This extraordinary series of observations on England and Ireland complements de Tocqueville's masterpieces on the United States and France in the mid-nineteenth century. These pages are perhaps the most penetrating writings on the spirit of British politics. In effect, as indicated by John Stuart Mill, de Tocqueville was the Montesquieu of the nineteenth century. This is especially the case if one thinks of the present Irish situation. His political acumen reached into the future -which is now our present.

Whilst on holiday in Kenya, Corinne Hoffman fell in love with a Masai warrior. Eventually she moved into a tiny shack with him and his mother and spent four years in Kenya. However, slowly but surely, the dream began to crumble. She eventually fled back home with her baby daughter. From wild animals through starvation to ritual mutilation, this is a book steeped in humanity and one that tells a fascinating tale. At once a hopelessly romantic love story and a gripping adventure yarn, The White Masai is a compulsive read.

This book, first published in 1903, is an account of Lafcadio Hearn's insights and experiences of Japan. Hearn, known also by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo, was an international writer who was best known for his books about Japan and Japanese culture. This book will be of interest to students of history and Asian Studies.

To honour a promise to her dying father, Jane takes her ageing incontinent mother to Italy. What could possibly go wrong? Jane Christmas had always had a difficult relationship with her mother, but thought that a mother and daughter trip to Italy could be the start of a whole new friendship. In this hilarious but poignant memoir, she discovers that it will not be that easy. Describing her mother as a cross between 'Queen Victoria and Hyacinth Bucket', Jane struggles to build bridges to a woman she has always found a puzzle, while also trying to cope with her mother's failing health and physical needs.

The Guide to the World's Most Iconic Road Known as America's Main Street, or the Mother Road, Historic Route 66 is more than just a road, it is the artery that connects America's heart with its head, a road-worthy metaphor of the nation's post-war rebirth of innovation and industrialism along the way, as well as a representation of freedom (and loss) for many of the nation's peoples. Route 66 is the place to get your kicks, don't forget too. A stretch of road with so many stunning stories and secrets to share and roadside attractions, and billboards, to see, all of which were built along its path to glory through its hundred-year tenure, a past that is now celebrated as a pilgrimage for millions of drivers and dreamers, truckers and tourists, yearning to reconnect with the country's golden age. So, come and get your kicks with The Little Book of Route 66. Full of facts, stats, quotes and quips - the perfect driving companion for those long family road-trips. If the road is a metaphor for life, then Route 66 is the road. Buckle up, because this is going to be a road-trip of a lifetime... and a journey to remember. SAMPLE TEXT: For the first twelve years of its existence, only 800 of its 2,400 miles were paved. The rest were dust and dirt tracks making for very bumpy riding. The highway was not finished being laid with tarmac until 1938.

Martha was the youngest of sixteen, handpicked reporters who filed accurate, confidential reports on the human stories behind the statistics of the Depression directly to Roosevelt's White House. From these pages, we understand the real cost of sudden destitution on a vast scale. We taste the dust in the mouth, smell the disease and feel the hopelessness and the despair. And here, too, we can hear the earliest cadences of a writer who went on to become, arguably, the greatest female war reporter of the 20th century.

In 1955 the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, southeast of Saudi Arabia on the Arabian Sea, was a truly medieval Islamic State, shuttered against all progress under the aegis of its traditionalist and autocratic ruler. But it was also nearly the end of an imperial line, for in those days the British Government was still powerful in Arabia. Rumors of subversion and the intrigues of foreign powers mingled with the unsettling smell of oil to propel the sultan on a royal progress across the desert hinterland. It was an historic journey--the first crossing of the Omani desert by motorcar. Jan Morris accompanied His Highness as a professional observer, and was inspired by the experience to write her major work of imperial history, The Pax Britannica Trilogy.

First published in 2006. A traveller's tale set in the islands of Samoa with the legendary traveller Robert Louis Stevenson as guide, this book is valuable not only for its enjoyment as a tale of adventure, but also for its record of Stevenson himself - a literacy figure more commonly seen as author and not subject.

"If one keeps on walking, everything will be alright." So said Danish writer Soren Kierkegaard, and so thought philosophy buff Gary Hayden as he set off on Britain's most challenging trek: to walk from John O'Groats to Land's End. But it wasn't all quaint country lanes, picture-postcard villages and cosy bed and breakfasts. In this humorous, inspiring and delightfully British tale, Gary finds solitude and weary limbs bring him closer to the wisdom of the world's greatest thinkers. Recalling Rousseau's reverie, Bertrand Russell's misery, Plato's love of beauty and Epicurus' joy in simplicity, Walking with Plato offers a breath of fresh, country air and clarity for anyone craving an escape from the humdrum of everyday life.

In 2019, Nick Butter became the first person to run a marathon in every country on Earth. This is Nick's story of his world record-breaking adventure and the extraordinary people who joined him along the way.

On January 6th 2018, Nick Butter tied his laces and stepped out on to an icy pavement in Toronto, where he began to take the first steps of an epic journey that would see him run 196 marathons in every one of the world's 196 countries. Spending almost two years on the road and relying on the kindness of strangers to keep him moving, Nick's odyssey allowed him to travel slowly, on foot, immersing himself in the diverse cultures and customs of his host nations.

Running through capital cities and deserts, around islands and through spectacular landscapes, Nick dodges bullets in Guinea-Bissau, crosses battlefields in Syria, survives a wild dog attack in Tunisia and runs around an erupting volcano in Guatemala. Along the way, he is often joined by local supporters and fellow runners, curious children and bemused passers-by. Telling their stories alongside his own, Nick captures the unique spirit of each place he visits and forges a new relationship with the world around him.

Running the World captures Nick's journey as he sets three world records and covers over five thousand miles. As he recounts his adventures, he shares his unique perspective on our glorious planet, celebrates the diversity of human experience, and reflects on the overwhelming power of running.

The acclaimed travel writer's youthful journey - as an 18-year-old - across 1930s Europe by foot began in A Time of Gifts, which covered the author's exacting journey from the Lowlands as far as Hungary. Picking up from the very spot on a bridge across the Danube where his readers last saw him, we travel on with him across the great Hungarian Plain on horseback, and over the Romanian border to Transylvania. The trip was an exploration of a continent which was already showing signs of the holocaust which was to come. Although frequently praised for his lyrical writing, Fermor's account also provides a coherent understanding of the dramatic events then unfolding in Middle Europe. But the delight remains in travelling with him in his picaresque journey past remote castles, mountain villages, monasteries and towering ranges. The concluding part of the trilogy was published in September 2013 as The Broken Road.

Two middle-aged ladies, one Penelope Chetworth, the other her 12-year old mare La Marquesa, explored the high sierra north of Granada in 1961. Together the travellers brought out the best in their Spanish hosts and Chetwode's compelling account - warm, witty and candid - is informed by her infectious personal fascination for horses, religion and Spain.

First Published in 1968. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Alexander Burnes travelled up the Indus to Lahore and to the Khanates of Afghanistan and Central Asia in the 1830s, spying on behalf of the British Government in what was to become known as the 'Great Game'. His account of these travels was a bestseller in its day and this brand new edition brings the heady sense of excitement, risk and zeal bursting from the pages.

Lose yourself in this vivid travelogue evoking the historic Mediterranean island of Sicily by the king of travel writing and real-life family member of The Durrells in Corfu. 'A magician.' The Times Despite decades spent poetically chronicling Mediterranean life in Rhodes, Cyprus and Corfu, celebrated travel writer Lawrence Durrell had never set foot on the largest island: Sicily. For years, his friend Martine begged him to visit her on this sun-kissed paradise, but it took her sudden death to finally bring him to its shores - and he is not disappointed. Joining an eccentric tour group, Durrell immerses himself in the island's spectacular archaeological remains, and becomes dizzy with Sicily's rich history: its mysterious myths and meanings. Featuring unpublished poems and illustrated with elegant engravings. Sicilian Carousel is a gem that ranks with Durrell's finest work. 'Readers who have been to Sicily will love this book. Readers who have not been to Sicily will love this book.' Paul Fussell 'Like long letters from a civilized and very funny friend - the prose as luminous as the Mediterranean air he loves.' Time

Pre-order now and discover the incredible story of one woman's solo journey across the Bay of Biscay, into the Mediterranean, and the unexpected joy of solitude, self-discovery and resilience __________ 'We have no idea how much resilience there is inside us until we have to draw on it. We learn that we grow through adversity only as we go through it. That we crave happiness like plants leaning toward the light' When Susan quit her job in London and set sail off the south coast of England on her beloved sailboat, Isean, she was unaware this spontaneous departure would lead to a three-year journey spanning several countries across the continent. With only the very basics on board, resourcefulness becomes an unexpected source of joy and contentment. The highs and lows of living in such an extreme way awakens a newfound appreciation for the beauty of her surroundings, for being safe - for just being alive. For all the physical and navigational challenges of her journey, the other side of her story reveals a more important change - an inner journey - that took place along the way. This wasn't merely a challenge, a mid-life adventure or gap-year career break; it was much gentler than that, but much greater too. She was seeking nothing less than an entirely different life, having left the land far behind to call the wild, unbiddable sea home. __________

First published in 1982. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In the spring of 1978, as a foreign correspondent in Paris, Elaine Sciolino was seduced by a river. In The Seine, she builds the story of the river through memoir, travelogue and history, writing a love letter to the city she has called home since 2002. Sciolino begins in Paris, then moves east to discover the river's origins-both real and mythical-in Burgundy. She celebrates the river's rich history and captures the charm of its lively characters: a bargewoman who worked on the river for decades, a bookseller along the riverbanks, a houseboat dweller and a famous cameraman who knows how to capture the river's light. She patrols the Seine with river police, rows with a restorer of antique boats, discovers a champagne vineyard, and even dares to drink from and swim in the river. In this rich portrait, Sciolino explains why the Seine is the world's most romantic river and invites readers to explore its secrets and magic for themselves.

'Roger Deakin is the perfect companion for an invigorating armchair swim. Engaging, thoughtful and candid' Telegraph Waterlog celebrates the magic of water and the beauty and eccentricity of Britain. In 1996 Roger Deakin, the late, great nature writer, set out to swim through the British Isles. From the sea, from rock pools, from rivers and streams, tarns, lakes, lochs, ponds, lidos, swimming pools and spas, from fens, dykes, moats, aqueducts, waterfalls, flooded quarries, even canals, Deakin gains a fascinating perspective on modern Britain. Detained by water bailiffs in Winchester, intercepted in the Fowey estuary by coastguards, mistaken for a suicide on Camber sands, confronting the Corryvreckan whirlpool in the Hebrides, he discovers just how much of an outsider the native swimmer is to his landlocked, fully-dressed fellow citizens. This is a personal journey, a bold assertion of the native swimmer's right to roam, and an unforgettable celebration of the magic of water.

In Search of Perfumes is a fragrant journey across the world, revealing the beauty and mysteries of the perfume trade. Fruits, flowers, spices, bark, leaves, and branches are just some of the natural ingredients from the plant world that are used in the creation of perfume. Dominique Roques, travelling from Andalusia to Somaliland by way of Bulgaria, Laos, El Salvador, Indonesia and Egypt, describes his search to find the best natural ingredients, precious to perfumers everywhere. In Search of Perfumes demonstrates how the prestigious multi-million-pound perfume industry may begin its life as a single plant harvested by producers surviving on ancestral traditions and techniques and often risking their lives in the process as they combat the rising threat of climate change. Roques reveals the beauty and mysteries of a familiar trade; a return to the source of the world's scents.

On saving the world and other triumphant failures... As a child, young Kenyan Jess de Boer knew that one day she would save the world. Leaving behind the comfort of home she sets out to make her dream a reality. Many continents, adventures and a few hilarious mishaps later, Jess returns to Africa to dedicate herself to a new passion - beekeeping. Follow the beautifully illustrated misadventures of a young, modern-day explorer as she tackles the enormous challenges of aid in Africa, environmental concerns and conservation issues - often with humorous and dramatic results. While saving the world isn't as easy as it seems, we can make a positive change, one little bee at a time!

Bill Bryson has the rare knack of being out of his depth wherever he goes - even (perhaps especially) in the land of his birth. This became all too apparent when, after nearly two decades in England, the world's best-loved travel writer upped sticks with Mrs Bryson, little Jimmy et al. and returned to live in the country he had left as a youth. Of course there were things Bryson missed about Blighty but any sense of loss was countered by the joy of rediscovering some of the forgotten treasures of his childhood: the glories of a New England autumn; the pleasingly comical sight of oneself in shorts; and motel rooms where you can generally count on being awakened in the night by a piercing shriek and the sound of a female voice pleading, 'Put the gun down, Vinnie, I'll do anything you say.' Whether discussing the strange appeal of breakfast pizza or the jaw-slackening direness of American TV, Bill Bryson brings his inimitable brand of bemused wit to bear on that strangest of phenomena - the American way of life.

"Polished, poignant... an inspiring story of true love."-Entertainment Weekly A BEST BOOK OF 2019, NPR's Book Concierge SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BOOK AWARD OVER 400,000 COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE The true story of a couple who lost everything and embarked on a transformative journey walking the South West Coast Path in England Just days after Raynor Winn learns that Moth, her husband of thirty-two years, is terminally ill, their house and farm are taken away, along with their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, through Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea, and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable and life-affirming journey. Powerfully written and unflinchingly honest, The Salt Path is ultimately a portrayal of home-how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.

Part political inquiry, part travel journal, part-self exploration, "Seek" is a collection of essays by an award-winning novelist out to explore himself and his life in the company of those who live on the edges of society. Denis Johnson travels between the extremes of human behaviour, from a hippy convention in the Achoco Natinal Forest, to war-ravaged Liberia, where he is witness to horrifying acts of torture. Along the way he joins a "Bikers for Jesus" rally in Texas, hangs out with a gun-crazed militia group, finds himself stranded in Somalia, and swaps stories with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“She was part of the ‘stunt girl’ movement that was very important in the 1880s and 1890s as these big, mass-circulation yellow journalism papers came into the fore.” –Brooke Kroeger Around the World in Seventy-Two Days (1890) is a travel narrative by American investigative journalist Nellie Bly. Proposed as a recreation of the journey undertaken by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), Bly’s journey was covered in Joseph Pulitzer’s popular newspaper the New York World, inspiring countless others to attempt to surpass her record. At the time, readers at home were encouraged to estimate the hour and day of Bly’s arrival, and a popular board game was released in commemoration of her undertaking. Embarking from Hoboken, noted investigative journalist Nellie Bly began a voyage that would take her around the globe. Bringing only a change of clothes, money, and a small travel bag, Bly travelled by steamship and train through England, France—where she met Jules Verne—Italy, the Suez Canal, Ceylon, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Sending progress reports via telegraph, she made small reports back home while recording her experiences for publication upon her return. Despite several setbacks due to travel delays in Asia, Bly managed to beat her estimated arrival time by several days despite making unplanned detours, such as visiting a Chinese leper colony, along the way. Unbeknownst to Bly, her trip had inspired Cosmopolitan’s Elizabeth Brisland to make a similar circumnavigation beginning on the exact day, launching a series of copycat adventures by ambitious voyagers over the next few decades. Despite being surrounded by this air of popularity and competition, however, Bly took care to make her journey worthwhile, showcasing her skill as a reporter and true pioneer of investigative journalism. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Nellie Bly’s Around the World in Seventy-Two Days is a classic work of American travel literature reimagined for modern readers.