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Books > Sport & Leisure > Travel & holiday > Travel writing > General

Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees - The Adventures of an American Surgeon in Nepal (Paperback): Thomas Hale Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees - The Adventures of an American Surgeon in Nepal (Paperback)
Thomas Hale
R540 R452 Discovery Miles 4 520 Save R88 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Thomas Hale writes about being a missionary surgeon in the same delightful way James Herriot writes about being a country veterinarian. Dr. Hale's incredible experience in tiny, mountainous Nepal are surpassed only by his talent for telling about them. Imagine, for example, the culture shock of moving to a Hindu country under such rigid religious control that it is not only illegal to proselytize, but illegal to change religions as well. Imagine further the shock of moving to that country as a missionary doctor. Thomas Hale and his wife, Cynthia, also a physician, too on that awesome challenge in 1970.
God wasted no time teaching tom the peculiarities of his new culture. But His unusual method left Tom wondering what God was up to. Here is how Tom tells about it:
"These were not the phlegmatic, easy-going Nepalis described in books and orientation courses. Those who spoke gesticulated fiercely. Some looked around menacingly; others spat. One thing was certain, however: in the cause of their anger they were united. The word was out: the new doctor had killed a cow. My own sense of participation in the proceedings was intense. I was the new doctor."--Excerpt
As Tom goes on to describe the events the preceded the angry scene in the Nepali village, the image of the spiritually superior missionary quickly evaporates. In a humorous, yet deeply insightful way, the author makes it clear that he is merely a servant, using his skills to the glory of God.
Tom concludes this chapter with a thoughtful confession:
"In the long run, that cow did much more for me that I did for it. The mild-mannered, uncritical beast made me see in myself those negative attributes I had alwaysascribed to other American surgeons. Facing two hundred angry men proved to be effective therapy for removing most traces of condescension with which I previously regarded them. It also improved my relations with missionary colleagues and with Nepali brothers and sisters in the church. I guess God had no gentler way of removing some of my imperfections. I only wish I could say, for His trouble, that He finished the job. But it was a start." -- Excerpt.
Dr. Hale's book refused to be preachy or condescending. It presents missions as a "want" rather than an "ought." It is sensitive, warm, honest, incredibly funny, and filled with important truths illustrated from unusual and sometimes unimaginable situations.

Marram - Memories of Sea and Spider Silk (Paperback): Leonie Charlton Marram - Memories of Sea and Spider Silk (Paperback)
Leonie Charlton
R303 R247 Discovery Miles 2 470 Save R56 (18%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Seven years after her mother's death, Leonie Charlton is still gripped by memories of their fraught relationship. In May 2017, Leonie trekked through the Outer Hebrides in the company of a friend and their Highland Ponies in search of closure. When Leonie's pony has a serious accident, she begins to realise that finding peace with her mother is less important than letting go. Leonie Charlton blends travel and nature writing with intimate memoir in this beautifully written account of grief and acceptance.

Almost French - A Life Of Fanfare And Faux Pas (Paperback): Louis Jansen van Vuuren Almost French - A Life Of Fanfare And Faux Pas (Paperback)
Louis Jansen van Vuuren
R275 R220 Discovery Miles 2 200 Save R55 (20%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

When the artist Louis Jansen van Vuuren first visited Paris he could never have imagined that he would end up owning a château in rural France. Almost French is the highly entertaining account of his induction over the past 21 years into all things French: snooty waiters, high-brow countesses, numerous faux pas with the French language and of course, several encounters with the infamous French bureaucracy.

Turning the dilapidated château into a boutique hotel with his life partner, Hardy Olivier, required patience and perseverance. Many lessons were learnt the hard way. Four heaters are not enough to heat an entire château and they will blow your power supply.

And practising your French is a must. On a visit to the butcher, Louis asked for “sheep socks” when he was after leg of lamb. Talk about butchering the lamb!

Louis interweaves the stories about his life in France with fascinating snippets of history, culture and tradition. A must for all Francophiles.

Living in Freedom - The New Prague (Hardcover): Mark Sommer Living in Freedom - The New Prague (Hardcover)
Mark Sommer
R644 R522 Discovery Miles 5 220 Save R122 (19%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A fascinating tale of three journeys to Czechoslovakia at pivotal moments in its recent history. Sommer believes that Czechoslovakia offers an object lesson to the West--as the East struggles toward freedom, the West stumbles into the temptation of curtailing its own liberties in the illusory hope of shielding itself from the disorder of unpredictable change.

Great Cities Through Travellers' Eyes (Paperback): Peter Furtado Great Cities Through Travellers' Eyes (Paperback)
Peter Furtado 1
R313 Discovery Miles 3 130 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Throughout history, intrepid men and women have related their experiences and perceptions of the world's great cities to bring them alive to those at home. The thirty-eight cities covered in this entertaining anthology of travellers' tales are spread over six continents, ranging from Beijing to Berlin, Cairo to Chicago, Lhasa to London, St Petersburg to Sydney and Rio to Rome. This volume features commentators across the millennia, including the great travellers of ancient times, such as Strabo and Pausanias; those who undertook extensive journeys in the medieval world, not least Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta; courageous women such as Isabella Bird and Freya Stark; and enterprising writers and journalists including Mark Twain and Norman Lewis. We see the world's great cities through the eyes of traders, explorers, soldiers, diplomats, pilgrims and tourists; the experiences of emperors and monarchs sit alongside those of revolutionaries and artists, but also those of ordinary people who found themselves in remarkable situations, like the medieval Chinese abbot who was shown round the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris by the King of France himself. Some of the writers seek to provide a straightforward, accurate description of all they have seen, while others concentrate on their subjective experiences of the city and encounters with the inhabitants. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling historian Peter Furtado, each account provides both a vivid portrait of a distant place and time and an insight into those who journeyed there. The result is a book that delves into the splendours and stories that exist beyond conventional guidebooks and websites.

The Flying Boat That Fell to Earth - A Lost World of Air Travel and Africa (Paperback): Graham Coster The Flying Boat That Fell to Earth - A Lost World of Air Travel and Africa (Paperback)
Graham Coster
R309 R261 Discovery Miles 2 610 Save R48 (16%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Half boat, half aeroplane, taking off in a thrilling tumult of spray, the flying boat was the journey of a lifetime, Imperial Airways' legendary Empire boats flying up the Nile in nightly hops and alighting on lakes and in harbours all the way down to South Africa. But in 1939 the Empire boat Corsair came down in fog on a tiny river in the Belgian Congo and, through an epic salvage operation, gave its name to a new village in an obscure backwater of Central Africa. The Flying Boat That Fell to Earth, re-published with a new Afterword, tells the story of this amazing adventure, and seeks out, from Alaska to the Bahamas, the very last places on earth where it was still possible to catch a flying boat.

The Prize of All the Oceans (Paperback): Glyn Williams The Prize of All the Oceans (Paperback)
Glyn Williams
R386 R284 Discovery Miles 2 840 Save R102 (26%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The startling history of Anson's voyage round the world in 1740. 'A quite remarkably erudite and deeply informed book' Patrick O'Brian, Daily Telegraph Anson's voyage of 1740-44 holds a unique and terrible place in British naval history. The misadventures of this first attempt by Royal Navy ships to sail round the world make a dramatic story of hardship, disaster, mutiny and heroism. Only one of Anson's squadron, the flagship Centurion, completed its mission. The other vessels were wrecked, scuttled or forced back in shattered condition. Out of 1850 officers and men who sailed from Spithead in September 1740, almost fourteen hundred died, most from disease or starvation. With crews ravaged by scurvy, Anson's ships were battered by relentless storms as they attempted to round Cape Horn. Two of the six men-of-war in the squadron turned back, their captains to face later accusations of desertion. A third, the Wager, was wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Chile in circumstances in which all discipline vanished; Williams' description of the ensuing mutiny and the survival of the largest group in a tiny makeshift vessel sailing hundreds of miles south to safety in appalling conditions is a classic account in what is set to be a classic sea history. When Anson reached the coast of China in November 1742 he was left with one ship and a handful of men, some of whom had 'turned mad and idiots'. Despite this he was determined to capture 'The Prize of All the Oceans', the legendary Spanish treasure ship making its annual voyage from Acapulco to Manila. In this he succeeded, and returned home a hero; like Drake himself, one of the great British masters of the sea.

Borderlines - A Journey in Thailand and Burma (Paperback): Charles Nicholl Borderlines - A Journey in Thailand and Burma (Paperback)
Charles Nicholl
R295 Discovery Miles 2 950 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

In 1986, Charles Nicholl travels through Thailand to learn about the spiritual traditions of forest Buddhism in the north of the country. But interesting things have a habit of getting in the way. When Nicholl meets Harry, an old French Indochina hand, on the night train north with his tales of Kachin jade and Shan opium it leads to a journey along the banks of the Mekong, into the Golden Triangle and then across the border into Burma, in the company of the book s Thai heroine, Kitai.

The Glitter in the Green - In Search of Hummingbirds (Paperback): Jon Dunn The Glitter in the Green - In Search of Hummingbirds (Paperback)
Jon Dunn
R339 R277 Discovery Miles 2 770 Save R62 (18%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

'[A] delightful hymn of praise to the most extraordinary of all the world's bird families - hummingbirds' STEPHEN MOSS 'A brilliant read' MARK AVERY 'Ever thoughtful and engaging, Jon Dunn pursues these dazzling creatures through dust and jungle' BENEDICT ALLEN 'A warm-hearted and enthusiastic triumph of nature writing' TIM DEE _____________________ For centuries hummingbirds have captured our imaginations: revered by Native Americans, coveted by European collectors and admired worldwide for their jewel-like plumage, acrobatic flight and immense character. Though their renown extends throughout the world, hummingbirds are found exclusively in the Americas. Small in stature yet fiercely tenacious, they have conquered every habitat imaginable: from boreal woodlands to deserts, mangrove swamps to volcanic slopes, and on islands both tropical and sub-polar. The Glitter in the Green takes us on an unforgettable journey in search of the most remarkable examples of this wildly variable family. There's the Bee Hummingbird in Cuba, the smallest species of bird to have ever lived; the diminutive Rufous Hummingbird, whose annual migration exceeds 3,000 miles; and the critically endangered Juan Fernandez Firecrown, marooned on the remote Pacific island that inspired Robinson Crusoe. Jon Dunn brings us closer than ever before to these magnificent creatures, exploring a heady mix of rare birds, a history redolent with mythology, and the colourful stories of the people obsessed with hummingbirds through the ages. With great passion for his subject and a taste for adventure, Dunn transports us to wondrous landscapes from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, and invites us into the kaleidoscopic world of the hummingbird - the bird that has won the hearts and minds of mankind for millennia.

Channel Shore - From the White Cliffs to Land's End (Paperback): Tom Fort Channel Shore - From the White Cliffs to Land's End (Paperback)
Tom Fort 1
R285 R194 Discovery Miles 1 940 Save R91 (32%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The English Channel is the busiest waterway in the world. Ferries steam back and forth, trains thunder through the tunnel. The narrow sea has been crucial to our development and prosperity. It helps define our notion of Englishness, as an island people, a nation of seafarers. It is also our nearest, dearest playground where people have sought sun, sin and bracing breezes. Tom Fort takes us on a fascinating, discursive journey from east to west, to find out what this stretch of water means to us and what is so special about the English seaside, that edge between land and seawater. He dips his toe into Sandgate's waters, takes the air in Hastings and Bexhill, chews whelks in Brighton, builds a sandcastle in Sandbanks, sunbathes in sunny Sidmouth, catches prawns off the slipway at Salcombe and hunts a shark off Looe. Stories of smugglers and shipwreck robbers, of beachcombers and samphire gatherers, gold diggers and fossil hunters abound.

The Island House - Our Wild New Life on a Tiny Cornish Isle (Paperback): Mary Considine The Island House - Our Wild New Life on a Tiny Cornish Isle (Paperback)
Mary Considine
R324 R261 Discovery Miles 2 610 Save R63 (19%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

'Full of smugglers tales, childhood memories and the real-life struggles of living on a remote island.' - Touring Tales *** 'In the January dark, a young man walks slowly into the sea. He can't see where he is going, but he knows the island is calling...' Mary and Patrick's dream was to live in London, have 2.4 children, the nice house, the successful jobs. But life had other plans, and in one traumatic year that all came crashing down. Bruised and battered, Mary finds herself pulled towards Cornwall and dreams of St George's Island, where she spent halcyon childhood summers. So, when an opportunity arises to become tenants if they renovate the old Island House, they grab it with both hands. Life on the island is hard, especially in winter, the sea and weather, unforgiving. But the rugged natural beauty, the friendly ghosts of previous inhabitants, and the beautiful isolation of island life bring hope and purpose, as they discover a resilience they never knew they had.

The Wild Silence - A Memoir (Paperback): Raynor Winn The Wild Silence - A Memoir (Paperback)
Raynor Winn
R512 R421 Discovery Miles 4 210 Save R91 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER "Heartfelt and heartening ... a full-throated paean to the fundamental importance of nature in all its glory, fury and impermanence." -Wall Street Journal The incredible follow-up to the international bestseller The Salt Path, a story of finding your way back home. Nature holds the answers for Raynor and her husband Moth. After walking 630 homeless miles along The Salt Path, living on the windswept and wild English coastline; the cliffs, the sky and the chalky earth now feel like their home. Moth has a terminal diagnosis, but together on the wild coastal path, with their feet firmly rooted outdoors, they discover that anything is possible. Now, life beyond The Salt Path awaits and they come back to four walls, but the sense of home is illusive and returning to normality is proving difficult - until an incredible gesture by someone who reads their story changes everything. A chance to breathe life back into a beautiful farmhouse nestled deep in the Cornish hills; rewilding the land and returning nature to its hedgerows becomes their saving grace and their new path to follow. The Wild Silence is a story of hope triumphing over despair, of lifelong love prevailing over everything. It is a luminous account of the human spirit's connection to nature, and how vital it is for us all.

Driving Over Lemons - An Optimist in Andalucia (Paperback, Special Anniversary Edition): Chris Stewart Driving Over Lemons - An Optimist in Andalucia (Paperback, Special Anniversary Edition)
Chris Stewart 1
R320 R252 Discovery Miles 2 520 Save R68 (21%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A special anniversary edition with an updated chapter set 25 years on by Chris Stewart. Over two decades ago we set up Sort of Books to help our friend, the some-time Genesis drummer Chris Stewart, bring his sunlit stories of life on a Spanish mountain farm to print. Ever the optimist, Chris hoped to earn enough money to buy a second-hand tractor for his farm. He got his tractor, as the book spent a year on the Sunday Times Top 10 charts and went on to sell a million and a half copies. His story is a classic. A dreamer and an itinerant sheep shearer, he moves with his wife Ana to a mountain farm in Las Alpujarras, an oddball region in the south of Spain. Misadventures gleefully unfold as Chris discovers that the owner had no intention of leaving. He meets their neighbours, an engaging mix of farmers, shepherds and New Age travellers, and their daughter Chloe is born, linking them irrevocably to their new life. The hero of the piece, however, is the farm itself - a patch of mountain studded with olive, almond and lemon groves, sited on the wrong side of a river, with no access road, water supply or electricity. Could life offer much better than that?

Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) (Paperback): Mary Wollstonecraft Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) (Paperback)
Mary Wollstonecraft; Edited by Ingrid Horrocks
R682 Discovery Miles 6 820 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

"The art of travelling is only a branch of the art of thinking," Mary Wollstonecraft wrote in 1790 in a review of a travel narrative set in Ireland. A Short Residence was her own travel memoir, and became the work that Wollstonecraft most admired in her own lifetime. The text narrates Wollstonecraft's journey through Scandinavia, accompanied by her young daughter; the letters are addressed to an unnamed lover. Passionate and personal, the letters also explore the comparative political and social systems of Europe. The result is a travel book that is both as much a work of political thought as Wollstonecraft's more well-known treatises, and an innovative and influential work in the genre. This Broadview Edition provides a helpful introduction and extensive appendices that contextualise this remarkable text in relation to a number of key political and aesthetic debates.

The Golden Door - Letters to America (Paperback): Adrian Gill The Golden Door - Letters to America (Paperback)
Adrian Gill 1
R308 R251 Discovery Miles 2 510 Save R57 (19%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Britain's most readable journalist takes on his biggest challenge - America. Where were you when John F. Kennedy was shot? Today the answer more often than not is going to be 'not born'. You have to be some way past 45 to know where you were when Kennedy was shot in Dallas in 1963. A generation later, you could ask the same question about the World Trade Centre. Where were you when the plane hit the twin towers on 11 September 2001? But this book is about what happened between those two moments. The world's perception of America changed between those two waves. A.A. Gill's book is about the things he's always found admirable and optimistic about the United States and its citizens. Two of the happiest times of his life were spent living in New York and the mountains of Kentucky. The contrast between the two couldn't have been more complicated and different. The America he found was contradictory and elusive, not the simpletons' place he'd been led to believe. It was still a list of raw ingredients rather than the old stew of Europe. Now A.A. Gill takes another look at the America he knew in the 1970s, a place that seemed to hold promise, practical energy and a plan for the future. How did it become the political magnetic north, against which the liberal intellectuals from the rest of the world set their opinions? Why is it so easily mocked, so comprehensively blamed, so thoughtlessly hated? This book is a collection of linked essays based around places that will open up truths and mythologies about America and Americans. The theme of his journey will be searching for 'the home of'. Every other small town in America boasts on its Welcome sign that it is the home of something or other: a mountain, a mine, peaches, spotted pigs, a president, the world's biggest ball of string, barbecues, the deepest hole. So that's where A.A. Gill starts, going to find the home of everything.

The Great British Bucket List - Utterly Unmissable Britain (Hardcover): Richard Madden, National Trust Books The Great British Bucket List - Utterly Unmissable Britain (Hardcover)
Richard Madden, National Trust Books 1
R422 R324 Discovery Miles 3 240 Save R98 (23%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Discover white sandy beaches, fly a Spitfire and tuck in to the perfect fish & chips.

If you want to skydive or swim with sharks, stop reading now. This book is all about achievable adventures that celebrate the very best of Britain. Travel writer Richard Madden has compiled the ultimate bucket list of unique experiences that can be enjoyed in the UK from cheese rolling in Gloucestershire and stargazing in Northumberland, to a cliff- top theatre in Cornwall or an opera with a champagne picnic and magnificent views of the South Downs.

The adventures to be ticked off the list also include glamping, exploring ancient castles and foraging for wild food. And of course (this being Britain) there are plenty of ideas for rainy days.

Beyond Possible - '14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible' Now On Netflix (Paperback): Nimsdai Purja Beyond Possible - '14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible' Now On Netflix (Paperback)
Nimsdai Purja
R305 R244 Discovery Miles 2 440 Save R61 (20%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

**THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER** 'An inspirational study in leadership and a powerful testament to the human spirit at its very best.' - Mail on Sunday 'The energy of the book gives it pace and you whip through, rather as Purja nips up verticals... Whether or not you are a lover of the mountains, you will marvel at his tenacity, his fearlessness. No one can fail to be inspired by what he achieved.' - The Times 'Not only does Nims have exceptional physical stamina, he's also a leader with great skills in financial management and logistics.' - Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb all fourteen highest mountains in the world 'The magnitude of his achievement is astonishing.' Soldier Magazine 'A Living Legend.' Trail Magazine *** Welcome to The Death Zone. Fourteen mountains on Earth tower over 8,000 metres above sea level, an altitude where the brain and body withers and dies. Until recently, the world record for climbing them all stood at nearly eight years. So I announced I was summiting them in under seven months. People laughed. They told me I was crazy, even though I'd sharpened my climbing skills on the brutal Himalayan peaks of Everest and Dhaulagiri. But I possessed more than enough belief, strength and resilience to nail the job, having taken down enemy gunmen and terrorist bomb makers while serving with the Gurkhas and the UK Special Forces. Throughout 2019, I came alive in the death zone. Soon after, I was showing the world a new truth: that with bravery and enough heart and drive, the impossible was possible...

Babs2Brisbane (Paperback): Barbara Haddrill Babs2Brisbane (Paperback)
Barbara Haddrill
R321 Discovery Miles 3 210 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Once in a while fate sets you off in a direction you never expected. When Barbara Haddrill was asked to be a bridesmaid at her friend's wedding in Australia she decided to take the most eco-friendly route possible. Giving up on the easy option - a long haul flight that would have got her to Brisbane in 24 hours - she set off on what was to become an incredible nine-month overland journey. This journey changed her life and let to a worldwide debate about air travel. Feted and attacked by journalists and internet bloggers she became the centre of a media storm that threatened to overshadow the whole trip. Half way through her epic adventure, stranded in the Australian outbreak, reliant on the good will of truckers to get her past a dangerous cyanide spill, she fell to a low point of emotional exhaustion, leading her to question the whole point of her journey. Can one person really make a difference?

Full Tilt - Ireland to India with a Bicycle (Paperback): Dervla Murphy Full Tilt - Ireland to India with a Bicycle (Paperback)
Dervla Murphy
R399 R339 Discovery Miles 3 390 Save R60 (15%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1965, it is the diary of her bicycle trek from Dunkirk, across Europe, through Iran and Afghanistan, over the Himalayas to Pakistan and India. Murphy's immediate rapport with the people she alights among is vibrant and appealing and makes her travelogue unique. Venturing aloneaccompanied only by her bicycle, which she dubs Rozthe indomitable Murphy not only survives daunting physical rigors but gleans considerable enjoyment in getting to know peoples who were then even more remote than they are now.--Publishers Weekly. "This book recounts a trip, taken mostly on bicycle, by a gritty Irishwoman in 1963. Her route was through Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and ended in New Delhi. She carried a pistol, got sunstroke, and suffered the usual stomach disorders. She endured bad accommodations but reaped much local hospitality, too, including a dinner with the Pakistani president. Most of the book concerns the high mountain country of Afghanistan and Pakistan...A spirited account."--Library Journal.

White Mountain (Paperback): Robert Twigger White Mountain (Paperback)
Robert Twigger
R274 R164 Discovery Miles 1 640 Save R110 (40%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

'Robert Twigger is not so much a travel writer as a thrill-seeking philosopher' Esquire The Himalayas beckon and we go ... Some to make real journeys and others to make imaginary ones. These mountains, home to Buddhists, Bonpos, Jains, Muslims, Hindus, shamans and animists, to name only a few, are a place of pilgrimage and dreams, revelation and war, massacre and invasion, but also peace and unutterable calm. In an exploration of the region's seismic history, Robert Twigger unravels some of these real and invented journeys and the unexpected links between them. Following a meandering path across the Himalayas to its physical end in Nagaland on the Indian-Burmese border, Twigger encounters incredible stories from a unique cast of mountaineers and mystics, pundits and prophets. The result is a sweeping, enthralling and surprising journey through the history of the world's greatest mountain range.

The Edge of Extinction - Travels with Enduring People in Vanishing Lands (Hardcover): Jules Pretty The Edge of Extinction - Travels with Enduring People in Vanishing Lands (Hardcover)
Jules Pretty
R675 R544 Discovery Miles 5 440 Save R131 (19%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In The Edge of Extinction, Jules Pretty explores life and change in a dozen environments and cultures across the world, taking us on a series of remarkable journeys through deserts, coasts, mountains, steppes, snowscapes, marshes, and farms to show that there are many different ways to live in cooperation with nature. From these accounts of people living close to the land and close to the edge emerge a larger story about sustainability and the future of the planet. Pretty addresses not only current threats to natural and cultural diversity but also the unsustainability of modern lifestyles typical of industrialized countries. In a very real sense, Pretty discovers, what we manage to preserve now may well save us later.

Jules Pretty's travels take him among the Maori people along the coasts of the Pacific, into the mountains of China, and across petroglyph-rich deserts of Australia. He treks with nomads over the continent-wide steppes of Tuva in southern Siberia, walks and boats in the wildlife-rich inland swamps of southern Africa, and experiences the Arctic with ice fishermen in Finland. He explores the coasts and inland marshes of eastern England and Northern Ireland and accompanies Innu people across the taiga s snowy forests and the lakes of the Labrador interior. Pretty concludes his global journey immersed in the discrete cultures and landscapes embedded within the American landscape: the small farms of the Amish, the swamps of the Cajuns in the deep South, and the deserts of California.

The diverse people Pretty meets in The Edge of Extinction display deep pride in their relationships with the land and are only willing to join with the modern world on their own terms. By the examples they set, they offer valuable lessons for anyone seeking to find harmony in a world cracking under the pressures of apparently insatiable consumption patterns of the affluent."

Cut Stones and Crossroads - A Journey in the Two Worlds of Peru (Paperback): Ronald Wright, Alberto Manguel Cut Stones and Crossroads - A Journey in the Two Worlds of Peru (Paperback)
Ronald Wright, Alberto Manguel
R304 Discovery Miles 3 040 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

We get to share in his personal discoveries through the humour and good fellowship of the road, full of entertaining misadventures. But there is never any doubt that there is an ultimate purpose to these journeys: a passionate need to bear witness to the truth about the past, after centuries of persecution by an alien ruling class. So through the dense clouds of historical tragedy, Wright exchavates hope that a revival of pride and dignity in Andean culture is possible.

Bruce, Meg and Me (Paperback): Gregor Ewing Bruce, Meg and Me (Paperback)
Gregor Ewing
R316 R253 Discovery Miles 2 530 Save R63 (20%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Craving an escape from everyday life, Gregor Ewing writes a personal account of his 1,000 mile walk over nine weeks with collie Meg that takes them through the central belt of Scotland, literally following in Robert the Bruce's footsteps. From Kintyre, Arran and Ardrossan north to Ayr through Glasgow to Fort William and Elgin, south to Inverurie, Aberdeen and Dundee, over the Forth to Edinburgh and Berwick upon Tweed then east through Roxburghshire to Bannockburn, Gregor frames his expedition with historical background that follows Robert the Bruce's journey to start a campaign which led to his famous victory seven years later.

Between River and Sea - Encounters in Israel and Palestine (Paperback): Dervla Murphy Between River and Sea - Encounters in Israel and Palestine (Paperback)
Dervla Murphy 1
R463 R429 Discovery Miles 4 290 Save R34 (7%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Following A Month by the Sea, her acclaimed exploration of life in Gaza, Dervla Murphy describes with passionate honesty the experience of living with and among Jewish Israelis and Palestinians in both Israel and Palestine. In cramped Haifa high-rises, in homes in the settlements and in a refugee camp on the West Bank, she talks with whomever she meets, trying to understand them and their attitudes with her customary curiosity, her acute ear and mind, her empathy, her openness to the experience and her moral seriousness. Behind the book lies a desire to communicate the reality of life on the ground, and to puzzle out for herself what might be done to alleviate the suffering of all who wish to share this land and to make peace in the region a possibility. Meeting the wise, the foolish and the frankly deluded, she gradually knits together a picture of the patchwork that constitutes both sides of the divide - Hamas and Fatah, rural and urban, refugee, indigenous inhabitant, Russian, Black Hebrew and Kabbalist to name but a fraction. She finds compassion and empathy in both communities, but is also appalled by instances of its lack on both sides - a Palestinan woman who will not concede the suffering of Jewish civilian victims of a suicide bomber, and the Jewish inhabitants of Hebron who make the lives of their Muslim neighbours a living hell. Clinging to hope, Dervla comes to believe that despite its difficulties the only viable future lies in a single democratic state of Israel/Palestine, based on one person, one vote - a One-State Solution.

In the Country (Paperback, New edition): Kenneth Allsop In the Country (Paperback, New edition)
Kenneth Allsop; Illustrated by James Lynch
R443 Discovery Miles 4 430 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

At the end of the 1960s, Kenneth Allsop, a famous television presenter and literary man-about-town, left London and settled amid the sunken lanes, ancient forests and chalk streams of west Dorset. He was at his very happiest here. He thought it the loveliest place on earth, and for three years he devoted a weekly newspaper column to his day-to-day life at the mill, brimming with humor and delight for the wildlife which shared his home. In the Country is not rustic or romantic. It is never unrealistic about agricultural modernisation and social change in the countryside. Yet, steeped with a deep sense of the past, Kenneth Allsop's writing speaks in defense of the natural world and stands firmly against the unchecked exploitation of the land. First published 1972 by Hamish Hamilton.

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