Travelogue Books

Fantastic! A must for visitors and residents alike

This book is a personal family history of a special vacation that changed one family's lives. In the 1960s, Mimi Summerskill was a divorced mother of five, who, in addition to bringing up her children alone, was also required to support her ex-husband, who was mentally ill and hospitalized. She was working long hours trying to get her travel business established, and shared her house with another single mom. Her eldest son was getting ready to start law school, and the remaining children were approaching university age, when out of the blue, Mimi received an inheritance of $30,000. She could have set the money aside for the children's education, but instead, Mimi decided they would have one last vacation together, as a family. She felt that over the years, her children had missed much of being a family, between her ex-husband's illness, and her struggle to keep food on the table, and she was determined to provide a family experience that would stay with them forever. On a whim, she took the inheritance money, traveled to Greece and rented a yacht with crew for 3 months. All five of her children joined her on the yacht, and together they explored the islands and their relationships as a family under the Greek sun. Over the course of the summer, Greece got under their skin, and they established a second home there together.

This is no ordinary travel book- -it's a very personal story about an extremely difficult time in a family's life. Each of the individuals was poised to move on; indeed, some had already taken steps away. This trip remade them and gave them a new center to start from. The writing is extremely smooth, effectively balancing descriptive details and diary events with introspective analysis. It's a great story of what a determined woman can accomplish with the help of her family.

Harold Flagg is a cosmopolitan whose resume reads like a fancy perfume bottle label: Paris, Palm Beach, Nassau, Fort Lauderdale, Tahiti, Lima, London, Toledo.... Toledo?? Yeah, being raised on a farm outside Toledo, Ohio, is definitely a compelling reason to get out and enjoy the wonders of the great world. And that's exactly what Harold Flagg has done, ever since getting his first taste of global travel thanks to winning a ticket to a free tour of Europe in World War 2. He's the classic proof of "How you gonna keep `em down on the farm, once they've seen Paree?" Luckily, he shares his delightful experiences with all, in "Affordable Luxuries". And he describes how he did it on a shoestring, and lived like a swell doing so, whether chatting up Queen Elizabeth, hob-nobbing with film celebrities in Nassau, or swapping tall tales with Hemingway's old drinking pals in Havana. And when he's not travelling, Flagg keeps an eye on things worldwide, with pals from Stockholm to Tokyo to Sydney (where Jack Ames, also known as the poet Oscar Wildebeest, checks Flagg's Down Under spelling). Flagg is a reporter of the old school, and he tells it as it is, but always with the excitement of discovery, and with humor and warmth. This book will inspire the laziest stay-at-homer to let a kind neighbour take care of the cat and the lawn, and finally get out there before it's too late, travelling to places dreamed about since the fourth grade. Harold Flag has done it and tells it well.

The book "An African Road Trip" by Stevan M Church is a fabulously funny accounting of a trip taken by two young men about 20 or more years ago. Todays date being 1/22/08. Their misadventures, lack of know how, bad luck and ability to run into the most unusual circumstances are hilariously amusing. I don't think it ever had an ISBN number or was formally 'published.' My family read a copy 'handed' from person to person and on and on and it was literally falling apart and bound together with rubber bands. We loved it, think of it often and only wish we'd thought to photocopy it!

It occurred to me to follow Mark Twain's 1895-96 lecture tour to the British colonies. We could visit the countries he described in Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World (Dover Books on Travel, Adventure) and I would write a book telling of our adventures. Perhaps it would be possible to find evidence of his visit - newspaper interviews, reviews of his lectures. Almost a century had passed since his voyage, and the changes wrought by industrialization and the dissolution of the British Empire should be worth reporting....We took turns reading Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World (Dover Books on Travel, Adventure) and laid out our itenerary: Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
--- excerpts from book's Introduction.

Farley Mowat has written a number of books which may be described as war memoirs. Since they were written at decent intervals and to some extent, for different purposes, there is a degree of repetition. Nevertheless, as there is hardly ever a dull moment in a text by Mowat, we can forgive him for telling the same story twice. To be honest, I'm no longer certain where the overlap occurs, although in "Aftermath," a book written comparatively recently, he certainly revisits some parts of the Italian theatre in which he served, and refers to the same events he has recounted in detail elsewhere ("And No Birds Sang"). But "Aftermath" doesn't dwell particularly on war, and there are a number of stories in this ongoing narrative which are worth reading by themselves. Scenes such as that where the author and his wife visit the Black Eagle somewhere in Kent and procure some of the Queen's Brew are classic Mowat. Their visit to Amalfi and tour of its ancient potteries, and their final return to England where they visit with Peter Scott, son of the Antarctic explorer, and learn all about the Severn Wild Fowl Trust, are just a couple of the highlights of this rather unusual journey.

This is not your ordinary Mowat, but then I'm wondering if there really is such a thing. An overlooked book, "Aftermath" won't disappoint, and fortunately for readers everywhere, thar's plenty more Mowat where that come from!

Agave Sunsets: Treasured Tales Of Baja is a memorable compilation of Baja anecdotes by Ann Hazard in a celebration of the heart and life of Mexico. From "Boys ' Beer in Baja" and "Dirt Roads in the Dark", to Baja's Exotic Wine Country" to "I've Got Todos Santos on My Mind", these engaging and entertaining stories are told in a personable tone, and illustrated with color photographs. A flavorful piece of Mexican life and culture, Agave Sunsets is highly recommended reading!

I purchased this book while spending half a day at Gatwick airport, on my way back to Italy, after losing my connection... This is a lovely book, and I think the editorial review posted on Amazon's web site is a bit ungenerous. It is truly a very "English" book, but I don't see why that's supposed to be a problem. It is interesting and witty, and, more importantly, the author really understands Italians, and their attitude towards food. I am Italian, and it's not so common to find someone who can deal with our love for food in a joking but at the same time very very respectful way. We may be a "bit" obsessed with food, but just see (better, taste) what the results of this obsession are! Black knows about food and cooking, and for his attitude towards them he definitely deserves an honorary Italian citizenship.
Part of the book also deals with Italian history, and it does so in a interesting way. Indeed, one important thread of the book is the author's search for information on Mazzini and the Rosselli brothers, as before starting his journey he discovered to be related to the Rossellis (on his mother's side).
If you plan to visit Italy, and if you love food, you should read this book first, especially if you are going to visit some of the places toured by Black. Just consider that, unfortunately but understandably, not all of Italy is covered here, and there are some important "culinary places" that you will not find in this book, notably most of Tuscany and Emilia Romagna. You will find, instead, Piemonte (Turin, and Alba and her Truffles), Sicily, Sardinia, a small bit of Rome, Comacchio (a small small plsce hidden in the fog, famous for the eel), Amalfi and Naples, Livorno and Genoa, and a few other places that I don't remember. Anyway, I highly recommend this book, and I am surprised it's didn't have any success in the US!

Baker exemplifies the best and the worst qualities of the Victorian English explorer. He is completely fearless, self-deprecating, calm in a crisis, keenly sensitive to the beauties of nature, loyal to his friends and allies, uncompromising in his opposition to the slave trade. He is also cheerfully certain that the English way of doing things is superior to all others, both practically and morally. His racism is comprehensive and unapologetic. It is easier to get past this, however, than it is with his contemporaries Burton and Speke, because he a far better writer. The opening of the book did a superior job of explaining why the source of the Nile held such fascination for so many. His narrative is a page-turner, despite long periods when his search for the Albert N'Yanza was stalled, because of his eye for detail and ability to create drama from small incidents. The domestic by-play between the explorer and his young blond wife, who accompanied him throughout this sometimes hellish journey, is a continuing delight. All wonderfully larger than life and a great read.

Awesome book that helped me pass