However, after two and a half years on horseback with two of his trusty and tough steeds, this daring trekker lived to tell his best-selling tale.Tschiffely's 10,000-mile journey was filled with adventure and triumph, but it also forced the traveler to deal with tremendous natural and man-made obstacles, as many countries in Central America were war-torn. He traversed rivers and mountains in hurricanes and hail storms, stopping to stay the night with farmers and villagers in huts who often shared their mysterious and superstitious tales. He ate dried goats' meat in a desolate town of Santiago del Estero, watched illegal cockfights and vicious machete battles between plantation workers in Jujuy, and was healed by an Indian herb doctor in the mountains of Bolivia for his infection after excavating graves; these obstacles have captured the hearts of people from around the world.In addition to the remarkable details of his travel expedition, Tschiffely's relationship with his horses, Mancha and Gato, is perhaps the most endearing element of the book, and his photos of the people and places he encountered make Tschiffely's Ride the perfect travel companion for adventure enthusiasts.

    Infamous as well as famous, his name is inextricably linked to the Red Sea and the raffish ports between Suez and Aden in the early years of the twentieth century. This is a compelling account of how de Monfried seeks his fortune by becoming a collector and merchant of the fabled Gulf pearls, then is drawn into the shadowy world of arms trading, slavery, smuggling and drugs. Hashish was the drug of choice, and de Monfried writes of sailing to Suez with illegal cargos, dodging blockades and pirates.

    In Russia, which was stricken by famine, Lenin had just died, Stalin's dictatorship was in its infancy and the Great Terror had yet to begin. Having taken the first commercial flight to India, which took an astounding seven days, Byron was thrown into the tumultuous last years of the British Raj. Gandhi was imprisoned, while rioting and clashes between Hindus and Muslims had become commonplace. Finally Byron entered Tibet, the forbidden country. Exploring “The Land of Snows”, he saw Tibet as it was when the then Dalai Lama was still ensconced in the Potala Palace, twenty years before China's invasion. First Russia, Then Tibet is an invaluable first-hand account of transformative moments in periods of change and upheaval.