Spydus Search Results - Travel Narratives

Clanlands in New Zealand : Kiwis, kilts, and an adventure down under / Sam Heughan & Graham McTavish with Charlotte Reather ; foreword by Peter Jackson.

Buckle up, grab a dram, and get ready for another unforgettable wild ride. They're back! Stars of Outlander, Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish are no strangers to the rugged beauty of Scotland. But this time they're setting their sights on a new horizon: New Zealand. Join our intrepid Scotsmen on their latest epic adventure across The Land of the Long White Cloud in this thrilling follow-up to Clanlands. Setting out to explore a country that Graham calls home, and that Sam has longed to visit, these sturdy friends immerse themselves in all that New Zealand has to offer: stunning landscapes, rich history, world-class food and drink, and - much to Graham's mounting anxiety and Sam's deep satisfaction - famously adrenaline-fuelled activities! As ever there's not nearly enough space in their trusty camper van and with plenty of good-natured competition and tormenting to go around, Sam and Graham's friendship is put to the test once again. Along the way we learn about the length and breadth of this jewel of the Southern Seas, exploring the fascinating story of its people while testing the very limits of Graham's sanity. Like the very best buddy movie sequel, this latest instalment is full of unforgettable experiences and loveable characters and promises to be an even more memorable ride with two of the most entertaining travel companions around. So, say goodbye to your inhibitions and kia ora to New Zealand like you've never seen it before.
Author: Heughan, Sam, 1980-
Published: London : Radar, 2023.
Published: ©2023
xx, 245 pages : illustrations (chiefly colour), map ; 23 cm

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 919.3 HEU - Onloan - Due: 17 May 2024 - 010932277

The gathering places : a winter pilgrimage through changing times / Mary Colwell.

Mary Colwell makes a 500-mile solo pilgrimage along the Camino Frances, winding through forests, mountains, farmland, industrial sprawls and places of worship, weaving her experiences of the Camino with natural history, spirituality and modern environmentalism. Pilgrims have always walked in times of upheaval, pitching themselves against weather, hunger, thirst and sometimes pain as they tread the paths their ancestors followed before them. In The Gathering Place, author, nature campaigner and veteran solo walker Mary Colwell undertakes a 500-mile pilgrimage along the Camino Frances in northern Spain at a unique moment in history a time of pandemic, profound political change, and a climate and biodiversity emergency. In a typical year, more than 300,000 people walk this route or part of it, but in between lockdowns in 2020, Mary was virtually alone. The modern world weaves in and out of the Camino's worn trackway, providing a focus for contemplation and a place where memories and experiences can gather. There are times of intense spirituality, meetings with a demon slayer, strange goings-on and magical tales, and the constant backdrop of nature with all its complexity and wonder. In this delightful book, Mary's winter pilgrimage weaves a personal tale with a walk that millions have undertaken over the centuries. The Gathering Place is a beautiful, thoughtful and, at times, humorous journey of both body and soul.
Author: Colwell, Mary
Published: London : Bloomsbury Wildlife, 2023.
Published: ©2023
256 pages : map ; 23 cm

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 914.611 COL - Onloan - Due: 13 May 2024 - 010924180

Château reawakening : one couple's wild and wonderful journey to restore a crumbling French masterpiece / TimHolding.

"When former Australian politician Tim Holding and his fiancee Felicity Selkirk discovered a crumbling French chateau just south of the Loire Valley, they could not have imagined the crazy adventure that would follow. Recklessly committing their life savings and mastering new skills along the way, Tim and Felicity uncover Chateau de Purnon's intriguing past while working to safeguard her future. Guided by one of France's foremost heritage architects and assisted by bemused locals, this is a story of optimism in the face of sometimes overwhelming odds. Documented through Tim's pithy diary entries over two and a half years and accompanied by breathtaking photography, this is both a compelling read and a visually arresting tribute to a truly unique restoration. Chateau Reawakening is about daring to dream on the grandest scale."--Back cover.
Author: Holding, Tim
Published: Wurundjeri Country ; Richmond, Victoria : Hardie Grant Books, 2023.
Published: ©2023
xi, 291 pages : illustrations (chiefly colour) ; 29 cm
1 reserve

Hampton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 919.4 BAI - Onloan - Due: 11 May 2024 - 010927716
Hampton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - History - 944.084 HOL - Onloan - Due: 06 May 2024 - 010933021

When we're not afraid : my 12,000 km bike-packing ride through South America / Leonie Katekar with Gregory Hill.

What would you do if you were not afraid? During a difficult time in what had already been a difficult life, Leonie Katekar decided to plunge herself into the unknown, embarking on a 12,0000-kilometre solo bike-packing expedition. When We're Not Afraid is her story of facing her fears and daring to leave behind her identity and past by immersing herself in a foreign world. Leonie's story is about taking risks and finding out how we can pursue a deeper happiness. On her journey she overcomes overwhelming physical challenges and internal anguish while experiencing a world of beauty and inspiration. When We're Not Afraid recounts Leonie's journey through nine countries. She conquers the Andes mountain range at an altitude of more than 4000 metres, explores and thrives in unique towns, cities, lakes and forest, deserts and ancient ruins, while pushing through extreme physical demands on her body and overcoming the weather and her own doubts. Told with an insight that enthrals and inspires, When We're Not Afraid is for anyone disillusioned with their life and brave enough to ask the question- what would you do if you were not afraid? Returning to Australia at age fifty-five, just days before the Covid-19 pandemic sent the nation into lockdown, Leonie is changed both physically and as a person; she faces a changed world from a unique perspective.
Author: Katekar, Leonie
Published: Melbourne, VIC : Melbourne Books, [2022]
Published: ©2022
357 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations ; 24 cm.

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 918.04 KAT - Available - 010525752

Soundings : journeys in the company of whales / Doreen Cunningham ; map and illustrations by Jamie Whyte.

From the lagoons of Mexico to Arctic glaciers, grey whale mothers are swimming with their calves, past predatory orcas, through a warming sea. For ten thousand miles, they endure one of the longest mammalian migrations on the planet. Following them, by bus, train and ferry, are Doreen Cunningham and her young son Max, in pursuit of a wild hope: that their family of two can make it by themselves. Doreen first visited Utqiagvik, the northernmost town in Alaska, as a young journalist reporting on climate change among indigenous whaling communities. There, she joined the spring whale hunt under the neverending Arctic light, watching for bowhead whales and polar bears, drawn deeply into an Inupiaq family, their culture and the disappearing ice. Years later, plunged into sudden poverty and isolation, living in a Women's Refuge with her baby son, Doreen recalls the wilderness that once helped shape her own. She embarks on an extraordinary adventure: taking Max to follow the grey whale migration all the way north to the Inupiaq family that took her in, where grey and bowhead whales meet at the melting apex of our planet. Soundings is the story of a woman reclaiming her life, mile by mile; a child growing to love an ocean that is profoundly endangered; and a mother learning from another species how to parent in a time of unprecedented change. Intrepid, brave and breathtaking, her journey will take you to the ends of the earth, alongside the whales that call it home.
Author: Cunningham, Doreen
Published: London : Virago, 2022.
Published: ©2022
308 pages : map ; 24 cm.

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Environment - 917.04 CUN - Available - 010517900

Under a Venice moon / Margaret Cameron.

Life isn't a sort of practice run, something you can afford to play around with. They don't offer second and third chances to get it right. Use it better. Live it fuller. A week in Venice ignites Margaret Cameron's interest in the private city behind the tourist facade and the obscure tales from its history. Tantalised by stories of this lesser-known Venice she returns the following August for a month-long stay, determined to uncover the Venice of the Venetians. Stepping out from her comfort zone, Margaret finds that friendships - unexpected and spontaneous - blossom within palazzi walls and she makes a discovery: life can lead you along rewarding paths, if you let it. As each day passes, her time in Venice becomes more than just an interlude; soon, the city feels like home. Could she leave her satisfying life in Perth and start anew in Venice? The question becomes urgent when romance waits where she least expected to find it...
Author: Cameron, Margaret
Published: Sydney, N.S.W. : Hachette Australia, 2022.
Published: ©2022
361 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations, colour portraits ; 23 cm.

Hampton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 914.531 CAM - Onloan - Due: 17 May 2024 - 010524946

The bookseller at the end of the world [Paperback] / Ruth Shaw.

A rich, immersive, funny and heartbreaking memoir of the charming bookseller who runs two tiny bookshops in the remote village of Manapouri in Fiordland, in the deep south of New Zealand. Ruth Shaw weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about favourite books, and bittersweet stories from her full and varied life. She's sailed through the Pacific for years, been held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's Kings Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and worked the yacht Breaksea Girl with her husband, Lance. Underlining all her wanderings and adventures are some very deep losses and long-held pain. Balancing that out is her beautiful love story with Lance, and her delightful sense of humour. This will make you weep and make you laugh and make you want to read more books - and make you want to visit Ruth and her two wee bookshops.
Author: Shaw, Ruth
Published: Auckland, New Zealand : Allen & Unwin, 2022.
Published: ©2022
320 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), portraits ; 23 cm.
1 reserve

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Biography - 381.45 SHA - Onloan - Due: 21 May 2024 - 010511458

Rooms of their own : where great writers write / Alex Johnson ; illustrations by James Oses.

Rooms of Their Own travels around the world, examining the unique spaces in which famous writers created their most notable work. The perennial question asked of all authors is How do you write? What do they require of their room or desk? Do they have favourite pens, paper or typewriters? And have they found the perfect daily routine to channel their creativity? Crossing centuries, continents and genres, Alex Johnson has pooled 50 of the best writers and transports you to the heart of their writing rooms - from attics and studies to billiard rooms and bathtubs. Discover the ins and outs of how each great writer penned their famous texts, and the routines and habits they perfected. Meet authors who rely on silence and seclusion and others who need people, music and whisky. Meet those who travel half-way across the world to a luxury writing retreat, and others who just need an empty shed at the bottom of the garden. Some are particular about pencils, inks, paper and typewriters, and others will scribble on anything - including the furniture. But whether they write in the library or in cars, under trees, private islands, hotel rooms or towers - each of these stories confirms that there is no best way to write. From James Baldwin, writing in the small hours of the morning in his Paris apartment, to DH Lawrence writing at the foot of a towering Ponderosa pine tree, to the Brontë sisters managing in a crowded co-working space, this book takes us into the lives of some of history's greatest ever writers, with each writing space illustrated in evocative watercolour. In looking at the working lives of our favourite authors, bibliophiles will be transported to other worlds, aspiring writers will find inspiration and literature fans will gain deeper insight into their most-loved authors.
Author: Johnson, Alex, 1969-
Published: London : Frances Lincoln, 2022.
Published: ©2022
192 pages : illustrations (chiefly colour), portraits ; 24 cm.

Beaumaris Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Languages and Literature - 808.02 JOH - Available - 010607458

Sunset in Spain / Erna Walraven.

Bidding adios to work and Sydney, Erna and Alex decide to pursue a dream of living in the north of Spain. They fall in love with a tiny Castilian village, and set about restoring a long-forgotten, falling down villa that will soon be their new home. Letting go of old ways, they get swept up in the colourful goings-on of their Spanish neighbours and the challenges of living a new life on a new continent - all while becoming minor celebrities among baffled locals who can't understand why anyone would want to cross the world to live in their modest village. Sunset in Spain is a warm, funny and poignant story of a couple's search for new challenges and the joys to be had in ramping things up when most of us would be happy to start winding down.
Author: Walraven, Erna
Published: Boon Wurrung Country ; South Melbourne, VIC : Affirm Press, 2022.
Published: ©2022
274 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations, colour portraits ; 24 cm.

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Biography - 914.6 WAL - Available - 010513315

The condor's feather : travelling wild in South America / Michael Webster.

'One spring morning, as the cuckoos were arriving in England, we departed. At Tilbury Docks we slowly edged our Toyota camper into a shipping container and, like a heron scooping a frog from a marsh, our container was hoisted high over the dockside. Inside was everything we needed, our new life bound for South America.' After a vicious attack left Michael Webster in treatment for years, it was only his love of nature - in particular birds - that truly healed. Repaying this debt to nature, he and his wife embarked on their trip of a lifetime, travelling through South America; immersed in the wild, following and filming birds. For over four years Michael and Paula travelled the length of the Andes, the greatest mountain chain on Earth. From penguins in Patagonia, up beyond the hummingbirds of the equator, to the flamingos of the Caribbean. They endured dust storms, thundering gales, icy mountain tops and skin-searing heat, and tested the limits of their physical and mental strength as they lived wild, month after month, camping under galaxies of diamond stars. The Condor's Feather is testament to the possibility of new adventures, new friendships and new hope.
Author: Webster, Michael
Published: London : September Publishing, 2022.
Published: ©2022
xvii, 315 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations, maps ; 22 cm.

Hampton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 918 WEB - Available - 010516712

Walking with nomads : one woman's adventures through a hidden world from the Sahara to the Atlas Mountains / Alice Morrison.

Adventurer and TV presenter Alice Morrison takes the reader on three remarkable and inspirational journeys across Morocco, from the Sahara to the Atlas mountains, to reveal the growing challenges faced by our planet. Accompanied only by three Amazigh Muslim men and their camels, Scottish explorer Alice Morrison set off to find a hidden world. During her journey along the Draa river, she encountered dinosaur footprints and discovered a lost city, as well as what looked like a map of an ancient spaceship, all the while trying to avoid landmines, quicksand and the deadly horned viper. Few places better illustrate the reality of climate change and the encroachment of the desert than a dried-out riverbed, but this also means a constant search for the next source of water. Meeting other nomads as they travel, Alice also gets to hear a side of their lives few ever access, as the women would never be allowed to speak to men from outside their community. They explain the challenges of giving birth and raising children in the wilderness. As the journey continues, Alice learns to enjoy goat's trachea sausages, gets a saliva shower from Hamish the camel as he blows out his sex bubble, and shares riddles round the camp fire with her fellow travellers. Walking with Nomads reveals the transformative richness of the desert and the mountains, providing a total escape from everyday concerns, but it also shows how the ancient world of the nomad is under threat as never before.
Author: Morrison, Alice, 1963-
Published: London : Simon & Schuster, 2022.
Published: ©2022
xiii, 320 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations, maps, colour portraits ; 25 cm.

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 916.4 MOR - Onloan - Due: 29 May 2024 - 010594390

Nine quarters of Jerusalem : a new biography of the Old City / Matthew Teller.

In Jerusalem, what you see and what is true are two different things. The Old City has never had 'four quarters' as its maps proclaim. And beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, many of its quarters are little known to visitors, its people ignored and their stories untold. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging from ancient past to political present, it evokes the city's depth and cultural diversity. Matthew Teller's highly original 'biography' features not just Jerusalem's Palestinian and Jewish communities, but its African and Indian voices, its Greek and Armenian and Syriac communities, its downtrodden Dom-gypsy families and its Sufi mystics. It discusses the sources of Jerusalem's holiness and the ideas - often startlingly secular - that have shaped lives within its walls. It is an evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.
Author: Teller, Matthew
Published: London : Profile Books, 2022.
Published: ©2022
389 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps ; 23 cm.

Hampton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - History - 956.944 TEL - Available - 010621416

Shearwater : a bird, an ocean, and a long way home / Roger Morgan-Grenville.

Ten weeks into its life, a Manx shearwater chick will emerge from its burrow and fly 8,000 miles from the west coast of the British Isles to the South Atlantic. It will be unlikely to touch land again for four years. Part memoir, part homage to wilderness, Shearwater traces the author's 50-year obsession with one of nature's supreme travellers. In the finest tradition of nature writing, Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of Liquid Gold - described by Mary Colwell (Curlew Moon) as 'a book that ignites joy and warmth' - unpicks the science behind its incredible journey; and into the story of a year in the shearwater's life, he threads the inspirational influence of his Hebridean grandmother who instilled in him a love of wild places and wild animals. Full of lightly-worn knowledge, acute human observation and self-deprecating humour, Shearwater brings to life a truly mysterious and charismatic bird.
Author: Morgan-Grenville, Roger
Published: London : Icon Books, 2022.
Published: ©2021
xxi, 281 pages : maps ; 20 cm.

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Biography - 598.42 MOR - Available - 010585435

Great Australian places / Graham Seal.

Australia's master storyteller takes us all around the country, uncovering tales of unsolved crimes, early exploration and military exploits, fascinating natural phenomena and iconic destinations. Wherever you go in Australia, you'll stumble across traces of ancient settlement, remnants of exploration, yarns from the roaring days of gold and bushranging, unexplained events and a never-ending cast of eccentric characters. Graham Seal takes us on a storytelling tour, from iconic destinations to tiny settlements, remote landmarks and little-known corners of this vast continent. He discovers the true stories behind the immortal Aussie songs about the pub with no beer and the land where the crow flies backwards. He visits sites precious to First Nations people and others precious to recent arrivals; he uncovers hair-raising stories in dangerous places; and he tracks down the elusive Everywhere Man. He also investigates mysterious natural phenomena and unsolved crimes, and takes us to locations of gruesome crimes and secret installations. Whether you're planning a road trip or indulging in an evening of armchair travel, Graham Seal's Great Australian Places will surprise, amuse and entertain you.
Author: Seal, Graham, 1950-
Published: Crows Nest, NSW : Allen & Unwin, 2022.
Published: ©2022
340 pages ; 24 cm.

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Languages and Literature - 398 SEA - Available - 010626374

Landlines / Raynor Winn.

Global bestselling author Raynor Winn returns with her third and most ambitious memoir, a chronicle of her journey across Great Britain. As the fracture lines between nations grow wider, how do we relate to each other, and to the land? Are we united enough to see protection of the environment as a priority? These are the questions Raynor asks herself as she embarks on her most ambitious walk to date with her husband Moth, from the dramatic beauty of north-west Scotland to the familiar territory of the South-west Coast Path. Chronicling her journey across Great Britain with trademark luminous prose, Raynor maps not only the physical terrain, but captures the collective consciousness of a country facing an uncertain path ahead.
Author: Winn, Raynor
Published: London : Michael Joseph, 2022.
Published: ©2022
306 pages ; 23 cm.

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Biography - 796.51 WIN - Available - 010645924

Bibliomaniac : an obsessive's tour of the bookshops of Britain / Robin Ince.

Why play to 12,000 people when you can play to 12? In Autumn 2021, Robin Ince's stadium tour with Professor Brian Cox was postponed due to the pandemic. Rather than do nothing, he decided he would instead go on a tour of over a hundred bookshops, from Wigtown to Penzance; from Swansea to Margate. Packed with anecdotes and tall tales, Bibliomaniac follows Robin up and down the country in his quest to discover just why he can never have enough books. It is the story of an addiction and a romance, and also of an occasional points failure just outside Oxenholme.
Author: Ince, Robin
Published: London : Atlantic Books, 2022.
Published: ©2022
311 pages : maps ; 23 cm

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Computers and Business - 381.45 INC - Available - 010685760

Becoming Forrest : one man's epic run across America / Rob Pope.

This is a true story of an unrivalled journey to recreate the greatest run in film history: 15,621 miles, five-times across the United States. This is the story of Englishman Rob Pope, a veterinarian who left his job in pursuit of a dream to become the first person ever to complete the epic run undertaken by one of Hollywood's most beloved characters, Forrest Gump. After his momma urged him to do one thing in life that made a difference, he flew to Alabama, put on his running shoes, and sped off into the wilderness. His remarkable journey covered 15,600 miles, the distance from the North to the South Pole and a third of the way back. Over a grueling 18 months, braving injuries, blizzards, forest fires and deadly wildlife, he crossed the United States five times. During one of the most turbulent periods in recent American history, Rob immersed himself in American life. His time on the open road saw him forever changed, trying to make that difference, in the process of becoming Forrest.
Author: Pope, Rob
Published: London : HarperNorth, 2022.
Published: ©2022
422 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations, colour portraits, map ; 24 cm.

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Biography - 796.424 POP - Available - 010486183

Shape of a boy : family life lessons in far-flung places / Kate Wickers.

Shape of a Boy is an inspirational parenting travel memoir from travel journalist and mother of three, Kate Wickers, as she and her family cross the globe in search of adventure. 'Have kids, will travel' is the mantra of the veteran journalist as she takes her three children with her on travels to exotic destinations from the jungles of southeast Asia to the waterfront in Havana and the blazing heat of Egypt. Laugh along with Kates warm, engaging account of her family's adventures and misadventures as she tells about the life lessons learnt on her family's travels, from overcoming disappointment in Thailand to saying sorry in Japan, discovering perseverance in Borneo and learning about conservation in Malaysia. Kate's intrepid spirit is infectious, and her family's adventures make you belly-laugh and bring a lump to your throat. Shape of A Boy captures the essence of being a parent in the thick of it and learning on the hoof. This is a must-read for every wannabe-traveller grounded by lockdown and for every parent who has dreaded travelling with a baby.
Author: Wickers, Kate
Published: London : Aurum, 2022.
Published: ©2022
265 pages ; 23 cm.

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Biography - 910.4 WIC - Available - 010618850

Asian girls are going places / Michelle Law ; illustrations by Joey Leung ; artwork by Louise Zhang.

Michelle Law is here to tell you that Asian girls are going place. Sure, that could literally mean hopping on a plane to a distant country, but it's also about overcoming stereotypes and barriers that Asian women face every day. So whether it's practical advice on how to not be a jerk to other cultures, suggestions for ways to navigate love and family relationships, or just some hilarious anecdotes you can relate to, Michelle offers a spectrum of advice, tips and information to help you navigate the world. Featuring interviews with other Asian women from a range of countries and cultures, this book is a celebration of what it means to by an Asian woman in the world today.
Author: Law, Michelle
Published: Richmond, Victoria : Hardie Grant Explore, 2022.
Published: ©2022
vii, 183 pages : colour illustrations ; 22 cm.
Girls guide to the world

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 910.82 LAW - Available - 010470762

Why travel matters : a guide to the life-changing effects of travel / Craig Storti.

Why Travel Matters explores the profound life lessons that await anyone who wishes to learn what travel has to teach. With engaging prose, delightful wit and a distinctive style, Craig Storti infuses his own experiences traveling the world for 30+ years with quotations, insights, reflections and commentary from famous travelers, great travel writers, historians and literary masters. Storti's vast knowledge of the literature makes him an expert curator of astute gems from the likes of: St. Augustine, Mark Twain, Somerset Maugham, D. H. Lawrence, Bruce Chatwin, Aldous Huxley and more.
Author: Storti, Craig
Reissued edition.
Published: London, England : Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2021.
Published: ©2021
x, 195 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 910.202 STO - Available - 010493709

The Amur River : between Russia and China / Colin Thubron.

Follow our greatest travel writer (and rusty Mandarin speaker) along the far eastern river that separates Russia from China, the two great ex-Communist giants, taking in Mongolia, Siberia and the Sea of Japan A dramatic and ambitious new journey for our greatest travel writer Colin Thubron, at 79, will travel the important but almost unknown Amur River - the tenth longest river in the world - that separates Russia from China in the Far East. The river rises in the mountains of north-east Mongolia (heartland of Genghis Khan) then flows into southern Siberia; after that, for over a thousand miles, it defines the Russo-Chinese border, before veering north into the Sea of Japan. The most tense and interesting part of the journey will be this 1,100-mile stretch at the river's heart, where the two great ex-Communist giants face each other. The Amur is a latent flashpoint between them, with the Chinese - to Russian alarm - pouring across the river to work on the Siberian side. This will be not only a journey from source to mouth along the banks of a magnificent waterway but an encounter with the local people. Colin speaks colloquial Russian, and is reviving the Mandarin he spoke thirty years ago. Travelling by whatever public transport he can find and sleeping where he can, Colin will draw out local stories in his inimitable style.
Author: Thubron, Colin, 1939-
Published: London : Chatto & Windus, 2021.
Published: ©2021
291 pages : map ; 24 cm

Beaumaris Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 915.77 THU - Onloan - Due: 29 May 2024 - 010493693

Borges and me : an encounter [Paperback] / Jay Parini.

In this evocative work of what the author in his Afterword calls 'autofiction' or 'a kind of novelised memoir', Jay Parini takes us back fifty years, when he fled the United States for Scotland. He was in frantic flight from the Vietnam War and desperately in search of his adult life. There, through unlikely circumstances, he met famed Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges. Borges was in his seventies, blind and frail. Parini was asked to look after him while his translator was unexpectedly called away. When Borges heard that Parini owned a 1957 Morris Minor, he declared a long-held wish to visit the Scottish Highlands, where he hoped to meet a man in Inverness who was interested in Anglo-Saxon riddles. As they travelled, the charmingly garrulous Borges took Parini on a grand tour of western literature and ideas while promising to teach him about love and poetry. As Borges's world of labyrinths, mirrors and doubles shimmered into being, their escapades took a surreal turn. Borges and Me is a classic road novel, based on true events. It's also a magical tour of an era - like our own - in which uncertainties abound, and when - as ever - it's the young and the old who hear voices and dream dreams.
Author: Parini, Jay
Published: Edinburgh : Canongate, 2021.
Published: ©2021
299 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Beaumaris Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Biography - 813.54 PAR - Available - 010423294

The dream of Europe : travels in the twenty-first century / Geert Mak ; translated from the Dutch by Liz Waters.

The long-awaited sequel to Geert Mak's landmark In Europe In 1999, Geert Mak spent a year criss-crossing Europe, looking to define the continent on the verge of a new millennium. The result was his monumental book In Europe. Great Expectations focuses on the first two turbulent decades of our current century, taking in the rocky EU expansion into eastern Europe and the rise of Putin; the aftermath of 9/11 and terrorist attacks across Europe; the migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean; the 2008 financial crash; the rise of right-wing populism, and of course, Brexit. Mak sketches the climate and mood at the turn of the century, the optimism that reigned but vanished along the way in the great European project. Above all, Mak is an observer, endlessly curious to learn how seismic political and cultural shifts effect people's lives. The book opens describing life in the tiny Norwegian polar city of Kirkenes - 'the hub of the European periphery, a laboratory for the future' - a geopolitical pressure cooker of a place with 3,500 inhabitants 5km away from the Russian border. The local restaurant serves up reindeer-and-mushroom pasta, Russian subs lurk around the undersea cables, the locals complain about the NATO surveillance ship in the harbour scrambling their phones, and the melting polar ice attracts Chinese investors and other major players for the future Arctic maritime trading route, which promises to half the travel time of the Suez Canal. Mak traces our current times through stories like these: you come away fascinated by the place, perhaps the most important Norwegian trading town you've never heard of, with a sense of global understanding news feeds can't always offer.
Author: Mak, Geert
Published: London : Harvill Secker, 2021.
Published: ©2021
578 pages : maps ; 24 cm.

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - History - 940.56 MAK - Available - 010368106

The land of maybe : a Faroe Islands year / Tim Ecott.

Following the natural cycle of the year, The Land of Maybe captures the essence of 'slow life' on the 18 remote, mysterious islands which make up the Faroes in the North Atlantic. Closer to the UK than Denmark, this fast disappearing world is home to a close-knit society where just 50,000 people share Viking roots and a language that is unlike any other in Scandinavia. We follow the arrival of the migratory birds, the over-wintering of the sheep and the way food is gathered and eaten in tune with the seasons. Buffeted by the weather and the demands of a volatile natural environment, people still hunt seabirds and herd pilot whales for a significant portion of their basic food needs. This is not a travelogue, but a deeper exploration of how 'to be' in a tough landscape; a study of a people and a way of life that represents continuity and a deep connection to the past. The Land of Maybe offers not just a refuge from the freneticism of modern life, but lessons about where we come from and how we may find a balance in our lives.
Author: Ecott, Tim
Published: London : Short Books, 2021.
Published: ©2020
283 pages : illustrations, map ; 20 cm

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 914.915 ECO - Onloan - Due: 28 May 2024 - 010193487
Hampton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 914.915 ECO - Available - 010419891

My family and the Galapagos / Monty Halls.

The Galapagos Islands have captured hearts & captivated imaginations for centuries. Such is their ecological importance that in 1978 the archipelago was declared the first ever World Heritage Site, a testament to our collective desire to preserve the magic and diversity that inspired Darwin. Monty Halls first visited the islands almost twenty years ago and his immediate fascination with their wild beauty would go on to shape the rest of his life. As an explorer, marine biologist, ex-Royal Marine & now President of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, Monty is a passionate advocate for those fighting to save the Galapagos. In 2017, he and his dedicated research team his wife, Tam, and their two young daughters, Molly and Isla, moved to Santa Cruz to experience just what life is like in the world's most spectacular tourist destination. As weeks turned into months, the Halls family were in turn spellbound by the beauty of the islands and heartbroken by the devastation that humans are inflicting upon them. One stint there was never going to be enough, and just two years later they found themselves heading back, this time staying on one of the remotest and most challenging islands, diving into the culture of the Galapagos and the desperately needed conservation work taking place there.
Author: Halls, Monty
Published: London : Headline, 2021.
Published: ©2020
326 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations, colour portraits ; 20 cm.

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 918.665 HAL - Available - 010491095

Gasto obscura : a food adventurer's guide [Paperback] / Cecily Wong, Dylan Thuras with additional writing by Rachel Rummel, Anne Ewbank, and Sam O'Brien.

"Taste the World! It's truly a feast of wonder: Created by the ever-curious minds behind Atlas Obscura, this breathtaking guide transforms our sense of what people around the world eat and drink. Covering all seven continents, Gastro Obscura serves up a loaded plate of incredible ingredients, food adventures, and edible wonders. Ready for a beer made from fog in Chile? Sardinia's "Threads of God" pasta? Egypt's 2000-year-old egg ovens? But far more than a menu of curious minds delicacies and unexpected dishes, Gastro Obscura reveals food's central place in our lives as well as our bellies, touching on history-trace the network of ancient Roman fish sauce factories. Culture-picture four million women gathering to make rice pudding. Travel-scale China's sacred Mount Hua to reach a tea house. Festivals-feed wild macaques pyramid of fruit at Thailand's Monkey Buffet Festival. And hidden gems that might be right around the corner, like the vending machine in Texas dispensing full sized pecan pies. Dig in and feed your sense of wonder."-- Provided by publisher.
Author: Wong, Cecily
First edition.
Published: New York : Workman Publishing, [2021]
Published: ©2021
438 pages : illustrations (chiefly colour) ; 28 cm
Atlas Obscura book

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - House and Garden - 641.5 WON - Onloan - Due: 25 May 2024 - 010372295

A sailor, a chicken, an incredible voyage : the seafaring adventures of Guirec and Monique / Guirec Soudée ; with Véronique de Bure ; translated by David Warriner.

"A man and his chicken sail 45,000 nautical miles in this powerful story of following your dreams no matter what stands in your way. When Guirec Soudée was 21 years old, he bought a 30-foot sailboat and set out across the Atlantic, despite having only sailed a dinghy before. His only companion? His plucky pet hen, Monique. Guirec never intended to sail the world with a chicken, but after reaching the Caribbean, he and Monique made for Greenland--and emerged from the pack ice 100 days later. Their next goal? San Francisco. Then, Antarctica. But first, could they navigate the treacherous Northwest Passage? One thing was for sure: Monique would help her trusty skipper by laying an egg! -Heart-stopping adventure story: navigating treacherous icebergs with a chicken on the mast is just one of many nail-biting manoeuvres from this action-packed book. -Perfect for readers of The Art of Racing in the Rain: Guirec and Monique's bond is unlike anything you've ever seen before. -Inspirational: Guirec shows that all you have to do is believe to achieve something big. -Photographs and maps: show the epic voyage and provide breaks in the text. Guirec and Monique's unbelievable journey won the hearts of people all over the world and caused a social media frenzy when it happened. Now, in their long-awaited first book, readers will uncover their gripping voyage from start to finish."-- Provided by publisher.
Author: Soudée, Guirec
Published: Vancouver ; Berkeley : Greystone Books, 2021.
Published: ©2021
311 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Brighton Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 910.41 SOU - Available - 010496885

To the island of tides : a journey to Lindisfarne [Paperback] / Alistair Moffat.

In To the Island of Tides, Alistair Moffat travels to - and through the history of - the fated island of Lindisfarne. Known by the Romans as InsulaMedicata and famous for its monastery, it even survived Viking raids. Today the isle maintains its position as a space for retreat and spiritual renewal. Walking from his home in the Borders, through the historical landscape of Scotland and northern England, Moffat takes us on a pilgrimage in the footsteps of saints and scholars, before arriving for a secular retreat on the Holy Isle. To the Island of Tides is a walk through history, a meditation on the power of place, but also a more personal journey; and a reflection on where life leads us.
Author: Moffat, Alistair, 1950-
Published: Edinburgh : Canongate, 2021.
Published: ©2019
317 pages ; 20 cm

Beaumaris Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 914.288 MOF - Available - 010451532

The hero's way : walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna / Tim Parks.

This is a widely appealing idea for a travel/history book from the bestselling author of Italian Ways, in which Tim follows the hair-raising journey of Garibaldi, revolutionary and future architect of a united Italy, 250-miles on foot from Rome to Ravenna across the Appenines, to look at Italy past and present. In the summer of 1849 Giuseppe Garibaldi, legendary hero of guerrilla wars in South America, and future architect of a united Italy, was finally forced to concede defeat in his defence of a revolutionary Roman republic. After holding the city for four long months against overwhelming foreign forces, it was clear that the only surrender could prevent slaughter and destruction at the hands of a huge French army. But Garibaldi was determined to turn defeat into moral victory. On the evening of July 2 he led 4000 men out of the city to continue the struggle for national independence elsewhere. Hounded by both French and Austrian armies, constantly changing direction and often marching at night, he crossed the mountainous Appenines and after endless skirmishes and adventures arrived in Ravenna on August 2 with just 250 survivors. Despite a well-advanced pregnancy, his Brazilian wife Anita insisted on accompanying him and by the time the group commandeered fishing boats on the Adriatic coast in an attempt to reach the revolutionary republic of Venice, which was still holding out against the Austrians, she was seriously ill. When the boats were intercepted by the Austrian navy and forced to beach, Anita died and had to be hurriedly buried in a shallow grave. Garibaldi's companions split up. Most were rounded up and executed, but the hero himself escaped, travelling back across Italy in disguise until he could finally embark from Genova, first for Africa, then the USA. Ten years later, his revolutionary campaign in Sicily would be the catalyst that brought about the unification of Italy.
Author: Parks, Tim
Published: London : Harvill Secker, 2021.
Published: ©2021
xiii, 369 pages : map ; 24 cm.

Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - History - 945.083 PAR - Available - 010160021

Waypoints : a journey on foot / Robert Martineau.

At the age of twenty-seven, and afraid of falling into a life he doesn't want, Robert Martineau quits his office job, buys a flight to Accra and begins to walk. He walks 1,000 miles through Ghana, Togo and Benin, to Ouidah, an ancient spiritual centre on the West African coast. Martineau walks alone across desert, through rainforests, over mountains, carrying everything he needs on his back, sleeping in villages or on the side of paths. Along the way he meets shamans, priests, historians, archaeologists and kings. He begins to confront the lines of slavery and exploitation that binds his home to theirs. Through the process of walking each day, and the lessons of those he walks among, Martineau starts to find the freedom he craves, and to build connections with the natural world and the past. In an extraordinary account of an adventure, and the inner journey that accompanies it, Martineau discovers how a walking pilgrimage can change a person.
Author: Martineau, Robert
Published: London : Jonathan Cape, 2021.
Published: ©2021
xii, 258 pages : maps ; 22 cm

Beaumaris Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 916.6 MAR - Available - 010463306
Sandringham Library - (Bayside Library Service) - Adult Non Fiction - Countries - 916.6 MAR - Available - 010449218