Travelogues Books

for those interested in the history of west meets east via Buddhism, this book will fascinate. reveals much lived detail of a lost culture of privilege and excess in pre-mao China. Kind of a 'Six Chapters of a Floating Life' from a westerner, before his florescence into a Buddhist scholar. Blofeld's other bio 'The Wheel of Life' takes up that story.

This book is a collection of short stories, excerpts from novels and non-fiction compiled with the common appreciation for the ancient city of Lahore. It seems as though all Lahoris share a common culture and that was apparent when many of the authors reiterated common cultural nuances of the people, sites to visit, foods, and famous artists, that I was very familiar with from the stories that I had been told time and time again from family members who have lived in Lahore. I definitely recommend this book to those who have roots in this city, but also for those who don't know the cultural significance of this ancient city. Also, I would especially recommend it to those who have not ventured to the old city of Lahore (fortified by the Mughals), which is essentially the heart of the city and where to this day craftsmen practice their craft that has been passed on since the Mughal Empire. The collection is intelligently separated into sections by editor Bapsi Sidwha, a quintessential Lahori, and contains articles from many very prominent Lahoris.

TITLE OF THIS BOOK: THE CIVILIZATION OF ROME by Pierre Grimal



While this book from the past may be one of the least known, it remains one of the best books on the civilization of Rome.

Having over 200 illustrations, drawings, and maps within its covers it is a milestone of publishing for its time. The book covers Rome both from its years as a republic through the later empire years. Another section covers life and customs, laws, conquerors, and art. Another section covers the land itself, the pleasures of the cities, and the great cities of the empire. There are also chronological tables, a historical and biographical dictionary, and an extensive bibliography.

Though a dated book it yet remains a very valuable addition to one's library shelf, and though I have many other volumes on Rome, this one from 1963 remains dear to my heart. It may be a book of interest to you as well.

Semper Fi.

Ms. Wright and Sir Scott deftly blend humor, historical fact, and an intense love of ecology and the land into this extremely interesting and personal glimpse into the traditional English country way of life. I very much enjoyed this book, and the spirit in which it was written.

My only complaint... Here in the States we are unable to view the BBC television series "Clarissa and The Countryman" on which the book was based. Hey, BBC America! How about throwing us Yanks a bone!?

Couch's book covers the Early Minoan Period (3500-2300 B.C.) to the Graeco-Roman Period (146 B.C. to 330 A.D.). The first edition was published by Brown University in 1936, and in this newer, second edition, Couch substitutes photos where there were formerly hand-drawn diagrams (of the Phaestos Disc, for example). He also adds more commentary, which is an advantage of the second edition. Couch's commentary is swift and decisive. He anticipates the era of the New Critics and values universal themes and interiority in art and literature. While this may seem old-fashioned to modern readers, there's a quaint power to Couch's judgments. For example, he concludes a passage on Zeno's formulas against the possibility of motion with an all-encompassing final verdict: "Logic was thus developed without relation to reality at this point in the history of philosophy." There are more astute observations too. By a comparison of the fifth-century Fallen Warrior of Aegina and the Hellenistic Dying Gaul of Aphaea, Couch finds the descent of Greek art in the proliferation of technical devices used in the later sculpture! Whatever one thinks of his interpretations, Couch's comments offer a springboard for judging the progression of the Greeks from independent city-states to subject colonies of Macedonia and Rome. It's endearing that Couch feels so acutely the loss of Athenian independence and power. He entertains opinions of Greek superiority in the ancient world that would make judicious readers today blush, or cringe. (For instance, he believes that Persian rulers like Xerxes represent the natural rashness of Asian despots.) One great facet of this book is its terse but thorough outlines of each era's art, architecture, literature, and philosophy. Couch can't write about discoveries that weren't made yet, so there's no mention of important developments like the decipherment of Linear B. Overall, though, this is an excellent book for anyone who wants the basics of Greek civilization.

Although this book could benefit from even more detailed maps and pictures, it is so useful it became our traveling itinerary. After arriving in Smyrna (Izmir) from Istanbul we began to use this book for info about each site. After the next few sites, Pergamon, Ephesus (Efes), Kusadasi, & Halicarnassus (Bodrum) we realized that this book was more consise and informative than any other and that we could simply follow it in order all the way along the coast, South and then East, to Antalya, Perge, Aspendos, & Side. Along the way, it was the only one to guide us to many small gems (it even includes some driving directions.) Take the major commercial guides for broad cultural and commercial info; use this book for your classical itinerary and reference.

You should read the Chronicles, too, is my vote!

As you can see from the other reviews, pilots love these yarns. But anybody with the slightest interest in Bush Alaska and its larger-than-life characters, climate, and country will love the Chronicles, too.

Besides being a professional pilot with many thousands of hours in his logbook, Clouddancer is a soulful raconteur and a born storyteller. The best of these stories are people stories, and Clouddancer understands people, which is the most important thing in a writer.

That said, you have to make some allowances.

For one thing, as a writer, Clouddancer makes a great Bush pilot. By which I mean, he brings much enthusiasm and passion to his writing, but not-so-much polish (although we're working on that -- I'm his unofficial coach/consultant/cheerleader). So don't expect the kind of finely honed prose you'd find in an Ernest Hemingway novel (although there are comparable quantities of liquor and sex).

Also, about half of these stories are extremely technical accounts of various situations that come up in flying, both Bush and air-carrier. They'll be nearly incomprehensible to non-pilots, and perhaps not particularly interesting for those not into flying, per se.

But these are quibbles. I give the Chronicles 5 stars because they are, on balance, really great Alaska flying books, of which there are far too few.

Stan Jones
One-time amateur Kotzebue Bush pilot, as well as author of the Nathan Active mystery series, which is set in a fictional Alaskan Eskimo village modeled on Kotzebue, where Clouddancer cut his Bush-flying teeth

In one chapter of this book Wade Davis quotes British writer Lawrence Durell as saying "To know a people..you need only a little patience, a quiet moment and a place where you might listen to the whispered messages of their land."

Wade Davis has lived this suggestion and has harvested the knowledge of some of the most interesting cultures of the world, cultures threatened by the far reach of modernization and environmental destruction.

Reading this book makes me feel like a teenager again. It is full of the fascination of discovery and novel knowledge about the world that is buried under the incessant wash of media news and popular culture. Here you will read of the "survival" culture of Canada, the reason the ethnic cultures of the Amazon have no word for the color blue, an Malaysian forest people without a concept of time, the fragility of our modern economy at risk of collapse from the lack of resin from a jungle tree.

If you have read "The Serpent and the Rainbow" or "One River" you will find familiar but reexamined thoughts on the Vodoun ceremonies of Haiti and the hallucinogen religious journeys of Amazonian shamans.

Wade Davis himself has traveled the world far enough to know and tell many fascinating stories but it is his ability to find those places and moments to listen that have made him an exceptional writer and this book one more treasure to read.

Written in what must be the heyday of the American Dream - before it became soured - this is Jan Morris's lighter travel through a different empire, inducing envy for not having experienced it ourselves and nostalgia for an America that has passed.
The journey, undertaken when she was still James, is marvelously evocative and is as detailed as her other works. The travel narrative is as engaging as Theroux or Raban (with whom she is friends) with her particular eye for historical details that become almost prophecies.
I recommend it as an ideal `entry point' to enjoying this historians writing for anyone not yet an aficionado and collector of her works.

Simply elegant book on life, both good and bad, along the Atlantic Shore of the U.S. He hits all the spots you'd expect--Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, the Hamptons, Myrtle and Newport Beaches and Florida's Hurricane Coast but he also takes us to such underrated gems in Delaware and along the Jersey Shore. Excellent at weaving the history of this unique part of the U.S. with the current day issues especially environmental ones without preaching to the converted.