Travel Recent Picks

April 2010

The title-underlined links will take you directly to our catalogue.
Some featured items are linked via a book cover to enable you to read more reviews.

Goats from a small island : grabbing Mallorcan life by the horns, by Anna Nicholas.
"Life is never simple for PR consultant Anna Nicholas as she attempts to cut loose her ties with London for a more manana existence in rural Mallorca with her family. Despite nearing her dream to open a cattery, she is thrown off course by the abduction of her beloved toad, a scorpion infestation, getting lost in the hills and a growing fixation with ancient goats. Meanwhile in London she's coping with loopy new clients - an amorous rock climber, a Bulgarian transvestite couturier and a couple of warring designers. Witty, pithy and brimming with memorable characters, "Goats From A Small Island" is Anna's third book about working between two places and a delightful tribute to Mallorca's rich and varied way of life." (Amazon)

Cycling home from Siberia, by Rob Lilwall. (2009)
""It is late October, and the temperature is already -40C...My thoughts are filled with frozen rivers that may or may not hold my weight; empty, forgotten valleys haunted by emaciated ghosts and packs of ravenous, merciless wolves."
In 2004 Rob Lilwall arrived in Siberia equipped only with a bike and a healthy dose of fear. CYCLING HOME FROM SIBERIA recounts his epic three and a half year, 30,000 mile journey back to England via the foreboding jungles of Papua New Guinea, an Australian cyclone and Afghanistan's war-torn Hindu Kush.
A gripping story of endurance and adventure, this is also a spiritual journey giving a poignant insight into life on the road in some of the world's toughest corners.
www.cyclinghomefromsiberia.com. (Amazon)

To hellholes and back : bribes, lies, and the art of extreme tourism, by Chuck Thompson. (2009)
"Chuck Thompson harbours a nasty secret: although an intrepid reputation is vital to any working travel writer's resume, the truth is that vast parts of the world scare the hell out of him. 'Adventure travel' is supposed to be free of limitations, yet for years Thompson has privately maintained a list of no-go destinations on the basis of horrors from hyena attacks and bilharzia to pushy locals and monstrously bad food. No longer. To find out if his anxieties are justified, Thompson travels to the places he's previously done everything in his power to avoid. Filled with all the Thompson trademarks - hilarious stories, often wildly provocative opinions, and unvarnished observations about world travel - "To Hellholes and Back" proves its author to be, finally, a truly fearless man of travel." (Amazon)

Contact! : a book of glimpses, by Jan Morris. (2009)
"In "Contact!" Jan turns her brilliantly observant eye to the human contacts she made, across the globe and though the decades. As a series of vignettes, some only a few lines long, she records hundreds of brief glimpses and fleeting encounters, celebrating the people who helped spark her view of the world and mould her responses. A vast range of human experience is here: most are anonymous, everyday encounters - children playing, a homeless man in Manhattan, a lascivious taxi-driver - but she also remembers celebrated figures, from Yves San Laurent to King Hussein of Jordan, President Truman to Peter OToole. "Contact!" is a must for any fans of Jan's writing. Her great sense of amusement, shrewd eye for detail and huge enthusiasm for her contacts makes these episodes incredibly enjoyable - and often profound." (Amazon)

Spring, heat, rains : a South Indian diary, by David Shulman. (2009)
"Rocks. Goats. Dry shrubs. Buffaloes. Thorns. A fallen tamarind tree. Such were the sights that greeted David Shulman on his arrival in Andhra Pradesh in the spring of 2006. An expert on South Indian languages and cultures, Shulman knew the region well, but from the moment he arrived for this seven-month sojourn he actively soaked up such simple aspects of his surroundings, determined to attend to the rich texture of daily life - choosing to be at the same time scholar and tourist, wanderer and wonderer.Lyrical, sensual, and introspective, "Spring, Heat, Rains" is Shulman's diary of that experience. Evocative reflections on daily events - from explorations of crumbling temples to battles with ineradicable bugs to joyous dinners with friends - are organically interwoven with considerations of the ancient poetry and myths that remain such an inextricable part of life in contemporary India. With Shulman as our guide, we meet singers and poets, washermen and betel-nut vendors, modern literati and ancient gods and goddesses." (Amazon)

Eco chic : hotels, lodges, restaurants, shops, spas, text, Pascal Languillon, Foo Mei Zee, Kate O'Brien. (2009)
"As a first-of-its-kind guide, Eco Chic takes a look at the new face of environmentalism, bringing relevant issues to a global audience in search of ways to integrate a greener aspect into modern, stylish lifestyles. (Amazon)

Mousejunkies : tips, tales, and tricks for a Disney World fix : all you need to know for a perfect vacation, by Bill Burke. (2009)

Valencia encounter, by Miles Roddis. (2010)

Brittany & Normandy, by Oliver Berry, Peter Dragicevich. (2010)

Provence & the Côte d'Azur, by Nicola Williams ... [et al.].

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