Theroux on a train – nothing original there. This is the second of his railway epics, and was many people’s introduction to the irrasicble American. From his home in Boston all the way down to Patagonia, Theroux undertakes the ultimate American (rail)road trip, and brings us all along for the ride. The narrative really picks… Read More
Originally published in 1977, this is the first of Theroux’s travel books and it remains one of the best. This is a book about transport as much as travel: the train is the inspiration, the destinations almost an inconvenience. Theroux takes a circular ride from London via Iran, India, south-east Asia, Japan and Russia. The… Read More
Do not start reading this book while flying. I’d just launched into Chapter 3 when my flight was called. Chapter 3 is where van der Post stops explaining why he feels he has one foot in Africa and one in Europe, and starts describing his appalling series of flights from London to Nairobi. Not for… Read More
I’m not a nautical person; and I had worries early on in this book that it would be too technical, and too boring for me. I was very wrong. Severin’s attempt to prove that Irish monk Brendan could have crossed the Atlantic in the 6th Century in what amounts to little more than a leather… Read More