Search results for ""Author Travis Elborough""

Follow in the footsteps of some of the world’s most famous painters in this fascinating work from the Journeys of Note series. Some truly remarkable works of art have been inspired by artists spending time away from their typical surroundings. From epic road trips and arduous treks into remote territories to cultural tours and sojourns in the finest hotels, this book explores 30 influential journeys taken by artistic greats and reveals the repercussions of those travels on the painters’ personal lives and the broader cultural landscape.Award-winning author Travis Elborough brings each of these trips to life with fascinating insights into the stories behind the creation of some of the world’s most famous paintings, including Henri Matisse’s vivid paintings of Morocco, Katsushika Hokusai’s woodblock prints of Mount Fuji in Japan, Marianne North’s paintings of India and David Hockney’s California pool paintings.

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Follow in the footsteps of some of the world’s most famous authors on the journeys which inspired their greatest works in this beautiful illustrated atlas. Some truly remarkable works of literature have been inspired by writers spending time away from their typical surroundings. From epic road trips and arduous treks into remote territories to cultural tours and sojourns in the finest hotels, this book explores 35 influential journeys taken by literary greats and reveals the repercussions of those travels on the authors’ personal lives and the broader literary landscape. Award-winning author Travis Elborough brings each of these trips to life with fascinating insights into the stories behind the creation of some of the world’s most famous literary creations, including Dracula, Moby Dick, Murder on the Orient Express, Madame Bovary, The Talented Mr Ripley and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. From Herman Melville’s first whaling voyage in 1841, from New York to Liverpool, to Jack Kerouac’s on-the-road Odyssey, which is now an iconic drive, discover how these journeys imprinted themselves on some of the greatest literary minds of all time. Complete with navigational notes, colour photographs and commissioned maps, the fresh insights within tell readers something new about the places, work and personalities of some of the world’s greatest minds.

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'A fascinating, informative, revelatory book' William Boyd, GuardianParks are such a familiar part of everyday life, you might be forgiven for thinking they have always been there. In fact, public parks are an invention. From their medieval inception as private hunting grounds through to their modern incarnation as public spaces of rest and relaxation, parks have been fought over by land-grabbing monarchs, reforming Victorian industrialists, hippies, punks, and somewhere along the way, the common folk trying to savour their single day of rest.In A Walk in the Park, Travis Elborough excavates the history of parks in all their colour and complexity. Loving, funny and impassioned, this is a timely celebration of a small wonder that – in an age of swingeing cuts – we should not take for granted.

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Traverse the globe and explore the extraordinary. This is a unique, enigmatic collection of 45 meticulously crafted maps for wandering off the beaten track. Embark on an armchair expedition across nations and marvel at astounding spots only ever stumbled upon by chance. The profound histories and distinctive quirks of these happenstances are described in detail alongside evocative black and white photographs. The unexpected places include: Just Enough Room Island, an aptly named islet that defies spatial conventions The Purple Rock of Madeira, where shipwrecked lovers etched their love story into the annals of history The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered one day by a wayward goat on a meandering path, guiding its keeper to unravel the mysteries of the past Vaseline, where the product that has become a household staple was accidentally discovered Discover destinations both infamous and unknown, where haphazard means have conspired to shape our world's history. This is a tour through the quirks of fate and the marvels of chance. In every tale and map, the world's most astounding, improbable, and, above all, unexpected locations, providing a captivating glimpse into the tapestry of human history and the unpredictability of our planet's hidden wonders. This literary voyage is an ode to the curious and the adventurous, celebrating the unexpected marvels that define our world. This is a literary and visual adventure that will immerse you in far-off lands and obscure discoveries, offering a unique perspective on the world's hidden treasures.

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Explore the places that time forgot. These abandoned, mysterious, sleeping monuments around the world have been relegated to the margins of history. From ancient ruins and crumbling castles to more recent relics – an art deco New York subway station, a Soviet ghost town in the Arctic Circle, a flooded Thai mall teeming with aquatic life – Travis Elborough takes you on a journey into these strange, overlooked, and disappearing worlds and immortalizes them in this book of original maps, accompanied by moving historic and geographic accounts of each site. The featured locations are a stark reminder of what was, and the accounts in this investigative book help to bring their stories back to life, telling us what happened, when and why, and to whom. The book features 40 sites, including: Santa Claus, Arizona, USA: A festive tourist resort-turned-ghost town deep in the desert where you could once meet Santa Claus any day

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For nearly 60 years, since the arrival of the long-playing record in 1948, the album has provided the soundtrack to our lives. Our record collections, even if they're on CD, or these days, an iPod, are personal treasure, revealing our loves, errors of jugdement and lapses in taste. Self-confessed music obsessive, Travis Elborough, explores the way in which particular albums are deeply embedded in cultural history, revered as works of art or so ubiqitous as to be almost invisible. But in the age of the iPod, when we can download an infinite number of single tracks and need never listen to a whole album ever again, does the concept of an album still mean anything? THE LONG-PLAYER GOODBYE is a brilliant piece of popular history and a celebration of the joy of records. If you've ever had a favourite album, you'll love Travis Elborough's warm and witty take on how vinyl changed our world.

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'Elegant and multi-focal. Glorious!' Simon GarfieldThe humble pair of glasses might just be one the world's greatest inventions, allowing millions to see a world that might otherwise appear a blur. And yet how much do many of us even really think about these things perched on the ends of our noses? In this eye-opening history Travis Elborough traces the fascinating true story of spectacles: from their inception as primitive visual aids to monkish scribes right through to today's designer eyewear and the augmented reality of Google Glass. And taking in along the way such delights as lorgnettes, monocles, pince-nez, tortoise-shell 'Windsors' and Ray Ban aviator shades. Peering into early theories about how the eye worked, he considers the theological and philosophical arguments about the limits of perception by Greek thinkers, Roman statesmen and Arab scholars. There are encounters with ingenious medieval Italian glassmakers, myopic Renaissance rulers and spectacle-makers and opticians, brilliant, mad, bad and dangerous to know, in the Londons of Samuel Pepys, Dr Johnson and Sherlock Holmes.We learn how eyeglasses were the making of the silent movie star Harold Lloyd and the rock n roller Buddy Holly and helped liberate an exasperated John Lennon from Beatlemania. Get hip to horn-rims with Dizzy Gillespie and Michael Caine And see girls in glasses through the lenses of the crime fiction by Dorothy L Sayers and Raymond Chandler and the full-screen figure of Marilyn Monroe. Through the Looking Glasses is about vision and the need for humanity to see clearly, and where the impulse to improve our eyesight has led us. The society of the spectacle may finally be upon us . . . but how much of it do we really see?

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In this gloriously original social history, Travis Elborough argues that our national character - our snobbishness and willingness to laugh at ourselves, our attitudes to sex and fair play and our chequered relationship with national pride - has been forged against a backdrop of stormy skies and pebbly beaches. Covering everything from Agatha Christie to the Prince Regent via Billy Butlin and Brighton Rock, this is a book for anyone who has ever wrestled with a deckchair, braved a sopping esplanade or felt the crunch of sand in a sandwich.

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In December 2005, London lost one its most famous symbols: the Routemaster bus - a bus designed and made in London, by Londoners for Londoners, which was to London what the gondola is to Venice. In terms of postcards, books, films and cheap souvenirs, and in the eyes of the world, the Routemaster represented the city just as much as Big Ben. It was the last bus to be have conductors as well as drivers, the last bus to ring familiar shouts that are at least a century old: 'Fares please,' 'Full up inside but room on top,' 'Next stop the British Museum'! The last bus, in other words, to be a proper bus. In this fond history, Travis Elborough tells the story of the Routemaster's invention, rise and decline, of the people who worked on it and of the enthusiasts who were mad about it. The streets will never be the same again.

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'Elegant and multi-focal. Glorious!' Simon Garfield'It will make you look at specs with fresh eyes' New Statesman'Lively, engaging and admirably wide-ranging' The Times'Fascinating' ObserverThe humble pair of glasses might just be one of the world's greatest inventions, allowing millions to see a world that might otherwise appear a blur. And yet how much do many of us really think about these things perched on the ends of our noses?Through the Looking Glasses traces the fascinating story of spectacles: from their inception as primitive visual aids for monkish scribes right through to today's designer eyewear and the augmented reality of Google Glass. There are encounters with ingenious medieval Italian glassmakers, myopic Renaissance rulers and spectacle-makers, as well as the silent movie star Harold Lloyd, the rock'n'roller Buddy Holly and the full-screen figure of Marilyn Monroe. This is a book about vision and the need for humanity to see clearly, and where the impulse to improve our eyesight has led us.

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Imagine what the world once looked like as you discover places that have disappeared from modern atlases in this stunningly illustrated and award-winning book. Have you ever wondered about cities that lie forgotten under the dust of newly settled land? Rivers and seas whose changing shape has shifted the landscape around them? Or, even, places that have seemingly vanished, without a trace? Following the international bestselling success of Atlas of Improbable Places and Atlas of the Unexpected, Travis Elborough takes you on a voyage to all corners of the world in search of the lost, disappearing and vanished. Discover ancient seats of power and long-forgotten civilizations through the Mayan city of Palenque; delve into the mystery of a disappeared Japanese islet; and uncover the incredible hidden sites like the submerged Old Adaminaby, once abandoned but slowly remerging. With beautiful maps and stunning colour photography, Atlas of Vanishing Places shows these places as they once were as well as how they look today: a fascinating guide to lost lands and the fragility of our relationship with the world around us.WINNER Illustrated Book of the Year - Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2020 Also in the Unexpected Atlas series: Atlas of Improbable Places, Atlas of Untamed Places, Atlas of the Unexpected.

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Explore the places that time forgot. Abandoned, mysterious, sleeping monuments around the world have been relegated to the margins of history, pushed off the map and out of sight. From ancient ruins and crumbling castles to more recent relics – an art deco New York subway station, a Soviet ghost town in the Arctic Circle, a flooded Thai mall teeming with aquatic life – Travis Elborough takes you on a journey into these strange, overlooked and disappearing worlds and immortalises their fates.Original maps and stunning colour photography accompany Travis Elborough’s moving historic and geographic accounts of each site. The featured locations are a stark reminder of what was, and the accounts in this investigative book help to bring their stories back to life, telling us what happened, when and why, and to whom. The book features 40 sites, including: Santa Claus, Arizona, USA: A festive tourist resort turned ghost town deep in the desert where once you could meet Santa Claus any day of the year; Crystal Palace Subway, London, UK: One of the city’s best-kept secrets is an underground, cathedral-like relic from where many Victorian commuters bustled through; Montserrat, West Indies: The small Caribbean island with a population of 5,000 that was evacuated when its volcano erupted in 1995. The volcano is still active and nearly half the island remains a designated exclusion zone; Balaklava Submarine Base, Crimea: The former top-secret Soviet submarine base that was kept off all official maps and known as Object 825 GTS; Volterra Psychiatric Hospital, Tuscany, Italy: Once dubbed ‘the place of no return’, this long-closed lunatic asylum once housed 6,000 patients who were never allowed to leave. Also in the Unexpected Atlas series: Atlas of Improbable Places, Atlas of Untamed Places, Atlas of the Unexpected and Atlas of Vanishing Places (WINNER Illustrated Book of the Year - Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2020).

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'We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed' Martin Luther King, Jr.In an era where our liberties are often under threat, Letters to Change the World sends reminders from history that standing up for - and voicing - our personal and political beliefs is not merely a human right but our duty, if we want to make change happen.Featuring Emmeline Pankhurst rallying her suffragettes, George Orwell's warning against totalitarianism, Nelson Mandela's consoling his children from prison, Time's Up condemning abuses of power, and much more, this collection will inspire you to stand up and speak up - now, for what really matters.'Remarkable, timely ... At a time of political uncertainty, the collection demonstrates the importance of speaking truth to power' Guardian

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'Atlas of Improbable Places has that rare, through-the-wardrobe quality. It is a delightful compendium of the strangest places on the planet.’ DAILY TELEGRAPH 2020 WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR Atlas of Vanishing Places. In Atlas of Improbable Places, Travis Elborough goes in search of the obscure and bizarre, the beautiful and arcane. His unique atlas shows you the modern world from surprising new vantage points. Discover the secret Soviet city of Zheleznogorsk and the church tower of San Juan Parangaricutiro, miraculously still standing as the sole survivor of a town sunk by lava. Explore the underground realms of Beijing and Berlin, dug for refuge and espionage, and the floating worlds of remote Palmerston and the macabre Island of Dolls. The truths and myths behind these hidden lairs, forgotten cities and improbable wonders are as varied as the destinations themselves. These curious places are not just extraordinary sights but reflections on our relationship with the world around us. Acclaimed author and social commentator, Travis Elborough, is a marvellous travel guide to the world's most unusual corners. ‘This engrossing book traverses the heights and depths, the beauty and terror, of our world.’ THE OBSERVER ‘Understatedly expressive.’ NEW YORK TIMES ‘Deeply researched – and really worth your time.’ GQ

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How well do you know London? Here are 400 provocative, curious and humorous questions to enlighten and entertain. Even the most devoted Londoner will learn something new from these fun and wide-ranging trivia questions about London's history, monuments, architecture, famous residents, place-names, notable events, and more. A delightful way to explore the city, this fun book is a perfect stocking filler, with history ranging from obscure lore to facts and fascinating, often humorous histories. Where is the only cross-eyed statue in London and who does it depict? a) Next to the Royal Exchange in the City of London; George Peabody, the nineteenth-century American-born philanthropist b) At the point where Fetter Lane and New Fetter Lane converge; John Wilkes, the eighteenth-century politician c) Islington Green; Sir Hugh Myddleton, the seventeenth-century entrepreneur Answer: b) John Wilkes really did have a severe squint, as reproduced in the statue, but despite his looks, he was a legendary and eloquent womanizer who once said that, when meeting an attractive woman, it took him only ten minutes "to talk away his face."

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'Without any doubt, London is one of the best cities in the world for modern architecture. But it is also one of the biggest cities in the world, and it does not make a display of its best things. A visitor looking for new buildings in the City and the West End might well be justified in turning away with a shudder. Yet delightful things may be waiting for him in Lewisham or St. Albans.' Ian Nairn, from the 'Foreword' to Modern Buildings in London. As one of the few architectural critics to eschew purely aesthetic modes of analysis, Ian Nairn's timeless books on modern urban cities have been hailed as some of the most significant writing about contemporary Britain, while also being praised as alternative 'guidebooks' for curious travellers. First published in 1964, Modern Buildings in London celebrates the character of buildings that were immediately recognisable as 'modern' in 1964, many of which were not the part of the well-known landscape of London but instead were gems that Nairn stumbled across. Written 'by a layman for laymen', Nairn's take on modern design includes classic buildings such as the Barbican, the former BBC Television Centre and the Penguin Pool at Regent's Park Zoo as well as schools, old timber yards, ambulance stations, car parks and even care homes.

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