|
Books > Sport & Leisure > Travel & holiday > Travel writing
Further adventures on life in a small French town from Susan
Loomis, cookery book writer and author of On Rue Tatin. On Rue
Tatin was a delightful discovery, and every reader asked for more.
The life on Rue Tatin seemed like a dream fulfilled. Now in Tarte
Tatin, Susan Loomis shares with us how she, her husband and two
children settled into life in a small French town, learnt about
their neighbours and how to be accepted as inhabitants of the town.
With her son going to a French school and her husband finding work
in the town, Susan Loomis discovers the joys of the French
lifestyle - the markets and the food in particular - but also some
of the difficulties, particularly for those who are not born
French. The creation of the long dreamt-of cookery school is a
story of great appeal - everyone who has ever thought of starting
their own small business will enjoy the ups and downs of their
enterprise, and long to go to Rue Tatin.
Bookshop Tours of Britain is a slow-travel guide to Britain,
navigating bookshop to bookshop. Across 18 bookshop tours, the
reader journeys from the Jurassic Coast of southwest England, over
the mountains of Wales, through England's industrial heartland, up
to the Scottish Highlands and back via Whitby, the Norfolk Broads,
central London, the South Downs and Hardy's Wessex. On their way,
the tours visit beaches, castles, head down coal mines, go to
whiskey distilleries, bird watching, hiking, canoeing, to stately
homes and the houses of some of Britain's best-loved historic
writers - and last but not least, a host of fantastic bookshops.
One woman, one bike and one richly entertaining,
perception-altering journey of discovery. In 2015, as the Syrian
War raged and the refugee crisis reached its peak, Rebecca Lowe set
off on her bicycle across the Middle East. Driven by a desire to
learn more about this troubled region and its relationship with the
West, Lowe's 11,000-kilometre journey took her through Europe to
Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, the Gulf and finally to
Iran. It was an odyssey through landscapes and history that
captured her heart, but also a deeply challenging cycle across
mountains, deserts and repressive police states that nearly
defeated her. Plagued by punctures and battling temperatures
ranging from -6 to 48C, Lowe was rescued frequently by farmers and
refugees, villagers and urbanites alike, and relied almost entirely
on the kindness and hospitality of locals to complete this living
portrait of the modern Middle East. This is her evocative, deeply
researched and often very funny account of her travels - and the
people, politics and culture she encountered. 'Terrifically
compelling ... bursting with humour, adventure and insight into the
rich landscapes and history of the Middle East. Lowe recounts the
beauty, kindnesses and complexities of the lands she travels
through with an illuminating insight. A wonderful new travel
writer.' Sir Ranulph Fiennes
An absorbing, original, and ambitious work of reportage from the
acclaimed New Yorker correspondent
During the past decade, Peter Hessler has persistently
illuminated worlds both foreign and familiar--ranging from China,
where he served as The New Yorker's correspondent from 2000 to
2007, to southwestern Colorado, where he lived for four years.
Strange Stones is an engaging, thought-provoking collection of
Hessler's best pieces, showcasing his range as a storyteller and
his gift for writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider.
From a taste test between two rat restaurants in South China to a
profile of Yao Ming to the moving story of a small-town pharmacist,
these pieces are bound by subtle but meaningful ideas: the strength
of local traditions, the surprising overlap between cultures, and
the powerful lessons drawn from individuals who straddle different
worlds.
Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of
adventure, Strange Stones is a dazzling display of the powerful
storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that
are the trademarks of Peter Hessler's work.
In June of 1922, Marguerite Harrison, and American journalist and
spy embarked from North America on what was to be an epic journey
to Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia and Siberia. It was in Siberia
that she was arrested by the Bolsheviks, sent 4,000 kilometres to
Moscow and imprisoned there, first in the notorious Lubyanka and
later in Butrykra Prison. She was threatened with a charge of
espionage which could carry the death sentence or at a minimum, ten
years' exile in Siberia. Ultimately, the US Government interceded
and she was released. Red Bear or Yellow Dragon is one of the
finest sources on Japanese society and culture in the 1920s and
also offers a rare glimpse into life in the Asian steppes. Harrison
undertook a highly dangerous 1,400 km trip from Beijing to
Mongolia's capital, Ulan Bator, through the Great Khingan Mountains
and over the Gobi Desert to Chita in Siberia. She wrote: 'Most of
the roads I followed were bloodstained road - some grim reminders
of the World War and Revolution, others with fresh traces of blood
shed since the peace.' Marguerite undertook this arduous journey to
chronicle the peoples and politics of what she sensed as a stirring
of new movements in Asia - the eternal sphinx - that were to
severely challenge the West in the coming decades and which
continue to do up to the present age.
In this unique book, part eulogy, part history, part travelogue,
Charlie English goes in search of the best snow on the planet.
Along the way he explains the extraordinary hold this commonplace
phenomenon has over us, and reveals the ongoing drama of our
relationship with it. Combining on-the-slopes experience with
off-piste research, Charlie English's journey begins with the
magical moment when his two-year-old son sees snow for the first
time, before setting off in the footsteps of the Romantic poets
over the Alps, following the sled-tracks of the Inuit across
Greenland, and meeting up with a flurry of fellow enthusiasts, from
snow-making scientists in Japan and global warming experts in
California to plough drivers in Alaska.This is a book for anyone
who reaches for their mittens at the sight of the first flake.
Christine Louw is die dogter van Christine van Wyk, die bekende
stigter van Christine van Wyk Toere. Die skrywer neem die leser
saam op reis na onbekende, avontuurlike plekke. Reisgogga gaan oor
die mens se begeerte om die vreemde te verken. En oor die
lewenslesse en avvontuur wat met die uitdagings van reis
gepaardgaan. Reis is 'n ontdekking en ontdekking is 'n reis.
"Voices of the Old Sea" is Lewis' masterly description of the Costa
Brava on the cusp of tourist development in the 1950s, a place
where men regulated their lives by the sardine shoals of spring and
autumn and the tuna fishing of summer, and where women kept goats
and gardens, arranged marriages and made ends meet.
A mouth-wateringly evocative memoir of a new life in Tuscany.
Ferenc Mate and his painter wife Candace arrived from New York in
the late 1980s, knowing almost no Italian and with only four weeks
to find themselves a new home. After many (hilariously told)
mishaps, they finally conclude the deal for their perfect house -
an ancient farmhouse in the Tuscan hills - by drawing on the hood
of a rusty tractor. Mate brings the real Tuscany to life: the
neighbours, the countryside, country-life, the family farm down the
road who virtually adopt them and teach them the Tuscan traditions
of grape-picking, wine-making, mushroom hunting, woodcutting, the
holidays and, of course, the almost never-ending, mouth-watering
feasts. The Hills of Tuscany is a classic piece of rural escapism
for urban dreamers. Witty and enticingly written, it offers a
tempting invitation to readers to lose themselves in its lushness.
Steeped in the mesmerizing Italian landscape, full of unforgettable
characters, this book is an affirmation of traditions, friendship
and the countryside - a celebration of life itself.
The diary of Anton Reiff Jr. (c. 1830-1916) is one of only a
handful of primary sources to offer a firsthand account of
antebellum riverboat travel in the American South. The Pyne and
Harrison Opera Troupe, a company run by English sisters Susan and
Louisa Pyne and their business partner, tenor William Harrison,
hired Reiff, then freelancing in New York, to serve as musical
director and conductor for the company's American itinerary. The
grueling tour began in November 1855 in Boston and then proceeded
to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati,
where, after a three-week engagement, the company boarded a paddle
steamer bound for New Orleans. It was at that point that Reiff
started to keep his diary. Diligently transcribed and annotated by
Michael Burden, Reiff's diary presents an extraordinarily rare view
of life with a foreign opera company as it traveled the country by
river and rail. Surprisingly, Reiff comments little on the
Pyne-Harrison performances themselves, although he does visit the
theaters in the river towns, including New Orleans, where he spends
evenings both at the French Opera and at the Gaiety. Instead, Reiff
focuses his attention on other passengers, on the mechanics of the
journey, on the landscape, and on events he encounters, including
the 1856 Mardi Gras and the unveiling of the statue of Andrew
Jackson in New Orleans's Jackson Square. Reiff is clearly
captivated by the river towns and their residents, including the
enslaved, whom he encountered whenever the boat tied up. Running
throughout the journal is a thread of anxiety, for, apart from the
typical dangers of a river trip, the winter of 1855-1856 was one of
the coldest of the century, and the steamer had difficulties with
river ice. Historians have used Reiff's journal as source material,
but until now the entire text, which is archived in Louisiana State
University's Special Collections in Hill Memorial Library, has only
been available in its original state. As a primary source, the
published journal will have broad appeal to historians and other
readers interested in antebellum riverboat travel, highbrow
entertainment, and the people and places of the South.
River of gold is the story of South Africa’s most iconic river,
described by Rudyard Kipling as the ‘great, grey, green, greasy
Limpopo all set about with fever trees’. Here for the first time is
the only full account of this river’s history, its ancient past,
wildlife, landscapes, early kingdoms and their people, warfare,
trade, slaves, 19th-century hunting, travel and adventures and the
conservation efforts of four national parks of which the renowned
Kruger National Park is one. The book (and the river) encompasses
two world heritage sites, two Transfrontier conservation areas,
private game reserves, some of the richest rock art sites in
southern Africa with the river’s ‘source’ centred at the site of
the world’s richest gold deposits ever discovered, Johannesburg.
After 1750 km, this amazing river, which to early travellers had
neither a beginning nor an end, sharing a border with four southern
Africa countries, enters the Indian Ocean 50 km southeast of the
town of Xai Xai in Mozambique, first recorded by Vincent Erskine in
1869. Two of the authors, Clive Walker and Peter Norton, in their
quest to unearth its secrets have travelled the length of the river
from its source to the sea. Not in one journey but several over a
number of years while at the same time photographing its unique
landscapes, wildlife and people. Only two works have ever been
published about the river. The first by Carl Birkby in 1939,
Limpopo journey, a journalist and war correspondent, and the artist
Walter Battiss in 1965, simply titled Limpopo. Both accounts
concentrated on the author’s impressions and journeys along
sections of the river. River of gold is to be published by Jacana
Media, in full colour with some 200 images, numerous sketches, maps
and an afterword by Dr John Ledger. This long-awaited publication
comes at a critical time with the growing concern for the country’s
water resources, threats to our rivers, wetlands and catchment
areas, loss of municipal water through aging infrastructure and
contamination through sewage outflow. Add climate change to the mix
and the prospects grow dimmer. If this publication can reveal the
magnificence of one of our prime rivers and draw attention to its
unique biodiversity and history, this publication will reveal
information previously unknown and draw attention to rivers and
wetlands and the vital need to conserve them.
Explore the landscapes and places that inspired great art: find
peace in Monet's lily-filled garden oasis, climb Mount Fuji on a
printmaker's pilgrimage, sail with Gauguin to the South Pacific to
stretch your imagination, or contemplate light and the changing
seasons on Chelsea Embankment. Artistic Places is a stunningly
hand-illustrated, visionary guide for seekers of beauty, rare tales
and cultural riches. Find yourself instantly transported to the
places where great artists have sought refuge, found their
inspiration and changed the course of art history forever. Susie
Hodge, bestselling author and art historian, presents 25 famous and
forgotten artistic destinations around the world, and connects
these to the artists they inspired. In keeping with the Inspired
Traveller's Guide series design, each entry is accompanied by
specially commissioned illustrations from Amy Grimes which
perfectly evoke the wonders that first attracted the masters, while
Hodge delves into each location's curious history with insightful
stories both in and beyond the canon. So take a leaf out of your
favourite artist's sketchbook and discover the places they loved
best. Artists and locations include: J.A.M Whistler in London,
England John Constable in Suffolk, England Barbara Hepworth in St
Ives, England Paula Rego in Cascais and Estoril, Portugal Pablo
Picasso and Guernica, Spain Salvador Dali in Catalonia, Spain
Claude Monet in Giverny, France Vincent van Gogh in Arles, France
Rene Magritte in Brussels, Belgium Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland
Michelangelo in Florence, Italy Canaletto in Venice, Italy Johannes
Vermeer in Delft, Netherlands Anni Albers in Dessau, Germany Caspar
David Friedrich in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, Germany Gustav
Klimt and Lake Attersee, Austria Edvard Munch in Oslo, Norway Hilma
af Klint and Lake Malaren, Sweden Henri Matisse in Tangier, Morocco
Hokusai on Mount Fuji, Japan Paul Gauguin in Papeete and Papeari,
Tahiti Jean-Michel Basquiat in New York, USA Grant Wood in Iowa,
USA Georgia O'Keeffe in New Mexico, USA Frida Kahlo in Coyoacan,
Mexico Each book in the Inspired Traveller's Guides series offers
readers a fascinating, informative and charmingly illustrated guide
to must-visit destinations round the globe. Also from this series,
explore intriguing: Spiritual Places, Literary Places, Hidden
Places and Mystical Places.
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.
'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.
|
|