tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174851482011-12-15T04:09:31.591+01:00This is an occasional commentary on the travel literature (or books, maybe, as most of it could not be classed as literature) that I read, or have read over the years.Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.comBlogger101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1160341538148512692006-10-08T22:43:00.000+02:002006-11-29T13:15:40.870+01:00

Now this is serious travel by a seriously good writer. "Danziger's Travels - Beyond Forbidden Frontiers" was Nick Danziger's first book. He wrote it after being awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship in 1982 to follow ancient trade routes. He eventually travelled in 1984. There are some people that make you laugh, some that bore you, some that make you uncomfortable, but this guy

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1160338314220924582006-10-08T21:33:00.000+02:002006-10-08T22:41:44.756+02:00

The notes at the start of the book say "Peter Biddlecombe is a travel hardened businessman". Well after reading this book, I would like to know what business he is in (I still haven't sussed that) and I hope they pay him a lot of money.Anyway, first things first, don't be put off by the "businessman" thing. That is just something he does that allows him to travel around the world to some really

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1133544381702795052005-12-02T18:06:00.000+01:002005-12-02T18:46:11.690+01:00

It's cold, it's windy and we need a laugh. So I thought I would tell you about French Revolutions by Tim Moore. This is probably the funniest book I have read in a long while. And by funny, I mean laugh out loud funny! So, if you do get this book, be careful where you read it otherwise you may get very odd looks.Tim Moore decided that before he completely fell to pieces (He was in his

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1130165283967272102005-10-24T16:29:00.000+02:002005-10-24T16:52:27.106+02:00

By the master himself, Paul Theroux. I think this is my favourite book by Theroux. However, it doesn't get off to an auspicious start as he is having marital problems and is worried that he might have cancer. So he is really down in the dumps as well as down under. New Zealand and Australia to be precise. Then he is off across the Pacific with his collapsible kayak and his all-observing eye.

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1129748394698496302005-10-19T20:32:00.000+02:002005-10-19T21:02:53.070+02:00

"And first prize for sticking to your objectives! is.... Nicholas Crane"The author of this beautifully written book is a real, real travel writer. This guy started at the coast in the Northwest of Spain and then walked across a continuous line of mountains including the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees, The Cévennes, The Alps, The Carpathians and then the Balkans to... Istanbul!It is an

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1129109470328374802005-10-12T11:20:00.000+02:002005-10-12T11:38:12.306+02:00

I don't know about you, but I have read loads of books over the years that have disappeared for one reason or another. Maybe because I let someone else read them (number one cause of disappearing books), or they got lost in a move. Or, I borrowed them from a library and I just thought I owned them! I even remember when I was living at home (many moons ago) and coming back from a holiday to find

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1128793384614941662005-10-08T19:30:00.000+02:002005-10-08T20:01:32.536+02:00

This is a book by Tiziano Terzani. Great name - Great book!This man is a hugely experienced correspondent in the Far East for Der Spiegel. He has lived for over 25 years there, travelling around from country to country. He was advised by a Hong Kong fortune teller not to fly for the whole of a particular year, and that is precisely what he tried to do!This is the story of that year. How he

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1128697964234271932005-10-07T16:54:00.000+02:002005-10-08T19:57:36.790+02:00

Famous actor and son of famous director motorbike around the world the 'wrong way', have arguments, get petulant, have touching experience and get back just in time - for what? Oh yeah, to get back to being a famous actor and son of famous director. That's about it.Well, I should say more. I don't know much about the other guy (Charley Boorman) but I always thought that Ewan McGregor seemed like

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1128532525016723572005-10-05T18:51:00.000+02:002005-10-05T19:23:11.236+02:00

This is one of my favourite books. The author is John Simpson, the World Affairs Editor for the BBC. Strictly speaking this is not a travel book, but a loose autobiography. However, I would defy anyone to say that the story he tells would not be relevant for any traveller.It's not so much that he tells you how he got from A to B, or how he negotiated through a difficult situation, but more to do

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17485148.post-1128508718885463582005-10-05T09:24:00.000+02:002005-10-08T00:46:06.486+02:00

I have always loved travel writing. The funnier or the more outlandish the better. Over the years I have read some great books and articles about amazing people in incredible places. The other sort of writing that I like is the 'experience' book. You know the sort of thing - 'I lived for 2 years in a shack near Timbuktu squeezing Oranges'. However, there are actually a few good examples out there

Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12986266758797871504noreply@blogger.com0