Title: Armchair Travel Swap ~ REVEALS
catsalive - February 29, 2008 11:51 PM (GMT)
:kiss: :kiss:
Ri - March 1, 2008 02:06 AM (GMT)
My reveal:
A Woman's Path
From Library Journal
The "Travelers' Tales" series continues to excel in informative and exciting writing, taking readers on adventurous armchair journeys. In addition to focusing on food, humor, countries, etc., the collection contains numerous titles written solely from a female perspective. Joining the shelves with Gutsy Women, A Women's World, and Women in the Wild, to name a few, this book is a sensitive exploration of women's lives that have been unexpectedly and spiritually touched by travel experiences. From over 30 narratives, readers develop a bond with writers who share intimate and moving experiences from their lives. Through such activities as kayaking, trekking, solo journeys, and urban exploration these women discover independence, peace, and better self-understanding. The reader will vicariously journey on a pilgrimage in Spain, observe a sense of enlightenment in India, and be introduced to a wandering yogi. Heavily supported with enjoyable sidebars, a trademark of "Travelers' Tales" books, this work is highly recommended for its significant and unique approach to the sharing of women's travels.
A Woman's Path
From Library Journal
The "Travelers' Tales" series continues to excel in informative and exciting writing, taking readers on adventurous armchair journeys. In addition to focusing on food, humor, countries, etc., the collection contains numerous titles written solely from a female perspective. Joining the shelves with Gutsy Women, A Women's World, and Women in the Wild, to name a few, this book is a sensitive exploration of women's lives that have been unexpectedly and spiritually touched by travel experiences. From over 30 narratives, readers develop a bond with writers who share intimate and moving experiences from their lives. Through such activities as kayaking, trekking, solo journeys, and urban exploration these women discover independence, peace, and better self-understanding. The reader will vicariously journey on a pilgrimage in Spain, observe a sense of enlightenment in India, and be introduced to a wandering yogi. Heavily supported with enjoyable sidebars, a trademark of "Travelers' Tales" books, this work is highly recommended for its significant and unique approach to the sharing of women's travels.
azuki - March 1, 2008 02:50 AM (GMT)
Azuki's Reveal
Around the World on Expenses
by Peter Biddlecombe
Peter Biddlecombe has carved out a niche writing silly, amusing travel essays about his business travels, seasoned with the occasional profound observation of why some countries are hives of prosperity while others are starving. He is not among the politically correct -- but at his best, he's amusing and informative. At his worst, he's just obnoxious.
This volume has a distinct Franco-African theme, which seems to be Biddlecombe's area of greatest expertise, and where he veers away from frivolity and comes nearest to being profound.
Around the World on Expenses
by Peter Biddlecombe
Peter Biddlecombe has carved out a niche writing silly, amusing travel essays about his business travels, seasoned with the occasional profound observation of why some countries are hives of prosperity while others are starving. He is not among the politically correct -- but at his best, he's amusing and informative. At his worst, he's just obnoxious.
This volume has a distinct Franco-African theme, which seems to be Biddlecombe's area of greatest expertise, and where he veers away from frivolity and comes nearest to being profound.
catsalive - March 1, 2008 08:21 AM (GMT)
Therubycanary's reveal:
Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles
In the 1980s Simon Winchester set out on foot to discover Korea from the southern tip all the way to the northern border. Describing geography, culture, and politics, it gives a first hand account of this elusive place.
Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles
In the 1980s Simon Winchester set out on foot to discover Korea from the southern tip all the way to the northern border. Describing geography, culture, and politics, it gives a first hand account of this elusive place.
VeganMedusa - March 1, 2008 10:33 AM (GMT)
Candy-is-dandy's reveal:
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 When Daily Telegraph correspondent Tim Butcher was sent to Africa in 2000 he quickly became obsessed witht the legendary Congio River and with the idea of recreating H.M. Stanley's famous nineteeth century expedition. Despite warnings that his plans were suicidal, Butcher set out for the Congo's eastern border with just a rucksack and a few thousand dollars hidden in his boots.Making his way in an assortment of vehicles including a motorbike and a dugout canoe, helped by a cast of characters from UN aid workers to a campaigning pygmy, he followed in the footsteps of the great Victorian adventurers. Butcher's journey was a remarkable feat, but the story of the Congo told expertly and vividly in this book, is more remarkable still. Candy says: I'm reading this book at the moment, am up to page 50, and am finding it fascinating and very well written. |
VeganMedusa - March 1, 2008 07:31 PM (GMT)
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catsalive's reveal: Clear Waters Rising by Nicholas Crane This is the story of a remarkable journey of 10,000 kilometres across Europe from the western most tip in Cape Finistere to Istanbul. The author completed this adventure entirely on foot: refusing any mechanical contrivance - car, bicycle, armoured truck (in Eastern Europe) or escalator (in Vienna). It took him 500 days crossing Europe's uplands from the Cantabrian mountains, the Pyrenees, Sevenne, Alps, the Carpathians, Transylvanian Alps and Rhodopes. Exactly half the journey was through Western Europe, the other half through Eastern Europe where the life of the mountain people and shepherd is little changed since the Middle Ages but slowly vanishing in the face of tourism. Part adventure, part political journey, this book is not just a story about travel, but also about the human condition, about growth and fulfilment. |
VeganMedusa - March 2, 2008 11:37 PM (GMT)
GateGypsy's reveal:
Tales from Nowhere: Unexpected stories from unexpected places
edited by Don George; produced by Lonely Planet
“We’ve all been to Nowhere. It might have been in the middle of Borneo or Beijing. It might have been in a Mayan mountain village, along a timeworn trail in Tuscany, on an isolated South Pacific island, or under a desert moon in Mali. Nowhere is a setting, a situation and a state of mind. It’s not on any map, but you know it when you’re there.”
~ Don George
Every year Lonely Planet produces a literary anthology of the highest quality, spotlighting some of the travel world’s most renowned authors as well as the rising stars of the new generation.
This year’s anthology takes that tradition into uncharted territory with Tales from Nowhere: Unexpected Stories from Unexpected Places. Full of surprise, passion, wonder, curiosity and revelation, the 31 real-life tales in this collection compose a kaleidoscopic portrait of the many Nowheres we visit – and the many roads we take to get there – in our lives.
Widely varied in setting, tone, and situation, the tales in this extraordinary collection all illuminate one fundamental truth: If we embark on each adventure with an open heart and an open mind, trusting in the journey, travel will take us places we never planned to go, and enrich and enlighten us in ways we never otherwise would have known.
Here is our map to Nowhere: Enjoy the journey!
Tales from Nowhere: Unexpected stories from unexpected places
edited by Don George; produced by Lonely Planet
“We’ve all been to Nowhere. It might have been in the middle of Borneo or Beijing. It might have been in a Mayan mountain village, along a timeworn trail in Tuscany, on an isolated South Pacific island, or under a desert moon in Mali. Nowhere is a setting, a situation and a state of mind. It’s not on any map, but you know it when you’re there.”
~ Don George
Every year Lonely Planet produces a literary anthology of the highest quality, spotlighting some of the travel world’s most renowned authors as well as the rising stars of the new generation.
This year’s anthology takes that tradition into uncharted territory with Tales from Nowhere: Unexpected Stories from Unexpected Places. Full of surprise, passion, wonder, curiosity and revelation, the 31 real-life tales in this collection compose a kaleidoscopic portrait of the many Nowheres we visit – and the many roads we take to get there – in our lives.
Widely varied in setting, tone, and situation, the tales in this extraordinary collection all illuminate one fundamental truth: If we embark on each adventure with an open heart and an open mind, trusting in the journey, travel will take us places we never planned to go, and enrich and enlighten us in ways we never otherwise would have known.
Here is our map to Nowhere: Enjoy the journey!
krin511 - March 3, 2008 08:31 PM (GMT)
krin's reveal:
Hell West and Crooked by Tom Cole
"Hell West and Crooked is the autobiographical account of a young Englishman's life in the Outback during the 1920s and 1930s, from his days as a drover and stationhand in the toughest country in Australia to his experiences as a buffalo shooter and crocodile hunter in the Northern Territory before the war."
Hell West and Crooked by Tom Cole
"Hell West and Crooked is the autobiographical account of a young Englishman's life in the Outback during the 1920s and 1930s, from his days as a drover and stationhand in the toughest country in Australia to his experiences as a buffalo shooter and crocodile hunter in the Northern Territory before the war."
VeganMedusa - March 4, 2008 12:09 AM (GMT)
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 Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages by Mark Abley Book Description Amazon.com From Publishers Weekly There are roughly 6,000 languages in use in the world today, most of them spoken by a tiny number of people-further proof of humanity's ability to generate intoxicating variety. Sadly, the processes of linguistic imperialism may still be as strong as they have ever been; expansion of the major world languages, particularly English, is, according to Abley, likely to bring about the elimination of most of these languages by century's end. Canadian journalist Abley shrewdly frontloads his book with some of the most exotic languages before moving on to better-known cases (which are also considerably less at risk) such as Proven‡al, Yiddish and Welsh. Readers who think they "get" how languages work may be startled by the considerable deviation from Western norms: for instance, Murrinh-Patha, spoken in Australia, boasts a bewilderingly complex system of pronouns; Mi'kmaq, from eastern Canada and Maine, and Boro, a northern Indian tongue, all but eschew nouns. To read these accounts of dwindling languages-and their often forlorn, marginalized speakers-is to gain insight into the powerful colonial forces still in play. Abley's informal approach makes this more a travel book than a language book; while describing the people and places in affecting detail, he sometimes stints in depicting the languages. Abley also sometimes conflates the extinction of a language with that of the people who speak it; however, his contention rings true that the disappearance of these languages represents "a loss beyond estimation." This generous, sorrow-tinged book is an informative and eloquent reminder of a richness that may not exist much longer. 4 stars (20 customer reviews) This book is still TBR, but I'm offering it in this swap because I think it'll be popular (I hope!) - I know I'm going to love it, it's such a great topic. |
GateGypsy - March 4, 2008 05:00 PM (GMT)
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Rootmartin's reveal: Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown by Paul Theroux In Dark Star Safari the wittily observant and endearingly irascible Paul Theroux takes readers the length of Africa by rattletrap bus, dugout canoe, cattle truck, armed convoy, ferry, and train. In the course of his epic and enlightening journey, he endures danger, delay, and dismaying circumstances. Gauging the state of affairs, he talks to Africans, aid workers, missionaries, and tourists. What results is an insightful meditation on the history, politics, and beauty of Africa and its people, and "a vivid portrayal of the secret sweetness, the hidden vitality, and the long-patient hope that lies just beneath the surface" (Rocky Mountain News). In a new postscript, Theroux recounts the dramatic events of a return to Africa to visit Zimbabwe. |