In 2018, kort op die hakke van sy topverkoper-memoires oor die Camino, Elders, en die kykNET-reeks Elders: Die Camino, reis Erns Grundling met ’n TV-span na Japan om ’n nuwe Elders-reeks te gaan verfilm oor die land waar die Rugbywêreldbeker 2019 sal plaasvind. Sushi en shosholoza is sy verslag van die reis. Kom stap weer saam met Erns, dié keer op die plek waar talle Suid-Afrikaners laat in 2019 die Bokke sal gaan ondersteun. Konnichiwa, Japan!

'Will someone pay for the spilled blood? No. Nobody.' Mikhail Bulgakov wrote these words in Kiev during the turmoil of the Russian Civil War. Since then Ukrainian borders have shifted constantly and its people have suffered numerous military foreign interventions that have left them with nothing. As a state, Ukraine exists only since 1991 and what it was before is controversial among its people as well as its European neighbours. Writing in a simple and vivid way, Jens Muhling narrates his encounters with nationalists and old Communists, Crimean Tatars and Cossacks, smugglers, archaeologists and soldiers, all of whose views could hardly be more different. Black Earth connects all these stories to convey an unconventional and unfiltered view of Ukraine - a country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and the centre of countless conflicts of opinion.

Bestselling travel writer Richard Grant "sensitively probes the complex and troubled history of the oldest city on the Mississippi River through the eyes of a cast of eccentric and unexpected characters" (Newsweek). Natchez, Mississippi, once had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in America, and its wealth was built on slavery and cotton. Today it has the greatest concentration of antebellum mansions in the South, and a culture full of unexpected contradictions. Prominent white families dress up in hoopskirts and Confederate uniforms for ritual celebrations of the Old South, yet Natchez is also progressive enough to elect a gay black man for mayor with 91% of the vote. Much as John Berendt did for Savannah in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and the hit podcast S-Town did for Woodstock, Alabama, so Richard Grant does for Natchez in The Deepest South of All. With humor and insight, he depicts a strange, eccentric town with an unforgettable cast of characters. There's Buzz Harper, a six-food-five gay antique dealer famous for swanning around in a mink coat with a uniformed manservant and a very short German bodybuilder. There's Ginger Hyland, "The Lioness," who owns 500 antique eyewash cups and decorates 168 Christmas trees with her jewelry collection. And there's Nellie Jackson, a Cadillac-driving brothel madam who became an FBI informant about the KKK before being burned alive by one of her customers. Interwoven through these stories is the more somber and largely forgotten account of Abd al Rahman Ibrahima, a West African prince who was enslaved in Natchez and became a cause celebre in the 1820s, eventually gaining his freedom and returning to Africa. With an "easygoing manner" (Geoff Dyer, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Otherwise Known as the Human Condition), this book offers a gripping portrait of a complex American place, as it struggles to break free from the past and confront the legacy of slavery.

Beautifully evocative of the music, people, and culture of one of the most fascinating countries in the world, this book is essential reading for Cuba's growing band of supporters and visitors. A travelogue detailing two separate missions for musician and writer Rupert Mould, this explores some of the biggest names in Cuban music while seeking out an increased personal understanding of two of Cuba's most influential revolutionaries, Ernesto Che Guevara and Jose Marti. In the course of this book much of the essential character of Cuba, her people, her music, and history are sensitively portrayed.

Winner - Edward Stanford Travel Memoir of the Year 2019. Shortlisted - Rathbones Folio Prize, RSL Ondaatje Prize, and Somerset Maugham Award 2019. In 2013 Guy Stagg made a pilgrimage from Canterbury to Jerusalem. Though a non-believer, he began the journey after suffering several years of mental illness, hoping the ritual would heal him. For ten months he hiked alone on ancient paths, crossing ten countries and more than 5,500 kilometres. The Crossway is an account of this extraordinary adventure. Having left home on New Year's Day, Stagg climbed over the Alps in midwinter, spent Easter in Rome with a new pope, joined mass protests in Istanbul and survived a terrorist attack in Lebanon. Travelling without support, he had to rely each night on the generosity of strangers, staying with monks and nuns, priests and families. As a result, he gained a unique insight into the lives of contemporary believers and learnt the fascinating stories of the soldiers and saints, missionaries and martyrs who had followed these paths before him. The Crossway is a book full of wonders, mixing travel and memoir, history and current affairs. At once intimate and epic, it charts the author's struggle to walk towards recovery, and asks whether religion can still have meaning for those without faith. A BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' in 2018.

'A soaring gift of a book' Owen Sheers 'Remarkable' Mark Vanhoenacker, author of Skyfaring 'Stunning . . . a love letter to nature' Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love The day she flew in a glider for the first time, Rebecca Loncraine fell in love. Months of gruelling treatment for breast cancer meant she had lost touch with the world around her, but in that engineless plane, soaring 3,000 feet over the landscape of her childhood, with only the rising thermals to take her higher and the birds to lead the way, she felt ready to face life again. And so Rebecca flew, travelling from her home in the Black Mountains of Wales to New Zealand's Southern Alps and the Nepalese Himalayas as she chased her new-found passion: her need to soar with the birds, to push herself to the boundary of her own fear. Taking in the history of unpowered flight, and with extraordinary descriptions of flying in some of the world's most dangerous and dramatic locations, Skybound is a nature memoir with a unique perspective; it is about the land we know and the sky we know so little of, it is about memory and self-discovery. Rebecca became ill again just as she was finishing Skybound, and she died in September 2016. Though her death is tragic, it does not change what Skybound is: a book full of hope. Deeply moving, thrilling and euphoric, Skybound is for anyone who has ever looked up and longed to take flight. Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award 2018.

For the first time in an English language edition published outside Japan, all 55 prints of Hiroshige's 'Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido' are reproduced in full colour, supporting a detailed and intriguing account of the author's rediscovery on foot of the historic 303-mile road from Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto. Remarkably, the Old Tokaido can still be found in many locations and photographs of the modern parallel the old.

..".I know the risks, and moderate them when I can, but still I press on, even into adversity. There are very few things I fear, and even this situation was not one of them.

But still...every now and then...just once and a while...

I wonder...I question...I seek to understand why...

Beaten to the edge of rationality, stunned beyond the capability of comprehension, between racking sobs and painful gasps for breath I screamed into the chaos,

'What in the bloody hell am I doing out here?'

I was not really expecting an answer..."

Through a series of adventures told with humor and passion, "Life is a Road, Get on it and Ride" captures the essence of the motorcycling experience and carries the reader where few have ventured before. Take a wild ride into the magical worlds along the highways of America and a passionate tour through the mysterious soul of an avid motorcycle rider. Experience what one reader calls, "A little bit of Jung, a little bit of Freud, and a little bit of rock and roll." (Doc D)

A woman’s tale of the transformative power of walking Britain’s ancient pilgrim paths. ‘Phoebe Smith is a splendid writer and an inspiring traveller’ Bill Bryson Faced with turning 35 – and seeing friends settle down, get married, have kids – Phoebe Smith found herself ending a long�term relationship, considering giving up her dream job and asking herself what actually is the point of… everything? On an assignment to walk the most famous pilgrimage in the world – the Camino de Santiago, in northern Spain – Phoebe experiences a moment of self-discovery shared by many who travel these ancient trails. And so, having spent a lifetime in solo exploration of unfamiliar places, she suddenly resolved to return to her native Britain and follow in the footsteps of generations of saints (and sinners) in the hope of ‘finding herself’ once more and confronting the things that scared her the most. But what is a pilgrimage? Why are so many people undertaking them now? How do you become a pilgrim? And how do you know what you are seeking? These are the questions Phoebe grapples with as she undertakes a series of journeys – some familiar and some little-known – the length and breadth of the British Isles. Along the way she contemplates love and loss in her life, the role of contemplation and silence in pilgrimage, and the sudden camaraderie shared endeavour brings. Until, high on a windswept cliff, she arrives at an epiphany: the ending of one trail is always the start of another.

Tired of airport security queues, delays and all those extra taxes and charges, Tom Chesshyre embarks on a series of high-speed adventures across the Continent on its fast trains instead. From shiny London St Pancras, Tom travels to places that wouldn't feature on a standard holiday wish-list, and discovers the hidden delights of mysterious Luxembourg, super-trendy Rotterdam, much-maligned Frankfurt and lovely lakeside Lausanne, via a pop concert in Lille. It's 186 mph all the way - well, apart from a power cut in the Channel Tunnel on the way to Antwerp. Is our idea of 'Europe' changing as its destinations become easier to reach? And what fun can you have at the ends of the lines? Jump on board and find out!

Approaching the Cosmos Hotel is a compendium of travels, an odyssey through much of the world over many years, a memoir that explores events, cultures, gastronomy, architecture and art through the critical lens of a man who doesn't take himself too seriously. Robert Champ's experiences humorously expose the fools, hypocrites and outre characters he encounters: out-of-their-element expats in Mexico and Spain, tourists in Russia or China who might better have stayed home, rigid officialdom everywhere. Fascinating landscapes and personalities limn these pages, and the armchair adventurer seeking an unconventional narrative will have no trouble finding it here. New Author Bio: Robert Champ has traveled widely in the Americas and Europe, navigated the upper Amazon and the Yangtze, survived narrow, precipitous roads in the Caucasus. Add to this a humorless dominatrix of an Intourist guide, plus true-believing, leering comrades at intimidating customs checkpoints (was I bringing in a Bible? a Playboy?), and we recognize we're in the dark old Soviet Union. The author was born in the Midwest on the eve of WWII. After some Pacific excursions courtesy of the US Navy, he eventually settled in California. He lives in San Francisco.

This handbook offers a systematic exploration of current key topics in travel writing studies. It addresses the history, impact, and unique discursive variety of British travel writing by covering some of the most celebrated and canonical authors of the genre as well as lesser known ones in more than thirty close-reading chapters. Combining theoretically informed, astute literary criticism of single texts with the analysis of the circumstances of their production and reception, these chapters offer excellent possibilities for understanding the complexity and cultural relevance of British travel writing.

'Byrne comes across like a post-punk Michael Palin.' Sephen Dalton, The Times 'An engaging book; part-diary, part-manifesto.' Observer David Byrne, co-founder of the group Talking Heads, has been riding a bicycle as his principal means of transportation since the 1980's. When he tours, Byrne travels with a folding bicycle, bringing it to cities like London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Manila, New York, Detroit and San Francisco. The view from his bike seat has given Byrne a panoramic window on urban life all over the world. An enchanting celebration of bike riding and of the rewards of seeing the world at bike level, this book gives the reader an incredible insight into what Byrne is seeing and thinking as he pedals around these cities.

'Electrifying.' Anne Applebaum 'Mesmerising.' Financial Times 'Seductive and terrifying in equal measure.' The Times 'Required reading.' Observer A journey into the glittering, surreal heart of 21st century Russia: into the lives of Hells Angels convinced they are messiahs, professional killers with the souls of artists, bohemian theatre directors turned Kremlin puppet-masters, supermodel sects, post-modern dictators and oligarch revolutionaries. This is a world erupting with new money and new power, changing so fast it breaks all sense of reality, where life is seen as a whirling, glamorous masquerade where identities can be switched and all values are changeable. It is home to a new form of authoritarianism, far subtler than 20th century strains, and which is rapidly expanding to challenge the global order. An extraordinary book - one which is as powerful and entertaining as it is troubling - Nothing is True and Everything is Possible offers a wild ride into this political and ethical vacuum.

The Great North Road is Britain's Route 66 - we've just forgotten how to sing its praises In 1921, Britain's most illustrious highway, the Great North Road, ceased to exist - on paper at least. Stretching from London to Edinburgh, the old road was largely replaced by the A1 as the era of the motor car took hold. A hundred years later, journalist and cyclist Steve Silk embraces the anniversary as the perfect excuse to set off on an adventure across 11 days and 400 miles. Travelling by bike at a stately 14 miles per hour, he heads north, searching out milestones and memories, coaching inns and coffee shops. Seen from a saddle rather than a car seat, the towns and the countryside of England and Scotland reveal traces of Britain's remarkable past and glimpses of its future. Instead of the familiar service stations and tourist hotspots, Steve tracks down the forgotten treasures of this ancient highway between the two capitals. The Great North Road is a journey as satisfying for the armchair traveller as the long-distance cyclist. Enriched with history, humour and insight, it's a tribute to Britain and the endless appeal of the open road.

The story of extraordinary women who lost their way - their sense of self, their identity, their freedom - and found it again through walking in the wild. 'Moving and memorable' Virginia Nicholson, author of How Was It for You? 'A triumph ... I felt as though I were being lifted, carried up to peaks' Charlotte Peacock, author of Into the Mountain: A Life of Nan Shepherd 'A beautiful and meditative memoir' Publishers Weekly For centuries, the wilds have been male territory, while women sat safely confined at home. But not all women did as they were told, despite the dangers; history reveals women for whom rural walking became inspiration, consolation and liberation. In this powerful and deeply inspiring book, Annabel Abbs uncovers women who refused to conform, who recognised a biological, emotional and artistic need for wilderness, water and desert - and who took the courageous step of walking unpeopled and often forbidding landscapes. Part wild-walk, part memoir, Windswept follows an exhilarating journey from Abbs's isolated, car-less childhood to her walking the remote paths trodden by extraordinary women, including Georgia O'Keeffe in the empty plains of Texas and New Mexico, Nan Shepherd in the mountains of Scotland, Gwen John following the Garonne, Simone de Beauvoir in the mountains and forests of France and Daphne du Maurier along the River Rhone. A single question pulses through their walks: How does a woman change once she becomes windswept?

When Richard Collins was diagnosed with a progressive incurable disease in 2006 he decided to see as much of the world as he could while his condition allowed. The result is The Road to Zagora, a singular travel book which takes in India and Nepal, some of South America, the Middle East and Wales. 'Mr Parkinson', as Collins refers to his condition, informs the narrative. As inveterate walkers Collins and his partner Flic Eden decided to continue to travel 'close to the land' post diagnosis, leaving the tourist trails and visiting places of extremes: the Himalayas, forests, deserts. The difficulties of rough terrain, altitude, extremes of climate for a person with Collins' condition are an ongoing strand of his narrative; occasionally they cannot be overcome and Collins is forced to consider the frailties of the human body in passages of moving contemplation. The Road to Zagora also includes an element of memoir, as Parkinson's Disease also causes Collins to reflect on his life, and in particular on his relationship with Flic. There are moments of great charm as their relationship evolves, and also the drama of a previous serious illness. These recollections of pre-diagnosis life have the wistfulness of hindsight as Collins considers what constitutes a life well lived. Yet any sentiment or self-pity is denied through Collins's resolute and independent-mindedness and the quality of writing. In the travel passages the readers experiences the sheer physicality of Collins' expeditions, along with his novelist's eye for telling local detail. In the sequences of memoir the writing is humane, compassionate and quite often comic. The Road to Zagora is a memorable journey around the world, and the self.

Chris Stewart's sea-faring 'prequel' to Driving Over Lemons was launched into the hardback bestseller list in May, where it's been bobbing about happily ever since. Sort of Books plan to make this paperback plain sailing too. It will be published in the same format and price as his ever popular Spanish trilogy.

It's surprising what you can find by simply stepping out to look. Kathleen Jamie, award winning poet, has an eye and an ease with the nature and landscapes of Scotland as well as an incisive sense of our domestic realities. In Findings she draws together these themes to describe travels like no other contemporary writer. Whether she is following the call of a peregrine in the hills above her home in Fife, sailing into a dark winter solstice on the Orkney islands, or pacing around the carcass of a whale on a rain-swept Hebridean beach, she creates a subtle and modern narrative, peculiarly alive to her connections and surroundings.

Brent Bittner, an attorney from Canada, travels to South India with his best friend Kavi for his friend's Indian wedding. He quickly learns how to adapt to an amazing culture that he finds interesting yet often challenging. Later, he is invited to visit the Indian court system by one of his new friends, an Indian attorney. He recounts fascinating stories from before and during the wedding and his time spent with his friend and his friend's family.

Following the wedding, Brent takes three weeks to explore the magic of India. While on a train to Cape Comorin, he meets up with a father and son from Bombay. They nickname him "Swami," the Hindu name for a spiritual guru. While on his trip, Brent learns that his father has died. Later, a visit from his father in spirit becomes a wonderful gift from the grave, confirming and enriching Brent's own spirituality.

This warm, funny, and insightful memoir was created for Brent's son, Keenan, as a present to him on his thirteenth birthday, to encourage him and others to take their own spiritual paths, wherever they may lead.