Best of
Travel

1969

The Soccer War


Ryszard Kapuściński - 1969
    Between 1958 and 1980, working primarily for the Polish Press Agency, Kapuscinski covered twenty-seven revolutions and coups in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Here, with characteristic cogency and emotional immediacy, he recounts the stories behind his official press dispatches—searing firsthand accounts of the frightening, grotesque, and comically absurd aspects of life during war. The Soccer War is a singular work of journalism.

A World of My Own: The first ever non-stop solo round the world voyage


Robin Knox-Johnston - 1969
    Ten and a half months later Suhaili, paintwork peeling and rust streaked, her once white sails weathered and brown, her self-steering gone, her tiller arm jury rigged to the rudder head, came romping joyously back to Falmouth to a fantastic reception for Robin, who had become the first man to sail round the world non-stop single-handed.By every standard it was an incredible adventure, perhaps the last great uncomputerised journey left to man. Every hazard, every temptation to abandon the astounding voyage came Robin's way, from polluted water tanks, smashed cabin top and collapsed boom to lost self-steering gear and sheered off tiller, and all before the tiny ketch had fought her way to Cape Horn, the point of no return, the fearsome test of any seaman's nerve and determination.A World of My Own is Robin's gripping, uninhibited, moving account of one of the greatest sea adventures of our time. An instant bestseller, it is now reissued for a new generation of readers to be enthralled and inspired.

The Boat Who Wouldn't Float


Farley Mowat - 1969
    Tired of everyday life ashore, Farley Mowat would find a sturdy boat in Newfoundland and roam the salt sea over, free as a bird. What he found was the worst boat in the world, and she nearly drove him mad. The Happy Adventure, despite all that Farley and his Newfoundland helpers could do, leaked like a sieve. Her engine only worked when she felt like it. Typically, on her maiden voyage, with the engine stuck in reverse, she backed out of the harbour under full sail. And she sank, regularly.How Farley and a varied crew, including the intrepid lady who married him, coaxed the boat from Newfoundland to Lake Ontario is a marvellous story. The encounters with sharks, rum-runners, rum and a host of unforgettable characters on land and sea make this a very funny book for readers of all ages.

Belknap's Waterproof Grand Canyon River Guide


Buzz Belknap - 1969
    Belknap's Waterproof Grand Canyon River Guide (All New Color Edition)

This Is Washington, D.C.


Miroslav Sasek - 1969
    Super-tourist Sasek paints Washington red, white, and blue as he tours the nation’s capital. Stops include the Washington Monument (which commands a view of all the Federal buildings and most of the museums, monuments, and memorials), the White House (whose lawn is a grassy launching pad for the President’s helicopter), and the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, the last residence of the world’s most famous ursine, Smokey the Bear! With bright pictures and snappy commentary, Sasek wittily captures all the fascinating things to do and see in a city of green parks, wide avenues, and classic white porticoes. Designed by a Frenchman and renowned for its cherry blossoms, This is Washington, D.C.!

Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas & Yucatan, Vol 2


John Lloyd Stephens - 1969
    At one time we stopped to cut away branches and vines which concealed the face of a monument, and then to dig around and bring to light a fragment, a sculptured corner of which protruded from the earth. I leaned over with breathless anxiety while the Indians worked, and an eye, an ear, a foot, or a hand was disentombed."Few explorers have had the experience of uncovering a civilization almost entirely unknown to the world. But Stephen's two expeditions to Mexico and Central America in 1839 and 1841 yielded the first solid information on the culture of the Maya Indians. In this work, and in his other masterpiece Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, he tells the story of his travels to some 50 ruined Mayan cities.In this book, he describes the excitement of exploring the magnificent ruined cities of Copan and Palenque, and his briefer excursions to Quirigua, Patinamit, Utatlan, Gueguetenango, Ocosingo, and Uxmal. For all these cities, his details are so accurate that more recent explorers used the book as a Baedeker to locate ruins forgotten by even the Indians.In addition to being a great book on archaeological discovery, Stephen's work is also a great travel book. Telling of journeying by mule back on narrow paths over unimaginable deep ravines, through sloughs of mud and jungles of heavy vegetation, describing dangers of robbery, revolution, fever, mosquitoes and more exotic insects, Stephen's narrative remains penetrating and alive. His account of his attempt to buy Copan for $50 is told with the adroitness of a Mark Twain, and his descriptions of Indian life — primitive villages a few miles from the ruins, burials, treatment of the sick, customs, amusements, etc. — never lose their interest.Frederick Catherwood's illustrations virtually double the appeal of the book. Highly exact, remarkably realistic drawings show overall views, ground plans of the cities, elevations of palaces and temples, free-standing sculpture, carved hieroglyphics, stucco bas-reliefs, small clay figures, and interior details.

Spirit of Place


Lawrence Durrell - 1969
    This edition, edited by Durrell's friend and bibliographer Alan C. Thomas, comprises letters spanning thirty years, excerpts from his first two novels (neither available in the U.S.), short fiction, and travel essays. "My books are always about living in places, not just rushing through them.... the important determinant of any culture is after all -- the spirit of place".

A Traveller in Southern Italy


H.V. Morton - 1969
    Morton seized the chance to explore a part of Italy that was comparatively unknown. He went from the heel to the toe of Italy and explored the undeveloped rivers of the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coastlines, met local peoples and learned about their traditions and folklore, and discovered an Italy not previously exposed to travellers.

101 Hikes in Southern California


Jerry Schad - 1969
    Covers the Santa Monica, San Gabriel, San Jacinto, and San Bernardino mountains, and the Mojave and Colorado deserts. This updated and revised edition of one of our best-selling guidebooks includes 10 new hikes, with a greater emphasis on hiking opportunities in the fast-growing Ventura County and Inland Empire regions, and updated information for hikes from the first edition. For each trip you'll find all new maps, photos, the highlights of the trail, and symbols to tell you the basics of the trip at a glance.

Once Upon an Island


David Conover - 1969
    The book retells their adventures and misadventures, their comic failures and satisfying successes.

Walt Disney's Disneyland


Martin A. Sklar - 1969
    . .of the man who made it possible. . .and of the million s of visitors who have helped make it the happiest place on Earth.

Too Long in the Bush


Len Beadell - 1969
    Hard to find edition.

Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas & Yucatan, Vol 1


John Lloyd Stephens - 1969
    But Stephen's two expeditions to Mexico and Central America in 1839 and 1841 yielded the first solid information on the culture of the Maya Indians. In this work, and in his other masterpiece Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, he tells the story of his travels to some 50 ruined Mayan cities.In this book, he describes the excitement of exploring the magnificent ruined cities of Copan and Palenque, and his briefer excursions to Quirigua, Patinamit, Utatlan, Gueguetenango, Ocosingo, and Uxmal. For all these cities, his details are so accurate that more recent explorers used the book as a Baedeker to locate ruins forgotten by even the Indians.In addition to being a great book on archaeological discovery, Stephen's work is also a great travel book. Telling of journeying by mule back on narrow paths over unimaginable deep ravines, through sloughs of mud and jungles of heavy vegetation, describing dangers of robbery, revolution, fever, mosquitoes and more exotic insects, Stephen's narrative remains penetrating and alive. His account of his attempt to buy Copan for $50 is told with the adroitness of a Mark Twain, and his descriptions of Indian life — primitive villages a few miles from the ruins, burials, treatment of the sick, customs, amusements, etc. — never lose their interest.Frederick Catherwood's illustrations virtually double the appeal of the book. Highly exact, remarkably realistic drawings show overall views, ground plans of the cities, elevations of palaces and temples, free-standing sculpture, carved hieroglyphics, stucco bas-reliefs, small clay figures, and interior details.

A Hebridean Omnibus: The Hills is Lonely, The Sea for Breakfast, The Loud Halo


Lillian Beckwith - 1969
    

The Island


R.M. Lockley - 1969
    It was there that Ronald Lockley went as a young man, to study the tens of thousands of wild creatures that lived 'within the compass of one small plot of land surrounded by the sea'.

The Ethnography of Franz Boas: Letters and Diaries of Franz Boas Written on the Northwest Coast...


Franz Boas - 1969
    

Frederica: Colonial Fort and Town


Trevor R. Reese - 1969
    It was established by General Oglethorpe with settlers from England, right after the city of Savannah was established. Frederica was established as a fort to protect Savannah and the upper twelve colonies from the Spaniards. It is located on the Georgia barrier island of St. Simon's and is today a National Park Monument.

The Land of Journeys' Ending


Mary Hunter Austin - 1969
    Mary Austin felt that way, so when she took an extended trip through an area of the American Southwest, she recorded her impressions in The Land of Journeys' Ending. This is no ordinary travel book and she was no ordinary tourist. Her book goes beyond the descriptions of flora and fauna of the land between the Colorado River and the Rio Grande. It also covers the history, culture and customs of the area. Austin includes not only figures from the past but people she met on the trip. While the book is now decades old, it is timeless and still valid. Humorously, in the author's preface to "The Land of Journeys' Ending" Austin said: ."if you find holes in my book that you could drive a car through, do not be too sure they were not left there for that express purpose." Her statement rings true today as much as it did back in 1924. Mary Austin (nee Hunter) was born in Carlinville, Illinois in 1868 and died in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1934. After graduation from Blackburn College, she moved with her family to California. She later spent time in New York and eventually settled in Santa Fe. A prolific writer, she wrote novels, short stories, essays, plays and poetry. Austin became an early advocate for environmental issues as well as the rights of women and other minority groups. She was particularly interested in the preservation of American Indian culture.

50 Hikes in Mount Rainier National Park


Harvey Manning - 1969
    From the short Paradise flower trails of Alta Vista and Nisqually Vista to the nine-mile grunt up to the summit base camp at Camp Muir to the epic 93-mile Wonderland Trail that encircles the mountain, this comprehensive guide will make hiking in Mount Ranier National Park a dream. 80 color photos, 57 color maps.

London


Ted Smart - 1969
    To turn these pages is to be caught up in the fascinating and continuing story of London.

Political Essay on the Island of Cuba: A Critical Edition


Alexander von Humboldt - 1969
    But his visit to Cuba during this time yielded observations that extended far beyond the natural world. Political Essay on the Island of Cuba is a physical and cultural study of the island nation. In it, Humboldt denounces colonial slavery on both moral and economic grounds and stresses the vital importance of improving intercultural relations throughout the Americas. Humboldt’s most controversial book, Political Essay on the Island of Cuba was banned, censored, and willfully mistranslated to suppress Humboldt’s strong antislavery sentiments. It reemerges here, newly translated from the original two volume French edition, to introduce a new generation of readers to Humboldt’s astonishing multiplicity of scientific and philosophical perspectives. In their critical introduction, Vera Kutzinski and Ottmar Ette emphasize Humboldt’s rare ability to combine scientific rigor with a cosmopolitan consciousness and a deeply felt philosophical humanism. The result is a work on Cuba of historical import that will attract historians of science as well as cultural historians, political scientists, and literary scholars.