contributed towards his development of his Israeli identity. It is interesting that working myself in this specialized industry also made me more aware of my Palestinian identity and in thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that it is the "Land" that we both share. Quite a bit of the Old and New Testament writing; often enough, is expressed metaphorically. In other words, what was written was not always what was meant. The Old Testament writers and Christ himself expressed themselves in parables, allegories, and proverbs, drawing images from the land and its culture. To me it is clear that this shared land that gave rise to two national narratives, can and must incorporate these narratives. It is truly a one Land with two Nations and three Monotheistic Religions. -- Hani Abu Dayyeh * Near East Tours, President *Table of Contents1. How Guiding Christians Made Me Israeli2. Guided Holy Land Pilgrimage—Sharing the Road3. Opening Their Eyes: Performance of a Shared Protestant-Israeli Bible Land4. Christianizing the Conflict: Bethlehem and the Separation Wall5. The Goods of Pilgrimage: Tips, Souvenirs, and the Moralities of Exchange6. The Seductions of Guiding Christians7. Conclusions: Pilgrimage, Performance, and the Suspension of Disbelief

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe editors offer 33 carefully excerpted travel accounts that range chronologically from the 5th century CE . . . to the late 19th century . . . . The volume includes a literary foreword by Amitav Ghosh and a lucid and scholarly introduction by Khair. Each of these highly readable travel accounts is preceded by an informative editorial overview that looks at the traveler, the land through which the traveler journeys, and the purpose of travel (commerce, enlightenment, conversion, etc.). . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *Table of ContentsGeneral Introduction by Tabish KhairNote on the Process of Editing1. The 5,000 year old Poetry of Travel: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Kalidasa's Meghadutam and Tang Poetry.2. Three Chinese Scholars go 'West' to India (5th - 7th century)3. The Travels of a Japanese Mond (c. 838)4. A Merchant of Baghdad Reports on a Viking Funeral, A.D. 9225. The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon (c. 990)6. Alberuni's Defence of Hindu India (1030 AD)7. The Horizons of al-Idrisi in the 11th Century8. The Haj and Other Journeys of Ibn Jubayr (b. 1145)9. Two Chinese Accounts of the Early Mongols (1221 and 1237)10. The Pilgrimages of Lady Nijo (b. 1271)11. The Memoirs of a Syrian Prince-Polymath (b. 1273)12. Al-Abdari, the Disgruntled Traveller (c. 1290)13. Zhou Daguan: Notes on Angkor Wat and Cambodia (1297)14. Ibn Battutah, World Traveller (b. 1304)15. Navigating with ibn Majid (floreat 1460)16. A Korean Official's Account of China (1488)17. The Travel Memoirs of Babur (b. 1482)18. Piri Reis: The Voyages of a 'Corsair' (c. 1526)19. The Ambivalences of Leo Africanus (1526)20. The European Diaries of Uruch Beg (b. 1560)21. The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake (1623)22. An Arab Cleric in South America (1668-83)23. The Poetry of Basho's Road (1689)24. Mirza I'tesamuddin's Wonders of Vilayet (1765)25. Equiano's Voyage to Slavery and Freedom (1789)26. Dean Mahomed Writes from the Centre (c. 1793)27. African Muslim Slave Narratives of teh 19th Century28. An Indian Aristocrat in Africa and Europe (1803)29. The Diary of Queen Emma of Hawaii (b. 1836)30. Al Amraoui: Moroccan Ambassador to Europe (1860)31. Blyden: A Pan-Africanist's Voyage to Palestine (1873)32. The Shah of Iran in European Corridors (1873)33. An African-Arab Princess in Europe (1881)34. Malabari: A Love-Hate Affair with the British (1890)Bibliography

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Book SynopsisTravel in the Middle Ages is filled with the stories and adventures of those who hazarded hostile landscapes, elements, and peopleout of want or necessityto get from place to place. While most journeys involved very short distances (home to market or village to village), longer trips were not uncommon in the Middle Ages. Clergy were frequently called upon to act as ambassadors, messengers, and overseers to the various monasteries and churches within their jurisdiction. Merchants, agents of the king, and pilgrims were also frequently required to travel. While sharing the fascinating stories of these ordinary wayfarers, Verdon also relates colorful tales of the journeys of notable historical figures such as Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus.Part I of Travel in the Middle Ages addresses the means by which people traveled. This section contains vivid descriptions of modes of conveyance, road systems, sea lanes, tolls, taxes, and even pirates. Knowing the risksTrade Review“General readers, eager to be led on an armchair voyage through medieval times and terrain... [will] find it broadening.” —Choice“Verdon has written a fascinating and informative book that is generously interspersed with examples of medieval travel from a constellation of medieval sources....” —History: Reviews of New Books“Jean Verdon does a comprehensive job of accounting for most motives, methods, costs, durations, dangers, fears, landscapes, seascapes, fantasies, criticisms, and occasions of medieval travel from the fourth-century Bordeaux Pilgrim to Christopher Columbus. He admirably includes Arabic travelers and their wide Asian and African range, notably Ibn Battuta, as well as the great Jewish traveler, Ibrahim ibn Yakub.” —The Historian“Many times the title of a book promises more than its content delivers. Travel in the Middle Ages does just the opposite. Jean Verdon... offers the reader an original and scholarly work that has all the authority of learned and detailed research but that manages to read like an intriguing creative mystery novel. This book offers a rare and informative insight into the life and times of the European Middle Ages. It is recommended for specialist and non-specialist alike.”—Cistercian Studies Quarterly“...[E]ngrossing.... Through Verdon’s extensive and skillful use of historic accounts ... the reader learns how travelers coped." —ForeWord’s Top Ten“An original and scholarly work by Jean Verdon... and ably translated into English by George Holoch. An expertly researched history and thoroughly reader friendly descriptive text offers the students and non-specialist general reader alike, a rare and informative insight into life and times of Europeans several centuries past. Travel in the Middle Ages is seminal and enormously important contribution to Medieval Studies reference collections and reading lists." —Midwest Book Review"Many thanks to George Holoch, whose English translation makes it possible for us to read French medievalist Jean Verdon's book Travel in the Middle Ages. It is a well organized and well composed book. ...every story is told with wit and humor.... This book, like Verdon's other books on premodern pleasure, leisure, night, and drink, reflects the delightful nature of human history." —The Sixteenth Century Journal“…genial, lively, wide ranging… suitable for general readers and undergraduates…” —Historian

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive, annotated English translation of Eugène Delacroix’s most significant writings during his travels in Morocco, Algeria, and southern Spain, recording his observations of places, people, costume, landscapes, and architecture.Trade Review“The notebooks make for a fascinating read and will be of interest not only to specialists of Delacroix and Orientalism, but also to scholars of French colonialism in North Africa and travel writing more in general. Delacroix brought a keen eye and wrote avidly about what he saw in Tangiers and elsewhere in Morocco.”—Thomas Dodman H-France“Eugène Delacroix’s journey to Morocco in 1832 was one of the defining artistic moments of the nineteenth century, and it is brought to glorious life by Michèle Hannoosh’s compilation and translation. This work chronicles the artist’s journey and provides exceptional insights into his fascination with the ‘Orient’ and his motivations as a painter.”—John Zarobell,author of Empire of Landscape: Space and Ideology in French Colonial Algeria“Michèle Hannoosh’s 2009 edition of Delacroix’s journal contained a wealth of new information about an artist known for his brilliant insights as well as his magnificent works. Here she reveals to us Delacroix’s direct experience, lasting memories, and recognition of his new way of seeing. Hannoosh’s work is an inestimable contribution to our understanding of this great artist and of the nineteenth century.”—Beth S. Wright,author of Painting and History During the French Restoration“Delacroix scholars know Michèle Hannoosh through her stunning discoveries of unpublished Delacroix texts, her impeccable editions of his writings, and her compelling interpretations of his work. This volume reveals her to be a superb translator as well. It will be an invaluable resource for students, teachers, or simply admirers of Delacroix's work. The introduction and commentary provide crucial new insights for experts, and Hannoosh's translations are eminently readable, marvelously capturing the varying tone of Delacroix's prose, which ranged from direct observations to stylish commentary and from bitter sarcasm to genuine enthusiasm.”—David O'Brien,author of Exiled in Modernity: Delacroix, Civilization, and Barbarism“In this welcome and timely book, Hannoosh presents the first comprehensive, annotated English translation of Delacroix’s important and often cited multifarious observations of his voyages to the Maghreb and Andalusia. The translation is clear, crisp, and elegant as well as faithful to the artist’s original. The voice and thought of Delacroix are made vividly manifest in this splendid translation.”—Dorothy Johnson,author of David to Delacroix: The Rise of Romantic Mythology“Hannoosh’s unfailingly elegant translation and annotation are greatly enriched by her deep research into the wider social and aesthetic universe through which Delacroix moved, traveled, experienced the world, and thus refined his artistic sensibilities. This book is a visual and textual delight, and it contributes immeasurably to long-standing debates in art history and the historical sciences about ‘Orientalist’ representations of peoples and cultures on the Mediterranean’s southern shores.”—Julia Clancy-Smith,author of Mediterraneans: North Africa and Europe in an Age of Migration, c. 1800–1900 Table of ContentsContentsIntroductionMemories of a Visit to MoroccoA Jewish Wedding in MoroccoNotebooksMarginalia to “Memories of a Visit to Morocco”Notes and Drafts for “Memories of a Visit to Morocco”Appendix A: SupplementaryMaterial from the NotebooksAppendix B: History of the ManuscriptsBiographiesGlossary of Moroccan TermsBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisAn examination of how Yiddish writers, from Mendele Moycher Sforim to Der Nister to the famed Sholem Aleichem, used motifs of travel to express their complicated relationship with modernization.Trade ReviewThis book is deliciously subversive. Garrett demonstrates that the major writers in Yiddish, a language without its own territory, wrote as if their Jewish subjects lived and traveled freely at the center of the world; not on its margins, not in a ghetto, not in a valorized state of exile. - David G. Roskies, Jewish Theological Seminary; ""Garrett's work goes a long way towards conceptualizing and analyzing a phenomenon omnipresent in Yiddish short stories, novels, poetry, and drama, combining theoretical considerations of the journey in general and specific, nuaneed readings of Jewish journeys in particular."" - Jeremy Dauber, Columbia University; ""This kind of scholarship is vital for the further progress in Yiddish studies and its integration into the mainstream humanities."" - Misha Krutikov, Oxford Institute for Yiddish Studies

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Book SynopsisRebecca West's never-before-published 'Survivors in Mexico' brings to readers a work by a major 20thh-century author. An exhilarating exploration of Mexican history, religion, art and culture, it explores the inner lives of figures ranging from Corres and Montezuma to Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky.Trade Review"A volume that makes for luscious reading. A good portion of the book is West's survey and commentary on the collision of Spain and the Aztecs—among the most wondrous tales human history has to tell. . . . The book succeeds beautifully as a travelogue thanks to West's intellect and experience, with Mexico serving as the vehicle for it all. . . . Readers should come to Survivors in Mexico expecting less of Mexico and more of the vital mind of Rebecca West, but that's not a bad thing."—Sam Quinones, Washington Post Book World"An enthrallingly readable book. . . . Very few writers have managed to be more knowledgeable and profound in their thinking. . . . Survivors in Mexico is an astonishingly fertile book, full of sharp impressions and stimulating insights, whether West is pondering the question of why miners have been among the most mistreated of all laborers or speculating about the social and political effects of the Aztecs' lack of domesticated animals. . . . West's deeply personal take on Mexico is ultimately a meditation on the meaning of life itself."—Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisThe prize-winning author of Fire Season returns with the heartrending story of his troubled years before finding solace in the wilderness.Trade Review"Combin[ing] lyricism with dark humor to draw lines between grief and the uncanny... Connors' story [is] told with harrowing and fierce prose." "Affecting... Sharply funny... [Told with] subtle, evocative prose and depth of feeling." "Find room on your bookshelf next to Wallace Stegner and Norman Maclean; Philip Connors is here to stay." -- Alexandra Fuller "Philip Connors probably had to write All the Wrong Places for his own peace of mind; but in the process, he has given all readers a gift. As this sparklingly well-written memoir bores deeper toward the heart of something that cannot be understood, it keeps getting impossibly better, becoming that much more absorbing, that much more tender, more thoughtful, wry, and heartfelt. This is a marvelous book." -- Charles Bock "In this story of a dark, and at times darkly funny, decade of the soul, Philip Connors doesn't so much set out to solve the mystery of his brother's suicide as struggle to escape its gravitational field-struggle and fail, wretchedly at times, in life if not on the page. On the page, he has salvaged a memoir of great honesty and artistry from the aftermath of grief." -- Donovan Hohn "Philip Connors possesses a quietly fierce and mesmerizing prose style, a skeptical and witty mind, a huge heart, and a haunted soul. Add it all up and you have one of the best younger writers in America. The story of All the Wrong Places is a moving one, but it's Connors's artistry that makes it transcendent." -- Sam Lipsyte "Philip Connors is one hell of a storyteller." -- Sean Wilsey

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Book SynopsisThis book explores two important moments of dislocation in Chinese history, the early medieval period (317–589 CE) and the nineteenth century. Tian juxtaposes a rich array of materials from these two periods in comparative study, linking these historical moments in their unprecedented interactions, and intense fascination, with foreign cultures.Trade ReviewThe heaven–hell framework for understanding the world away from home—either as a perfect realm or its opposite—had a stunning hold on Chinese travel writing from early on, and Tian demonstrates how it continued to do so well into the nineteenth century…Her book is splendid. -- Joshua Fogel * American Historical Review *A supreme achievement in literary studies. -- Marion Eggert * Journal of Asian Studies *

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Book SynopsisThe life of literary critic and philosopher Benjamin (1892–1940) is a veritable allegory of the life of letters in the 20th century. Benjamin’s intellectual odyssey included an eventful trip to the USSR. His stunning account of that journey is unique among his writings for the frank, merciless way he struggles with his motives and his conscience.Trade ReviewIn the ’20s and ’30s, [Benjamin] was a Jew in Berlin, a visitor to the Russian Revolution, a refugee in France, a citizen of the world in flames. More a man of letters than scholar, and more poet than either one, he wandered through Western culture as if it had been destroyed centuries earlier, and he were a revenant poking through its remains. He amassed quotations and collected books and toys, with no illusion of finding a living civilization, but seeking the artifacts of a shattered one… Love, mixed with obsession, is at the heart of Moscow Diary, the private record of Benjamin’s two-month visit to the Soviet Union in the winter of 1926. Edited and with an afterword by Gary Smith and lucidly translated by Richard Sieburth, it is a many-faceted jewel: a portrait of the Russian revolution in its still unsettled transition to Stalinism, a vivid picture of Moscow life, Benjamin’s intellectual journal, and above all, the tragicomic story of his pursuit of the Estonian actress, Asja Lacis. -- Richard Eder * Los Angeles Times Book Review *The German literary critic and philosopher Walter Benjamin, who died in 1940, was one of Europe’s grandest thinkers. This diary covers only two months in the winter of 1926–1927, but it feels like a lifetime. His meticulous, almost macabre attention to detail gives his perceptions a kind of scientific brilliance, whether he is describing the streets of the city, a curious shop sign, the sanatorium where his friend Asja Lacis is a patient, the wash table in his hotel room, or the ragged beds that stand at every street corner in ‘the open air sick bay called Moscow.’ The book is a supreme example of the kind of mental equipment any traveller would like to take with him, to any place. * The Independent *[An] unsurpassably quirky memoir of Bolshevik literati as Stalin consolidated power. * New Society *Moscow Diary is chiefly interesting not for what it tells us about Moscow during December 1926 but for what it tells us about Walter Benjamin, who has by now emerged as both a major figure in modern German literature and criticism and as the preeminent poet-historian of the modern European city. Moscow Diary is the longest of Benjamin’s autobiographical writings… [Benjamin’s] insights into Russia’s struggle to define its cultural identity are often compelling. Above all, the Diary is the story of the triangle among Benjamin, Asja [Lācis], and the expatriate German playwright Bernhard Reich. Their story of emotional instabilities and obstacles provides a fascinating counterpart to the story of Russia’s cultural dilemma. The edition is superbly translated, annotated, and illustrated, and contains a fine preface and afterword. * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface by Gershom Scholem Moscow Diary Appendices 'Russian Toys" by Walter Benjamin Letters from Walter Benjamin Afterword by Gary Smith Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Shortlisted for the Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award, College Art Association""An Art Newspaper Top Art Book of the Year""This beautiful book . . . details the artist’s journeys over 50 years, from trips to Morocco in 1968 and Guatemala in 2018. . . . It is as close as a mass-produced art tome gets to an artist’s book—a covetable object in its own right."---Ben Luke, The Art Newspaper"Determined to expand awareness about this much overlooked Black artist, Betye Saar . . . extends the previous scope of insight into her practice beyond her assemblages; the book includes color reproductions of half a dozen notebooks from her decades of world travel."---Patrick James Dunagan, Rain Taxi Review of Books"Full-colour throughout, this fabulous volume—as close as commercial publishing gets to an artist’s book—explores the importance of travel for the African American sculptor Betye Saar. Interweaving the explanatory text and images of Saar’s assemblages (found material combined with the artist’s own drawings and paintings) are full-page facsimiles of her fascinating travel journals."---Jacqueline Riding, The Art Newspaper

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsHistory of ideasJEAN BLOCH et al., Enlightenment uncertainties: moral, pedagogical and scientific debates of eighteenth-century FranceANGELICA GOODDEN, Scrutinising the body: anatomy and propriety in eighteenth-century FranceJULIE PEAKMAN, Bodily anxieties in Enlightenment sex literatureJEAN BLOCH, Mid-century ambivalence: Mme Le Prince de Beaumont and Madeleine de Puisieux on the education of girlsKATHERINE ASTBURY, Marmontel and Baculard d'Arnaud's (im)moral talesJOHN DUNKLEY, Berquin's L'Ami des enfants and L'Ami des adolescents: innocence into experienceTravel writingKEES VAN STRIEN (ed.), JOSEPH BANKS, 'Journal of a tour in Holland', 1773History of the bookRAYMOND BIRN, Book censorship in eighteenth-century France and Rousseau's responseEnlightenment and antiquityELENI FILIPPAKI, La Mettrie on Descartes, Seneca and the Happy lifeREED BENHAMOU, Casting the antique: behind the scenes at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture

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Book SynopsisThis elegant and theoretically informed book, illustrated with forty-five photographs, explores the cultural significance of six exhibitions or new museum installations, all opening in Paris between mid-1937 and early 1938: the commercially oriented...Trade ReviewA critical perspective which is both specifically original and consistent with recent studies of Universal Exhibitions and of the strategic design of the modern Museum.... Even those not entirely comfortable with the ramifications of the 'unseen gods' figured in the displays of the 1930s will learn much from the detailed analysis of those representations and their intersecting semiotics and ideologies.... It is not merely its 45 fascinating archival photographs which leave one with the sense of the 'visual command'... which the author himself brings to his subject. To look at 1937 through his eyes, and then across to Eiffel's negating panoptic tower, is to ensure that the view from the Trocadero will never be quite the same again. * Journal of European Studies *In his thought-provoking and ambitious new book, James D. Herbert offers a penetrating analysis of... the 1937 Exposition internationale des arts et techniques and five contemporaneous museum installations and exhibitions that either complemented it or parodied it.... The strength of Herbert's study is... to demonstrate how, taken together, the exhibitions in fact presented a surprisingly cohesive and complementary series of images.... In its diligent research and thoughtful exposition across disparate fields, Paris 1937 is a substantial contribution to the burgeoning field of modern exhibition history. Herbert's book should have an impact not just on the critical examination of installations but more broadly on how we discuss the complex relationship between images in the public sphere and the formation of identity. -- Adam Jolles * Modernism/modernity *Herbert has... placed his historical narrative within a poststructuralist synthesis of his own devising that is... brilliant.... Read as a historical narrative that presents valuable insights in somewhat unexpected ways, it is enormously satisfying and deserves attention. -- Jerry Cullum * Art in America *

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Book SynopsisJules Pretty explores life and change in a dozen environments and cultures across the world, taking us on a series of remarkable journeys to show that there are many different ways to live in cooperation with nature.Trade Review[Pretty] describes an astonishing diversity of human experience in which our species has learned to live well with, rather than against, nature and often each other. -- Andrew Simms * The Guardian *Jules Pretty traveled the world to find places where people live and work in concert with the land. In this book, he shares his story of these travels and the people he met along the way to emphasize the utter importance of caring for what we have before we have it no more.... He shares these stories to honor them and to educate us. -- REH * Wildlife Activist *The key to a long term sustainable future is an appeal to a loving care of beauty and the vibrant communities it gives rise to, rather than either the instilling of fear of catastrophe or utilitarian calculation. It is, finally, this recurring testimony that makes the book not only a thoughtful exploration of the lives of others, genuinely other, tracking different paths to the mainstream, but a tracing of the patterns of what it might mean to love a place and be at home in it. The homes themselves are all strikingly different but bound by being places that first and foremost are genuinely listened to—its possibilities and the stories it can give rise to. -- Nicholas Colloff * Network Review *Pretty (environment and society, Univ. of Essex; The Earth Only Endures) provides the reader with a verbal feast for the senses while detailing his experiences in a variety of landscapes, from the steppes of Russia to the farmland of Ohio's Amish country. The author reveals the ways in which many people around the globe continue to live in harmony with the land despite the unavoidable encroachment of modern technology and values. In what could be considered either a strength of the book or a weakness, Pretty stays away from divisive political statements regarding environmentalism, though he does advocate for governments to allow the indigenous peoples of their land to live with minimal intervention. This work is no political rallying cry; rather it is a celebration of the beauty and culture of "extreme" landscapes and slower lifestyles the world over. VERDICT Readers who delight in detailed travel writing will relish Pretty's masterly descriptions of deserts, swamps, and mountains, as well as the daily activities of those who live in these environments. * Library Journal *Table of Contents1. Seacoast: Ngai Tahu, Aotearoa (New Zealand) 2. Mountain: Huangshan, China 3. Desert Coast: Murujuga (Burrup), Australia 4. Steppe: Tuva, Russia 5. Snow: Karelia, Finland 6. Swamp: Okavango, Botswana 7. Marsh-Farm: East Anglia, England 8. Coast: Antrim Glens, Northern Ireland 9. Snow: Nitassinan, Labrador, Canada 10. Farm-City: Amish Country, Ohio, United States 11. Swamp: Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana, United States 12. Desert: Timbisha (Death Valley), California, United States Coda: Dreaming of the Day AfterNotes Bibliography Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisSurveying exotic travel writing in Europe from late antiquity to the age of discover, The Witness and the Other World illustrates the fundamental human desire to change places, if only in the imagination. Mary B. Campbell looks at works by pilgrims...Trade ReviewCampbell has provided a valuable service, not only in attempting to map such distant and difficult terrain but also in drawing attention to its variety, interest, and worth, while at the same time producing a lively and readable book. * Speculum *The author follows the path of the travel-writer through twelve centuries. Attitudes and expectations are analyzed from the days when the 'other world' was assumed to be really 'other' and the 'witness' was prepared to encounter all manner of grotesque creatures.... Pleasure as well as profit may be derived from reading this book, not once but twice. * Geographic Journal *

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

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Book SynopsisWhy does a particular landscape move us? What is it that attaches us to a particular place? From Where We Stand is an eloquent exploration of the connections we have with places—and the loss to us if there are no such connections.Trade ReviewIn the literature of place, Deborah Tall’s book stands out for its delicacy, range of learning, and refreshing frankness.""—Phillip Lopate""A worthy contribution to the growing field of landscape studies. . . . Like Thoreau, who claimed to have travelled much in Concord, the author of From Where We Stand has travelled much—widely and deeply—in the Finger Lakes.""—New York History""There has been a spate of books nominally about finding a sense of place but more accurately described as quests for community, or for home. . . . The best of the lot is Tall’s book about putting down roots in Geneva, New York.""—Utne Reader

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Book SynopsisChronicling their own travels in Scandinavia, charting the geography of medieval history and fiction, the authors negotiate the complex territory where past and present meet, and where the landscapes of "Beowulf" are brought to life.Table of ContentsPart 1 Mapping "Beowulf"; reinventing Beowulf's voyage to Denmark; travelling home with Beowulf. Part 2 Geography in the reader; place in question; Iceland and Icelanders; places in question; selves in place; places in translation and the metonymy of terrain. Part 3 The sage of the saga "The road to Drangey"; where's Grettir?

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction, Part I. Romantic Journeys to the Orient, 1. Discovering His Inner Turk: Hans Christian Andersen’s Commodification of the Exotic, 2. The Hyphenated Woman: Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann’s Juggling Categories of Gender, Nation, and Ethnicity, 3. The Ironic Traveler: Danger and Identity in Knut Hamsun’s Oriental Travelogues, Part II. Modern Primitive Travel, 4. Savage Science: Johannes V. Jensen in the Malay Jungle, 5. Humor, Gender, and Nationality: Issak Dinesen’s Encounter with Africa, 6. The Traveler and the Tourist: Axel Jensen’s Desperate Frolic in the Sahara, Part III. Late and Postmodern Travel, 7. From the Personal to the Universal–and Back: Carsten Jensen Around the World, 8. Futile Journeys: Parody, Postmodernism, and Postnationalism in Erlend Loe’s Traveling, Conclusion, Notes, Bibliography, Index

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface Vicolo Forni Permesso di Soggiorno A Page Boy in Pavarotti's Restaurant Sleeping with Nuns Il Cappuccino Lord Arnold and the Knight Terror and Courtesy at the Esselunga Supermercato Foiling the Cheese Thieves Mold Makes a Good Salami Great "The Poor Meatball!" Rats in the Canals, Peacocks in the Piazza The Bicycle Thief Treachery and Treason amid the Subcommittee of Vespa Paint Norman the Conqueror Eat Your Hat, Cowboy A Night at the Opera Four, Five, Sex . . . Lessons from Guido Arrangiati! A Risky Subject Casino or Casinò? Commie Pigs? Never Trust a Thin Cook Angry Noodles Walking over Death Super Pig Trotter Reggio's Blockheads and Bologna's Baloney The Secret World of the Balsamic Vinegar Elite Pet Pigs Buon Natale! Sunny Italy The Hot Springs of Ischia Naples at New Year's San Geminiano and the Festival of Fog Soccer Season Truffles and Cotecchino Porn and Puritans La Tivù Politics, Italian Style The Art of Eating Eating Venus's Navel Back to High School La Ferrari Touch Your Balls for Luck! Why Would You Ever Leave? Parli Italiano? Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisContains sixteen contemporary accounts by travelers who reached Alabama along what was known as the 'Old Federal Road'. This title deals with the rather remarkable array of impediments that faced travelers in Alabama in its first decades as a state. It describes the road, the inns, the travelling companions, and the few and raw communities.

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Book SynopsisOffers a detailed guide to the most beautiful natural destinations in Alabama. From the rocky outcrops of the Appalachian plateaus to the sugar-white beaches of the Gulf Coast's Orange Beach and Dauphin Island, Alabama offers a wealth of remarkable sites to explore by car or canoe, bicycle or motorcycle, or on foot.Trade Review“Exploring Wild Alabama goes beyond the classic guidebook for seeing many of the natural wonders our great state has to offer. It represents the culmination of extensive field research and exploration that brings the knowledge of natural sciences and history to the general public. The work is exceptionally well-written and includes detailed descriptions of the geology, geography, flora, and fauna of each location, as well as various activities to enjoy. I look forward to seeing this book on the shelves of bookstores, gift shops, and outdoor stores throughout Alabama.” —Randy Mecredy, former director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History""Exploring Wild Alabama is a much needed resource. The authors have done a superlative job of describing and depicting the physiographic and ecological diversity of Alabama. To my knowledge, this is the first book to provide a statewide guide to actual places for the reader to visit. The writing is accessible to a general readership without being simplistic. I can't wait to have it on my own bookshelf!"" —Mark A. Bailey, coauthor of Turtles of Alabama

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Book SynopsisBy turns candid, witty, and poignant, 36 Views of Mount Fuji is an American professor's much-praised memoir about her experiences of Japan and the Japanese.Trade Review“A delightful read, offering insight not only into Japan but into the adventure of living in a foreign culture anywhere in the world.”—Mary Catherine Bateson, author of Composing a Life“Beautifully written. . . . I did not want to put it down.”—Susan Allen Toth, author of Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood“Brilliant, wise, and witty . . . as enjoyable a read as Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provençe.”—Louise DeSalvo, author of Vertigo: A Memoir“Davidson is inquisitive and careful: observations serve as prompts for thoughtful appraisals of her native US, and stereotypes of Japan are questioned. . . . It’s when Japan is clearly in focus – especially when revealed through the author’s experiences and conversations with locals – that the narrative is most engaging.” -- Laura Crawford * Lonely Planet *“Davidson’s memoir, shimmering with poetic insights and poignant observations, stands out from the rest. . . . [A] compelling read for anyone considering a trip to Japan—or who has recently returned from one.” -- Corrie Pikul * Bust *“Intelligent, sympathetic . . . and quick-witted.” -- Elizabeth Ward * Washington Post Book World *“Luminous . . . Nuanced and passionate, [Davidson’s] book achieves what many travel writers can only aspire to: the sense of being both inside and outside of a culture at the same time.” * Booklist *“No one could have tried harder to fathom Japanese culture [than Davidson]. The result is a series of illuminations not unlike the sudden break in the clouds that finally lets her glimpse Mount Fuji from the window of a bullet train.” -- Francine Prose * New York Times Book Review *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations xi Preface xiii 1. Seeing and Being Seen 1 2. Foreigners 9 3. After School 21 4. From the Best Families 37 5. Typical Japanese Women 49 6. Night Moves 69 7. Sacred Places 83 8. Accident 105 9. Going Home 123 10. Sea of Japan, Oki, 1987 139 11. Tatami Room in Cedar Grove 155 12. Festival of the Dead 169 13. Photo Album: The Fourth Journey 185 14. The Practice House 205 15. House Guest 217 16. Climbing the Mountain 227 Afterword (2005) 233 Acknowledgments to the First Edition 241 Acknowledgments to the Second Edition 243 Glossary of Japanese Words and Expressions 245 A Note on Japanese Names ix

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Book SynopsisBy turns candid, witty, and poignant, 36 Views of Mount Fuji is an American professor's much-praised memoir about her experiences of Japan and the Japanese.Trade Review“A delightful read, offering insight not only into Japan but into the adventure of living in a foreign culture anywhere in the world.”—Mary Catherine Bateson, author of Composing a Life“Beautifully written. . . . I did not want to put it down.”—Susan Allen Toth, author of Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood“Brilliant, wise, and witty . . . as enjoyable a read as Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provençe.”—Louise DeSalvo, author of Vertigo: A Memoir“Davidson is inquisitive and careful: observations serve as prompts for thoughtful appraisals of her native US, and stereotypes of Japan are questioned. . . . It’s when Japan is clearly in focus – especially when revealed through the author’s experiences and conversations with locals – that the narrative is most engaging.” -- Laura Crawford * Lonely Planet *“Davidson’s memoir, shimmering with poetic insights and poignant observations, stands out from the rest. . . . [A] compelling read for anyone considering a trip to Japan—or who has recently returned from one.” -- Corrie Pikul * Bust *“Intelligent, sympathetic . . . and quick-witted.” -- Elizabeth Ward * Washington Post Book World *“Luminous . . . Nuanced and passionate, [Davidson’s] book achieves what many travel writers can only aspire to: the sense of being both inside and outside of a culture at the same time.” * Booklist *“No one could have tried harder to fathom Japanese culture [than Davidson]. The result is a series of illuminations not unlike the sudden break in the clouds that finally lets her glimpse Mount Fuji from the window of a bullet train.” -- Francine Prose * New York Times Book Review *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations xi Preface xiii 1. Seeing and Being Seen 1 2. Foreigners 9 3. After School 21 4. From the Best Families 37 5. Typical Japanese Women 49 6. Night Moves 69 7. Sacred Places 83 8. Accident 105 9. Going Home 123 10. Sea of Japan, Oki, 1987 139 11. Tatami Room in Cedar Grove 155 12. Festival of the Dead 169 13. Photo Album: The Fourth Journey 185 14. The Practice House 205 15. House Guest 217 16. Climbing the Mountain 227 Afterword (2005) 233 Acknowledgments to the First Edition 241 Acknowledgments to the Second Edition 243 Glossary of Japanese Words and Expressions 245 A Note on Japanese Names ix

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Book SynopsisPart memoir, part travelogue, A Matter of Rats is the acclaimed writer Amitava Kumar's account of Patna, one of the world's oldest cities, the capital of India's poorest province, and the author and Vassar professor's home town.Trade Review"An intimate and whimsical book, but one that truly shines when the author turns his gaze to the ordinary people who still live in Patna . . . skillfully evoking the circumstances of chaos, filth and absurdity in which even the city’s middle-class professionals are forced to live." -- Sonia Faleiro * New York Times Book Review *“This new look at an ancient city transports readers on a fun journey. Lovers of travel writing, Indian history, and fans of literature will greatly enjoy this short book. . . .” -- Melissa Aho * Library Journal *"Pound for pound, Amitava Kumar is one of the best nonfiction writers of his generation. . . . No one in India writes a more fine-grained and quietly evocative prose. . . . In his marvelous new work A Matter of Rats: A Short Biography of Patna, Kumar puts a stethoscope to his hometown and takes a reading of its heart." -- Siddharth Chowdhury * Time Out Delhi *“There's much more to Patna than rats, of course, and Kumar touches on its ancient glory and later role in the East India Company's opium trade. He also writes eloquently about writing itself, and the meaning of place.” -- Nina Shengold * Chronogram *“E. B. White composed Here Is New York, his fraught love letter to Manhattan, during a heat wave in the summer of 1948. Sixty-four years later, the book served as a ‘secret talisman’ for Amitava Kumar, who carried it with him into the heat and humidity of his hometown, Patna, in India, as he wrote A Matter of Rats, an equally cleareyed ode to a similarly implausible place.” -- Maud Newton * New York Times Magazine *"Kumar is alert to the signs of life coming from sometimes unanticipated directions. . . . This refusal of pessimism is one of the refreshing elements of Kumar’s writing. While there is always plenty of bad news in Patna, he insists on the presence of joy — an emotion that, rare as it is, 'is as real as suffering' — even in surprising places. He poignantly describes incidents of everyday compassion and of the sacrifices of teachers, doctors, and activists. Each crisis or injustice, it seems, has sparked its own rebels, some noisy, others quiet." -- David Boyk * Los Angeles Review of Books *“This book has something for everyone – historical tales, reflection on current India, guidance on writing and as a map for someone planning to visit Patna." -- Rajdeep Pakanati * Contemporary South Asia *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction. The Place of Place xi 1. The Rat's Guide 1 2. Pataliputra 15 3. Patna in the Hole 29 4. Leftover Patna 45 5. Other Patnas 63 6. Emperor of This World 73 7. Emotional Atyachaar 85 Epilogue. Place of Birth/Place of Death 103 Notes 109 Index 113

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA superior travel book....Bermuda (or at least Mark Twain's Bermuda) became distinct and detailed to me for the first time....Twainians will want to read it and will talk up its virtues."" - Louis Budd, author of Mark Twain: Social Philosopher

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Book SynopsisThrough the author's travels, Try to Get Lost explores the quest for place that compels and defines us: the things we carry, how politics infuse geography, media's depictions of an idea of home, the reverberations of the word “hotel”, and the ceaseless discovery generated by encounters with self and others on familiar and foreign ground.Trade ReviewTry to Get Lost is a bold, engaging disquisition on the perils and promises of travel: both cranky and wise, worldly and cultivated, humorous and rueful, its every sentence sparkles. All in all, it is thoroughly entertaining, a sophisticated pleasure." - Phillip Lopate, author of A Mother's Tale"Joan Frank animates her loving and irreverent essays with a vital, unspoken question: How do the human tendencies to idealize, project, rank, divide, and dismiss get in the way of reading the world with accuracy, with complexity? Try to Get Lost is an ongoing act of awe that gives itself permission to roll its eyes now and then. It's necessary. It's brilliant." - Paul Lisicky, author of The Narrow Door: A Memoir of Friendship"Filled with wit, soul, and insight, each of the essays in this radiant collection offers not only a layered and revelatory portrait of the places that enchant and haunt Frank - from Paris to Florence to her hometown of Phoenix with its many ghosts - but also a profound meditation on the possibility of discovery, the inevitability of loss, and the power of both to unmake and remake us." - Jessie Chaffee, author of Florence in Ecstasy: A Novel“Philosophical, sophisticated literary forays that are a pleasure to dwell in.”—Kirkus, starred review“Frank’s rich, imagery-driven prose lends immediacy to her observations. This is a perfect book for readers to take on their travels, even if they’re only going as far as the armchair.”—Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisEgeria, who was most probably a Spanish nun, visited the Holy Land only fifty years after the death of Constantine, making her work the earliest surviving account of the area.Table of ContentsEgeria, the traveller; Early references to Egeria; Early Christian pilgrimage; Aelia Capitolina; The Bordeaux Pilgrim; Egeria's route; Table of Dates; Clergy and people; Liturgy.

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Book SynopsisA camera makes enemies; a sketchbook, friends. Firm in this belief, Irwin Allan Sealy carried to China just his pen and a book of blank pages. When the literary conference that took him there ended and his fellow writers returned to India, Sealy stayed on to travel the railroads of the north in search of a town reminiscent of his Himalayan hometown and a man who might resemble himself. Sign language, good will, and plain luck see him through, but in a northern mining town known for its ancient Buddhist cave sculptures, Sealy finally comes to the conclusion that his other was unreachable, his hometown was one of a kind, and his only hope was a pen, allowing him to record his memories, sketches, and adventures along the way. Sealy is known for both his fiction and his travelogue, From Yukon to Yukatan: a Western Journey. This facsimile edition of The China Sketchbook, however, adds a special dimension to a travel narrative the sketches and scribbles give readers a more immediate and unre

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Book SynopsisIn 1996 the author left the relative stability of the United States for the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, and stayed. In this book, each chapter is an episode - spanning from several hours to several days - of his journeys to the far North, Moscow, the Ural Mountains, the Solovetsky Islands, and a southern stretch of the Volga River.Trade ReviewOften very frank (this is a PG-13 read at least) and open, With Light Steam is a personal and engaging look at a side of Russian life that few westerners can claim entry to or experience in.... MacWilliams is a refreshingly self-deprecating, easy-going traveler and a superb storyteller. This is a book not to be missed. * Russian Life *This book is introspective American travel writing at its best. A genre-defying mosaic of memoir, historical research and a reflection on time and place, With Light Steam is easily in a league with Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier for spectacular American travel writing on Russia. * Newcity Lit *

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