Travelogue Books

IN THE SHADOW OF THE VOLCANO: ONE FAMILY'S BAJA ADVENTURE is adventure reading at its best: in the early 1970s the author and his family explored Baja, living in a tiny hut they constructed on a remote beach. But that didn't end their adventure: in 1985 they revisited the area with their sons ages and 8, living for a summer in another beachside hut. Their first-person adventures offer warm reflections on local culture and family experiences alike.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I loved this book--his descriptions of the beauty of the place they lived really made me want to see it. I have not traveled in Baja but now I want to go to Bahia de Los Angeles where they lived.
I especially liked the way he wrote about the wildlife and the different animals they owned, the burro and the chickens and their dogs. The whales and the dolphins that swam in the bay nearby, too.
I think they were a brave couple to take their little boys to live on the beach. It sounds like it was good for them bonding as a family, though, and what a great place to spend your vacations!

If you read only one "South Seas" book from the 1920s back, this should be the one. This Penguin issue corrects a number of inaccuracies from previous editions, including Stevenson's own error in their departure date (!) It is the classic travel and observation book of the Pacific. The early descriptions of the Marquesas are unmatched, as are the accounts of the several islands they visited in Kiribati (Gilbert Islands). The account of Tem Binoka will give you a real eye opening into an absolute ruler and his ways in the late 19th century. Reading this could start a life long interest in Pacific literature.

In his book, In the South Seas, Stevenson gives an accurate and in depth look into the people and culture of the islands of the South Pacific. The book describes Stevenson's two year journey from the Marqueses Islands, to Tahiti, then Honolulu ,and finally Somoa. Stevenson uses the great adventures he experienced and his masterfully writing skills to paint a breath taking view of the islands and thier many beauties.

H.V. Morton joined the list of my favorite authors after just one reading of his "In Search of London." "In the Steps of the Master," Morton's 1934 record of "the thoughts and the experiences which come the way of a man as he travels through Palestine with the New Testament in his hands," has cemented his place on that list. "In the Steps..." is a wonderful piece of travel literature, and certainly repays reading, even given all that has changed in the nearly three-quarters of a century since it was first published.

I was fortunate to be able to make my first-ever trip to Israel last month, and so made a point to find and read "In the Steps..." before I left. I'm tempted to say now that things in the Holy Land may have changed more in the 73 years since this book was published than they had in the nearly two millennia since the time of Christ. Twenty-first century Jerusalem, in particular, is a very different place from the dusty settlement Morton describes. No one, I think would mistake "In the Steps..." as a particularly relevant guidebook today. And yet...

There are elements of the Holy Land that maybe never change, and most of the holy sites Morton visits -- certainly the more significant ones -- are still accessible to the modern pilgrim or curious tourist, and the shape of the land and the setting of Jerusalem or the Sea of Galilee remain as Morton describes them.

That, I think, is the real value of this book. Morton is an excellent travel writer, and anyone who appreciates well-crafted descriptive prose is in for a treat with (I'd venture, based on the two volumes of his I've read so far) most anything he's done. As I noted in my review of "In Search of London," Morton seems equally at home describing both the modern condition and the history of a place. Add to that, in this case, his facility with Scripture and his skill in pulling relevant details out of the Biblical narrative, and this becomes a great way to prepare for a trip and/or to assess what you've seen.

The several modern guidebooks about Jerusalem and Israel I read were good for details. But "In the Steps of the Master" was second only to the Bible itself in helping me prepare for the sense -- the spiritual impact -- of being in the land where Jesus walked.

This is the only one of H. V. Morton's books I've read, although I own one or two others. I suppose I must be slow on the uptake or too busy reading other things, not to have read further. This book was five stars all the way. I've still got the taste of the dust in my mouth.

Being something of a neophyte in matters pertaining to modern day Israel or ancient Palestine, or vice versa, I was thrilled to find myself in the hands of a gifted travel writer on this first armchair journey to the Holy Land. Morton knows how to, how shall I say it, maintain a religious sense in his work without allowing the reader to detect just how religious (or irreligious) he is. It's quite clever. Anyway, there is much biblical reference, almost always referring to the geography through which we pass, or the local architecture. For instance, his description of the Temple fascinated me. I must say it gave me a hankering to go to that part of the world, which is partly what a good travel book ought to do, methinks. Otherwise, I just enjoyed the writing. Very rhythmic, fluid text which is easy to read and tends to sweep one along, almost inexorably. I really shall have to dig out my other Mortons (on the British Isles) and have a go at them. Great read if you can find it, which shouldn't be too hard: he was a very popular and widely published author in his day.

Colmore comments on the daily as the best and only way to allow the reader to be in touch with what is beneath, around and beyond our existence if only we watch and listen, wait and respond.

If you wonder, if your dreams sometimes seem as real as your waking world, if you feel worn down by the banality of violence and evil, if you long to talk with someone who has done battle with absurdity and finds a basis for going on, you can have that conversation in "In The Zone". Blayney Colmore uses various forms, and no forms of writing, to touch the places in us that are never fooled by the easy answers our culture foists off as self-help. Essay, poetry, fiction, aimed at the place in you that still itches when you've scratched every place you can reach.

My dad has about 10 copies if this book, and I recently picked up one. Although neither of us are particularly fluent in German, we both enjoyed it immensely. Highly recommend!!

This book is excellent. My dad has 4 copies, and he loves them all. Highly recommended!!!

As a person that has studied East Asian cultural history academically for years, and a person who will be teaching China just four months from now, I found this book to be perfect. It was not written by a scholar, and I think in reality that is what makes it great. It is simply a man with a love for Asian culture, who came to be exposed to the reality of modern China. Still, even with all the hardships, his love remained. It is a testament to Americans that can see beyond the perceptions built by our own society, and also to the Chinese culture that was able to shine even under the political turmoil. Mark Salzman would not only write a wonderful book from his experience, but he also carried the beauty of wushu back to the United States, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. This book has incredible insight into Chinese culture, of course from an American perspective. There are too many good points about this book, and the movie that was produced as a result, to begin to list them here. I suggest you simply buy it and be prepared for a very enjoyable read, and maybe possibly a change in your perceptions.

This book, even though not written by a professional writer, tells the true life story of a martial artist and his search for a teacher. The story combines a description of China and its traditions , and the teachings of a true martial artist. It is focused on philosophy and changes the traditional view of martial arts as a violent art. It's a novel with a message.

The author of the book titled "It's your turn chickadees" wrote about the need to experience different cultures, different places as if she knew exactly the deepest nooks of my soul, of my core. This very personal process of receiving transitory impressions during traveling, that the author described, is so much my own style of sensations in my heart, in my body, and in my mind. As I am reading this book I am moved that somebody was able to describe so accurately what was going on in my own interior world during my few travels. (I wonder if other readers feel the same way.) This book did not impregnate me with "something" that I did not have inside before. (If somebody does not have this "something" yet - I mean a love for traveling - then they will have it after reading book, for sure.) However; this book fluttered my very existence, and inspired me to follow my dreams. I am not even in the middle of the book yet, but I have already made the decision to leave my school for one semester to go to Europe to satiate my craving for wanderlust. What I have always wanted and I want is to travel, to explore, to experience the different atmospheres of different places and to attempt to freeze these special moments by taking photographs.
The biggest value of this book, beside beautiful, interesting, picturesque descriptions of nature, atmosphere, events, people, habits and architecture is . . . teaching, and finally, making the reader not only dream the dreams, but first of all to follow and actualize them.
What is important in life if not this state of spirit when you feel childish, genuine happiness of exploring unknown places? I am glad that the writer reminded me of this obviousness in such an alluring and tempting way.

This book is a must read for any young mother who still has the creative energy for wanderlust. Ms. Gaziano brings her family to England, and in the process, bonds the family tightly together, and stimulates a curiosity about and a knowledge of foreign cultures in her five sons which no formal education could accomplish. She offers answers for creatively managing the strain of young family life.

A gem of a book, illustrated delightfully and with short excerpts form the authors' favourite writers, inclding Mary McCarthy, D.H. Lawrence, Carlo Levi and Edith Wharton -- all waxing lyrical on Italy and its beauties.
This evocative little book -- pocket sized, but elegantly bound for travelling with you everywhere whilst in Bella Italia -- contains personal essays by expatriates (they live in Rome, naturally!) David Leavitt and Mark Mitchell. They variously describe the multiple delights of this peninsula, rendering the joys and surprises of their adopted homeland, including iced cappuccino, umbrella pines on the Riviera, the expressive nuances of language, window shopping, the many pictoresque names and shapes of healthy pasta, sidewalk art made of flowers.

If you love Italy, this book will caress and enhance your Italian tastes. If you still have to discover Italy's pleasures, then this book will be the right chaperon.

As Goethe said in his 'Letter from Naples': "...it is a strange sensation for me to keep company with people who live only for pleasure."

I am very sorry to learn that this small, beautifully put together
book is out of print. If you have ever vacationed in or worked in or
simply visited Italy or if you have dreamed about doing it, you'll
want to, somehow, find this book. Leavitt and Mitchell have collected
famous writers thoughts on Italy (D.H. Lawrence, Nellie Melba, John
Ruskin, Mark Twain, etc.) and then written down their own wonderful
musings: (What makes an Italian ragu?, The thing that Italian boys do
better than any other boys in the world, Is there a cure for chicken
pox?, Speaking "opera" Italian, et al).This is a charming
& fascinating book which ... is definitely not an ordinary Travel
book. This is a book about living in Italy and loving and relishing
every moment and sharing those moments with us. I hope Chronicle
Books is smart and generous enough to reprint it or, perhaps, publish
a paperback edition.

You can't say Don Monkerud isn't frank with his readers. A writer, who lives on the California coast, he starts this book off by telling you straight that, in his view, he hasn't got the credentials to write about his (and his wife's) experiences on a recent trip to Italy. He's neither an experienced world traveler nor a linguist, he admits. In other words, he lets us know that Fodor's, Lonely Planet, and other guidebooks have nothing to fear from him. That confession out of the way, he proceeds to take the reader on an extended sightseeing ramble through Italy- a tour- with occasional digressions into various historical, political and cultural byways. In the 19th century people must have sent along their observations by letter, in much the same way, while making the Grand Tour of Europe. You get the impression that Monkerud isn't trying to impress you- he's just passing on what he sees... and eats. Some of the descriptions of even simple meals make one's mouth water.

The essential attraction of this book is its honesty; it isn't trying to be something unique. If he disagrees with something one of the other tour members says, he doesn't hesitate to tell us about it. Imagine a standard guidebook digressing into the California energy crisis!

I do have a bone to pick, though, with part of the book; that is the "sidebar" attempts at a humorous rendering of bits of Italian history. If these have a place, it is in a separate book, not in this one, where I found them to be jarring, and in places, somewhat offensive. Monkerud espouses a liberal point of view, and it's difficult for me to square that with some of what he writes.

That aside, however, it's fun to accompany him on his trip. And the photos are excellent, and complement the writing nicely.

Italy Uncensored is not your ordinary tour guide. The Monkeruds go out to see what there is to see in this classical country, but, strangely enough, it is only partly what all the rest of us see. He is at times funny, other times satirical, and at other times plain outright outrageous! But around the comedic accounts is a wonderful stroll--actually, more like a hike--through the city streets and countryside as he observes this very different world and compares it to ours. The Monkeruds take a Ric Steves
tour for part of the trip, then spend some time on their own. But whether moving quickly or slowly, they not only get the feel of the land, but also get to convey it to us in a well-written style.I thoroughly enjoyed reading these adventures Italiano. I recommend that you try it for yourself.

Massey and West deserves five stars for their loving presentation of this early twentieth century travelogue, which should be of great interest to historians and serious Japanese culture buffs.

Japan and Her People, Anna Hartshorne's 1902 book on her experiences in Japan (along with its history), is an entertaining and informative volume that will be an excellent addition to any historian's library (with the added benefit of being a lively read).
Hartshorne, the daughter of a Quaker missionary, was a longtime resident of Japan, spending many years as a teacher in schools such as the Joshi Eigaku Juku. As such, she came over time to develop an appreciation and understanding of Japanese culture that gives her book an insight lacking in similar books written by short-term visitors. It would be unfair to label the book a travel journal, guide, or history-it's all of these and more.
The book begins with chapters on traveling to Japan ("...not a formidable matter...ranging from twelve days to three weeks") and a description of the Yokohama area, which at the time was the area most frequented by foreigners. The next two chapters feature an excellent introduction to Japanese history. Hartshorne relates the history of Japan from its earliest legends in the Kojiki and Nihongi through the Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration. Touched upon along the way are the Minamoto, Taira, Go-Daigo, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and many more figures of note. At times the history proves to be false (as in the story of Tokugawa Ieyasu dying of wounds suffered at the Summer Battle of Osaka, or the many legends surrounding the 47 Ronin that were for years accepted as fact and since disproved). This in itself is helpful, however, for showing what the accepted views were at this particular point in time. Cities such as Tokyo and Kamakura are examined as well as overviews of several regions (including Oshu, Hokkaido, and the west coast). There are chapters on Japanese households, the tombs of the Tokugawa, Buddhist temples, hot springs, Japanese inns, and more. In each of these chapters Hartshorne generally gives a description of the subject as it was in her day and then examines its history. For example, the story of Will Adams (the so-called `English Samurai') is brought up in the Yokohama chapter and Hosokawa Gracia is examined in conjunction with Confucianism during the Japanese Household chapter. Hartshorne tends to stray off topic, but as she brings up one interesting story after another, the effect is generally quite engaging. Legends and folklore merge with observations and fact, giving the reader a feeling of how it must have been to live in and experience Japan in the early twentieth century. Many of the book's best passages come when Hartshorne expresses her dismay with certain elements of Japanese history and culture. The interior of the Kamakura Buddha is said to be "disenchanting" with "a sort of unnecessary ugliness that one resents", while she finds Gompachi (of the famous legend of lovers Gompachi and Komurasaki) to be "as cowardly a young cut-throat as ever got his deserts".
Despite her affiliations with Christian missionaries, Hartshorne is quite respectful regarding Buddhism and Shinto. She also brings to life the setbacks of Buddhism during the Meiji Restoration (as Shinto became the favored `religion' of the new regime).
Even the natural and man-made disasters that routinely swept Japan are reflected. In a post scripted note, Hartshorne relates how a fire burned down many of Ikegami temple's structures after she had visited and wrote at length about it.
Interspaced throughout the text are black and white period photos, enhancing the book's descriptions and helping to capture the unique feel of Japan at a time when it was still moving away from traditional values and lifestyles towards the modernity of the West.
An added bonus in this edition of the book is a Forward by Lian Hearn, author of the best selling Tales of The Otori series. Hearn is well-steeped in the history of Japan and provides valuable background and historical perspective to Hartshorne. In particular, I found Hartshorne's possible influence on Nitobe Inazo, author of the 1900 Bushido:The Soul of Japan (a book instrumental in shaping early Western misconceptions of Japanese culture and history), quite interesting. Hearn's Forward reads more like an historical analysis than the traditional congratulatory forward. The editors have also cleaned up spelling errors from the original 1902 edition. The only possible drawback to the book is the lack of an index; it's understandable since it's not a straight out history.
As Hearn laments, "It's sad that Anna wrote no other books". Thankfully, we once again have this one to enjoy.