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Books > Sport & Leisure > Travel & holiday > Travel writing > General
This unique book is the first to bring together a group of
influential China experts to reflect on their cultural and social
encounters while travelling and living in the People's Republic.
Filling an important gap, it allows scholars, journalists, and
businesspeople to reflect on their personal memories of China.
Private experiences-vivid and often entirely unanticipated-often
teach more about how a society actually works than a planned course
of study can. Such experiences can also expose the sometimes naive
misconceptions visitors often bring with them to China. China
experts relate stories that are always interesting but also more:
they tell not just anecdotes but telling anecdotes. Why are there
no campus maps? (Because, if you don't know where you're going and
why, you don't need to be here.) What's the allure of Mickey Mouse?
(He could break all sorts of rules and get away with it.) What's a
sworn brother in China? (Somebody who fights for your honor even
when you're not looking.) Covering nearly a half-century from 1971
to the present, these stories open a vivid window on a rapidly
evolving China and on the zigzag learning curve of the China
trippers themselves.
A Place Apart is a remarkable geographical and psychological
travelogue that rises above history, politics, theology and
economics. Created by a southern Irishwoman, cycling into the
mayhem of Northern Ireland in order to try and sort out her own
opinions and emotions about this troubled land. She came equipped
with her own childhood experiences of murder and Republican
martyrdom, but was otherwise unfettered by sectarian loyalties and
armed with a delightful curiosity, a fine ear for anecdote, an
ability to stand her own at the bar and penetrating intelligence.
She travelled extensively through both town and country, frequently
finding herself in horrifying situations, and sometimes among
people stiff with hate and grief: but equally, she discovered an
unquenchable spirit everywhere that refused to die. Other Dervla
Murphy titles published by Eland. Original Hardbacks: A Month by
the Sea: Encounters in Gaza, The Island that Dared: Journeys in
Cuba, Eland Classics: Wheels within Wheels, Full Tilt: From Ireland
to India with a Bicycle, In Ethiopia with a Mule, Where the Indus
is Young: A Winter in Baltistan, Tibetan Foothold, The Waiting
Land: A Spell in Nepal, On a Shoestring to Coorg.
This book is about the authora s amazing trip across six continents
and the world economy and society. It discusses whoa s sinking and
whoa s swimming, which countries are on the rise and which are
collapsing, where you can make a million and where you could lose
one. Every place he stopped on the trip, Rogers talked to
businessmen, bankers, investors and regular people. He learned
reams of information that youa d never learn from reading the
financial pages of any periodical. Delivers a thrilling account of
the journey of a lifetime and provides tips that would enable you
to pay for a trip just like it.
Peter Mayne (1908-1979) is to Morocco what Peter Mayle is to
Provence or Lawrence Durrell to Greece. This 1953 classic in a new
edition captures the very essence of the people and place. Having
already learned to appreciate Muslim life when he was in Pakistan,
Mayne bought a house in the labyrinthine back streets of Marrakesh.
He wanted to settle there, not as a privileged visitor in a hotel
or grand villa, but as one of the inhabitants. He learned their
language, made friends, took part in their festivals, and wrote
their letters. This is not a travel book in the accepted sense of
the word - it is a record of personal experience in a region of
foreign life well beyond the tourist's eye. Mayne contrives in a
deceptively simple prose to disseminate in the air of an English
November the spicy odors of North Africa; he has turned, for an
hour, smog to shimmering sunlight, woven a texture of extraordinary
charm.
Adventure writer Richard Grant takes on "the most American place on
Earth" the enigmatic, beautiful, often derided Mississippi Delta.
Richard Grant and his girlfriend were living in a shoebox apartment
in New York City when they decided on a whim to buy an old
plantation house in the Mississippi Delta. This is their journey of
discovery into this strange and wonderful American place. Imagine A
Year In Provence with alligators and assassins, or Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil with hunting scenes and swamp-to-table
dining. On a remote, isolated strip of land, three miles beyond the
tiny community of Pluto, Richard and his girlfriend, Mariah, embark
on a new life. They learn to hunt, grow their own food, and fend
off alligators, snakes, and varmints galore. They befriend an array
of unforgettable local characters, blues legend T-Model Ford,
cookbook maven Martha Foose, catfish farmers, eccentric
millionaires, and the actor Morgan Freeman. Grant brings an adept,
empathetic eye to the fascinating people he meets, capturing the
rich, extraordinary culture of the Delta, while tracking its
utterly bizarre and criminal extremes. Reporting from all angles as
only an outsider can, Grant also delves deeply into the Delta's
lingering racial tensions. He finds that de facto segregation
continues. Yet even as he observes major structural problems, he
encounters many close, loving, and interdependent relationships
between black and white families and good reasons for hope.
Dispatches from Pluto is a book as unique as the Delta itself. It's
lively, entertaining, and funny, containing a travel writer's flair
for in-depth reporting alongside insightful reflections on poverty,
community, and race. It's also a love story, as the nomadic Grant
learns to settle down. He falls not just for his girlfriend but for
the beguiling place they now call home. Mississippi, Grant
concludes, is the best-kept secret in America.
'A book that'll change your perspective on life. You'll not be able
to put it down.' Fearne Cotton 'Everyone should read this book.
Sophie Morgan is the epitome of grit and determination. Her writing
is thought provoking, honest and in parts hilarious.' Katie Piper
OBE 'Wrenchingly honest...eye-opening and deeply moving. *****'
Mail on Sunday As seen on 'Living Wild; How to Change your Life' a
two-part prime-time series on Channel 4, Loose Women and The Great
Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C On the precipice of starting her adult
life, aged eighteen, Sophie, a rebellious and incorrigible wild
child, crashed her car and was instantly paralysed from the chest
down. Rushed to hospital, everything she had dreamed for her life
was instantly forgotten and her journey to rediscover herself and
build a different life began. But being told she would never walk
again would come to be the least of her concerns. Over the next
eighteen years, as she strived to come to terms with the change in
her body, her relationships were put to the test; she has had to
learn to cope with the many unexpected and unpredictable setbacks
of living with paralysis; she has had to overcome her own and other
people's perceptions of disability and explore the limits of her
abilities, all whilst searching for love, acceptance, meaning,
identity, and purpose. Driving Forwards is a remarkable and
powerful memoir, detailing Sophie's life-changing injury, her
recovery, and her life since. Strikingly honest, her story is
unusual and yet relatable, inspiring us to see how adversity can be
channelled into opportunity and how ongoing resilience can
ultimately lead to empowerment. 'Raw, life affirming and gorgeously
written - this book is filled with extraordinary honesty, courage
and warmth. Sophie's words will make us all braver and more
hopeful.' Daisy Buchanan 'A truly astonishing read about the power
of never giving up.' Sun 'F***king hell!! This book is absolutely
brilliant . . . One of the best memoirs I've ever read. Honest and
so blooming human, it's fantastic.' Kathy Burke
"This is a book ripped from the headlines, from Black Lives Matter
to recently thriving downtowns stripped of office workers and
service workers. Those catching the brunt of it all, those with the
steepest hills to climb, may have been fucked at birth. But for
everyone, as Maharidge observes, the feeling of safety is folly. A
sharp wake-up call to heed the new Depression and to recognize the
humanity of those hit hardest." -Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
"Dale Maharidge takes us coast to coast in 2020, down highways
along which he first reported decades ago. His honed class
awareness-unrivaled among contemporary journalists-reveals that
today's confluent health, economic and social crises are the
logical conclusion to generations of unvalidated, untreated despair
in a wealthy nation. Forget hollow commentary from detached
television news studios in New York City. Fucked at Birth is the
truth." -Sarah Smarsh, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and
Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth Pulitzer prize-winning
journalist Dale Maharidge has spent his career documenting the
downward spiral of the American working class. Poverty is both
reality and destiny for increasing numbers of people in the 2020s
and, as Maharidge discovers spray-painted inside an abandoned gas
station in the California desert, it is a fate often handed down
from birth. Motivated by this haunting phrase-"Fucked at
Birth"-Maharidge explores the realities of being poor in America in
the coming decade, as pandemic, economic crisis and social
revolution up-end the country. Part raw memoir, part dogged,
investigative journalism, Fucked At Birth channels the history of
poverty in America to help inform the voices Maharidge encounters
daily. In an unprecedented time of social activism amid economic
crisis, when voices everywhere are rising up for change,
Maharidge's journey channels the spirits of George Orwell and James
Agee, raising questions about class, privilege, and the very
concept of "upward mobility," while serving as a final call to
action. From Sacramento to Denver, Youngstown to New York City,
Fucked At Birth dares readers to see themselves in those suffering
most, and to finally-after decades of refusal-recalibrate what we
are going to do about it.
Artist and photographer Clare Newton rediscovers and records the
faint remnants of old London, only made visible when lit by a
fleeting low winter's sun. These images are the conduits through
time, analysing the sometimes uncomfortable balance between a
struggling heritage to exist and the insatiable appetite of modern
regeneration. But deep inside East London also lies a Victorian
era. The mother of inventions, which not only stimulated change
across the world then but even now their lingering artefacts and
sayings effect us even in today's hi-tech social world. Strange but
true stories that explain how and where artefacts have come from.
Including the roots of 'Sarcasm' or the colour purple, both
invented in the east end. Or how Shoreditch got its name. This book
arose after many previous years exploration for a large exhibition
displayed before the Olympics in London, called Riches Uncovered.
The facts of which will be made into a series of photographic
studies for all to enjoy and smile over. About Clare Newton In 2001
Clare Newton was awarded the British Female Inventor of the Year,
and she has received 5 international awards for innovation. Born in
London, her creative talents were expressed at a young age, first
painting her bedroom to building wooden aeroplanes. But when she
was given her first camera, a little Minolta, at the age of 14, it
inspired her to build a dark room in the roof of her parents'
house, where she taught herself how to shoot and develop
photographs, with neighbours encouraging her with small
commissions. She took a degree in art and design in East London and
worked as a Graphic & Interior Designer for many years.
Photography really took off for her when the Olympics came to
London. She made her first large photographic installation in 2009,
'Riches Uncovered', a collection of photographic montages to
explain and document East London's disappearing heritage. After
this first project she went on to produce numerous extraordinary
community art projects, involving hundreds of children and adults.
The resulting photographic montages were displayed outdoors in
unexpected public places, encouraging all to take part, share and
learn about local heritage. Clare believes that it is through the
passion of creating participatory public projects, that art can
positively affect people in different and personal ways, even
drawing communities together. Clare's next endeavour was to create
Jump4London - the World's Longest Photograph, with 5,000 people
taking part, who appeared to jump simultaneously. Two meters high
and one kilometre in length, it was printed on 2.5 tons of
specialist photographic material, and documented an important piece
of London's history as people celebrated the 2012 Olympic Games. It
made a Double Guinness World Record as part of the Cultural
Olympiad's World Record London.
"Erika Fatland [is] shaping up to be one of the Nordics' most
exciting new travel writers" National Geographic **SHORTLISTED FOR
THE STANFORDS DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020** "A hauntingly
lyrical meditation to the contingencies of history" Wall Street
Journal "[An] impressive mix of history, reportage and travel
memoir" Washington Post The Border is a book about Russia and
Russian history without its author ever entering Russia itself; a
book about being the neighbour of that mighty, expanding empire
throughout history. It is a chronicle of the colourful, exciting,
tragic and often unbelievable histories of these bordering nations,
their cultures, their people, their landscapes. Through her last
three documentary books - one about terrorism in Beslan, one about
the 2011 terror attacks in Norway and one about post-Soviet Central
Asia - social anthropologist Erika Fatland has established herself
as a sharp observer and an outstanding interviewer at the forefront
of Nordic non-fiction. Translated from the Norwegian by Kari
Dickson
The nexus between travel, writing and media in the contemporary
world is dense: travel practice is increasingly interwoven with
media; representations in old and new media are co-present and
converge. Digitisation has had a profound impact on the practice
and mediation of travel, but this volume aims to show that travel
and its representation have always been enlaced with media. With
contributions by experts in literary and cultural studies,
journalism studies and informatics, the book takes a multi- and
interdisciplinary approach and covers a wide range of media, from
the hand-crafted album to social media. It illustrates how current
transformations invite us to revisit earlier periods of travel
writing and their media environments, and to explore the ways in
which contemporary forms of mediation are prefigured by earlier
practices and forms. The book addresses readers interested in
travel writing, travel studies and cultural studies. Chapters
Introduction, 3, 7 and 9 of this book is freely available as a
downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under
a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives
(CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license. Funded by University of Freiburg.
"If you're looking for ideas, or planning a bucket-list adventure,
you'll find page after page of sepia-tinted inspiration in the
revised edition of teNeues' Nostalgic Journeys." - Irish
Independent The seaside or the mountains? Today's most important
vacation planning question never came up in days long past. Both
seemed unappealing and nearly inaccessible. It wasn't until the
invention of the railroad that previously sparsely visited and
overlooked areas opened up, and Thomas Cook, the tour operator and
founder of modern tourism, was born. Fishing villages became
sophisticated seaside resorts, remote mountain areas became
destinations for hiking and skiing enthusiasts, and inns became
grand hotels. Nostalgic Journeys takes you on a journey back in
time, through the last two centuries: Ride the Orient Express to
the East, cross the Atlantic on huge ocean liners, travel Route 66
through the United States, and break the sound barrier aboard the
Concorde. As you browse through the pages of this book, you will
get the idea that travelling was, and can be, more than just being
stuck in a traffic jam or passing through numerous security checks.
It can be a stylish and sometimes adventurous way to explore the
world and return home feeling transformed by your many and varied
experiences. Bon Voyage! Text in English and German.
Perfect Camping for You in Montana. From the Cabinet Mountain
Wilderness in the northwest to the Yellowstone River Valley in the
south, the new full color edition of Best Tent Camping: Montana by
Jan and Christiana Nesset is a guidebook for car campers who like
quiet, scenic, and serene campsites. This completely updated
guidebook includes 50 private, state park, and state and national
forest campgrounds divided into distinct regions; detailed
campground maps; key information such as fees, restrictions, and
dates of operation; driving directions; and ratings for beauty,
privacy, spaciousness, security, and cleanliness. Whether you are a
native Montanan in search of new territory or a vacationer on the
lookout for that dream campground, this book by local outdoor
adventurers Jan and Christina Nesset unlocks the secrets to the
best tent camping Montana has to offer.
Read the stories of several amazing characters as they pass through
a mountain store and hostel on the Appalachian Trail. Before he was
an award-winning author, Winton Porter found success in the outdoor
retail business. His family enjoyed living wherever his work took
him: Atlanta, Chicago, Salt Lake City. But like so many others, he
often stared out the window, wanting something different.
Eventually, he cashed in his 401k and ransacked his bank account to
become a backpack-purging, tent-selling, hostel-running,
first-aid-dispensing, lost-kid-finding, argument-settling,
romance-fixing, chili-making shopkeeper deep in the Georgia woods,
smack on the Appalachian Trail. Nowadays, Winton opens the door to
strangers at midnight, doesn't wear clean clothes every day, and
sometimes eats Snickers bars for breakfast. He also meets amazing
people every day and hears some incredible stories! In Just Passin'
Thru, Winton captures the daily reality show of his family's new
life at the store, Mountain Crossings at Walasi-Yi. With humor and
grace, he introduces an old man who liked to sleep on his roof, an
man in his 80s who still hikes just to keep from getting bored, an
ex-Navy SEAL who was sometimes mistaken for a homeless person, and
so many others. Among the parade of people who are just passin'
thru, some show up once and others appear again and again. Either
way, the author masterfully introduces them to you in the pages of
this remarkable book. Inside you'll find: 20 captivating true
stories about real people Photographs that help bring the stories
and characters to life Map that shows the location of Winton's
mountain store and hostel
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?
Travelogues Collection offers readers a unique glimpse into the
diverse landscape, culture and wildlife of the world from the
perspective of late 19th and early 20th century esteemed travelers.
From the exotic islands of Fiji to the lush jungles of Africa to
the bustling streets of New York City, these picturesque backdrops
set the scene for amusing, and at times prejudiced, anecdotes of
adventure, survival and camaraderie. Photographs and whimsical
illustrations complement the descriptive text, bringing to life the
colorful characters encountered along the way. The Shelf2Life
Travelogues Collection allows readers to embark on a voyage into
the past to experience the world as it once was and meet the people
who inhabited it.
This is the first travel book that tested the idea that a
five-year-old daughter makes for a useful international travelling
companion. Together Dervla Murphy and her daughter Rachel with
little money, no taste for luxury and few concrete plans meander
their way slowly south from Bombay to the southernmost point of
India, Cape Comorin. Interested in everything they see, but only
truly enchanted by people, they stay in fisherman's huts and
no-star hotels, travelling in packed-out buses, on foot and by
local boats. Instead of pressing ever onwards, like so many
travellers, they double back to the place they liked most, the hill
province of Coorg and settle down to live there for two months.
Anchored by her daughter's delight in the company of her Indian
neighbours, Dervla Murphy creates an extraordinarily affectionate
portrait of these cardamon-scented, spiritually and agriculturally
self- sufficient Highlands. If travel is underwritten by an
unwitting search for a lost paradise, this is a quest that was
achieved - made possible with the right sort of travelling
companion.
It's time we celebrated women in adventure What does "toughness"
mean to you? Perhaps it's being physically fit and mentally
resilient. Perhaps it's doing something no one else has done
before. Perhaps it's breaking down boundaries and proving what you
can do, in spite of the naysayers. Perhaps it's travelling alone,
immersing yourself in new cultures and meeting new people. Perhaps
it's running ultramarathons in the blistering heat and beating the
competition. Perhaps it's conquering your fears. The badass
adventurers in this collection are all fearless, intelligent,
compassionate and curious about the world - and they all happen to
be female. From endurance obstacle races to arctic expeditions,
from mountain climbing to wingsuit flying, from horse trekking to
swimming the English Channel, they have set the bar high for what
women are capable of. Let yourself be inspired by their stories of
grit, courage, determination, triumph and heartbreak - you never
know, it might lead to something incredible!
This collection focuses attention on theoretical approaches to
travel writing, with the aim to advance the discourse.
Internationally renowned, as well as emerging, scholars establish a
critical milieu for travel writing studies, as well as offer a set
of exemplars in the application of theory to travel writing.
In April 2004, Barbara Egbert and Gary Chambers and their
precocious 10-year-old daughter Mary embarked on a 2,650-mile hike
from Mexico to Canada along the famed Pacific Crest Trail. This the
well-told tale of their epic adventure, which required love,
perseverance, and the careful rationing of toilet paper. Six months
later, Mary would become the youngest person ever to successfully
walk the entire trail.The trio weathered the heat of the Mojave,
the jagged peaks of the Sierra, the rain of Oregon, and the final
cold stretch through the Northern Cascades. They discovered which
family values, from love and equality to thrift and cleanliness,
could withstand a long, narrow trail and 137 nights together in a
6-by-8-foot tent. Filled with tidbits of wisdom, practical advice,
and humor, this story will both entertain and inspire readers to
dream about and plan their own epic journey.
These new essays tell the stories of daring reporters, male and
female, sent out by their publishers not to capture the news but to
make the news-indeed to achieve star billing-and to capitalize on
the Gilded Age public's craze for real-life adventures into the
exotic and unknown. They examine the adventure journalism genre
through the work of iconic writers such as Mark Twain and Nellie
Bly, as well as lesser-known journalistic masters such as Thomas
Knox and Eliza Scidmore, who took to the rivers and oceans,
mineshafts and mountains, rails and trails of the late nineteenth
century, shaping Americans' perceptions of the world and of
themselves.
Canals of Britain is the most comprehensive and absorbing survey of
Britain's canal network ever published. It provides a fascinating
insight into the linked up waterways as well as the isolated cuts
and quiet waters which may not be fully navigable by larger craft.
Infinitely varied, it passes picturesque open countryside, wild
moorland, coastal harbours, historic industrial buildings, modern
city centres, canalside public houses and abundant wildlife. Stuart
Fisher looks at every aspect of the canals - their construction,
rich history, stunning scenery, heritage, incredible engineering,
impressive architecture and even their associated folklore,
wildlife and art. Enticing photographs give a flavour of each place
and places of interest close to the canals are included. Each canal
is intricately mapped. For those who are keen to explore that
little bit further, the book goes to points beyond which others
usually turn back, with information on little-known parts of the
system, offering a new insight into this country's unique,
surprising and beautiful canal network. Attractive, inspiring and
also a practical guide, Canals of Britain has proved very popular
with walkers, cyclists, narrowboaters, canoeists, kayakers and
others wanting to get the most out of Britain's canals. This fourth
edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the ever-changing
landscape of Britain's canals, and includes many new colour
photographs to help bring them to life.
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