An Inspiration for Anyone Who Wonders If the Time for Adventure Has Passed This is the story of a middle-aged businesswoman who left a successful career to see if she could find something more meaningful to do with her life. A noncyclist, Eloise Hanner joined the first Big Ride (sponsored by the American Lung Association), in which more than seven hundred bicycle riders crossed the country from Seattle to Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1998. To Hanner, the ride represented a new beginning fraught with challenges and opportunities. Starting from zero, she trained for several months to work up to where she could ride and average of more than eighty miles a day. What started as a bicycle odyssey, however, developed into a distilled version of life, where storms became life-threatening and strong friendships formed in days instead of weeks or months. More than a travelogue, Hanner's account of the inaugural Big Ride is an examination of career and values and what to do with the second half of life—a question asked by many baby boomers as they approach fifty.

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879) is a work of travel literature by British explorer Isabella Bird. Adventurous from a young age, Bird gained a reputation as a writer and photographer interested in nature and the stories and cultures of people around the world. A bestselling author and the first woman inducted into the Royal Geographical Society, Bird is recognized today as a pioneering woman whose contributions to travel writing, exploration, and philanthropy are immeasurable. In 1872—after a year of sailing from Britain to Australia and Hawaii—Isabella Bird journeyed by boat to San Francisco before making her way over land through California and Wyoming to the Colorado Territory. There, she befriended an outdoorsman named Rocky Mountain Jim, who guided her throughout the vast wilderness of Colorado and accompanied her during a journey of over 800 miles. Traveling on foot and on horseback—Bird was an experienced and skillful rider—the two formed a curious but formidable pair, eventually reaching the 14,259 foot (4346 m) summit of Longs Peak, making Bird one of the first women to accomplish the feat. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, Bird’s most iconic work, was a bestseller upon publication, and has since inspired generations of readers. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Isabella Bird’s A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains is a classic of American literature and travel writing reimagined for modern readers.

A poetic meditation on life and death, by one of the most renowned and respected film-makers and intellectuals of our time. In November 1974, when Werner Herzog was told that his mentor Lotte Eisner, the film-maker and critic, was dying in Paris, he set off to walk there from Munich, 'in full faith, believing that she would stay alive if I came on foot'. Along the way he recorded what he saw, how he felt, and what he experienced, from the physical discomfort of the journey to moments of rapture. It is a remarkable narrative - part pilgrimage, part meditation, and a confrontation between a great German Romantic imagination and the contemporary world. This edition of the book is being published for the first time as a classic piece of proto-psychogeography, to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the legendary director's walk.

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.

Isaac Titsingh was head of the Japanese station of the Dutch East India Company 1780-94. He was a career merchant, but unusual in having a classical education and training as a physician. He could also read Chinese. In Japan, his impact was enormous. He became a friend and confidant of the shogun's father-in-law, the famously wise but wily Shimazu Shigehide, almost causing war between father and son-in-law. He also attempted the project of equipping Japan with an ocean-going fleet. However, he left Japan disappointed in the ability of the country to embrace change. After many years in India he settled in Paris, where he wrote down his experiences. It is one of the most exciting journals of the period and reveals the almost unknown world of eighteenth-century Japan, discussing politics, history, poetry and rituals. The Illustrations of Japan appeared posthumously in 1822 in English and French. This fully annotated edition makes the original English version available for the first time in 180 years.

In this journal of his travels in Bolivia and Peru, Nouwen ponders the presence of God in the poor, the challenge of a persecuted church, the relation between faith and justice, and his own struggle to discern the path along which God is calling him. "Nouwen puts his inexhaustible curiosity and hunger for religious experience gladly at the service of a worldwide audience".--The Boston Globe.

This is a narrative of travels in Japan undertaken in 1878 by someone who is probably the most famous female traveller and writer of the Victorian era. Travelling alone as a woman, she was the first to enter parts of Japan which had had no cultural contact whatsoever with a European, let alone a woman on her own. The letters which make up this work give a real picture of Japan and Japanese life at the time.

Delving into Brazil's baroque past, Peter Robb writes about its history of slavery and the richly multicultural but disturbed society that was left in its wake when the practice was abolished in the late nineteenth century. Even today, Brazil is a hation of almost unimaginable distance between its wealthy and its poor, a place of extraordinary levels of crime and violence. It is also one of the most beautiful and seductive places on earth. Using the art and the food, and the books of its great nineteenth century writer, Machado de Assis, Robb takes us on a journey into a world like Conrad's Nostromo. A world so absurdly dramatic, like the current president Lula's fight for power, that it could have come from one of the country's immensely popular TV soap operas, a world where resolution is often only provided by death. Like all the best travel writing, A Death in Brazil immerses you deep into the heart of a fascinating country. Vivid, obsessive and intelligent, this is an utterly enthralling account.

First published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This is the story of Stevenson's Pacific travels on the Casco and the Equator. It is a beautifully observed account of island peoples and their life; it is also the story of the beginning of his love affair with the Pacific, and of his growing commitment to the island cause. "In the South Seas" has been described as "the most solid of Stevenson's general writings;" it is certainly his least known book as well as a unique gem of Pacific literature, and richly deserves to be rediscovered.

"Plans are usually only good for one thing - laughing at in hindsight. So, armed with rudimentary Spanish, dangerous levels of curiosity and a record of poor judgement, I set off to tackle whatever South America could throw at me." On his nineteenth birthday, Peter Allison flipped a coin. One side would take him to Africa and the other to South America. He recounted his time spent as a safari guide in Africa to much acclaim in Don't Run, Whatever You do and Don't Look Behind You. Sixteen years later he makes his way to Chile, ready to seek out the continent's best, weirdest and wildest adventures - and to chase the elusive jaguar. From learning to walk a puma (or rather be bitten and dragged along by it) in Bolivia, to finding love in Patagonia and hunting naked with the remote Huaorani people in Ecuador, How to Walk a Puma is Peter's fascinating and often hilarious account of misadventures in South America. Ever the gifted storyteller and cultural observer, Allison makes many observations about life in humid climes, the nature of nomadism, and exactly what it is like to be nearly blasted off a mountain by the famous Patagonia wind. His self-deprecating humour is as delightful as his crazy stunts, and his love for animals - even when they bite - is infectious.

In 1932 the young writer and political activist CLR James arrived in London from his native Trinidad. During his first weeks in the city he wrote a series of essays about his impressions and experiences for publication back home in the Port of Spain Gazette. Seventy years later, these pieces, newly transcribed from archives in the Caribbean, are published for the first time as a collection, with an extensive introduction and notes. Letters from London reveals CLR James' first encounter with the colonial metropolis and the values that had already shaped his intellectual development in Trinidad. Drawn to London's literary and political avant-garde, he describes life in Bloomsbury, arguments with Edith Sitwell, visits to theatres, museums and concert halls, and his seminal friendship with the great West Indies cricketer, Learie Constantine. Initially in awe of London, James soon develops a critical stance towards the city and its once mysterious people, analysing their drab architecture, shallow newspapers and repressed social relations. 'Londoners have had sixty years of compulsory education and all the advantages of a great modern city,' he writes. 'When you look at the intellectual quality of the people, you are astonished.' A resurrected 'classic' of considerable importance, Letters from London provides a hitherto inaccessible picture of the young CLR James and his formative period. This collection will appeal not just to Jamesites, but to scholars of colonial and post-colonial history and those interested in London.

Born Adventurer tells the story of Frank Bickerton (1889-1954), the British engineer on Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14. The expedition gave birth to what Sir Ranulph Fiennes has called 'one of the greatest accounts of polar survival in history' and surveyed for the first time the 2,000-mile stretch of coast around Cape Denison, which later became Adelie Land. The MBE was, however, only one episode in a rich and colourful career. Bickerton accompanied the ill-fated Aeneas Mackintosh on a treasure island hunt to R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island, was involved with the early stages of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and tested 'wingless aeroplanes' in Norway. Born Adventurer follows him through his many experiences, from his flying career in the First World War to his time in California, mixing with the aristocracy of the Hollywood and sporting worlds, and from his safaris in Africa to his distinguished career as an editor and screenplay writer at Shepperton Studios. Stephen Haddelsey draws on unique access to family papers and Bickerton's journals and letters to give us a rich and full account of this incredible adventurer and colourful man.

Ranging from the early modern to the postcolonial, and dealing mainly with encounters in Europe, the Americas and the Middle East, Perspectives on Travel Writing is a collection of new essays by international scholars that examines some of the various contexts of travel writing, as well as its generic characteristics. Contributions examine the similarities between autobiography and memoir, fiction, and travel writing, and attempt to define travel writing as a genre. Utilising a variety of approaches, the essays display a shared concern with what travel writing does and how it does it. The effects of encounter and border-crossing on gender, 'race', and national identity are considered throughout. The collection begins with a review of some of the problems and issues facing the scholar of travel writing and moves on to a detailed discussion of the qualities of travel writing and its related forms. It then presents in chronological order a number of case studies, before closing with a critical discussion of approaches to the subject. An essay collection with broad historical and geographical coverage, this volume should appeal to students and researchers of travel and travel-related literatures from across the Humanities.

An illuminating road trip through the history, life, and attractions of one of the most beautiful countries in the southern hemisphere
The beauty and grandeur of New Zealand has captured the imagination of movie-goers over the past couple of years, and the country is a dream destination for many around the world. Straying from the Flock is an intimate and personal account of one passionate traveler's visit to this incredible country, its mountains and beaches, fjords, rainforests, vineyards, and hidden eateries. Each of the fifty chapters describes one day in his travels-fishing, flying, cattle herding, befriending locals at every turn. Filled with colorful stories and memorable personalities, the book not only describes the trip of a lifetime, but captures a life-altering experience for its writer. From mountains and rainforests to cities and beaches, Straying from the Flock is both a moving memoir and personal travel guide to this amazing country.

In the spring of 1871, Ralph Waldo Emerson boarded a train in Concord, Massachusetts, bound for a month-and-a-half-long tour of California—an interlude that became one of the highlights of his life. On their journey across the American West, he and his companions would take in breathtaking vistas in the Rockies and along the Pacific Coast, speak with a young John Muir in the Yosemite Valley, stop off in Salt Lake City for a meeting with Brigham Young, and encounter a diversity of communities and cultures that would challenge their Yankee prejudices.Based on original research employing newly discovered documents, The California Days of Ralph Waldo Emerson maps the public story of this group's travels onto the private story of Emerson's final years, as aphasia set in and increasingly robbed him of his words. Engaging and compelling, this travelogue makes it clear that Emerson was still capable of wonder, surprise, and friendship, debunking the presumed darkness of his last decade.

The peace activist and founder of Climb for Tibet attempts a peace climb to the top of Kilimanjaro For Tess Burrows climbing to the Roof of Africa was to be the final step to fulfill her dream. This gutsy and compassionate grandmother has spent more than a decade pushing herself to incredible limits. She has climbed the world's highest summits and trekked to both the North and South Poles to call out the thousands of peace messages she's collected from every nation on earth. On this latest journey, share in Tess's experiences of the vibrancy and colors of Africa and its people. Be with her on the profound challenges of the climb. A climb where as a metaphor for people to pull together, she attempts to pull a tire packed with peace messages up the famed summit of Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro. Is passion alone enough to make something happen?

In earlier times, for the Chinese, Korea was 'the country of courteous people from the east', and for westerners 'the land of the morning calm' or 'hermit kingdom'. In this fascinating collection of writings on times past in Korea the author helps to lift the veil on this once closed country, providing the reader with a wide selection of first-hand accounts by travellers who 'discovered' Korea - some as snapshots by those passing through, others more detailed evaluations of Korean culture and everyday life by those who spent time there. The collection covers a period of over 400 years - from Hendrik Hamel's journal of the 1600s to early 20th century records, such as Roy C. Andrew's 1918 published account of his expedition, entitled Exploring Unknown Corners of the 'Hermit Kingdom'.

'Matar has produced a valuable and stimulating piece of scholarship ...' - The Daily Telegraph

In 1897, two sisters embark from Pennsylvania in search of soul-broadening experiences in the Indian Southwest, newly opened to intrepid travellers. Their letters and photographs are the heart of this brilliantly reassembled grand tour.

Cook the simple and flavoursome food of the South of France with acclaimed chef Alex Jackson's Provencal. Provencal is the stunning reissue of Alex Jackson's widely acclaimed first book Sardine. This unique collection of recipes encapsulates the beauty and simplicity of Provencal French cooking and shows you how to recreate the flavours of the South of France at home. Provence and Languedoc are France's window onto the Mediterranean Sea and all that lies beyond, and the culinary influences that converge there make for a cuisine that is varied, rich and deep. The recipes are unpretentious and seasonal, highlighting Alex's belief that cooking the food of Provence is about simplicity, good ingredients and generosity of spirit. Lovingly described, the recipes evoke the South of France with their warmth and flavour; from Bouillabaisse and Autumnal Grand Aioli to a Tomato and Tapenade Tart and Nougat Ice Cream with Fennel Biscuits. The book is divided into seasons and each season contains a 'Grande Bouffe' - a set menu for a feast - so you can really impress your guests and celebrate many wonderful ingredients in one evening's cooking. Provencal promises to reignite a love affair with French provincial cooking, celebrating its multitude of influences, its focus on seasonal eating and, ultimately, an attitude to food which centres around sharing and enjoyment.

Based on acclaimed author Zora Neale Hurston's personal experiences in Haiti and Jamaica--where she participated as an initiate rather than just an observer during her visits in the 1930s--"Tell My Horse" is a fascinating firsthand account of the mysteries of Voodoo. An invaluable resource and remarkable guide to Voodoo practices, rituals, and beliefs, it is a travelogue into a dark, mystical world that offers a vividly authentic picture of ceremonies, customs, and superstitions.