Since my native language is Hungarian, I try whenever possible to read books about Hungary and by Hungarian authors just to keep my hand in the game. Since my native language is Hungarian, I try whenever possible to read books about Hungary and by Hungarian authors just to keep my hand in the game. Istvan Bori edited a very informative and entertaining book about Hungarian culture entitled Essential Guide to Being Hungarian. He and his associates picked fifty topics that are characteristic of being Hungarian ranging from soul and fate to literature, food, folk customs, to music and science. (That latter category is particularly rich as it includes such areas as the development of the atom bomb and computer programming.)...more
This is a strange and delightful travelog of places that tourists avoid like the plague. As Andrzej Stasiuk says halfway through On The Road To BabadaThis is a strange and delightful travelog of places that tourists avoid like the plague. As Andrzej Stasiuk says halfway through On The Road To Babadag: Travels in the Other Europe, "Whatever is new here is bogus; only when it ages and becomes a ruin does it take on meaning."
Consequently, his travels are mostly in run-down parts of Eastern Europe such as Albania, Moldova, Transnistria, Romania, Hungary (but not Budapest or Lake Balaton), Slovakia, and Ukraine. There is even a little bit of his native Poland.
In the process, Stasiuk tells us a great deal about Eastern Europe that does not appear in the Western literature. And yet all of it is utterly fascinating. ...more
It starts slow, but David King Dunaway's A Route 66 Companion ends up giving a satisfying picture of the Mother Road -- U.S. 66 -- and its place in AmIt starts slow, but David King Dunaway's A Route 66 Companion ends up giving a satisfying picture of the Mother Road -- U.S. 66 -- and its place in America over the last ninety years. Weighing in are writers like John Steinbeck, Raymond Chandler, Joan Didion, Ry Cooder, and others, Also interesting are the selections about racism against Black, Latino, and Native American travelers. A worthy rerad....more
This is a delightful book that manages to combine archeology with personal experience, and in the process gave a very credible unifying theory of AndeThis is a delightful book that manages to combine archeology with personal experience, and in the process gave a very credible unifying theory of Andean culture, past and present. Hugh Thomson's A Sacred Landscape: The Search for Ancient Peru is a sequel to his The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland, which I also loved. In the end, he concludes:
Above all it exemplified the great achievement of Andean pre-Columbian civilization: the ability to give meaning to a harsh and difficult environment, to carve order out of the inchoate, perhaps the most primeval of aesthetic impulses, in this case to create a complex sacred landscape where once had been plain rock and water. Any other people would have looked at the terrifying precipitate terrain around Machu Picchu, 'a landscape built by titans in a fit of megalomania' as Christopher Isherwood once described it, and turned away.
Discussed are excavations at Llactapata, within view of Machu Picchu and visits to archeological sites of the Chavin, the Nasca, the Tihuanasuco, and the Huari (Wari). At the end of an exciting description of the present-day Qoyllurit'i festival held in the mountains between Puno and Cuzco.
Although I have always loved the essays and tales of G.K. Chesterton, his later nonfiction books, of which The New Jerusalem (1920) is one, tend not tAlthough I have always loved the essays and tales of G.K. Chesterton, his later nonfiction books, of which The New Jerusalem (1920) is one, tend not to age as well. Although the first few chapters give an interesting picture of Jerusalem, he becomes more argumentative, spending several chapters on the Middle Ages and the Crusades, and then falling into the trap of explaining why he is not an anti-Semite.
As much as I love Chesterton, I find that, later in his life, he could not relive his Edwardian glory days in the England of the 1920s and 1930s. At times, the old Chesterton shines through, as when he writes:
It would be far truer to say that national frontiers and divisions keep us at peace. It would be far truer to say that we can always love each other so long as we do not see each other. But the people of Jerusalem are doomed to have difference without division. They are driven to set pillar against pillar in the same temple, while we can set city against city across the plains of the world. While for us a church rises from its foundations as naturally as a flower springs from a flower-bed, they have to bless the soil and curse the stones that stand on it. While the land we love is solid under our feet to the earth's centre, they have to see all they love and hate lying in strata like alternate night and day, as incompatible and as inseparable. Their entanglements are tragic, but they are not trumpery or accidental. Everything has a meaning; they are loyal to great names as men are loyal to great nations; they have differences about which they feel bound to dispute to the death; but in their death they are not divided.
His best-known story is about the Indian cacique Hatuey. When on the pyre and ready to be burned alive, he is told that he can still save his soul by a conversion in extremis. He then asks if there are Spaniards in the heaven his soul will go to. "Of course," says the executioner. "In that case, no thank you."
My favorite sentence by Portocarero about the city he loves: "Havana could always be anything and its opposite, and still remain true to herself."
I have always loved reading historic travelogues of cities. This one's a keeper....more
When he committed suicide in 2018, a whole world seemed to vanish from sight. There was no one like him -- and now i regret not having known of him sooner. Oh, I had heard of him, but I had not read any of his work until now. And now I want to read his other books.
Bourdain was one of the great adventurers of our time. Now that most of the world has been mapped and visited, he found new worlds to discover. We have seen the north, east, south, and west -- and now Bourdain has shown us a new direction: the Within combined with the north, east, south, and west....more
This short book describes a van drive from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (which Bakshi misspells 100% of the time as Prudoe Bay) to Fairbanks. I am interested iThis short book describes a van drive from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (which Bakshi misspells 100% of the time as Prudoe Bay) to Fairbanks. I am interested in taking this trip myself some day. It would have been far more interesting had the author driven himself and stopped at certain key points along the way, but he was driven in a van by a driver named Barbara who obviously had a schedule to keep....more
Graeme Davis's A Brit in Greenland is a short travel essay about an equally short (less than a week) trip to Greenland. While the author describes whaGraeme Davis's A Brit in Greenland is a short travel essay about an equally short (less than a week) trip to Greenland. While the author describes what he saw, he has no particular insights on the culture of the Greenlanders. And, because there are no roads to speak of, it is difficult to find things worth seeing without great effort. ...more
There is nothing like a travel journal written by a poet, and especially if the poet is one I have liked and respected for over half a century. I firsThere is nothing like a travel journal written by a poet, and especially if the poet is one I have liked and respected for over half a century. I first met Lawrence Ferlinghetti at a poetry reading at Dartmouth College in 1963. He was asked a bunch of wise-ass questions by fellow English majors who wanted to score points off him -- but it was they who were scored upon by the unflappable Ferlinghetti.
Writing across the Landscape: Travel Journals 1960-2010 shows that Ferlinghetti took a lot of short trips to places like Mexico, Belize, England, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, and Russia. It was always interesting to see him trying to make sense of places and people, as if he were writing draft notes for poems.
It makes me want to read some of his poetry collections. ...more
A scholarly history by the great travel writer Freya Stark of Rome as seen from the East, from Asia Minor to Armenia and Mesopotamia. Rome on the EuphA scholarly history by the great travel writer Freya Stark of Rome as seen from the East, from Asia Minor to Armenia and Mesopotamia. Rome on the Euphrates: The Story of a Frontier is, unlike Stark's other books, fully footnoted with an index and bibliography. More importantly, the reader can be sure that she had over the years walked every foot of the lands she describes; and she interlards her history with interesting personal reminiscences.
It is interesting to see Roman history from the point of view of the East, especially inasmuch as after Diocletian and Constantine, it was the East where all the action was -- whereas Rome became less of a player, being poorer and depopulated.
Her book is worth if if for no other reason than her photographs of the places she describes as they looked during her travels.
Our view of Roman history tends to concentrate on the late Republic and the early Empire, through the last Julio-Claudian emperors. The act of seeing Rome from a different point of view is worth the effort. An excellent work....more
Sergio Pitol's The Journey takes a Mexican literary figure through Czechoslovakia, Russia, and Soviet Georgia during Mikhail Gorbachev's era of PerestSergio Pitol's The Journey takes a Mexican literary figure through Czechoslovakia, Russia, and Soviet Georgia during Mikhail Gorbachev's era of Perestroika. As this is the first book I have read by the author (and, I promise, not the last!), I had a hard time classifying it. It is so unusual to see a Mexican author traveling around Eastern Europe -- though not so unusual when you consider that throughout Latin America, many ambassadors are literary figures.
There are little pieces about Marina Tsvetaeva, one of my favorite Russian poets, who committed suicide in 1941. Many other writers are cited, such that I will have to take copious notes, highly suspecting that Senor Pitol is sending me to some interesting places and people....more
Donald G. Schueler's The Temple of the Jaguar is a well-written book about Yucatan seen primarily from the point of view of wildlife conservation. At Donald G. Schueler's The Temple of the Jaguar is a well-written book about Yucatan seen primarily from the point of view of wildlife conservation. At the same time, the author gives us glimpses of the area's history, from the ancient Maya to the Caste War of the 19th century.
What I enjoyed particularly were Schueler's encounters with people he meets in Yucatan and Belize. The man was a good listener, and he was excellent at transcribing conversations with a variety of types from Creole con men in Belize to Yucatec first families.
From the first chapter, you could tell that Schueler's wish was to see a jaguar in the wild. He keeps missing them, until ... but then I wouldn't want to give it away. (Hint: It happens in southern Belize.)
This is a good book for what Yucatan is like today -- even though the book was written some thirty years ago....more
Paul Theroux is an incredibly well-traveled writer who is the author of numerous books documenting his travels. A Dead Hand: A Crime in Calcutta is abPaul Theroux is an incredibly well-traveled writer who is the author of numerous books documenting his travels. A Dead Hand: A Crime in Calcutta is about a travel writer who is experiencing writer's block while in Calcutta. Quite unexpectedly, he receives an invitation from a mysterious philanthropist, a Mrs Merrill Unger, to solve a possible crime.
He meets with Mrs Unger and is drawn into her orbit, which includes tantric cougar sex. She comes to rely on him as an occasional companion, while in the interim he investigates the crime he was invited to solve -- a crime which Mrs Unger suddenly de-emphasizes in her meetings with the writer.
Curiously, Paul Theroux, in addition to being the author of the book, is also a character in the novel -- on who wants to get information about Mrs Unger. The novel narrator claims never to have met her, and says some nasty things about Theroux in the novel. It's actually quite funny.
While I have never been to India, I imagine that Theroux, who has been there several times, gives what I feel is an accurate sense of the place. The whole of the novel takes place before the monsoonal rains arrive, around which time the narrator learns some interesting things about the mysterious and alluring Mrs Unger. An excellent novel....more
Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country is a fascinating book about several longish trips the author took to Australia, including most of the major partsBill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country is a fascinating book about several longish trips the author took to Australia, including most of the major parts of the country except for Tasmania. An enormously entertaining writer, Bryson is fun to read, yet conveys enough information to satisfy most questions I had as the reader.
I am particularly interested in the Aborigines, which is one failing of the book. The author presented some interesting information about them, but did not have any interactions with any of them. It seems a common failing: The Aborigines appear in general to not interact with the white population of Australia, and they mostly inhabit isolated desert areas. I am not sure there are any books on the subject that would satisfy me. (And don't mention Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines, a book that I love but which is more fiction than fact.)
At times, Bryson tries too hard to be jocular. Fortunately, he is pretty funny. As an aficionado of travel literature, I plan to read more of his books, which is probably the best recommendation I can give....more
V.S. Naipaul's India: A Million Mutinies Now is the last of the late author’s three books on India. The others are An Area of Darkness (1964) and IndiV.S. Naipaul's India: A Million Mutinies Now is the last of the late author’s three books on India. The others are An Area of Darkness (1964) and India: A Wounded Civilization (1977). Born in Trinidad of Indian ancestry, Vidia Naipaul was a British citizen who kept trying to understand the land of his forebears.
India is a land of multiple languages, multiple religions, multiple political factions, multiple ethnicities. In a word it is a land of multiple multiplicities. And it is becoming ever more centrifugal as time goes on. Hardly a day passes without news of massacres, rapes, terrorism, and murders directed at the other guy.
In trying to understand India, Naipaul has helped all of us see more clearly what is an increasingly shattered society, yet one that manages to soldier on despite everything. I, who am so despairing of the split between the Trumpists and everyone else in the United States, am truly amazed that India is able to manage its own chaos so well. For now, anyway....more
Sometimes, the books that describe failures are more interesting than the successes. Geoffrey Moorhouse in The Fearful Void describes a trip from NouaSometimes, the books that describe failures are more interesting than the successes. Geoffrey Moorhouse in The Fearful Void describes a trip from Nouakchott in Mauretania across the Sahara, hopefully ending in Egypt on the Nile. Except that he doesn't make it. We are not talking about a large expedition using a convoy of Land Rovers, but a single Englishman accompanied by one or two local guides on camels. In the end, he gets only halfway to the Nile, ending at Tamanrasset in Algeria. And he barely makes it that far:
I had, at last, discovered beauty in the desert. It was around me now, the familiar beauty of mountains. But all I could feel was agony, suffering, pain, mindlessness, endlessness, futility. Under the dreadful, drilling heat of this appalling sun I had become an automaton that marched. I was scarcely recognizable as a human being, with the responses that alone distinguished us from the animals. I wondered whether I had forfeited a little of my soul to the desert—maybe the greater part of it.
Not all of the author's guides were honest or even capable, and long stretches were without water holes. Two of his camels died of exhaustion or starvation.
Yet his book is really excellent and deserves to be read. Ultimately, we learn far more from our failures than from our victories, and Moorhouse's journey was not something that I would have undertaken even when I was young and in relatively good shape. ...more
This book by travel writer Paul Theroux's younger brother is probably better than most current books about Southern California, though it is riddled wThis book by travel writer Paul Theroux's younger brother is probably better than most current books about Southern California, though it is riddled with errors which would not have been made by someone who was more familiar with the area. Translating LA: A Tour of the Rainbow City makes the usual mistake of concentrating on the crescent-shaped area that runs from downtown to Hollywood to Santa Monica, with the refreshing inclusion of Long Beach.
Peter Theroux should have known that Valencia is not over the border in Ventura County, but it is not a major error. Still, I don't think Peter will gave his brother much competition as a travel book author. ...more
This book came as a welcome surprise. Rosemary Mahoney's Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff is the unlikely story of a lone American woman paThis book came as a welcome surprise. Rosemary Mahoney's Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff is the unlikely story of a lone American woman paddling a rowboat down the Nile between Aswan and Qena -- this despite all her Egyptian acquaintances averring that it couldn't be done. Along the way, Mahoney describes other famous travels on the Nile, particularly by Gustave Flaubert and Florence Nightingale.
In the process, she gives a fascinating view of Egyptian and Nubian men, as well as several Nubian women she meets. Her trip on the Nile by herself is a violation of Egyptian law, but she manages to circumvent officialdom and arrive safe and sound at her destination. At the tail end of her row, she meets another boater by whom she feels threatened, but manages to escape.
I plan to read at least one or two more of her books based on my enjoyment of Down the Nile....more
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