Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike L
I like that one as well, but I'm not sure if it comes under the heading of essays / memoir. Should we include travel books in that category? (If so, I could nominate all of Bill Bryson's travel works.)
Mike
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Yes, I think that the best travel writing has a literary quality, like Theroux's and Bryson's travel books (or Bruce Chatwin's
In Patagonia, mentioned by barutanseijin) are more like essays or memoirs. Bryson's
Neither Here nor There and
In a Sunburned Country would be useless as practical travel guides, but are still delicious reading. Eric Newby's work is also like that (ex.
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush). Newby wrote a wonderful short book about his experience as an apprentice seaman on a windjammer carrying wheat from South australia around Cape Horn in 1939,
The Last Grain Race - unfortunately not available as an ebook - I would buy it in a second if it was available.
Similiarly Geert Mak's
In Europe is far more a series of essays on 20th century European history than on travelling in Europe. Likewise, Hans Magnus Enzensberger's
Europe, Europe.