Category Archives: Travel Guides
City of Light, City of Poison
In the late 1600s, Louis XIV assigns Nicolas de la Reynie to bring order to the city of Paris after the brutal deaths of two magistrates. Reynie, pragmatic yet fearless, tackles the dirty and terrifying streets only to discover a tightly knit network of witches, poisoners and priests whose reach extends all the way to
In the Graveyard of Empires
Afghanistan expert Seth G. Jones watched as American optimism evaporated after the Taliban defeat in 2001; by 2005, a new “war of a thousand cuts” had brought Afghanistan to its knees. With new research on insurgencies and declassified US government documents, Jones shows how the siphoning of resources to Iraq left NATO forces in Afghanistan
Can Intervention Work?
Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus distil their remarkable firsthand experiences of political and military interventions into a potent examination of what we can and cannot achieve in a new era of “nation building”. As they delve into the massive, military-driven efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans, the expansion of the EU, and the bloodless
Odessa
Odessa was the Russian Empire`s gateway to the Middle East, its greatest commercial seaport and home to one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in all of Europe. Created as a model of enlightenment by Catherine the Great, and developed by colourful adventurers such as Grigory Potemkin, Jose de Ribas and Armand de Richelieu, Odessa
Paris to the Past
In one of the most inventive travel books in years, Ina Caro invites readers on twenty-five one-day train trips that depart from Paris and transport us back through seven hundred years of French history. Whether taking us to Orleans to evoke the miraculous visions of Joan of Arc, to Versailles to experience the flamboyant achievements
Contents May Have Shifted
Pam Houston`s latest novel takes us from one breathtaking precipice to the next as we unravel the story of Pam (a character not unlike the author), a fearless traveller aiming to leave her metaphorical baggage behind as she seeks a comfort zone in the air. “Feeling safest with one plane ticket in her hand and
The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing
For members of the Iron Butt Association, long-distance motorcycling is an obsession. Melissa Holbrook Pierson offers a sharply observed portrait of this community, focusing on the enigmatic John Ryan and his penchant for record-breaking. In chronicling the pleasures and perils of this extreme endeavour, Pierson rediscovers her own passion and resolve.
The Vineyard at the End of the World
For generations, Argentine wine was famously bad – oxidised, unpalatable and often mixed with a low-class French grape called Malbec. But then in 2001, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec blend beat all contenders in a blind taste test featuring Napa and Bordeaux`s finest. Today, Argentina and its signature wine are on the tip of every smart traveller`s
Sage of Waterloo: A Tale
The extraordinary debut of a classical pianist turned novelist, “The Sage of Waterloo” is a playful retelling of a key turning point in human history-and a slyly profound reflection on our place in the world. William is a white rabbit living at Hougoumont, the historic farm on the site of the Battle of Waterloo. Under
End This Depression Now!
The Great Recession is more than four years old – and counting. Yet, as Nobel Prize winning author Paul Krugman argues in this powerful new book, “Nations rich in resources, talent, and knowledge – all the ingredients for prosperity and a decent standard of living for all – remain in a state of intense pain.”
Giants of the Monsoon Forest: Living and Working with Elephants
From the kings of the Indus Valley to Hannibal`s Alpine cavalry, humans have been living and working with elephants for millennia. In `Giants of the Monsoon Forest`, Jacob Shell travels to communities that still rely on this ancient partnership. After the 2004 tsunami, Indonesian officials deployed trained Sumatran elephants to clear wreckage. Along the mountainous
Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration
On 17 January 1913, alone and near starvation, Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, was hauling a sledge to get back to base camp. The dogs were gone. Then Mawson plunged through a snow bridge, dangling over an abyss by the sledge harness. A line of poetry gave him the will to haul
Lament from Epirus
In the tradition of Patrick Leigh Fermor and Geoff Dyer, a Grammy-winning producer discovers a powerful and ancient folk music tradition.In a dark record shop in Istanbul, Christopher King uncovered some of the strangest and most hypnotic sounds he had ever heard. The 78s seemed to tap into a primal well of emotion inaccessible to
Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons
Rich in characters both whimsical and deeply poignant, humorous and real, the stories of Goli Taraghi have made her one of the world`s most beloved contemporary writers from Iran. A best-selling author in her native country and widely anthologized in the United States and around the world, Taraghi`s work is now made fully accessible to
Vegetarian Viet Nam
Traditionally, Vietnamese dishes are made with some kind of meat or seafood-most often pork and shrimp. But by cooking with Vietnamese home cooks, chefs and Mahayana Buddhist monks, Cameron Stauch learned about a tradition of vegetarian cooking that is lighter and just as flavourful. Spicy, tangy, crunchy and sweet, the dishes in Vegetarian Viet Nam
Leftover in China: The Women Shaping the World`s Next Superpower
Forty years ago in China, marriage was universal, compulsory and a woman`s only means to a livelihood. Then the one-child policy resulted in China`s first generations of urban only-daughters-girls who were pushed to study, achieve and succeed as if they were sons. Now, enough of these women have decided to postpone marriage-or not marry at
Down With The Old Canoe: Cultural History Of The Titanic Disaster
“I suggest, henceforth, when a woman talks women`s rights, she be answered with the word Titanic, nothing more just Titanic,” wrote a St. Louis man to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was not alone in mining the ship for a metaphor. Everyone found ammunition in the Titanic suffragists and their opponents; radicals, reformers, and capitalists;
Compass – A Story of Exploration and Innovation
Compass chronicles the misadventures of those who attempted to perfect the magnetic compass – so precious to sixteenth-century seamen that, by law, any man found tampering with it had his hand pinned to the mast with a dagger. In this history of man`s search for reliable navigation of treacherous sea routes around the globe, Alan
The Postman (Il Postino): A Novel
The unforgettable inspiration for the Academy Award-winning Il Postino, this classic novel established Antonio Skarmeta`s reputation as “one of the most representative authors of the post-boom generation in contemporary Latin American letters”. Boisterously funny and passionate, `The Postman` tells of young love ignited by the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Set in the colorful, ebullient years
Vineyard at the End of the World
For generations, Argentine wine was famously bad – oxidised, unpalatable and often mixed with a low-class French grape called Malbec. But then in 2001, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec blend beat all contenders in a blind taste test featuring Napa and Bordeaux`s finest. Today, Argentina and its signature wine are on the tip of every smart traveller`s
