Other books that might interest you

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  The Tree of the Doves - Ceremony...

  Christopher Merrill

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  “A unique travelogue” that “explores the nature of terror, its place in the post-9/11 world and how it unites and galvanizes those in the throes of it” (Kirkus Reviews). 
   
  Using several ageless questions—“Where do we come from? Where are we going? What shall we do?”—as his point of departure, journalist and award-winning poet Christopher Merrill explores the related issues of terror, modernity, tradition, and epochal transformation. In three extended essays, Merrill observes the performance of a banned ritual in the Malaysian province of Kelatan; traces Saint-John Perse’s epic voyage from Beijing to Ulan Bator in 1921 and relates it to the China of today; and embarks on a trip across the Levant in 2007 in the wake of the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
   
  Merrill asserts that it is in this trinity of human actions—ceremony, expedition, war: all devised to keep terror at bay—that history is formed, and that the technological, political, environmental, and social changes we are witnessing now presage the end of one order and the creation of another. 
   
  “Merrill is a ‘writer’s writer’: he spins sentences made of gold.” —Publishers Weekly

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  Around Madagascar On My Kayak

  Riaan Manser

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  In the last five years Riaan Manser has re-written the definition of tenacity and become the epitome of determination. Riaan rose to prominence when he became the first person to cycle around the entire perimeter of Africa. For over two years, he padalled a mammoth 37,000kms through 34 countries; some of which rank as the most dangerous places on Earth. It was a feat that earned him the title Adventurer of the Year 2006 and made his resulting book, Around Africa on my Bicycle, a best-seller. In July 2009 Riaan again set another world first when he became the first person to circumnavigate the world's fourth largest island of Madagascar by kayak; another expedition achieved alone and unaided. This incredible journey, 5000km in eleven months, was considerably more demanding, both physically and mentally. Daily, Riaan had to conquer extreme loneliness while ploughing through treacherous conditions such as cyclones, pounding surf and an unrelenting sun that, combined with up to ten hours in salt water, was literally pickling his body. The perseverance, of course, brought memorable close encounters with Madagascar's marine life - humpback whales breaching metres away from his kayak, giant leatherback turtles gliding alongside him and even having his boat rammed by sharks. Riaan travelled around Madagascar during a period of the country's political turmoil, which gave him unrivalled insight into the exotic island's psyche and even earned him two nights in prison on suspicion of carrying out mercenary activities. Around Madagascar in my Kayak is packed with engaging stories and beautiful photographs and is set to become another best-seller.

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  Lost Maine Coastal Schooners -...

  Ingrid Grenon

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  Dramatic true stories of New England maritime history, with photos.   Large, wooden-hulled schooners graced the seas of coastal Maine for more than a century as vessels of trade and commerce. With the advent of steam-powered craft, however, these elegant four-, five-, or six-masted wooden ships became obsolete and vanished from the harbors and horizons.   The Edward Lawrence, the last of the six-masters, became her own funeral pyre in Portland Harbor, burning to ash before everyone’s eyes. The Carroll A. Deering washed ashore with no trace of her crew, empty as a ghost ship except for three cats and a pot of pea soup still cooking on the stove. In this testament to the beauty of the Maine coastal region, maritime history enthusiast Ingrid Grenon tells the story of these magnificent relics of the bygone Age of Sail and celebrates the people who devoted their lives to the sea.  

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  Sir Vidia's Shadow - A...

  Paul Theroux

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  The acclaimed writer shares an intimate portrait of his former mentor V.S. Naipaul in this memoir of their thirty-year friendship and sudden falling out. 
   
  Paul Theroux was a young aspiring writer when he met the legendary V.S. Naipaul in Uganda in 1966. There began a friendship that would span continents as both men ascended the ranks of literary stardom. Naipaul’s early encouragement of Theroux’s talent had a profound impact on him—yet the apprenticeship was not always easy. 
   
  This heartfelt and revealing account of Theroux's thirty-year friendship with Naipaul explores the unique effect each writer had on the other. Built around exotic landscapes, anecdotes that are revealing, humorous, and melancholy, and three decades of mutual history, this is a personal account of how one develops as a writer and how a friendship waxes and wanes between two men who have set themselves on the perilous journey of a writing life. 
   
  A New York Times Notable Book

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  Wild Atlantic Women - Walking...

  Gráinne Lyons

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  At a crossroads in her life, Gráinne Lyons set out to travel Ireland's west coast on foot. She set a simple intention: to walk in the footsteps of eleven pioneering Irish women deeply rooted in this coastal landscape and explore their lives and work along the way. As a Londoner born to Irish parents, she also sought answers in her own identity.
  
  
  As Gráinne heads north from Cape Clear Island where her great-grandmother was a lacemaker, she considers Ellen Hutchins, Maude Delap, Edna O'Brien, Granuaile and Queen Maeve among others from her unique perspective. Their homes – in places that are famously wild and remote – are transformed into sites of hope, purpose, opportunity and inspiration. Walking through this history, her journey reveals unexpected insight into emigrant identity, travelling alone, femininity and the trappings of an 'ideal' life. 
  
  
  Against the backdrop and power of this great ocean, Wild Atlantic Women will inspire the twenty-first-century reader and walker to keep going, regardless of the path.

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  The River at the Center of the...

  Simon Winchester

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  A stunning tour of China, its people, and its history. Chosen as one of the best travel books of 1996 by the New York Times Book Review. Rising in the mountains of the Tibetan border, the Yangtze River, the symbolic heart of China, pierces 3,900 miles of rugged country before debouching into the oily swells of the East China Sea. Connecting China's heartland cities with the volatile coastal giant, Shanghai, it has also historically connected China to the outside world through its nearly one thousand miles of navigable waters. To travel those waters is to travel back in history, to sense the soul of China, and Simon Winchester takes us along with him as he encounters the essence of China--its history and politics, its geography and climate as well as engage in its culture, and its people in remote and almost inaccessible places. The River at the Center of the World is travel writing at its best: lively, informative, and thoroughly enchanting.

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