Book picks similar to
Postcards from Stanland: Journeys in Central Asia by David H. Mould
central-asia
travel
non-fiction
russia
One Steppe Beyond: Across Russia in a VW Camper
Thom Wheeler - 2011
So when Uncle Tony asks them to drive to Vladivostok for another job, they can’t think of a good reason why not. The result is a classic caper across the former Soviet Union in Max, a rusty old VW camper. Knowing little of the language or the geography ahead, they embark on probably the longest commute ever, encountering corrupt officials, film star mechanics, and over-friendly gangsters. Far off the tourist trail, they bear witness to the collapse of one nation and the birth of a new one during the free-for-all that was Russia in the 1990s.
How to Sail Around the World: Advice and Ideas for Voyaging Under Sail
Hal Roth - 2003
Since then, he's logged more than 200,000 sea miles. Along the way, Roth also has authored eight voyaging classics, including the 1978 bestseller After 50,000 Miles.Taking that book as its starting point, this handsome new volume incorporates the new technologies and discoveries of the last quarter century along with another 150,000 miles of experience.A compendium of mature, time-tested sea wisdom from one of the world's most respected sailing writers, How to Sail Around the World will tell the reader:How to choose and equip a sailboat for long-distance cruising, with an emphasis on simplicity and a modest budgetHow to plan and conduct a voyage anywhere in the worldHow to master the arts of navigation, anchoring, and daily life aboard in exotic placesHow to cope with storms at sea--the most complete and authoritative treatise on this critical topic ever published
A History of Silence: a memoir
Lloyd Jones - 2013
A mother who gave up her daughter, a naval captain drowned at sea, a marriage to save a child. And a truth that changes everything.
The Junket (Kindle Single)
Mike Albo - 2011
He lands an enviable gig writing about shopping and fashion for the city’s major newspaper, but an ill-fated promotional junket gets Albo into hot water. He becomes a gossip item and finds himself caught in an acrimonious war between Old and New Media. Here's a gimlet-eyed account of the back-biting media scene, a glimpse into the inner workings of the fashion crowd, and a candid portrait of what it takes to survive as a writer in today’s chattering and watchful New York City."I was perilously close to exposing a secret underground economy of promotion: favors and junkets and banquets and gifts that keeps the city in motion, and keeps underpaid writers at work. Basically, I became the Silkwood of Swag."
Caucasus: A Journey to the Land between Christianity and Islam
Nicholas Griffin - 2001
In Caucasus, award-winning author Nicholas Griffin recounts his journey to this war torn region to explore the roots of today's conflict, centering his travelogue on Imam Shamil, the great nineteenth century Muslim warrior who commanded a quarter-century resistance against invading Russian forces.Delving deep into the Caucasus, Griffin transcends the headlines trumpeting Chechen insurgency to give the land and its conflicts dimension: evoking the weather, terrain, and geography alongside national traditions, religious affiliations, and personal legends as barriers to peaceful co-existence. In focusing his tale on Shamil while retracing his steps, Griffin compellingly demonstrates the way history repeats itself.
Around The World In 80 Trades
Conor Woodman - 2009
He's sold his house to finance the trip, but if his hunches are right - trading Sudanese camels for Kenyan coffee, coffee for South African red wine and then off to China to buy porcelain with the proceeds - he'll return six months later with a lot of money, some new friends and a whole raft of brilliant tall tales.Conor believes that the principles of profit are universal wherever you go, whatever language you speak. Whether trading teak or bath taps, light bulbs or seafood he'll work out how to make money in every market he encounters along his route. He'll trade on his wits and instincts, going head to head with the best operators in the world's most hotly-contested markets. But will years of experience in corporate finance mean anything when haggling with Chinese officials to trade his boat-load of tobacco down the Mekong River?Part Undercover Economist, part Apprentice challenge, "The Adventure Capitalist" swaps worry about the global credit crunch for an exciting insight into the human story behind the money in our pockets: face-to-face trade between people from around the world.
Last Stand: Ted Turner's Quest to Save a Troubled Planet
Todd Wilkinson - 2013
Last Stand gives us a new, unexpected lens through which to view a previously unsung hero of conservation and offers prescriptions for the future of conservation.
Turkestan Solo: A Journey Through Central Asia
Ella Maillart - 1934
On horseback, she crosses Kirghizstan as far as the T'ien Shan range (the Celestial Mountains ). With makeshift skis, she climbs a mountain of 5000 metres on the Chinese border. She explores Tashkent, Samarkand and Bokhara and travels down the Amu Daria. On a camel and in glacial winds she crosses, solo, the Desert of Red Sands to the east of the Aral Sea, avoiding dangerous checkpoints.
A Mad Dash (Introspective Exhortations and Geographical Considerations 2008)
Henry Rollins - 2009
Overland
Ewen Levick - 2019
From vast deserts to an Indonesian fishing boat, a slow train through Burma to an armed confrontation in Laos, lullabies from middle-aged Chinese businessmen to a cold night on the Great Wall, wolves and reindeer herders, thieves and nomads: this is a vivid illustration of Asia and the people who live there, and of one ancient, stubborn motorcycle travelling through the world's wild places.
A Lap Around Alaska: An AlCan Adventure
Shawn Inmon - 2017
Join author Shawn Inmon and his twenty year old Subaru Outback on his epic solo road trip through British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska. Part personal odyssey, part travel memoir, take an expedition into one of North America's last remaining wildernesses. If you dream of packing up your four-wheeler, your snow boots and camera, and setting off to explore the wilderness, A Lap Around Alaska will give you a rare glimpse into the Land of the Midnight Sun, of moose, bear, and bald eagles, of monumental glaciers and scenery so staggering it brings tears to your eyes. If you hunger for adventure and want to discover untouched beauty and to experience the majesty of the pristine North for yourself-Shawn saved the passenger seat just for you. This book also includes two bonus memoirs of life in Alaska in the 1970s-My First Alaskan Summer and My Matanuska Summer.
Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants
Luce Boulnois - 1964
In this authoritative book, Luce Boulnois explores the encounter between East and West across the vast continental expanse that separates the Mediterranean world from the Chinese one. She unravels in a clear and compelling way the complex threads that make up the history of these great overland trade routes, which allowed the transmission across the world of ideas and beliefs, techniques and works of art, helping to shape civilisations that flourished along the way. How did the Romans, following in the footsteps of the Greeks, discover these far-flung regions? What did the Chinese know of the European world? How did they manage to keep the secret of silk manufacture safe for centuries? Did Marco Polo really go to China, or was he just a clever impostor?In navigating through these questions Boulnois enlightens us about the relationships between the East and the West and their influence on each other in the light of recent archeological discoveries, while also taking into account the recent geopolitical upheavals that have swept through these regions.
Slow Train to Guantanamo: A Rail Odyssey Through Cuba in the Last Days of the Castros
Peter Millar - 2012
Starting in the ramshackle but romantic capital of Havana, Peter Millar travels with ordinary Cubans, sharing anecdotes, life stories and political opinions to the far end of the island, the Guantanamo naval base and detention camp.
Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic
Thomas Goltz - 1998
Author Goltz was detoured in Baku in mid-1991 and decided to stay, this diary is the record of his experiences.
Women of the Way: Embracing the Camino
Jane V. Blanchard - 2011
Blanchard’s 2011 five-hundred mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago—hiking from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France over the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles in Spain, and then westward across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostella.For over a millennium, Christians have made this pilgrimage to the cathedral in Santiago, where the remains of St. James the apostle are entombed. Today, this journey is known as a European Cultural Itinerary, attracting people from around the world. In 2011, more than 183,000 people completed the pilgrimage; 44% of these pilgrims were women.Though Women of the Way is about Jane’s journey on the Camino de Santiago (also known as “The Way”) and discussions with women she met on the pilgrimage, this is not a “chic” book. It is about embracing the Camino, the personal changes, and the beauty and appeal of the most popular of all the pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, the Camino Frances. — Discover why people from around the world walk the Camino. — Learn how to prepare for the Camino, about the daily rituals in long-distance walking, and the camaraderie shared among these modern-day pilgrims. — Visualize the beauty of northern Spain through Jane’s vivid descriptions. — Understand why so many people embrace the Camino.“An articulate, well-observed and thoughtful look at walking the Camino.” ~ Adam Nathan“I felt as though I, too, was a pilgrim as I saw the beautiful landscapes Jane described, felt the tiredness she experienced, enjoyed the food along with her, laughed and cried with her.” ~ Elizabeth Chandler“My husband, John (62), and I are reading your book while we prepare to walk the Camino in May of 2013. We are loving it! I like your honesty and factual approach. Your descriptions have caused us to laugh and almost cry at times. Thank you! We are reading a little each day and John reminds me to bring the book in the car or to bed. The spirit of the Camino is already appearing in our relationship as we prepare. I can see a change and it is wonderful!” ~ Kim Todaro