Chris' Book Picks

Title: Crossing the Heart of Africa

Author: Julian Smith

Summary: Ewart Grogan is one of the unjustly forgotten names of African exploration. Prompted by the need to prove himself worthy of the hand of the woman he loved, he disappeared on a remarkable journey of exploration, survey and hardships into “darkest Africa”, reappearing triumphantly by the skin of his teeth two years later to claim his sweetheart. Inspired by this, travel journalist Julian Smith uses his parallel journey not only as the basis of this narrative, but more importantly as a journey toward his own commitment to his sweetheart.

Chris’ View: This book is so much more than a travelogue – excellent though it is on this account too. Superficially, these journeys parallel each other in time through some of the wildest parts of Central Africa. But these journeys also parallel each other through the respective relationships with their partners who wait for them, thousands of kilometers distant.

Ewart Grogan was a swash-buckling product of the late Victorian age. Denied the hand of his beloved Gertrude by her father, who thought him a feckless adventurer, he decided to perform a deed of such reckless fortitude that he could not be denied his prize. And so in 1898 he undertook perhaps the last great journey of exploration through Africa - from Mozambique in the south following the great African rift valleys northwards to the Nile and hence to Egypt. Companions perished, cannibals were narrowly avoided, elephants charged, starvation and thirst lurked closely and yet Grogan won through with bravado, guts and the utter conviction that the ultimate prize was worth the privation.

It’s an epic tale of travel that is ably told by Julian Smith and interwoven with his own travelogue, which is equally epic in its way. Not because it was equally dangerous – though it was certainly not easy travel, even in the 21st century – but because the author’s journey is itself a parallel journey: through Africa and through his relationship with his own love of his life, Laura.

This is a highly personal tale that works really well because of Julian Smith’s openness and honesty. As much as I admired his journey through self-doubt in his ability to commit to a life-long relationship, I also ended up equally admiring the wisdom of Laura, his long-time love, to facilitate this wild trip just a few months before their planned marriage. I’m a sucker for happy endings, and this has two. Read it and enjoy them both. .

Will Appeal To: Readers who do not normally pick up non-fiction books of any kind - let alone travel books - will enjoy this account of two journeys. For anyone struggling with commitment phobia in themselves or in others close to them, this account of one man’s journey through this land of wraiths and uncertainties to a sunnier place will be both encouraging and uplifting. The book also works more simply as a well-written, rollicking tale of adventurous travel and two journeys separated by more than a century.

Contents: Twenty-five chapters take the reader through Africa on these journeys in time and space, supplemented by a photo section and an excellent Bibliography. It’s a certain sign of a good read that I was left at the end of each chapter wanting to move on immediately to the next.

Illustrations: There are 34 black and white photographs in a special section of this book that reflect the parallel journeys of Ewart Grogan and Julian Smith through Africa, including an iconic image – the first in this section – of Grogan clad in a bush hat and with an elephant gun tucked nonchalantly under his arm. But the most interesting are the last two images of the respective couples: Ewart and Gertrude, and Julian and Laura. One gripe: the single map of their journeys is inadequate and had me delving frequently for the Africa pages of my Times Atlas.

Where Have I Heard of him?: Julian Smith writes for National Geographic, USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times and has written several travel guidebooks. This book has won the 2011 Outstanding Book Award for memoir/autobiography from the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Publisher: Harper Collins (2010) ISBN 978-0-06-187347-8

Website: www.juliansmith.com

Price: $14.99 (soft cover); 328 pages

Title: The Rough Guide to Toronto

Author: Helen Lovekin and Phil Lee

Summary: One of the Rough Guides’ 200+ destination guides, this one covers off Canada’s biggest city of Toronto, providing all the information visitors will need to make the most of their time here.

Chris’ View: This is the best guidebook to Toronto. I am confident about this claim as I have read all the others – and I live in, and love, the City of Toronto. It is witty, eclectic, comprehensive, colourful and authoritative. The recommendations from the arts to family eateries are spot on. If you are planning a visit, or if you live here, my advice is the same: get a copy and enjoy!

Will Appeal To: Visitors to Toronto, and those living in the city, who wish to go beyond the obvious attractions and experience the more subtle reasons why Toronto is regularly lauded as one of the best cities on the planet.

Contents: The guide begins with colour photographs of the city to whet the appetite. No ordinary guidebook photography either: here and throughout the book, the images add real texture to the copy.

The first section of the guide, ‘Basics’, covers all the nuts and bolts of travel to and within Toronto.

The heart of the book is the Guide section, which is organized into five parts: 1. Downtown Toronto; 2. Uptown Toronto; 3. The Waterfront and Toronto islands; 4. The Suburbs; 5. Day Trips from Toronto. I particularly liked the Uptown and Suburb chapters, which are parts of the city often missed by other guide books.

The Listings section does a great job for accommodations, food, the social scene, lifestyle, shopping, sports and festivals.

The final section is a very readable review of historical and literary Toronto.

Illustrations: Unlike so many guide books, the illustrations serve the guide well. Two colour photography sections bookend the guide, the first to hook the potential visitor with the top twenty things not to miss in the city, while the last brings to life the chapter on Canadian art. A third colour section pops up in the middle of the book to provide visual evidence of the architectural vitality of Toronto. Black and white photographs are used sparingly throughout the book. Maps are a real litmus test for me for any guide book’s effectiveness, and this guide is well blessed with excellent examples that provide the reader with real direction in the city. In particular, the colour maps at the end of the book are really excellent.

Where Have I Heard of the Authors?: The co-authors are clearly an effective duo who skills have merged to produce this winning guide. Phil Lee is a prolific British travel writer with over a dozen Rough Guides to his name. Helen Lovekin has written only this guide book, but as a native Torontonian, her love for the city shines through the pages and her infectious enthusiasm wins over the reader repeatedly. I have also had the pleasure of having Helen as the guest on my radio shows as an eloquent and stylish spokesperson for Ontario Tourism.

Publisher: Rough Guides (2009) ISBN 978-1-84836-074-7

Website: www.roughguides.com

Price: $22.99 (soft cover); 250 pages

Title: Global Warring

Author: Cleo Paskal

Summary: Global Warring is an apt play on words, because as the author looks beyond the increasingly obvious science of climate change inevitability, she takes us on a tour of the consequences of global warming at a macro level around the world. In doing so, she explains what is happening geopolitically now and what we will have to cope with in the near and medium-term future.

Chris’ View: I travelled with Cleo some years ago on a media trip to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year and our boisterous debates on world politics were a highlight of that trip. So I looked forward to reading this book greatly. I was not disappointed. There’s much of the author’s character in these pages. Opinionated, but hugely informed. Strident, but with dry humour studded throughout the narrative. This is an engaging and concerned overview of what climate change means to international relationships both now and in the future. Cleo is very much plugged into some of the key players and institutions that constitute the chess pieces on the global board – especially in India, which along with China, is clearly going to play an increasingly important role in what is to come.

This book is at its best when it examines the very different ways in which the leading power blocs react to global climate change developments: the US, the EU, Russia, China and India are all very differently placed to cope with the changes and to plan for the changes. There are many wake-up calls for readers in the Western World. The implications of an ice-free Northwest Passage are of particular interest to Canadian readers of course. She also contrasts the obvious failures of the US to cope effectively with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 with the ruthless efficiency of China in the following year when it was hit by a series of nine typhoons and evacuated 1.5 million citizens to safety. But she also points out the Achilles heel of China’s centralized planning system which may ultimately lead to suffering on a tragic scale as climate change unfolds in Asia.

Whilst this is not a travel book in the classic sense, this is a book that is relevant to all travellers, armchair or globetrotting. Read it. Join the debate. And let’s get our politicians to actually do something to mitigate the effects of climate change. The clock’s ticking. As Cleo says, finally, “We have adapted to environmental change before, and we can do it again. It would just be nice, if this time around, there weren’t quite so much human sacrifice involved”.

Will Appeal To: All readers with a world view will find this book worthwhile. If you have a passion for politics writ large; if you are constantly trying to make sense of China’s international strategies; if you are concerned about the growing number of natural catastrophes; if you want to know more about where we are going as a global community…Then this book is for you.

Contents: The book is arranged in four parts, eleven chapters, an introduction and conclusion:
Introduction: Been There, Done That, and All I Got Were These Lousy Extinctions (I told you that Cleo has a wry sense of humour…)
Part One: The USS Sieve
Part Two: The New Geopolitical Icebergs
Part Three: Precipitating Change in Asia and Beyond
Part Four: The Turbulent Pacific
Conclusion: Weathering the Change (I’ll forgive the awful pun, Cleo…)

Illustrations: Not the strong part of the book, but there’s a handful of basic maps that help the reader get their bearings as they flit from country to country across the globe.

Where Have I Heard of Her?: Although Cleo Paskal’s scholarly associations include universities in India and the UK and organizations in Europe and the US, you probably know her from her award-winning writing in Canada’s national newspapers, including her current column in The Toronto Star.

Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan ISBN: 978-0-230-62181-7

Website: www.macmillan.com

Price: $27 (hard cover); 288 pages

Title: Panama: National Geographic Traveler

Author: Christopher P. Baker

Summary: If you are thinking about Panama as a potential destination for your next trip, this is the guidebook for you. It’s great for planning a trip of many weeks touring the country, or for the one week packaged tourist who just wants to research a couple of excursions to see the real Panama away from the beach.

Chris’ View: I have just “road-tested” this guidebook during a family trip to Panama. My copy of the book is now a little damp from the rainforest, a little gritty with sand from the Pacific beaches and a little scrunched around the edges from constant use – in short it looks the way a good guidebook should look if it has been useful! And useful, it certainly was.

My trip was planned around three components to keep everyone in the family happy: the beach, the Canal and the rainforest. For each of these, the guidebook opened up opportunities to understand and see more that we would otherwise have imagined. Clear, precise text supported by enticing photography is a potent combination, and one that led us to see more than we would otherwise have done. This to me is the mission of all good destination guides.

For the beach component in Playa Farallon we learnt of local restaurants outside of the all-inclusive resort that were within walking distance. Activities such as surfing that were available just half an hour away. And which excursions into the mountains that were worthy of consideration. For our partial transit of the Panama Canal, we read about the heart-breaking history of its construction and how the great locks work as our boat rose from the Pacific Ocean to Gatun Lake, 85 feet above sea level. And for our stay at Gamboa in the Parque Nacional Soberania, the guide suggested hikes and activities which were a joy to experience.

I recommend not only Panama as a memorable destination, but also Christopher Baker’s guidebook as an effective key to unlocking the marvels of this beautiful country.

Will Appeal To: Panama is becoming more and more accessible to ‘ordinary tourists’, as mass market tour operators in Canada (such as Nolitours and Sunwing) introduce the destination into their mainstream brochures. So this guidebook is a hand-luggage sized (21x13cm) companion for the flight down to Panama and will inspire readers to explore much farther than the glorious pacific Coast beaches of this fascinating country.

Contents: The guide flows naturally from an introductory section on the history and culture of Panama, through eight chapters on the different regions of the country and ending with practical information for travellers in the ‘Travelwise’ section. The regional chapters include special features such as the wild cats of Panama and driving the Interamerican Highway.

Illustrations: With a guide produced by National Geographic, you might expect that the photography would be a highlight of the book – and you would be absolutely right. Gilles Mingasson as the photographer has done a magnificent job in bringing the destination to life with his vibrant pictures of the people and the country which are liberally sprinkled throughout the guide. The National Geographic team of artists has also produced clear and useful maps of the country and its regions, plus touring maps and illustrations of special features, such as the Panama Canal.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: Christopher Baker is a prolific travel writer – his work has appeared in over 150 publications around the world. He has also written the national Geographic Traveler guidebooks for Costa Rica and Cuba, as well as the excellent Moon Travel Handbook on Costa Rica.

Publisher: National Geographic Society (2007) ISBN -13: 978-1-4262-0146-2

Website: http://shop.nationalgeographic.com

Price: $29.95 (National Geographic Society soft cover); 274 pages

Title: Atlas of Remote Islands

Author: Judith Schalansky

Summary: Not an atlas – or at least, not only an atlas – this is a collection of fifty short essays on obscure islands around the world. But that’s like describing “Travels with Charley” (see below) as a trip across the States. This is a world-girdling flight of fancy peeking into windows of time over weird and wonderful oceanic rocks, all packaged up in a sumptuously illustrated and typographed book that is a pleasure to spend time with.

Chris’ View: I’ve shot my bolt with the summary above. For this is more than a travel book: it a small work of art. The author not only wrote the essays, but she also designed and typeset the book. And if, like me, you thought that typesetting was largely irrelevant to your enjoyment of a book – read Atlas of Remote Islands. It’s just gorgeous to open and leaf through.

And then there are the fifty essays. Each one is just a few paragraphs, but each provides a flash of light on otherwise little known islands in all five oceans. The tales are quirky stories of people and places lost in time and oceanic swells. The islands themselves range from the tiny Tromelin (at less than one square kilometre) to more substantial, but equally unknown, Semisopochnoi (at 222 square kilometres), and from uninhabited chunks of rock and ice like Peter Island in the Antarctic to crowded arks like Brava in the tropical Cape Verde Islands with over 6,000 souls. All fifty are intriguing dots in atlas maps of the oceans. For all fifty the author has discovered and explored briefly a moment in time when these dots played an important role in the lives of people – explorers, castaways, convicts, madmen and scientists.

Perhaps the most poignant of all the tales is that of Takuu, a Pacific atoll that rises barely a meter above high tide. It is home to 560 people but is being inexorably lost to rising sea levels consequent on global forces that they neither impact nor understand. The next edition of Atlas of Remote Islands may contain one less essay.

Will Appeal To: Atlas of Remote Islands has broad appeal that extends far beyond armchair travellers. It’s an easy read and best dipped into a few islands at a time. I found myself rationing my reading so that I didn’t end my journey too quickly. It would be a perfect gift for a friend – or for you!

Contents: There is both a logic and a delightful randomness in the way this book is organized. An all-important introductory essay launches us into the author’s world of whimsy – it is essential reading to make sense of where she takes us next. The island essays are grouped by the oceans that surround them but within their oceanic settings we dart around all over the place, erratically and effortlessly.

1. Preface
2. Arctic Ocean
3. Atlantic Ocean
4. Indian Ocean
5. Pacific Ocean
6. Antarctic Ocean
7. Glossary

Illustrations: All fifty island essays are accompanied by an exquisite map of the island, each drawn to the same 1:125,000 scale. Each is headed by a timescale of significant events and a global positioning pictogram.

Where Have I Heard of Her?: Judith Schalansky was born and educated in East Germany. The Atlas is Judith’s first travel book and it has been recognised as the most beautiful German book.

Publisher: Penguin Books (2009) ISBN 978-0-14-311820-6

Website: www.penguin.ca

Price: $35 (Penguin hard cover); 144 pages

Title: Travels with Charley

Author: John Steinbeck

Summary: In 1960, when he was almost sixty years old, John Steinbeck set out to rediscover his native land. He felt that he might have lost touch with its sights, sounds and the essence of its people. Accompanied only by his dog, Charley, he travelled 10,000 miles all across the United States in a pick-up truck called Rocinante. His journey took him through 34 states, and he saw things that made him proud, angry, sympathetic and elated – all described with his trademark honesty and insight.

Chris’ View: I love this book. It surprised me when I first read it – I hadn’t really discovered Steinbeck as a novelist. It delighted me – this is travel writing as it should be, not mere travelogue, but a profound and insightful analysis of what the traveller experienced. It amused me – the literary and companionable device of taking his French poodle Charley along lightens his sometimes black musings.

He started his travels in his specially built camper van in Long Island, New York roughly following the outer border of the United States, from Maine to the Pacific Northwest, down into his native Salinas Valley in California, across to Texas, up through the Deep South, and thence back to New York. He describes his experiences in a kaleidoscope of people and places, with prose so perfect that it brings time and place alive. These vibrant descriptive passages are interspersed with essays on American life that are as pertinent today as they were 50 years ago. But it’s his ability to paint pictures in words of what he sees on his trip that lives in my mind. So much so, that I had to read passages aloud to my wife for the sheer joy of what word-crafting can achieve. From grizzly bear encounters in Yellowstone to the serenity of the Wisconsin Dells, from racists in Louisiana to travelling actors in Minnesota, Steinbeck is never less than masterful: a great writer at the summit of his powers.

At the outset, Steinbeck states that the purpose of his journey was to reconnect with America and Americans. Ironically, I believe that he achieves this more effectively for his readers than he does for himself.

Will Appeal To: It is difficult to think of anyone who would not enjoy this great book. Even if you didn’t like being made to read Steinbeck in school, treat yourself to this tour of the United States as it was in 1960 – I guarantee that you will not regret it.

Contents: Four Parts covering different regions of America. My Folio Society edition also has an informative Introduction by Jay Parini.

Illustrations: My edition of this book is a handsome Folio Society boxed edition (2004) which is evocatively illustrated by John Holder’s drawings of scenes from the travelogue with11 full-page drawings and numerous vignettes.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: You have heard of John Steinbeck! He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952) and the novella Of Mice and Men (1937). He wrote a total of twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and five collections of short stories. In 1962, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He also wrote another travel book: The Log from the Sea of Cortez describes his experiences in 1940, when he went on a voyage around the Gulf of California with his influential friend Ed Ricketts to collect biological specimens.

Publisher: Penguin (2001) ISBN: 9780141186108

Website: www.penguin.ca and www.foliosociety.com/book/TCH/travels-with-charley

Price: $18.99 (Penguin soft cover); 240 pages

Title: Best Hiking Trips in British Columbia

Author: Christie Pashby, Darlene West, Chloe Ernst, Anne Templeton-Kluit, Judi Lees, Amanda Castleman, Andrew Hempstead and Judy McKinley

Editor: Gene Shannon

Summary: An excellently organized and very readable guide to the hiking delights of a region seemingly designed for hikers. It covers nearly sixty trails of varying challenge and time all over the most visited parts of the province. Each is clearly presented with all the facts needed to choose between them. It also summarises accommodation and restaurant options for each and includes GPS coordinates to locate the trailheads.

Chris’ View: I’m dusting off my hiking boots as I post this review! Such is the effect of the enthusiasm that comes across so tangibly from the group of local writers who have combined to make this guide book such a good read as well as an eminently practical guide. It’s a tough act to pull off, this combination of usability and readability and I suspect that the success of the book in this regard owes much to the editing of Gene Shannon. The book successfully makes the match between the reader and the right hike for their abilities which is so crucial in a hiking guide. This is done through a summary table of all the hikes, by the first chapter in which the best hikes for each ability level are noted, and by the commentary within each hike’s coverage.

Naturally, I turned first to the few of these hikes that I have already enjoyed. I found each one to be accurate, appropriate and well pitched in terms of its main attractions. Having got in the groove, I thought I would just dip around the guide into a few more of the hikes…and before I knew it, I had covered all 59 of them! And started off the aforementioned dusting of the boots.

If you enjoy this book as much as I do, check out the three other titles in this series to date: Hawaii, Northern California and Scotland.

Will Appeal To: All visitors to BC (and residents too, I suspect) who love getting out in the fresh air; as the trails range from 2km saunters to multi-day wilderness hikes, there’s interest here for all levels of hikers.

Contents: Nine chapters covering six hiking regions plus all the practical information needed to plan your trip to BC.
1. The Best Hiking in British Columbia
2. Planning Your Hiking Trip to British Columbia
3. Suggested Itineraries
4. Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast
5. Vancouver Island
6. Whistler & Sea-to-Sky Country
7. Cariboo Country, Chilcotin, Coast & Northern BC
8. The Okanagan Valley
9. The Canadian Rockies & the Kootenays
Appendix: Fast Facts, Toll-Free Numbers and Websites

Illustrations: All photographs are grouped together in the front of the guide in a 16-page colour section that covers general hiking scenes and selected flora & fauna of BC. Each hike is also accompanied by a simple map and elevation graph that is clearly related to the text and is consistent throughout the book.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: Gene Shannon is the Frommer’s Best Hiking series Editor and has been a guest on past Chris Robinson Travel Shows. He edits all Frommer’s guides to Canadian destinations, as well as ones for more far-flung destinations such as Buenos Aires, Poland and Texas and is an expert in soft adventure and outdoor activities.

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Canada (2009) ISBN: 978-0-470-15990-3

Website: www.frommers.com

Price: $23.99 (soft cover); 274 pages

Title: History Hunting in the Yukon

Author: Michael Gates

Summary: This is a collection of short essays providing bite-sized insights into the last 120 years or so of Yukon history. It’s a fun book to dip into - as each essay is independent of the others - but taken together, they provide a colourful, funny and occasionally tragic tapestry of this uniquely beguiling part of Canada.

Chris’ View: This book had a special appeal to me as I began reading it on my plane trip back from a week in the Yukon that had touched on many of the places mentioned in the book. But you don’t have to have been to the Territory to appreciate this collection of essays. The author’s enthusiasm for history in all its forms is contagious This applies to chapters where history is writ large – such as surreptitious attempts by the Americans to annex the Yukon. And also where it is writ so small that most of us would overlook it – as in the knowledge that can be gained from the old tin cans discarded along the trail by the gold rushers.

I have had the privilege of seeing the old gold dredges, the SS Klondike sternwheel riverboat and, yes, even some of those old tin cans beside the Chilkoot Trail in an otherwise pristine wilderness. And this is what I love about Canadian history, particularly in the Yukon: it’s still so recent you can reach out and touch the ghosts of the past. This is what Michael Gates does particularly well in this book: he brings to life a whole panoply of historical characters and experiences from the Yukon’s recent history in a cascading series of vignettes. If you haven’t yet visited this wonderful land, this book might just persuade you to do so.

Will Appeal To: Anyone who agrees with my general view that Canadian history is seldom boring. Of course, the great Klondike Gold Rush and the exploration of the Yukon is an exciting palette for any historian - and if you plan a trip to the Yukon or have visited the Territory, you will enjoy these essays.

Contents: 49 essays range from “Death on the Chilkoot Trail” to “Robert Service’s Secret Love Life” and are grouped into seven broad chapters:
1. First Nations
2. The Early Days
3. The Klondike Gold Rush
4. The Dalton Trail
5. Legendary People
6. Extraordinary Events
7. History, History Everywhere

Illustrations: There’s a map of the Yukon to start the book which is helpful in placing the locations of the essays. Following this are a good number of black and white photographs throughout the book which illustrate the essays well. A number of the photographs date back to the Gold Rush days over 100 years ago.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: Michael fell in love with the Yukon nearly 40 years ago, becoming Cultural Resource Manager for the Yukon field unit of Parks Canada in Whitehorse. He is also the author of “Gold at Fortymile Creek” as well as a regular column in the Yukon News.

Publisher: Harbour Publishing Company (2010) ISBN 978-1-55017-477-9

Website: www.harbourpublishing.com

Price: $18.95 (soft cover); 256 pages

Title: Letters to Zerky

Author: Bill Raney

Summary: In 1967 Bill and his wife JoAnne set off around the world with their baby Zerky and their dachshund Tarzan in a journey that would take them and their Volkswagen campervan around Europe and across much of Asia in a 12-month trip through a different world. The tale is told through JoAnne’s diary and in the letters that Bill wrote to Zerky whilst on the trip in an attempt to ensure that baby Zerky would know what he experienced.

Chris’ View: This is a refreshingly different way of approaching a travelogue. Most of the narrative is in the form of poignant letters written to his infant son Eric Xerxes (the eponymous letters to Zerky). These letters lay forgotten for 40 years and so their publishing now gives them a time-vault dimension too. It’s a gloriously reckless, spontaneous romp through Europe and Asia with glimpses of the familiar Europe and the less familiar parts of Cold War countries. But the tale really becomes most engaging when a spur of the moment decision in Greece prompts them to drive into Asia through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nepal. Their adventures along the way with Zerky turning 12 months and Tarzan, their typically characterful family dachshund, are funny, adventuresome and even nostalgic.

It’s a tale that I closely identify with personally in many ways. I travelled a similar path across Asia a few years after Bill, JoAnne and Zerky. And I also took time off when my first son was born and travelled around the world for several months with Dara, my wife, and Pip aged a few months. In both instances I recognize that youthful spirit of adventure, wonder and invincibility that flows from the pages of this book. The poignancy of these letters is the greater because tragically, horribly, both JoAnne and Zerky passed away shortly after their journey. This aftermath hasn’t stopped Bill from travelling and his mantra remains one I wholeheartedly endorse: “Just go!”

Will Appeal To: Armchair travellers, of course…but also to anyone who contemplates travelling with a baby. There is a strong nostalgic pull too for Baby Boomers such as myself, as the book describes travelling in a more accessible and innocent world. The book is also perhaps a testimony for anyone who has suffered unimaginable loss that there can be – and must be – a life worth living afterwards.

Contents: 32 chapters describe their trip, from Germany to China, and a number of prefaces and appendices provide a starting point and the postscript to the story.

Illustrations: There’s a generous mix of colour and mono photographs throughout the book which are well chosen to add a visual dimension to the travels described. Best of all, there are tons of maps throughout the book that show you where you are in the world – a requirement in travel books that’s sadly often omitted or minimized.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: Bill built and owned the Nickelodeon Theatre in California and lived on a 42 foot trawler for eight years off the western coast of North America.

Publisher: Nickelodeon Press (2009) ISBN 978-0-9821384-0-3

Website: www.LettersToZerky.com and www.WaltzingAroundTheWorld.com

Price: $16.00 US (soft cover) $27.00 (hard cover) 436 pages

Title: The Greek For Love – A Memoir of Corfu

Author: James Chatto

Summary: An intensely personal account of falling in love on - and with – Corfu, one of the Ionian Islands in the west of Greece. The Greek way of life gently envelops both the author and the reader as the narrative progresses; I can think of no better entry to Greece other than going there in person.

Chris’ View: The Travel Books I read are more normally guide books, or adventurous tales of travelling through strange lands, or history/geography combinations that span civilizations. And yet I was beguiled by this book of personal experience of coming by chance to one of the most ‘touristy’ of Greek islands, Corfu. He came as a tourist, he fell in love with his companion and they together fell in love with the little village, its people and the Greek way of looking at life. It’s an emotional roller-coaster of a read as he takes us through their gradual acceptance of a different way of life and their gentle but inexorable absorption into the village community. Almost without realizing it, the reader also drifts into this sense of what it is like to be a part of island life in this lovely region of Greece – this is the skill and the accomplishment of the author. I laughed and I cried whilst reading this book…and at the end vowed to return to Greece as soon as possible.

Will Appeal To: This is a perfect pre-trip read for anyone heading off to Greece as the reader is seduced into the Greek view of the world along with the author. If you enjoyed Nicholas Luard’s Andalucía (see the review), you will certainly enjoy this book.

Contents:
The book flows gently through…
Prelude November 1982
10 Chapters
Epilogue August 2004

Illustrations: None

Where Have I Heard of Him?: You have probably read James Chatto's articles on travel, food and wine in Canadian newspapers and magazines; he has written several cookbooks and a nonfiction book, The Man Who Ate Toronto.

Publisher: Random House Canada (2005) ISBN 0-679-31313-3

Website: www.randomhouse.com

Price: $34.95 (hard cover) 316 pages

Title: The Best of New York in Just 10 Seconds

Author: Peter McGarvey

Summary: A fresh new approach to city guidebooks: snappy, practical, bright and breezy. This is the opposite end of the spectrum from the door-stopper tomes you’re used to – this is a take-anywhere, website-on-the-go guide to one of the world’s great city destinations.

Chris’ View: This is a fun guidebook! Visually appealing and very pragmatic, it’s a good combination to enhance any trip to one of the best city break destinations on the planet. I like the fact that there’s no advertising and the publisher doesn’t accept money from the places listed in this guide, so the inclusions and views are unbiased. Those inclusions, which are organized by the basic section headings listed below, are insightful and eclectic. In a city of such vast proportions, it is a considerable achievement to impose a feeling of simplicity in a guidebook, but the team at Baffled by Travel has done exactly that for New York, one of the most complex cosmopolitan centres imaginable. A terrific strength of the book is the section on New York’s neighbourhoods. Their descriptions of Central Park, Chelsea, Chinatown, East Village, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Lower East Side and SoHo/TriBeca effectively describe one of the highlights of any trip to the city and make it easy to choose which ones to explore. I look forward to exploring the future titles planned in this series.

Will Appeal To: Perfect for travellers taking a city break to the Big Apple who want to get the most of every hour of their trip.

Contents:
Divided into sections for:
1. Arts
2. Eat
3. Nightlife
4. See
5. Shop
6. Stay
7. Events
8. Neighbourhoods

Illustrations: Tons of colour illustrations throughout, from illustrative to impressionistic; the numerous maps are particularly clear and useful.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: The first of a new series including London, Paris, San Francisco and Chicago, as well as apps for the Apple iPhone, Apple iPad and BlackBerry.

Publisher: Baffled by Travel (2009) ISBN 978-0-9784476-0-1

Website: www.baffledbytravel.com

Price: $22.95 (soft cover) 246 pages

Title: One Year Off

Author: David Elliot Cohen

Summary: A lively and amusing account of a common travel fantasy: leave it all behind and take off for a year to travel around the world…in this case with three young children.

Chris’ View: Admit it. You have thought about it, haven’t you? We all have. Just dropping everything and flying off to see the world. Not many people actually do it of course – and this book is the tale of one man who did. Or an entire family to be exact. David and Devyani sold their home, their cars, their possessions, they closed their business and yanked their three kids – aged 8, 7 and 2 – out of school and travelled around the world for over a year. The book is at its best when it throws light on the interactions within the family and I would like to have seen this explored further. As someone who has done a scaled-down version of this (I and my wife travelled around the world for three months with our first-born aged 10 weeks), I know that this is where such travel becomes life-altering for the better…or for the worse. Travel vicariously with them to the volcanoes of Costa Rica, the French waterways, Greek islands, African safaris, the sights and sounds of Asia and the wonders of Australia. You see: it can be done…but only by experiencing all that such travels can throw at you – both good and bad. It’s a happy and sometimes very funny read and so much easier than taking the leap yourself. But be warned: to those susceptible, this book might just be the catalyst to taking the decision to go for it. Leave it on your desk at work and see what your boss’ reaction might be!

Will Appeal To: Daydreamers and anyone keen to read about it so they don’t have to do it.

Contents:
1. What Have We Done?
2. We Never Get to Go Anywhere
3. The Sex Life of Butterflies
4. Pura Vida
5. Those Lovable French
6. Awkward Moments
7. Speak French or Die
8. Finding Our Stride
9. Gluttony Without Tears
10. A Tough Day on the Road
11. Next Time We Take the Bus
12. The Museum of Torture
13. Autumn of the Gods
14. Your Wife Doesn’t Love You
15. Kara’s Shangri-la
16. ‘In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle…’
17. Flight of the Damned
18. The Most Beautiful Place on Earth
19. Another Planet
20. The Middle of Nowhere
21. Heads or Tails
22. Land Mines and Temples
23. The Lesson of the Buddha Cave
24. Was It All worthwhile?

Illustrations: 26 black and white photographs capture key moments of the trip.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: A well known author and publisher, and creator of over 70 photography books, David Elliot Cohen is best known for the hugely successful Day in the Life series.

Publisher: Simon and Schuster (1999) ISBN 0-684-83601-7

Website: www.travelerstales.com

Price: $35.50 (hard cover) 302 pages

Title: Andalucía – A Portrait of Southern Spain

Author: Nicholas Luard

Summary: An intensely personal account of the Author’s love affair with Andalucía, where he lived with his young family amidst a timeless landscape.

Chris’ View: This is the book to read if you want to immerse yourself in the timeless atmosphere of Andalucía, Spain’s immensely evocative southern region. It’s a seductive portrait of a destination that far too many visitors only glimpse behind the high rise condos and resorts of the Costa Del Sol. Nicholas Luard moved with his wife and four young children to become a part of village life and an Andaluz community nestled in an idyllic valley not far from Gibraltar. Reading this book you become a part of their immersion in a way of life that has changed little in response to the mass tourism just over the horizon. As an armchair read, it’s pleasurably successful in conveying the essence of this region and its people. As a pre-trip read, it will guide the traveller off the beaten tourist paths of Andalucía to the real Spain, to the real landscapes of the south. And most importantly, it will facilitate an understanding of the warm Andaluz people that a traveller will encounter whilst exploring this very special part of Europe. Nicholas Luard’s book stands the test of time and is well worth seeking out.

Will Appeal To: Readers with a wish to get under the skin of this gorgeous region of Spain, moving beyond guidebooks to an experiential account that provides an insight into what makes this part of Spain so unique.

Contents:
18 chapters covering everything from history to the landscapes and the Andaluz people that live there.

Illustrations: Delightful line drawings illustrate each chapter.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: Nicholas Luard passed away in 2004, but was a well known writer, politician and environmentalist; he also wrote another book on Spain: Landscape in Spain with riveting photographs by Michael Bussele. Nicholas Luard was also a fellow alumnus of mine from Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Publisher: Century (1984) ISBN 436269015

Website: None

Price: $8.20 at www.Amazon.ca (soft cover) 290 pages

Title: Frommer’s 500 Places To See Before They Disappear

Author: Holly Hughes

Summary: Tempting descriptions of five hundred of the world’s most threatened attractions, together with practical visitor information and guidance as to how these precious places can be preserved for future generations.

Chris’ View: I’m a list aficionado, I admit it. Hence my own “Top Ten” lists which are often published and you can see at Chris' Top 10 Lists. This book combines such a collection with the expertise of my favourite guide book series: trusty Frommer’s. That sounds like a winning combination – and so it proves. This well-chosen list of places that may not be there much longer includes such well-known threatened wonders as the snows of Kilimanjaro and the much-encroached-upon Pyramids of Giza. But it also extends to such esoteric gems as boobies in Little Cayman and Peru’s Chan Chan ruins. There is even an amusing group of ‘Disposable Culture’ wonders that chronicles the fragile existence of the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs and Doo-Wop and Wigwam Motels. And this book is not all gloom and doom by any means. Holly Hughes ensures that there are pointers as to how these wonders can be preserved and how we, as sensitive eco-tourists, can play our part in their survival. There are lots of places that I would add to this list and others that are in Frommer’s 500 that I would dispute: but that’s the fun of a book like this – it sparks lively debates and so achieves its principal aim of heightening awareness of the need to protect the wonderful world around us. If you like this book, then check out Frommer’s other books in this series:

Frommer's 500 Adrenaline Adventures
Frommer's 500 Extraordinary Islands
Frommer's 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference
Frommer's 500 Places for Food and Wine Lovers
Frommer's 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up

Will Appeal To: Anybody who is aware that too many of the world’s most wonderful sights are crumbling, being spoiled, or just plain lost and who wants to see them – and maybe even a hand in saving them – before it’s too late.

Contents:
1. Big Pictures
2. Sea & stream
3. From the Mountains to the Prairies
4. Big Skies
5. Going to Ruins
6. City & Town
7. Where History Was made
8. Tarnished Gems of Architecture
9. Disposable Culture

Illustrations: Each chapter has a handful of black and white photos of many of the 500 places.

Where Have I Heard of Her?: Holly is a Frommer’s globetrotter: executive editor, series editor and author with Frommer’s.

Publisher: Wiley Publishing (2009) ISBN 978-0-470-18986-3

Website: www.frommers.com

Price: $21.99 (soft cover) 474 pages

Title: Pilgrim in the Palace of Words

Author: Glenn Dixon

Summary: Glenn combines his love of language with his love of travel and takes us on an eclectic but fascinating tour of many of the languages of the world and the people who speak them.

Chris’ View: I approached this book with trepidation, as I am unfortunately not a gifted linguist. I need not have worried. If you have any interest in words and how they came to be, this book will grab and hold you as it did me. Glenn alternates vignettes of his travels around the world with his insights on the languages of the people he interacts with. Each element adds to the interest of the other. And then he leaps on to another place, another people, another language. We travel from the Bolivian Altiplano and Tibet to the Amazonian jungle and the aspirational islands of the South Pacific via Cambodia and the Arctic. In each experience he adds an extra dimension with his knowledge of the linguistic links, origins, oddities and poetic beauty of the people and their language. There is self-deprecating humour and even a little excitement in the tales. In his Epilogue, Glenn brings us gently and movingly back home to a schoolroom in Calgary where he uses his travel experiences and his humanity to bring this book to a very satisfying conclusion. The subtitle of this book is ‘A Journey Through the 6,000 Languages of Earth’; we may not encounter all 6,000, but the journey is tremendously worthwhile.

Will Appeal To: All armchair travellers, especially those who want to learn a little on their travels; anyone interested in the languages of the world: how they can to be and why they are as they are.

Contents:
1. Climbing the Tower of Babel
2. At the Gates of the Western World
3. And Empires, Too, Shall Perish
4. Genghis Khan Rides Again
5. On the Roof of the World
6. The Heart of Darkness
7. One Thousand Words for Rice
8. Island of the Many-Coloured Waters
9. See You at Machu Picchu
10. The Headwaters of the Amazon
11. The Lost World of the Maya
12. Haida: The Surface People
13. May You Walk the Trail of Beauty
Epilogue: The Unimaginable Future

Illustrations: Minimal – a few photos and line drawings.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: Glenn Dixon is a much published writer of travel articles from National Geographic to the Globe and Mail; he also has an M.A. in socio-linguistics.

Publisher: Dundurn Press (2009) ISBN 978-1-55488-433-9

Website: www.dundurn.com and www.pilgrim-in-the-palace.com

Price: $24.99 (soft cover) 350 pages.

Title: The Milepost

Author: Kris Valencia, Editor

Summary: The most comprehensive road trip guidebook imaginable to Alaska, Yukon, NWT and Northern BC and Alberta.

Chris’ View: It’s been over 20 years since I first used this guidebook on a trip to the Alaskan Panhandle. Without it, I would have been unaware of the memorable spectacle of hordes of grizzly and black bears fishing for salmon in Fish Creek and the awe-inspiring but little-known Salmon Glacier Road. Ten years later I trusted The Milepost to guide us on a hugely enjoyable family RV trip through and Alaska that included the Top of the World Highway and Chicken, Alaska (including the signpost that read: “Chicken. Population 24 - and one old grump”). The guide is organized by northbound routes, both by sea and by road, from BC/Washington and Alberta/Montana to Alaska, Yukon and NWT. Mile by mile, the detailed log lists all the practical information travellers need such as gas stations, stores, road surfaces and accommodations from lodges to campsites. It also methodically lists all the fun stuff too: attractions great and small, vistas and viewpoints, history and geography, hot springs, fishing spots and local outfitters and soft adventure operators. Even the advertisements get the juices flowing for an adventure ‘Up North’…Who can resist the allure of the Bonanza Gold Motel or Beluga Lookout RV Park? Even armchair travellers will enjoy following the routes as they wind up into the back of beyond. In the words of Robert Service: “There's a land where the mountains are nameless, And the rivers all run God knows where; There are lives that are erring and aimless, And deaths that just hang by a hair; There are hardships that nobody reckons; There are valleys unpeopled and still; There's a land - oh, it beckons and beckons, And I want to go back - and I will.”

Will Appeal To: Anyone planning a trip to this part of the world who wants to travel safely and to see it all.

Contents:
1. Introduction; How to use the Guide; Travel Planning
2. Marine Access Routes
3. Railroads
4. The Inside Passage
5. Major Highways
6. Other Routes

Illustrations: Plenty of photographs and 100 practical maps.

Where Have I Heard of Him?: The Milepost is famous as the best-in-class road trip guide, published regularly for over 60 years.

Publisher: Morris Communications Company (2010) ISBN 9-781-892-154-279

Website: www.themilepost.com

Price: $34.95 (soft cover) 786 pages.