Best of
Travel

1964

The Marsh Arabs


Wilfred Thesiger - 1964
    Traveling from village to village by canoe, he won acceptance by dispensing medicine and treating the sick. In this account of a nearly lost civilization, he pays tribute to the hospitality, loyalty, courage, and endurance of the people, and describes their impressive reed houses, the waterways and lakes teeming with wildlife, the herding of buffalo and hunting of wild boar, moments of tragedy, and moments of pure comedy in vivid, engaging detail.

This is Ireland


Miroslav Sasek - 1964
    Sasek's beloved and nostalgic children's travel series.Like the other Sasek classics, This is Ireland is a facsimile edition of his original book from the 1960s and is still timely and current in every way. The brilliant, vibrant illustrations have been meticulously preserved, remaining true to his vision more than 40 years later and, where applicable, facts have been updated for the twenty-first century, appearing on a "This is...Today" page at the back of the book. The stylish, charming illustrations, coupled with Sasek's witty, playful narrative, makes for a perfect souvenir that will delight both children and their parents, many of whom will remember this book from their childhood. This is Ireland, first published in 1964, brings the Emerald Isle to life, where the shamrock grows and a leprechaun stands at the end of every rainbow, guarding a crock of gold. There's Dublin with its bustling crowds, tall steeples, and Trinity College; there's Clonmacnois, the burial place of kings; there's the Blarney Stone to kiss for eloquence, and much, much more in this verdant, friendly land filled with enchanted lakes and mountains that fall steep to the sea.

The Thousand-Mile Summer


Colin Fletcher - 1964
    He could only fumble with the supporting reasons, but he knew it was a hike he had to make. Fletcher followed lonely stretches of the Colorado, crossed the Mojave, walked the trough of Death Valley and wandered through the High Sierras. Along the way he stumbled across an unspoiled ghost town and visited frontiers unseen by most Californians. William Hogan with The San Francisco Chronicle writes that THE THOUSAND-MILE SUMMER "is one of the most remarkable outdoor journals I have ever read and I recommend it unreservedly, as a rare treat."

A Traveller in Italy


H.V. Morton - 1964
    V. Morton, "is embroidered everywhere by human living, and there is scarcely a hill, a stream, a grove of trees, without its story of God, of love or death." Morton's stories and observations of Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia, and Veneto, whether relating to the fantastic reconstruction of the La Scala opera house or the superstitious lovers at Juliet's Tomb, make his style as engaging as the landscape and people he evokes.

The Honoured Society: The Sicilian Mafia Observed


Norman Lewis - 1964
    Originally published in 1964, Lewis describes how, after Mussolini came close to destroying the Mafia, the U.S. Army returned them to power in 1944. Henceforth, they infiltrated every aspect of Sicilian life, corrupting landowners, the police, the judiciary, and even the church. In one of the most astonishing chapters, Lewis tells the story of how an eighty-year old priest led his monks on escapades of murder and extortion, frequently using the confessional box for transmitting threats. Lewis exposes its origins, its code of honor, its secrecy, and its brutality. The Honoured Society is the perfect companion for any traveler to Sicily, and a gripping armchair read.

Congo Kitabu


Jean-Pierre Hallet - 1964
    In it he documents interactions with multiple isolated cultures throughout the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi regions. His accounts provide a unique anthropological source of information of the Congo basin during that period.Dr. Hallet's accounts include those of extensive personal participation in cultural activities of the region, including secretive and forbidden (by the Belgian colonial government) practices. In several chapters of the book are described some of his first encounters with the Efe pygmies of the Ituri forest.

The Lonely Sea and the Sky (Summersdale Travel)


Francis Chichester - 1964
    I was in the air flying, when my vision went completely and I waited in fearful darkness for the inevitable crash. Usually I woke to find myself clawing at a window or a wall trying to escape. In view of what happened later I wonder if this was a sort of 'Experiment with Time' experience, or just a coincidence.' Born in 1901, at the age of eighteen and with a taste for adventure, Francis Chichester emigrated to New Zealand with only ten pounds in his pocket. With the impetuousness of youth, he tried his hand at a myriad of jobs, some more successful than others, and by the age of twenty-six, had been a farmhand, a boxer, a shepherd, a lumberjack, a member of three trade Unions - the Firemen's, the miners' and the Timber Workers' - a railway worker, a gold prospector, a coal miner, a door-to-door salesman, and a land agent. And it was only then that his real adventures began. It would be from a chance business venture that Chichester would discover the passion for travel that would become his life. With a fellow risk-taker, he helped to establish an early aviation company and began to fly the planes - though not necessarily with an immediate talent. But enthusiasm and experience made him a leader of the field, and in 1929 he embarked on his most famous flight: a solo enterprise in the Gypsy Moth from England to Australia. He was only the second person ever to accomplish this feat. A great sailor as well as aviator, further journeys came hot on the heels of Chichester's achievements in the air - including winning a trans-Atlantic race in the yacht Gipsy Moth III - and in 1967 he was knighted. The Lonely Sea and the Sky is Sir Francis Chichester's acclaimed autobiography; a tale of ardour and adventure, of intrepid endeavours on land, on the sea and in the air, and of the physical and mental challenges he faced. The life and sheer temerity of his undertakings mark Sir Francis Chichester as a true old-fashioned adventurer.

Two Towns in Provence


M.F.K. Fisher - 1964
    Fisher scans the centuries to reveal the ancient sources that clarify the Marseille of today and the indestructible nature of its people A delightful journey filtered through the senses of a profound writer.

The Curved Saber


Harold Lamb - 1964
    

Kyoto a Contemplative Guide


Gouverneur Mosher - 1964
    Among them arc the ancient Phoenix Hall of the Byodo-in, the famous rock garden at Ryoan-ji, the mountain temples of Enryaku-ji, the lavishly decorated Nijo Castle of the Tokugawas, the Silver Pavilion and its remarkable garden, and the "all-time temple," Kiyomizu.The book falls into three parts. Part I is a narrative which devotes a chapter to each location and discusses its background, its place in history, and its noteworthy aspects, offering insights into its essence and bringing it alive for the reader. Taken as a whole, the narrative tells the story of Kyoto. Part II is a comprehensive guide to each of the sixteen sights, plus associated establishments. With this guide the visitor needs no further assistance to learn all that a place has to offer him. It is factual, concise, and complete. Part III, "Getting There and Back," provides complete information on the practical aspects of visiting each place, including public transportation routes.The book is generously illustrated with photographs, maps, route plans, and building plans, as well as a selection of reproductions from old prints and picture scrolls. Three appendices—a chart of Japanese art periods, a glossary, and a list of useful Japanese phrases—further enhance its value.

This Is My Country Too


John A. Williams - 1964
    What does a tourist think of his native land, and what does he see, when the land is America and he is a Negro driving a new white car?LCCN:65-17842

Tracking Marco Polo


Tim Severin - 1964
    Using the great explorer's journals as a route guide, Severin followed him all the way from Venice to Afghanistan - on a motorbike.This is his witty and enthralling account of a latter day caravan through Armenia and Persia, across deserts and mountains, as Severin and his companions overcome crashes, floods, sandstorms and linguistic muddles with zest and ingenuity.Ancient and modern jostle for attention in the bustling towns and panoramic landscapes of Turkey and Afghanistan. Seeking out thirteenth century Asia, they pass through he Valley of the Assassins to find the village of the Magi. And even with his foot in plaster, Severin takes a camel ride high into the Deh Bakri Pass in search of the famed apples of paradise.

No Place For Men


Peter Mulgrew - 1964
    With Hillary went Peter Mulgrew, of the Royal New Zealand Navy, an experienced mountaineer who had accompanied Hillary to the South Pole in 1957. Mulgrew collapsed when nearly at the summit of Makalu, and was brought back down to base severely frostbitten and literally more dead than alive, by his comrades, who braved appalling dangers in the race to save his life.At the little hospital at Kathmandu, a drug given to alleviate his pain set up an addiction. On return to Auckland, both feet and several fingers had to be amputated. The shock deepened the addiction; but Peter Mulgrew and his wife faced, fought, and conquered it together. Peter Mulgrew writes clearly, vividly and with great good humour. His disablement has left unscathed his with and his high spirits.

Under a Lilac-Bleeding Star


Lesley Blanch - 1964
    Alongside her own vivid recollections of life on the move, she weaves in the journeys of Pierre Loti; the last Ruritanian Queen, Marie of Roumania, in her Balkan setting; Vernon Lee, and Laurence Hope.Her artist's eye for detail and her vitality bring to life people and places. She is there and takes the reader with her. "

Touring in 1600: A Study in the Development of Travel as a Means of Education


Ernest Stuart Bates - 1964
    This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III ON THE WATER Chi pu6 venire per mare non e lontano. Paolo Sarpi, 16o8.1 HENTZNER, in his preface, acknowledges that the troubles of a traveller are great and finds only two arguments to countervail them: that man is born unto trouble, and that Abraham had orders to travel direct from God. Abraham, however, did not have to cross the Channel. Otherwise, perhaps, the prospect of sacrificing himself as well as his only son Isaac, would have brought to light a flaw in his obedience. There was, it is true, the chance of crossing from Dover to Calais in four hours, but the experiences of Princess Cecilia, already related, were no less likely. In 1610 two Ambassadors waited at Calais fourteen days before they could make a start, and making a start by no means implied arriving — at least, not at Dover; one gentleman, after a most unhappy night, found himself at Nieuport next morning and had to wait three days before another try could be made. Yet another, who had already sailed from Boulogne after having waited six hours for the tide, accomplished two leagues, been becalmed fornine or ten hours, returned to Boulogne by rowing- boat, and posted to Calais, found no wind to take him across there and had to charter another rowing-boat at sunset on Friday, reaching Dover on Monday between four and five A. M. It was naturally a rare occurrence to go the whole distance by small boat, because of the risk. Lord Herbert of Cherbury was the most noteworthy exception; after he had made three attempts from Brill and covered distances which varied from just outside the harbour to half-way, arriving at Brill again, however, each time, he went by land to Calais, where the sea was so dangerous that no one would venture, no one except one old fisherman, whose boat, he himself owned,...

Land of the High Flags: Afghanistan When the Going was Good


Rosanne Klass - 1964
     When the going was good, a young American woman traveled to the then-remote country of Afghanistan. A classic memoir in the tradition of Rebecca West, Rosanne Klass's "Land of the High Flags" is an insightful account of the land and its proud people. She was the first woman to teach boys from the country's villages, at a time when Afghan women were still kept hidden behind veils. Ms. Klass writes of Afghan traditions, of stark, splendid landscapes, and of the enduring friendships she made at a time when Afghanistan was reaching out to a hopeful future. Hailed by critics when it first appeared, this reissue of a classic includes additional new sections telling of her return to Afghanistan as a journalist--and of what became of the friends she brought to life for her readers. This is a vivid portrait of Afghanistan as it was before Afghan life was blasted into ruins like the great Buddhas of Bamian by the wars and the Taliban. 16 black & white photos, 1 map.