Travelogues Books

Although this is a "coffee table" style book, and the pictures are excellent, its stated goal was to review the interaction of humans with Antarctica, and it does this exceedingly well. Ms. Myers insights and her expressions of the feelings of being on this beautiful continent are excellent. Study the photos well, but read the text thoroughly. By all means, get this book if you have any interest in Antarctica.

I was fortunate enough to have worked a bit with Joan when she was in Antarctica, as part of the National Science Foundation's, Writers and Artists Program. This wonderful book captures the beauty and majesty of Antarctica like no other. In her many travels to and around the Antarctic, Joan was given opportunities and access to areas that are rarely seen by anyone, let alone the many scientists and researchers that work in Antarctica. You will be immensley pleased with this book and through it become more aware of Antarctica, its history and beauty.

I very much enjoyed the technical information and the more human aspects also included. I would have enjoyed more pictures but I know it is already a large volume. It is worth taking with you if you plan to travel the canyon. One can more fully appreciate the beauty and struggle that went on in the building of the highway.

Haley's book on Glenwood Canyon is extremely well-written, attractively illustrated, and exhaustively researched. He does an excellent job of detailing the design and engineering problems, the concerns of the environmentalists, the personalities of the myriad individuals and organizations that provided unput during the planning and construction processs Finally, he shows the reader the engineering marvel that is Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon.

The previous reviewer asked if anyone knows where Brian is now. Brian is living in the United States. He's doing well, and I'm sure would be delighted to know of your review of his book--if he doesn't already. I'll pass the word along to him.

This is a really amazing book! The first time I read it was in the late 80's while living in Australia. At that time my grilfriend and I were planning a round the world trip on a shoe string, using limited funds and backpacks. Trying to plan such a journey is so difficult, especially when we had anticipated travelling overland through India, Nepal, Pakistan and the middle East.

Brians book was a true inspiration as he described simple things such as organising local transport ( such as truck rides ) finding accomodation, and most importantly how to meet the local people.

Based on Brians experiences we tried really hard to get away from the main cities and experience the local village life, and it paid off. Our year of travelling was so much more enriched because of what Brian described and how he approached his travel experience.

Actually I would rate this book 11 out of 10. I have just received a copy from Amazon.com and am enjoying it the second time. Its one of the most treasured books in my collection.

Does anyone know where Brian is now ?

This is a book that tells what life is like on small ships (fewer than 500 passengers) and it includes everything from cruise ships to barges, freighters, dive boats, sailing ships. You can search by destination and find ships that go to wonderful places that you can't go to in big ships.

This is the review that appeared in TravelWriter MarketLetter that goes to travel writers all over the world...

"The Table of Contents for this book is very reader-friendly. Under each chapter heading are all of the chapter's subheads, with page numbers, so if you want to reread the paragraph on seasickness, for example, you find it under Chapter 2, page 35, and find it quickly. The first several chapters tell the many differences between sailing on a small ship and a large one, discuss costs, things to do, places small ships can go, and the many questions the reader might have about small ships. There's a chapter on life aboard a small ship, with detailed descriptions, then one on saving money on cruises with various ploys, and a chapter on ship profiles which takes up more than half the book describing more than 200 ships. The final two chapters are about barge cruising on canals, and sailing in small romantic schooners. It's all good, juicy writing, even if your cruise is not imminent. But if you are about to take a cruise, it will save you money, prepare you, and insure that you have fun."

I stalled on coming to the end of this, but consoled myself that I can start over again tomorrow.

Jan/James Morris is the next-best thing to having been everywhere myself. He/she tells us everything we want to know and nothing we don't, concentrating on people, food, drink, buildings, scenery, bars and a splash of history, everything we would have noticed if we too had been there at the right time. What a wonderful way to see the world.

(Warning: the squeamish may want to skip the chapter called Casablanca.)

This book is excellent. The author's descriptions of the locations she visited over the past fifty years as a journalist are insightful and, in my mind, fairly accurate. She is more than a travel writer. Morris is an artist, taking what she sees in the places and people of foreign places and turning them into vivid expressions on the page for the reader to both visualize and experience. Morris also does a great job at not only explaining the places she writes about as she sees them, but also at explaining the history behind where she is and the significance of it all. This book not only is a journey across the vast world we live in but is a great way to study the history of the post-modern twentieth century world. The only confusing part, however, is the sex change she underwent in Morocco in the 1970s. I wish I would have known that going into the book because the photo of the author on the back flap undeniably shows a woman, but for the first half of the book the author was constantly referred to as a man. The whole thing had me confused, but became more understandable after Morris' trip to Casablanca where he/she came out of a surgeon's basement literally a new . . . uh, person. (an interesting chapter in the book). Despite the interesting surgery, though, this is a well-written book worth reading.

I came to 10O Days on Holy Island: a Writer's Exile after reading and enjoying Peter Mortimer's book Broke Through Britain: One Man's Penniless Odyssey. In some ways this new book resembles the previous book, and in its own way it is just as enjoyable. Once again Peter Mortimer makes himself vulnerable to odd and often difficult circumstances with the idea in mind that he will find fodder for a book. And again he succeeds. This time he does not travel very far; he rents a cottage in a small community, on a cold, wet, and windy island, off the coast of north-east England for 100 days, in the winter of 2001. A causeway joins the island to the rest of Britan, but daily tides drown the road, isolating the community for long hours. The island is tiny: Mortimer can walk around both island and its adjoining sand dunes in seven hours. The isolation and small size help give the island community a strange character. Peter Mortimer records a day by day account of his encounter with the island, the islanders, and other visitors who like him take refuge on the island. He also gives snippets of his personal life. Peter Mortimer seldom strives to say anything profound but finds meaning in the ordinary while living for a 100 days in an extraordinary place. He does include a brillaint and moving poem written by a young poet, who visits him on the island and later commits suicide. All in all, it's an unusual and insightful read.

This is the best book on sea shores for such little money. a great way for children to learn about the coastline and its inhabitants, while still entertaining to the parent.

This book is a riveting read, full of drama, tension and joy, and good and evil. It was one of the best reads in years.
The book is an exciting travel story, but more, it engages us in a search for values. Everywhere Joe goes he engages people in a debate about society and politics. An underlying theme is what kind of society do we want; a society based on war, money, greed and arrogance, or a society of understanding, sharing and caring. For me the book is very relevent to the present moment, and the dark direction America is taking in the world.

Peter Kinney
Pennsauken, NJ

As the carrier of the United States Mail along a 2,000 mile route from Missouri to California during the years 1858-1861, John Butterfield's Overland Mail Service holds a dramatic and exciting spot in the saga of western history.

Some 700 of the miles covered by the Butterfield line ran through Texas, and it is to this area that Greene brings his practiced eye. Noting that relevant historical points have surfaced since other works concerning the line have been written, Greene and his wife, Judy, researched by driving the trail. In addition to impeccable documental investigation, the pair walked many miles to personally experience this valuable portion of Texas history.

The book's first three sections document the colorful history of the Butterfield line. Next, the route as seen today is profiled, including a guide for retracing it plus some brief essays concerning events that once occurred along those miles.

Closing pages are devoted to a sketch of Waterman Lily Ormsby, Jr., who in 1858 wrote of his thoughts as he rode on the first Butterfield Overland Mail coach going from Missouri to San Francisco.

Allen Abel is one of the world's great travel writers. An expatriate New Yorker who's lived in Toronto for 25 years, he's reported for major Canadian papers and the CBC network from over 100 countries. I've been a devoted fan of his ever since he first
emerged as a sports writer in the '70s and have followed him from
Beijing to Brooklyn, Nova Scotia to New Guinea, and Turkey to Timbuktu. Wherever Abel is, you can always count on the most obscure, off-beat, and unusual experiences- and he's funny as hell too. Nobody, but nobody, writes like Allen Abel! It's a crime that most Americans don't know him. Pick this up and see why he's worth it.