Bryson, Bill. 1998. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. Broadway Books. Bill Bryson has made a living out of traveling and
then writing about it. In The Lost Continent he re-created the road trips of his childhood; in Neither Here nor There he retraced the route he followed as a young backpacker traversing Europe. When this American transplant to Britain decided to return home, he made a farewell walking tour of the British countryside and produced Notes from a Small Island. Once back on American soil and safely settled in New Hampshire, Bryson once again hears the siren call of the open road--only this time it's a trail. The Appalachian Trail, to be exact. In A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson tackles what is, for him, an entirely new subject: the American wilderness. Accompanied only by his old college buddy Stephen Katz, Bryson starts out one March morning in north Georgia, intending to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop Maine's Mount Katahdin.
Chatwin, Bruce. 1988. The Songlines. Penguin Books. The late Bruce Chatwin carved out a literary career as unique as any writer's in this century: his books included In Patagonia, a fabulist travel narrative, The Viceroy of Ouidah, a mock-historical tale of a Brazilian slave-trader in 19th century Africa, and The Songlines, his beautiful, elegiac, comic account of
following the invisible pathways traced by the Australian aborigines. Chatwin was nothing if not erudite, and the vast, eclectic body of literature that underlies this tale of trekking across the outback gives it a resonance found in few other recent travel books. A poignancy, as well, since Chatwin's untimely death made The Songlines one of his last books.
Conway, Jill Ker. 1990. The Road from Coorain. Vintage Books. From the first sentence, you will be drawn inexorably into the story of her childhood in New South Wales,
Australia, and her gradual discovery of--and by--the larger world: the clarity of Conway's language satisfies like cold clear water after a day in the desert: the rhythm of her sentences has a timelessness and expansiveness akin to the Australian landscape itself. This is very likely a book you will remember the rest of your life.
Eyewitness Travel Guides: Italy. DK Publishing, 1998. From Venice to Rome, pasta to pastry, the Roman forum to Juliet's balcony in Verona--a complete guide to the wonders of Italy.
Fodor's Travel Staff. 1997. America's Best Bed & Breakfasts: Over 2,000 Delightful Places to Stay in All 50 States. Fodor Travel Publications. Whether you're fond of Victorian inns, cabins in the woods, or lighthouses by the sea, "America's Best Bed & Breakfasts" is one of the most comprehensive guides to B & Bs I've seen. It contains more than 1,600 reviews of places to stay in 50 states and lots of descriptive detail from professional writers who are confirmed B & B lovers.
Lansing, Alfred. 1999 Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. Carrol & Graf. In the summer of 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set off
aboard the Endurance bound for the South Atlantic. The goal of his expedition was to cross the Antarctic
overland, but more than a year later, and still half a continent away from the intended base, the Endurance was trapped in ice and eventually was crushed. For five months Shackleton and his crew survived on drifting ice packs in one of the most savage regions of the world before they were finally able to set sail again in one of the ship's lifeboats. Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage is a white-knuckle account of this astounding odyssey.
Mayes, Frances. 1997. Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy. Broadway Books. In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in
an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy, and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed. At the same time Mayes brings a literary and intellectual mind to bear on the experience, adding depth to this account of her enticing rural idyll.
McCoy, Michael. 1999. Wyoming off the Beaten Path. Globe Pequot Press.
McRae, Bill, Jennifer Snarski, and Judy Jewell. 1999. Lonely Planet Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington. Lonely Planet. Looking for a good guidebook that encompasses all of Washington, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia? Check out "Lonely Planet Pacific Northwest," one of the few guides
that cover this enormous region--and an excellent place to
start planning that summer ramble.
Quammen, David. 1999. Wild Thoughts from Wild Places. Touchstone Books. David Quammen is one of our most eloquent writers on the natural world. His "Wild Thoughts from Wild Places" (just out in paperback), may inspire you to pick up a fly rod, run the Futaleufu, or take up telemarking--but most of all, it is a lovely and intelligent romp through the wilds of science and nature.
Riegert, Ray. 1999. Hidden Coast of California. Publishers Group West. Unlike all other travel guides to the Golden State, Hidden Coast of California focuses exclusively on the 1,100 miles of shoreline from Mexico to the Oregon border and doubles as the ultimate beach lover's
guide, with complete descriptions of over 175 beaches plus the hotels, restaurants, and natural areas surrounding them.
Steves, Rick. 1999. Rick Steves' Postcards from Europe: 25 Years of Travel Tales from America's Favorite Guidebook Writer. John Muir Publications. In Postcards from Europe, prolific guidebook author and public television host Rick Steves relates a recent trip across the heart of Europe. Departing from the guidebook format, Steves tells his story through Europe's people, often comparing a Europe he first came to know two decades ago with the one he sees today, a continent in flux.
Thoreau, Paul. 1990. Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China. Ivy Books. Paul Theroux invites you to join him on the journey of a lifetime, in the grand romanttic tradition, by train across Euope, through the vast underbelly of Asia and in the heart of Russia, and then up to China. Here is China by rail, as seen and heard through the eyes and ears of one of the most intrepid and insightful travel writers of our time.
© 1997-2000 gildersm@telusplanet.net
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