Also available as an audio book
Anthony Bourdain, lifelong line cook and bestselling author of Kitchen Confidential, sets off to eat his way around the world. He heads out to Saigon where he eats the still-beating heart of a live cobra, and travels deep into landmined Khmer Rouge territory to find the rumoured Wild West of Cambodia. Other stops include dining with gangsters in Russia, a medieval pig slaughter in northern Portugal, and a return to his roots in the tiny fishing village of La Treste, where he first ate an oyster as a child.

Find out more, including a video clip from the TV series A Cook's Tour, at

In the 17th century Britons left their country in vast numbers - explorers, diplomats, ecclesiastics, merchants, or simply "tourists." Only the most intrepid ventured into the faraway lands of the Ottoman Empire. Their travel narratives, best-sellers in their day, provide an entertaining but also valuable testimony on the everyday life of Orthodox Christians and their coexistence with the Turks. Greek Christians, though living under the Ottoman yoke, enjoyed greater religious freedom than many of their brothers in Christian Europe. The travelers' intellectual curiosity about Greece opened a window on the Orthodox Church, and paved the way for future dialogue.

Readers of P.S. Allfree's previous book of Arabian memoirs, Warlords of Oman, will recall his closing words 'I was going to see more of Arabia.' In these pages he recounts a year and a half spent as a political officer among the Bedouin of the south-eastern Rub' al-Khali, the 'Empty Quarter'. The many fascinating characters in this ancient land spring happily to life: the wise Judge of the Saar who chewed tobacco and whose name was 'Son of the jerboa'; Sulayim, the serpent-subtle eminence grise of the desert, whom the author employs as a secret key to unlock the doors of the Mahra, a wild and inhospitable race; 'Aunty' Hussein, the motherly Secretary of State in the Sultanate of Sayun, and many others. Notable amongst a crowded chronicle of incidents are the Case of the Hamstringed Camel, which nearly leads to a tribal war; the author's embroilment with a terrifying tribe of what he calls 'nightmare Teddy-boys, armed to the eyebrows'; and the final exciting expedition, which is the climax of this work, the coup de main which brings the government to the wild and anarchic Mahra.

This study examines and explains how British explorers visualized the African interior in the latter part of the nineteenth century, providing the first sustained analysis of the process by which this visual material was transformed into the illustrations in popular travel books. At that time, central Africa was, effectively, a blank canvas for Europeans, unknown and devoid of visual representations. While previous works have concentrated on exploring the stereotyped nature of printed imagery of Africa, this study examines the actual production process of images and the books in which they were published in order to demonstrate how, why, and by whom the images were manipulated. Thus, the main focus of the work is not on the aesthetic value of pictures, but in the activities, interaction, and situations that gave birth to them in both Africa and Europe.

Die fassinerende ontwikkelingsgeskiedenis van Berlyn loop baie nou saam met die ontwikkeling van die staat Pruise, die Eerste Wereldoorlog, die opkoms van Nazisme, die konsentrasiekampe naby die stad en die gruwels van die Tweede Wereldoorlog. Daar word ook uitgewei oor die bloeityd van die kabaret en film in die tyd tussen die oorloë en na die verdeling van die stad in Oos- en Wes-Berlyn ná die Tweede Wêreldoorlog.

Contents Include: John Farquharson - Lonavey - Lost on the Grampians - A Glorious Twalt O' August! - A Dundonian's Lesson in Deerstalking - Two Days with John Farquharson - Athole Gamekeepers Cleverly Outwitted - How They Carried off the Deer - An English Sportsman's Initiation - Sportsmen Sold: Gamekeepers made Game of - Seven deer Shot Within a Minute - Stalking the Stalkers - Running the Blockade - A Wonderful Dream - Minor Incidents, Bamboozling Glenshee Gamekeepers, Deer Attacked by an eagle, Two Close Shaves - Ranter's Famous Fox Chase - All About "Nell," Farquharson's Pointer - Alexander Davidson

Inspired by a movie, television show, book, or stories from friends, we may find ourselves daydreaming about trips to exotic locations with exciting adventures. For some lucky ones, these dreams become reality.

Would a Maharajah Sleep Here? presents firsthand stories of luxury travel and discovery by two fun and experienced travelers. Authors and travelers Stephen and Leanne Troy provide accounts of historic exploration, luxury hotel stays, and encounters with interesting people around the world. Each trip is private and planned in great detail to make sure each and every adventure is unique and experienced in five-star luxury. Chronicling their exploits at the end of each day, the Troys describe checking into the finest hotels in the world and getting whisked away for incredible tours of some of the world's greatest treasures.

In addition to personal anecdotes, this travelogue shares information about sites, history, culture, and food in countries around the world. The Troys reveal the good, the bad, and, of course, the fun and funny events that they encountered on their trips around the globe.

First published in 1937 this is a collection of articles written by the author under the pseudonym 'Waseda Eisaku' for the Japan Tourist Bureau's magazine over twenty five years. Intended to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of cultivated tourists from abroad by giving the insider's view of all things Japanese, it was published as a book just before the outbreak of World War II.

Writing in the first person, Katsumata becomes both guide and confidante, writing about his own travel experiences in Japan and about Japanese customs and practices that interest him, such as traditional incense ceremonies, or fishing with rod and creel. This personal approach results in an unusual selection of topics and itineraries including tray landscapes, old Japanese clocks, hot springs, Japanese humour, sumo wrestling, pines in Japanese scenery, the Japanese sun flag and Buddhist temple bells. The author not only describes, but draws the reader into his own experiences - his joy on buying an antiquarian book he cannot really afford, the monotony he feels when travelling too long through snowy landscapes, the delight he takes in telling you that the best bait for carp fishing is sweet potato. Katsumata's unconventional choice of subjects and his informal and individualistic writing style make this a refreshingly different guide to Japan, and a valuable record of the period in which it was written.

Rome Through the Mist: Walks Among the Fountains of the Eternal City invites readers to join Joe Gartman, long-time culture columnist for Italia! Magazine, on a journey among 80 of Rome's celebrated fountains, to find a more intimate way of experiencing the Eternal City. On foot with book in hand, or simply in imagination, each chapter takes readers on a vividly described walk, enhanced with colorful, subtly revealing photographs of Roman life. Every fountain in Rome tells a story; every story is about Rome: her history, her legends, and her extraordinary people, from poets to popes, artists to models, architects to emperors. Every street, piazza, wall and garden that contains a fountain has a past worth knowing. You are invited to follow the paths in this book, with 15 different turn-by-turn walking tours, 17 maps, and 182 photos. There are plenty of hints, too, about things to see and experience along the way, especially the matchless artistic treasures that await behind unexpected doors. In your armchair or on your feet, journey from Trevi's torrents to the Naiad's naughty nymphs; from the quiet basins in Piazza San Simeone to Bernini's mighty Four Rivers in Piazza Navona; from the Dark Fountains in Villa Borghese to the charming lionesses in Piazza del Popolo; and listen to the voices of the waters.

There's never been a better time to live on this planet London - the Jolly Pilgrim sets off on a bicycle ride to Istanbul, planning a rendezvous with the girl he wants to marry. Eighteen months later and halfway around the world, following hospitalisations, financial meltdown, torment and heartbreak, he goes to live as a hermit in South America, to explore a bunch of ideas about humanity's place in the universe. He swims the Bosporus and works in a drag club, hitchhikes across Australia and dances salsa in an Ecuadorian prison, experiences rapture and revelation amidst talismanic historical and religious sites, endures love, voyeurism, bees, ants, sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and in response, conceives a message of hope for civilisation. Part adventure story, part reflection on the state of our species, this profoundly uplifting, real-life odyssey ends with a call-to-arms for the human race to be more honest about itself. It's time to think bigger Welcome to enlightenment 2.0

This majestically illustrated and deeply insightful guide explores 100 of the most spiritually significant places throughout the world, seeking to understand what it is that defines these sites. Spirituality has a multitude of meanings for the many who seek deeper significance in their lives. From ancient religions with their timeless places of worship to modern, contemporary followers of faith and new age travellers seeking enlightenment and illumination, we are drawn to all kinds of places in the search for profound meaning. From a Polish Catholic praying in a large cathedral to a Portuguese surfer speechless in wonder at the majesty of the ocean, spirituality knows no bounds.ThePlanet's Most Spiritual Places brings together all definitions to present some of the most important places of spiritual significance, in stunning and immersive detail. We recognize that one person's spirituality can inspire another no matter their origin, history or nationality. We have included sites of spirituality from all around the world, from the established to the exotic, determining a number of fundamental definitions for our spiritual destinations: 1. Ancient Monuments 2. Places of Worship 3. Natural Wonders 4. Centres of Enlightenment 5. Pilgrimage 6. Living Landmarks As readers will discover, the complex history of the world often defines where - and how - spirituality can be found. The modern is as important as the ancient, and the free-form as important as the organised. What counts is the spiritual nature of the site, wherever it is, whoever visits it and whatever they believe. Insightful text is complemented by superb photography, maps ancient and modern and engaging illustrations of the plethora of places contained within. The whole world is covered, continent by continent, and a wide variety of religions, belief systems and faiths.

The unbelievable story of how one town truly prayed without ceasing In 1999, a small town on the south coast of England became the birthplace of the extraordinary, accidental, international movement known as 24-7 Prayer. Their inspiration was a seemingly chance visit by founder Pete Greig to Herrnhut in Germany, where the eighteenth-century Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf had initiated the Moravian prayer watch, which ran without ceasing for a hundred years. Five years later, Phil Anderson undertook an aerial road trip on a tiny four-seat airplane from England to Germany, a remarkable journey to uncover the history of Zinzendorf and the movement he led. Part history, part narrative, The Lord of the Ring takes readers on a fascinating journey back to the eighteenth-century Moravian renewal movement and their hundred-year prayer watch. Anderson retraces the steps of Zinzendorf, reconnects with his legacy, and seeks to apply it to life and faith in a new millennium. Learning from the past, readers will discover crucial signposts for grappling with the church's identity and calling as an authentic, relational, missional community.

This study examines and explains how British explorers visualized the African interior in the latter part of the nineteenth century, providing the first sustained analysis of the process by which this visual material was transformed into the illustrations in popular travel books. At that time, central Africa was, effectively, a blank canvas for Europeans, unknown and devoid of visual representations.

While previous works have concentrated on exploring the stereotyped nature of printed imagery of Africa, this study examines the actual production process of images and the books in which they were published in order to demonstrate how, why, and by whom the images were manipulated. Thus, the main focus of the work is not on the aesthetic value of pictures, but in the activities, interaction, and situations that gave birth to them in both Africa and Europe.

George Sand recounts the story of her 1838 winter in Majorca, a winter she passed in the company of Frederick Chopin. She describes the natural beauties of Majorca as well as the rumblings of approaching war.

As America's finest writer, Mark Twain could make entertaining reading -- and great literature -- out of almost anything. Here we have a book begun out of adversity. The great novelist, satirist, and public celebrity was broke, ruined by various ill-advised investment schemes; but, being a man of honor on a public stage, he resolved to pay off every cent of his crushing debt. He did so by going on a two-year, round-the-world lecture tour, where he spoke to sold-out houses in Europe, India, and Australia, all the while gathering material for yet another best-selling travel book, filled with his trademark wit and brilliant observation. Even after more than a century this book is still a must-read. Whatever has been forgotten about the times and places Twain describes he has recreated for us, vividly and forever.

Esprit de Battuta: Alone Across Africa on a Bicycle is the story of one woman's exciting travel adventure through Africa before mobile phones and before easy Internet access alone and on a bicycle.

Australian-born and London-based Pamela Watson had a comfortable, if overworked existence, as a management consultant but yearned for freedom and the adventure. 'That's it!'; she thought. 'I'll cycle across Africa!'

Join her on this intoxicating journey that began as a search for adventure and turned into a journey of self-discovery. Along the way she discovers companionship and compassion, and injustices that burn through the page. Cycling for a year and a half, covering nearly 15,000 kilometres and crossing seventeen countries, she encountered an Africa rarely reported in the media and experienced first-hand the violent tinderbox of local politics. She discovers women are the backbone of rural Africa and is shocked to learn their responsibilities are not matched by their access to basic human rights.

Now in its third edition, Esprit de Battuta: Alone Across Africa on a Bicycle is a must-read for all armchair adventurers, those who are curious about the everyday lives of the people of the rural villages of Africa and those who dare to challenge the status quo.

An illustrated, behind-the-scenes travel journal of Anthony Bourdain's global adventures.
More than just a companion to the hugely popular show, "No Reservations" is Bourdain's fully illustrated journal of his far-flung travels. The book traces his trips from New Zealand to New Jersey and everywhere in between, mixing beautiful, never-before-seen photos and mementos with Bourdain's outrageous commentary on what really happens when you give a bad-boy chef an open ticket to the world. Want to know where to get good fatty crab in Rangoon? How to order your reindeer medium rare? How to tell a Frenchman that his baguette is invading your personal space? This is your book. For any Bourdain fan, this is an indispensable opportunity to hit the road with the man himself.

COLONSAY: ONE OF THE HEBRIDES. ITS PLANTS: THEIR LOCAL NAMES AND USES, LEGENDS, RUINS, AND PLACE-NAMES- GAELIC NAMES OF BIRDS, FISHES, ETC. CLIMATE, GEOLOGICAL FORMATION, ETC. by MURDOCH M C NEILL. First publshed in 1910. - PREFACE: A COLLECTION of the plants of his native island was begun by the writer in 1903, during a period of convalescence, and was continued as a recreation, from time to time, as occasion offered. In 1908 the idea of making use of the material accumulated and arranging it for publication was conceived, and to put it into effect a final endeavour was made that season to have the plant list of the island as complete as the circumstances would permit. In preparing the little volume for the press, the lack of works of reference was found a serious drawback. The following publications were found most helpful Bentham and Hookers British Flora Witherings English Botany Camerons Gaelic Names of Plants Hogans Irish and Scottish Gaelic Names ofHerbs, Plants, Trees, etc. Gregorys History of the West Highlands Oransay and its Monastery, by F. C. E. MXeill Colla Ciotach Mac Ghilleasbuig, by Prof. Mackinnon Celtic Monthly, Sept. 1903-Jan. 1904 Geikies Scenery of Scotland Notes on the Geology of Colon- say and Oransay, by Prof. Geikie The Two Earth-Movements of Colonsay, by W. B. Wright, B.A., F.G.S. Sketch of the Geology of the Inner Hebrides, by Prof. Heddle Journals of the Scottish Meteorological Society Address on the Climate of the British Isles, by A. Watt, M.A., etc... The writer trusts that much of the matter contained in the following pages may be regarded as typical of and applicable in many respects to the Western Islands as a whole. He would gladly have entered intogreater detail regarding the old-time industries, place-names, topography, traditions, and folk-lore of Colonsay, but the general reader may be of opinion that enough has been said on these matters in a work primarily intended to treat of the flora of the island. KILORAN, COLONSAY, . December 1909. M.M c . CONTENTS include: CHAP. PAGB 1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION . . . . . . 3 2. CLIMATE . . ... 45 3. GEOLOGICAL FORMATION . . . . . 54 4...