|
Non-fiction
This book is a _must read_... twice.
Read it for the first time for the adventure. Kapuscinski suffers worst diseases Africa can throw at you, and lives to tell the tale. He battles deadly snakes, and gets trapped in a "traffic jam" of wildebeests in the Serengeti back before there were roads and hordes of tourists. He was the first journalist to arrive in Zanzibar in the middle their revolution, and later survived an RPG attack in northern Uganda.
Read it a second time for the cultural analysis. Africa is a huge black hole, and mystery for most Westerners. Kapuscinski does any amazing job of describing Africa's history, culture, and present situation. He but gives the information almost incidentally through his storytelling, making it very readable. This book will teach you a lot about Africa.
Really... click on the link above and buy this book. You won't regret it.
Tom Wolfe is an amazing journalist, and one of the best writers of recent
years. With no interest in astronauts, I picked up this book and
was captivated from page one. Fantastically well written,
very amusing, and educational.
The ultimate in manly books - The "Dirty Dozen" of books; but better. "Old Man and the Sea" is a touching story of the love, between a man and a boy, where the old man kills sharks with his bare hands. Oh yeah!
Read this book!
An amazing collection of well-written travel short stories. The
majority of the stories and light-hearted and fun like Rolf Potts
very funny story of trying to crash the island set of the movie
"The Beach".
Another story that stuck in my mind wasn't funny at all, but it
was powerful. It was a story about being held captive by rebels
in the Congo - some members of the party were killed.
This book is a great destination if you're looking to do some
armchair traveling.
This review matches my thoughts perfectly:
"[Strunk and White] should be the daily companion of anyone who writes for a living
and, for that matter, anyone who writes at all."
Greensboro Daily News
The first half of the book is Steven King's autobiography. The second half is an excellent writing tutorial.
The autobiography is exactly what you'd expect from Steven King - a charming childhood horror story. The writing tutorial is fantastic. If you wish to work as a writer, then this book is a must read.
Uganda - Another horrible first person account that will touch you. This one talks about the ongoing horrors in Northern Uganda. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) kidnaps children to use them as child soldiers and sex-slaves. But that just begins to describe the horror, cruelty, and brutality. Just one example is that the LRA often kills the parents when they kidnap a kid, so the kid have nowhere to return to.
This book is the story of a nun trying to rescue some of her students that were kidnapped by the LRA. Another truly worthwhile read.
Bill Bryson is among the best known travel-writers in the world.
I read a few of his books and was completely unimpressed. I didn't
understand what everyone else saw in him until I read this book - it
had me regularly laughing out loud.
Cambodia - This book is fascinating and shocking. It gives all the dirt on the expats living in Cambodia in the mid-90s. It involves lots of guns, drugs, corruption and child prostitution. The author gives the dirt on everyone else in Cambodia, but claims to be completely innocent. That claims seems suspicious, but the rest of what he says rings true.
| |
Some true stories are more interesting, and more exciting than
fiction can ever be.
Henrich Herrer tells the story of his escape from a
British Prison in India, and walk to the closed city of Lhasa, Tibet
where he befriends the young Dalai Lama.
Cambodia - First person accounts are often the best way
to get a real understanding of current events and history. It can
also be the most difficult emotionally. When reading this book you
experience the horrors of the Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia through
the eyes of a young girl. This is an amazing book. A truly
worthwhile read that will touch you.
Ethiopia - Haile Salassie was the last emperor of Ethiopia and one the last absolute monarchs anywhere in the world. He was a fascinating character. To this day he is worshipped by Rastafarians as a demi-god; the African King of Kings.
Kapuscinski tells the story of Salassie's life through the eyes and words of those who worked with him. The books starts with the story of one man whose job, for ten years, was to wipe poodle urine off of dignitaries' shoes.
A story of life change and religious exploration. Sarah leaves her
glamorous life of being a popular radio personality and moves to India
joining her fiance there. Unemployed, with nothing else to do, she
sets off to discover herself.
The story is told entertainingly enough, and sensitively enough, that
I was _almost_ was convinced to go back to India and give it a second
chance.
The caption on the back cover says "The greatest true story of escape
and adventure ever written".
It's an amazingly captivating, simply and well-told story of Papillon's
life. He is imprisoned and tortured in a French penal colony in
South America. He dramatically escapes from, again, and again, before
eventually reaching freedom.
The sequel "Banco" is also excellent.
The best-written travel book that I've read in some time.
Horwitz is a Jewish American journalist who worked in and traveled
the Middle East. The Middle East is on top of everyone's mind these
days, but it tends to be very misunderstood.
It's an excellent piece of writing, and a great piece of journalism.
Horwitz gives you descriptions and his insights about the Middle
Eastern people (Iraqi, Iranian, Yemenis) and their cultures.
Read this book! I think that the Middle East will surprise you.
If you've enjoyed Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", then you need to read
"The Climb" by Anatoli Boukreev.
The two books come to very different conclusions as to what caused the tragedy on the mountain. Krakauer's book was a best-seller, but this was Krakauer's first time to extreme altitudes. Boukreev, on the other hand, was one of the world's most experienced high-altitude climbers, so he's the one that I trust.
"Hell's Angels" is an early work than Hunter S. Thompson's famous "Fear and Loathing". There's not quite as much action, but it's a better piece of journalism. It's exciting and educational.
In the book Hunter S. Thompson is hanging out with the Hell's
Angels. Add in LSD parties at Ken Kesey's house with Ginsberg
and crew - What could be more fun that that?
All of my climbing idols keep dying.
I'm reconsidering mountain climbing as a hobby.
Goran Kropp was a freak of a rare breed. He decided that summiting Everest
(note that 1 in 4 climbers die making the attempt) was not enough of
challenge for him.
He decided to bike from Sweden to Nepal, so he packed his climbing gear
on the back of his bike and took off. He climbed Everest without
porters or supplemental oxygen, and when he was done, he hopped back on his
bike and headed home.
Unlike most of the books that I recommend, this book is not particularly well written. But if you're an adventure enthusiast, you'll love it.
|
Fiction
There is a reason that Tom Robbins has a huge cult following.
He has an amazing, descriptive, creative, counter-culture writing
style. It's like nothing else you've ever read.
"Fierce Invalids" is my favorite of his books because of the travel theme.
The story is about a renegade, pedophile, CIA agent who is cursed by a witch doctor before meeting the pope.
Highly recommended! Read it and you'll undoubtedly become
another Tom Robbins fan.
More than just a work of science fiction. This book is proving to
be a disturbingly accurate prediction of the future.
It changed the way that I look at future, and I highly recommend that you read it.
It has a growing cult of followers who are anticipating an event described
within referred to as "The Singularity".
This book has topped the best--seller lists for months. I
assume that most of you have read it. If you're one of the few
that has not read it, then it's time to do so.
As a murder mystery, I wasn't that impressed. But, the book
presents a fascinating alternative view of the history of
Christianity.
I've done additional research and Dan Brown's alternative
views are at least as likely as mainstream beliefs. The bible
was written in Turkey 300 years after the death of Jesus - that
much is a fact. And, all the facts indicate that Mary Magdalene
was probably Jesus' wife.
You won't find a more absurd travel book.
If you're a traveler, a drug user, or a Jew then you'll find something here to relate to.
While it's shelved as fiction, I have it according to good sources that the story is, amazingly enough, largely fact.
The book's hero takes the super-hallucinogenic drug DMT. He comes
out of a mind-blowing 5-minute trip with a vision that he might
be the Messiah. He then goes on a voyage of discovery to India and
Egypt on a quest to determined if he actually is the Messiah, or not.
He's both a Messiah and a poet. The poetry in the book starts off
terrible, but gets better throughout.
Tom Robbins weirdness at it's best. This is many people's favorite Tom Robbin's book.
An example of his colorful writing style: "The trip left the girl gaga, goofy, tainted, transformed, her nose a busted hymen through which sperm of a thousand colors swam a hootchy-kootchy stroke into her cerebral lagoon."
Once again, read it and you'll undoubtedly become
another Tom Robbins fan.
| |
Hunter S. Thompson is among the greatest writers of recent decades.
This is his masterpiece.
It is an insane drug-filled ride, with the energy that only
Hunter S. Thompson can put into a book.
An amazing piece of writing.
Everyone is now reading the Lord of the Rings.
However, few people have ever heard of "The Silmarillion".
If the world of the Lord of the Rings had an Old Testament
that would be the Silmarillion.
The stories are far more epic than "The Lord of the Rings"
as it goes back to a time when the Dwarves were forging the rings
of power and the elves were battling the gods. The first chapter
is impossible to get through, so start at later chapters and work your way forward.
Reading the book gives insight into Tolkien's genius (and his madness), as you'll see that he created an entire world in his head.
India - This book is more about backpackers, than about India. As they say in England, "It takes the piss". And, it's good to laugh at ourselves.
Our hero of the book takes off for India. He doesn't belong there --
he's following a girl that he's lusting after. Not quite a
search for deep spirituality. Unfortunately, the girl isn't interested
in him, and she's his best-friend's girlfriend.
It's a very entertaining book.
Fun and silly, as a book written by a comedian should be.
Though, this book also has a very serious side. Through the telling of parallel stories, the book presents a solid, well thought out argument for the legalization of all drugs.
This is Stephen Clarke's first book and he's made a fantastic debut.
He writes with the same great insight and wit as Bill Bryson - but Stephen is 20 years younger. Personally, I relate much better to his stories or scoring, or failing, with chicks than Bill's complaints of being old.
I was laughing out loud through much of this book, and it's always fun to laugh at the French.
|
|
