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Grex Travel Item 53: Travel Books/Essays
Entered by denise on Tue May 14 20:43:35 UTC 1996:

I know there are a lot of avid readers online...  What are some of
the interesting travel-related books you've read? I know there's
a whole slew of travel-essay books out there. What are some of your
favorites?

16 responses total.

#1 of 16 by denise on Tue May 14 20:48:37 1996:

One that I'm reading now is put out by "Travelers' Tales", this one
is called _A Woman's World_ compiled by Marybeth Bond. Its a series
of articles/essays/short-stories about various trips and activities
done by/with women. Some of these adventures were done by a solo 
female, othes ingroups.  I'm about 1/3 of the way through it; its been
rather interesting. Its the type of thing you can read a little or
a lot at any given time.

If you're into cycling, another book I read is called _Miles from
Nowhere_. I dont recall the author's name right now [I can check if anyone
wants it] but its about a couple who biked around the world.

Then there are several boosk written by Peter Jenkins who walked
across the US as well as a couple other places [I think Tibet was
one other place?].

#2 of 16 by rcurl on Wed May 15 06:53:04 1996:

I have linked this Item 53 in the travel cf to the books cf.

#3 of 16 by denise on Wed May 15 17:21:36 1996:

[Thanks, Rane!]

#4 of 16 by adania on Thu May 16 17:52:15 1996:

i used to really like reading "across the limpopo" when i was younger.
it is written by a jounalist and documents his family's journey from 
s. africa to cairo in a land rover.  some rather interesting things 
happen on their trip.
i also liked "bagdad without a map."  
sorry, but i don't remember the author's to either of these.

#5 of 16 by denise on Fri Jul 12 22:27:36 1996:

I'm almost done with the books I've been reading and was wondering
if anyone has read any more interesting travel essays?

#6 of 16 by mcpoz on Sat Jul 13 03:00:26 1996:

I have read several travel books by Paul Theroux.  All of his books 
tell of train trips.  He had one titled "The Train to Patagonia" in 
which he took trains from Boston to the bottom of South America.  
Another, I can't remember the title, in which he took trains from
England, to China and back, including the Orient Express.  Good 
books.

(I have read the book by the couple who cycled around the world, 
I can't remember their names).

I have mentioned it before, but "The Voyage of the Beagle" (Darwin's
trip around the world) is a fantastic journey.

There also is a great book by a couple named Lamb who, in the 30's 
built an ocean going canoe and traveled down the coast of California,
down the Baja Peninsula, then down the Mexican & Central American 
coasts to South America.  Great book if you can put up with their
attitudes toward native people.

#7 of 16 by chelsea on Sat Jul 13 03:21:51 1996:

_Riding the Red Rooster_ or something close.  Good book.

#8 of 16 by remmers on Sat Jul 13 11:21:48 1996:

I believe that the title of Theroux's Boston to South America book
is _On the Patagonian Express_.

#9 of 16 by mcpoz on Sat Jul 13 13:39:50 1996:

Re: #8 - I believe that is correct.  I also think the title of the canoe
journey down the west coast to South America was titled "Enchanted Vagabonds".

#10 of 16 by denise on Sat Jul 20 14:22:40 1996:

Marc, the book you mentioned about the couple that cycled around
the world--was that _Miles from Nowhere_? I read that a few months
ago and enjoyed it.

#11 of 16 by mcpoz on Sun Jul 21 15:05:07 1996:

I think it was.  They started from Calif.  He was an experienced cyclist and
she had doubts, but within a short time, she was as strong as he was.  I
remember that Egypt was the most danger they were in (people would throw
stones at them unprovoked) and India was by far the most friendly, with no
signs of aggression, lots of hospitality.

#12 of 16 by mary on Sun Mar 7 03:17:35 1999:

Well, it's travel related...  While riding in a train, to Chicago,
I read _The Black Box_, a collection of airplane cockpit voice 
recordings from in-flight accidents.  Interesting stuff.  You are
given an explanation of what preceded the recording, help with
understanding the terms used, and the final head count (in most
cases).  It is fascinating to see threads of the same behaviors
precipitating both airline catastrophes and medical disasters.

#13 of 16 by bookworm on Mon Mar 8 22:39:51 1999:

Well, everybody knows about "Around the World in Eighty Days"

#14 of 16 by mcnally on Tue Mar 9 05:56:35 1999:

  I like Bill Bryson's books.  His latest "A Walk in the Woods" is about
  the Appalachian Trail.  "Notes From a Small Island", also good, is concerned
  with a (mostly) walking trip through Britain.

#15 of 16 by mary on Thu Mar 11 21:40:04 1999:

The next time I put in an order from amazon.com I'm getting
"Notes From a Small Island".  I've heard it's quite good and
as we'll be in England this summer I'd rather read it before
the trip than after.

#16 of 16 by bookworm on Fri Mar 12 04:36:50 1999:

I'd really like to get a book about Scotland.

It's my obsession.

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