Daren
No other readers of this on GR, so fair to say it is a bit obscure. Published in 1962, it is the story of ten months the author spent in the Amazon, presumably in the few years prior.
It is a bit difficult to make out exactly what this book wants to be. The title sells it as an adventure story of a fortune hunter in the Brazilian Amazon, and it is, to a point. The author appears British without specifically saying, and he is in Brazil to find his fortune. He tells a dramatic story, in chapters that jump about a bit, of first, seeking semi-precious aquamarine stones from deep in the Amazon. The main problem here is he must travel far in a hired native canoe with guide and men who he never fully trusts, knowing that they know he travels with large sums of cash with which to but the aquamarine!
His ordeal becomes more about self doubt and lack of trust, compounded by not sleeping for fear of having his throat cut... the narrative is all about the journey, is encounters with beasts and jungle monsters (anaconda and another river creature which we never really get to the bottom of), only to arrive at his destination to be told he didn't make the money he though he would, and his new venture was cedar wood harvesting in the Amazon!
So next we go through the elaborate process of securing land to begin harvesting the timber. At least he does achieve the timber harvesting in this part of the narrative, but again we divert into stories about other white men and how they run their workers, his crazy neighbour, Dona Julia who rules through terror (whom he never meets), and how he gets all caught up in macumba rites because of a woman he can't resist getting involved with... Macumba being the religions brought from various parts of Africa by slaves which evolved to combine in a mix of African, Catholic and indigenous beliefs, which the author characterises as black magic.
It's hard to say how much of this book he has embellished, or whether he was in as much danger as is expressed in the narrative. He plays it up pretty hard.
There are numerous black and white photographs within the book, ok quality for the age of the publication. Most relate generally with the narrative, but not all are adequately explained in context.
3 stars
Published in 1984, this is a collection of travel articles previously published in The Observer from 1976 to 1983. I am fond of Clive James, I always found him funny and clever.
Unfortunately this book has dated poorly. While it still has some amusing parts, some wry asides and some good sarcasm, it related to events or current affairs that were topical at that time and people who were in the media at that time. The vast majority are not familiar to me, and most of the events pre-date my awareness. Some of the anecdotes still fall into line, the style is still amusing, but for the most part it didn't work for me.
2 stars
British textile designer Sarah Hobson, at age 23 in the early 1970's decided to travel to Persia (Iran if you prefer) not only to explore the country but to study Persian designs and crafts.
Even in the 1970's travelling alone as a women was to present challenges. Whilst the Shah was still in power (pre the 1979 revolution) and there were some personal freedoms in Iran, Hobson decided to disguise herself as male for her travels. Ultimately this gave her significantly more freedoms to move about by herself and to communicate with people. From the few times that her sex was discovered it was apparent that the young men of Iran were not pleasant for her to be around.
So to the travel - as 'John' - with hair cut short, wearing a compression wrap over her breasts, hunching forward a little and by pretending to be only 19, Hobson managed, for the most part, to get away with being male. She had to accept she wasn't a very masculine male, and was thought of as a bit of a weakling, but it was only when authorities requested her passport that she was busted. There were inevitably people around her at these times, so generally she had to move on to a new town. The hassles she received were awkward and not pleasant to read about, let alone experience - men wanting to kiss her, offering her money to sleep with them (saying, but you must want to, all western women sleep with anyone, etc). It is either not clear, or I may have missed it, whether the author had previous abilities with Farsi (or Persian, as it is sometimes referred to) or picked it up as she travelled, but she had reasonable fluency - enough to communicate on a day to day basis, hold theological discussions, etc.
Hobson travelled much of the country - there is a small map in the book, as well as various black & white photos. There were a few places she stayed longer, built closer relationships and used these places as a base to travel further afield. In other places she stayed a few days and moved on. For a time she hired a moped, but it was near its end of life to before it broke down she returned it and took to the bus system again.
There is a certain amount of guilt the author shares in misleading these people, pretending to be male and obtaining entry to mosques and the like. This is especially hard with those who are incredibly hospitable, providing accommodation and sharing food etc, but the outcomes when she is identified as a woman prove this disguise can be justified.
Other reviewers have suggested the book is superficial, disjointed and the disguise not being noticed lacking credibility. I didn't really have these issues (perhaps a little of the last), and found the author did a good job of sharing her experiences without too much duplication. She didn't get bogged down in details the reader didn't need to know, but shared interesting aspects of the food, the way people dressed, the conversations, the places she visited, etc. Hobson introduced light history when it was needed for context, but didn't attempt to write the history of Persia! Ultimately I think it took a lot of nerve to travel the way she did, and I enjoyed her telling of this.
4 stars
Having read Chris Stowers' second travel autobiography Shoot, Ask...and Run recently, and finding that excellent, I looped back to read this one - the first!
Firstly - this one was a lot shorter, less than 200 pages, and was a far quicker read. It still contained a number of black and white photos, but some were of lesser quality, as Stower's was still a traveller taking photographs, as opposed to his second book when he was primarily a photographer travelling.
After a chapter called 'The Tipping Point' which explains when, in 1986, Stowers quits his motorcycle courier job in London and goes travelling, this book charts two sections of travel with chapters at an approximate ratio of 2 to 1. In the primary travel narrative, Stowers is in Indonesia in August 1988 where he meets up by chance with a group of Frenchmen (and a Swiss) who are negotiating to buy a traditional Bugis spice ship from a local captain with the plan to sail back to Europe - the first leg being as far as Singapore. After hanging about with them, and sailing as far as Tanah Jampea (an Indonesian island north of Sulawesi) with the boat's owner and crew, where the purchase is to be made, Stowers commits to joining the crew.
The sea voyage exposes their lack of experience, they have plenty of issues and hardships they need to overcome with repairs, their stores and the like, but this section of the book is quite enjoyable.
Intertwined with this is the second narrative, travel that occurred a little over a year before the commencement of the first narrative (say, early 1987) in Tibet. This narrative is linked to the first by the fact he runs in to Charly (another Frenchman) in Indonesia, with whom he travelled after Tibet, who triggered his thoughts back to the earlier time.
In Tibet, Stowers is with a German girl, Claudia and explains the time he spent in Lhasa. When they both need to move on from Tibet, she heads for Nepal, and he into China, and on this journey in China he pines for her to a point where she is mentioned over and over. It is on this leg of the journey he travels a while with Charly (as above). This second narrative is less strong than the first, and taken up with stowers continual thinking back to Claudia. It quietly peters out before the conclusion of the Bugis ship to Singapore.
So while for me, this didn't live up to the heights of the second book, it was a worthwhile read, and filled in some of the experience gaps for Stowers. I guess it also shows Stowers' development as an author. Stowers refers to the two books as volume 1 and volume 2 of The Diaries of a Western Nomad, so I look forward to the third volume in due course.
3.5 stars
David Lewis is a reasonably well known New Zealand nautical author; this is an early book of his. It covers the maiden voyage of his catamaran Rehu Moana, the name is Māori for 'Sea Spray'. It is a somewhat unusual catamaran however as it has a wishbone mast (illustrated on the book cover) - or more accurately it had this at the beginning of the voyage.
The early part of the book establishes the design and construction of the boat, but quickly gets to its crew and then departure from the Thames estuary, calling at Peterhead then Lerwick at the Shetland Islands en route to Iceland and the arctic circle.
The voyage cannot be considered unexciting, as they were de-masted in a major way twice, and riddled with other mishaps, albeit most more common in a maiden voyage. Loss of the engine are the generator are the two more major ones.
The book sets out how the contractor who was to construct the aluminium wishbone mast let them down very badly and they had to make do with a timber one, of which they never had real confidence. This snapped in high winds near the Faroes, but they jury rigged something and carried on to Iceland where they sought a new mast (yes Iceland, the place that famously doesn't have trees) - fairly unsuccessfully. They did find a stick of a mast that they covered in a few coats of fibreglass and hoped for the best.
The intent to head north to cross the Arctic Circle was thwarted five miles short of their goal, where they had to turn tail with more mast issues and a fairly major storm bearing down on them. Another repair in Iceland saw the crew split to tackle their mountaineering goal and the return voyage concurrently, meaning only two crew members for the return home.
Another serious de-masting two thirds of the way to Stornoway (in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland) called for another jury rigging and the arrival of Lewis' wife and two young daughters for the final leg, albeit with a new aluminium mast and sails, to sail from Stornoway to Plymouth.
It was a quick read, and and that helped. It was full of technical jargon, and Lewis seemed to still be cutting his teeth on his writing. It has plenty of wry and amusing situations in the text which helped, but probably not the best of Lewis' books to be starting on.
Worth mentioning there are a number of sketches ranging from adequate to very good. One of the very good aspects of the sketches are a series of them all from the same angle showing each different rigging arrangement from the original mast through all the jury rigged versions. Without these, the sailing jargon would certainly have had me beaten.
3 stars.
I have read a lot of Norman Lewis' non-fiction travel writing in both long and short form, but only one other fiction book.
This is a espionage story, fairly reminiscent of some of Graham Greene's 'entertainments'.
Set in Libya, where journalist expat Ronald Kemp also does some advisory work for a minor government department. In Egypt a plot is being hatched by the CIA to assassinate the President of Libya, but they need an agent on the ground - or a least someone who can get them information... and Ronald Kemp is the man who is considered "a suitable case for corruption"...
Lewis weaves the plotline through a description of expat life, the corruption, double dealing and self-serving within the circle Kemp moves. Not as naive as he seems, but also not quite quick enough to keep out of trouble he become embroiled in complexity and is not sure who he can trust to help him extract himself.
This was a quick read, and not overly taxing if you go with the flow.
I enjoyed it enough to give Norman Lewis' fiction another go.
4 stars
I understand that this is Christopher Pym's first book, republished in the original form by the Travel book Club in 1959. Pym is familiar with Cambodia, speaks the language and is familiar with the Angkor temple complex. This is a book more about the journey than the destination - the journey: From the sea (the Vietnam coast of the China Sea) to Angkor. This is basically a straight line travelling west.
Pym set out on his journey with a threefold goal - his main purpose was to seek traces of a twelfth century Khmer road which once linked Angkor with the capital of Champa in south Vietnam. It was mapped only as far as about 80 miles east of Angkor, and monuments are identified along the way. None are known beyond this point. Champa had two capitals, and it was not known to which capital the road extended... Pym explains why he chose the one he did.
His secondary goal for the journey, which was to be undertaken entirely on foot with local assistance and where required guides, was to collect neolithic tools (stone adze heads primarily). These had previously been found in various locations further north on the plateau, but a theory that this culture was more widespread would be supported by finding tools on his route.
The third goal was, by his own admission, a less serious goal. An old French explorers account of tribes in the area mentioned a chieftain called 'Pim', described as 'young, handsome, brave, quick, eloquent and confident of the future'. His namesake, albeit spelled differently. His intent was to trace the village of Pim and introduce himself to his descendants, should there be any.
The book is broken into five sections, two of which take place in Vietnam (South Vietnam as it referred to), named Hills and Tribes and Border Incidents, the other three in Cambodia named Into Cambodia; West From the Mekong and The Road to Angkor.
At 185 pages it was a quick enough read that it didn't lack action. While the walking itself was repetitive, the writing was well executed enough not to dwell on repetition and was sprinkled with history and social / cultural details to fill any voids in the discoveries he makes. His journey was around seven weeks in duration.
Pym has written at least one more book about Cambodia (which I own, but have not yet read).
4 stars.
Ion Idriess writes an excellent biography of Aboriginal Gambu Ganuurru, known by his tribe as Red Kangaroo, a youth with clear potential in the Gunn-e-darr tribe, fulfilled by becoming the chief or the tribe at an early age. His ability to think beyond strict traditions, to innovate and bring new military tactics into play set him apart from others. Idriess refers to him as the Red Chief, although that is Idriess's addition, not something recognised in the historical documents.
Idriess tells us in his 'Author's Preface' the tale of how he came into possession of a written history of Red Kangaroo, provided by an elderly man who had become the last of his tribe. This occurred in 1887 when the Red Chief's grave was dug up by the town doctor, who wanted to obtain an Aboriginal skull, and this with the bones were sent to the Australian Museum, but have since been lost. The story was recorded by a man interested in Aboriginal culture and history, and therefore preserved. Idriess tells us that he changed very little, just added some detail to the peripheral characters, based on known cultural norms and behaviours.
As usual, Idriess has created a readable, fast paced narrative, based on fact. At 226 pages it is very manageable, contains a series of black and white photos which give context the locations and examples of people. I was surprised to see a note thanking Frank Hurley for some of the photographs - famed Antarctic explorer and photographer.
I don't intend to share the story of Red Kangaroo, only to say that Idriess reinforces positive aspects of Aboriginal culture in this story, where the Red Chief acts in best interest of his tribe, and while it is a violent and masculine, it is an accurate portrayal of live at the time - the Red Chief died around 1845. The tribe live in the area that is now the town of Gunnedah in north-west New South Wales.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
n 1890, a group of London merchants organised an expedition through the Arctic Ocean to Russia - more specifically to Yeneseisk on the Yenesei River to establish a trading route. Julius Price accompanied them as a 'special artist' for the London Illustrated News, in order to provide his excellent sketches of the journey. Upon reaching his destination, Price was told he could travel wherever he wanted, provided he continued to send back his artwork and written descriptions.
This book collects his sketches and a full written description of his journey by sea to Russia, through Siberia, Mongolia and China, arriving at the Yellow Sea ten months later.
While the sketches steal the show (and these are excellent, capturing all aspects of society as Price witnesses it, from people to buildings, Siberian prisons, street scenes, animals, landscapes etc), the writing is also very good. It is descriptive, captures conversations, snippets of history and culture. It doesn't come across as archaic or dated, it reads very easily.
Price travels, initially on the chartered Norwegian steamer Biscaya from Blackwall, London through the Arctic Ocean and the Kara Sea where they were briefly icebound, finally reaching the mouth of the Yenisei river (a journey of around 2 months). Here they rendezvoused with the Phoenix to journey upriver to reach the trading post of Yeniseisk (Yeniseysk) some 14 weeks later. This journey was broken up only by short shops at small villages on the riverside.
In Yeniseisk Price becomes interested in the Russian prison system, visiting the prison here and interviewing jailors and captors, marvelling at the fact there is no death penalty and many of the prisoners are free to come and go, so long they abide by rules and return when required. This interest continues into other places visited. As well as prisons, Price visits and makes interviews in hospitals, private houses and the streets. Price spent 5 weeks in Yeniseisk.
He then purchased a sledge (and horses) for the onward journey - the first leg of which was a journey of 48 hours to Krasnoiarsk (Krasnoyarsk) In Krasnoiarsk he furthered his prison experiences, interviews locals and makes many sketches. He travels on to Irkutsk, describing his journeys well, I am skipping over the incidents and points of interest to capture his basic route. In Irkutsk the prison gets the most of his attention, but he also visits a gold mine, the hospital, the fire brigade and meets with other influential people to interview and sketch!
From Irkutsk he makes for the Mongol Chinese Frontier, a treacherous journey over the iced up Lake Baikal. Before the border he sells his sledge (for the price he paid) and buys a tarantass (horse drawn wheeled cart). Reaching Ourga (now Ulaan Baatar) Price is underwhelmed by the Yurts, the lack of hygiene and the general lack of cleanliness and the wild dogs. He doesn't take a liking to Mongolia much at all, struggling to pick out some positives, but he does spend a month there, so hard to accuse him of not trying!
His onward journey is by camel cart, through the Gobi Desert reaching firstly the Great Wall, and finally Peking (Beijing). He arrives in Peking at a tenuous time the anti-European riots and murders on the Yangtze had just occurred and did not feel welcome in the city. He got on splendidly with various officials (mostly British) and for the first time had difficulty in making his sketches. Whenever he paused in the street to sketch he found himself "absolutely hemmed in on all sides by a dense crowd of dirty insolent rascals, who, as a rule, seemed far more interested in me than in what I was sketching. It was absolutely useless getting my “boy” to ask them civilly to move on one side, as this only appeared to cause greater amusement among them, and, of course, it would have been absolute madness to lose one’s temper, so I generally gave in, and beat a retreat."
He soon headed on, by Chinese houseboat to Tientsin (now Tienjin), from where his journey home would commence. He mentions in his final lines that he decides to go via Japan and America, but the narrative ends here.
Overall a fascinating book, with its excellent sketches and amusing commentary.
Thanks to Fiona who found this gem, and to Project Gutenberg for having it on free download!
5 stars
Since Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev found a way to express the elements in a table form in 1869, scientists have been busy filling in the gaps. The most recent are Nihonium (113), Moscovium (115), Tennessine (117), and Oganesson (118), which were officially named in 2016. This book was published ins 2011.
Near the end of the book, he states: My aim in this book has been to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense that they are in the objects that we treasure and are under our kitchen sinks, but also around us more powerfully in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography, and that the character of these parallel lives rises ultimately from each element's universal and unvarying qualities.
And so, in his book, Aldersey-Williams has brought together a collection of anecdotes for each element. Many relate to the discovery of the element, others are about the discoverer, the location it was discovered, or references to the element in literature or art. He also travels to some of the relevant places, recreates some of the experiments in his garage, and makes an attempt to collect various elements (by ransacking his fathers old paint collection, his wife's makeup, purchasing products at art shops and hardware stores.
That diversity of descriptions and of anecdotes made it an interesting read. It didn't become to formulaic, which would have been the risk had he stuck to describing only the discoverer and discovery. Having said that there were sections that became a bit dry.
I will also throw it out there that the pictures were poorly reproduced in low resolution black and white within the text (possibly the publishers decision rather than the authors). I also found it frankly bizarre that the periodic table was not illustrated within the book, meaning on numerous occasions I had to bring it up via google to follow the progression or the relationship between one element and another. A half star off for that... I can't fathom it, really.
But as far as I can tell almost those elements known at the time of writing were mentioned, albeit many were grouped together as, for example, the rare earth elements are all very similar. I found four not mentioned at all and half a dozen that only got a passing mention.
I mention also that this isn't a fast read, or at least it wasn't for me. This one benefitted from being put down and picked up at will. I read another book in between starting and finishing, and the break mid way did me good.
4 stars.
I was provided with an ARC of this by the publisher, and for the purposes of the ARC it has been split into two parts. This review covers the first part - 400 pages.
A new novel from Adam Williams, an interesting author - the son of a Hong Kong Taipan, he is the fourth generation of his family living in China. He was also a part of the legendary trading company Jardine Matheson and rising to head its operations in China, although I gather retired to concentrate on his writing.
Williams has written a historical fiction serial killer mystery, set in Egypt in 1099. There is a short historical foreword that explains the setting - the first crusade, returning control of Jerusalem to Christendom. The commencement of the jihad by the Muslim faithful. The great powers of the eastern Mediterranean -
The Byzantines Greek Orthodox inheritors of the ancient Roman Empire, had lost their possessions in Asia and Africa to Islam. From their capital in Constantinople, its emperors longed to regain their territories in Asia Minor.
The Turkish tribes over the last centuries had conquered Asia Minor and the Middle East and now ruled from Syria and Palestine to Persia. The most powerful of these tribes were the Seljuk Turks who had made Baghdad their capital, maintaining still the Abbasid Caliph as a figurehead, and claiming to represent Sunni Islam.
The Fatimids, centred in Egypt were a strange ruling dynasty, even for its own times. Few of the subjects of its Arab monarchs shared their rulers’ unconventional version of Shi’ite Islam, but no one could deny that the Ismaelis, as they called themselves, with their half divine Caliph claiming descent by direct line the Prophet, presided over one of the most glittering and powerful empires in the world, with a capital, the double city of Qahira and Fustat (later known as Cairo).
It is within this wide sweeping framework that the story is set.
The blurb is on point:
Samuel, a Jewish doctor versed in alchemy, and Gregory, his English apprentice, are investigating a terrifying plague. The Nile has turned red with blood and fish are dying.
Near a small island, they wrangle a badly torn body from the jaws of a crocodile — but was this beast the killer? Samuel suspects foul play yet the authorities block his efforts to find the truth at every step. Ignoring the warnings from people in high places, and with nothing more to guide him than his scientific method, Samuel is determined to persist in his quest, especially after a series of gruesome murders seem to confirm his early suspicion.
Little does he know that the secret he will stumble on could shake the empire.
Assassins are on the prowl. A child is being hunted. Who finds him first will change the course of history.
The story was fast paced, it builds suspense to keep me reading this book, and not the other two I have on the go. There were twists and turns, some that could be foreseen, others that were cleverly revealed and I didn't see coming. There were enough characters to spread plenty of interest, but not so many that they couldn't be afforded the depth they need to flesh them out.
I am looking forward to the second part...
4 stars so far!
An early book from the Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series from Arthur Upfield, published in 1937.
I have decided to plant the following on author and character in each of my 'Bony' reviews as background: - Upfield is an interesting writer, British by birth, emigrated to Australia at the age of twenty. He fought in the Australian Army in WWI. Following the war he travelled extensively in Australia working with stock and farming and developed an understanding of the Aboriginal culture which was to inform much of his writing. His 'Bony' character is a Detective Inspector in the Queensland Police Force, and is of mixed parentage - his mother an Aboriginal and his father white. It is rare to have a mixed race Aboriginal character held in high regard, and protagonist of a series of books.
In his book Bony is sent to the remote town of Carie in New South Wales where two people have been murdered in similar circumstances. In typical style, Bony turns up as a swagman, camps nearby and meets with a few other vagrants and locals, get a feel for the local gossip before making contact with the local police when the time is right for him, remaining under cover with all but those who gain his trust.
I won't got further into the plot, but this book matches up with the others I have read, in terms of readability and quality. I enjoy the Detective Inspector who has the cleverness of his white father and the patience of his Aboriginal mother. In this story however, there are no other Aboriginal characters, the local tribe all take off as a result of city police detective sent to solve the crime. Like most people, they disliked Sargent Simone, had little faith in his ability to solve the crime.
A typically enjoyable 3.5 stars.
A short and amusing story from Robert Louis Stevenson - obvious from the title it is an Imp in a Bottle - a wish-granting Imp and a bottle with some catches - one being if you die in possession of the bottle you are damned to dwell in hell foe ever more, the other that you must sell the bottle to the next owner for less that which you acquire it.
Keawe, our Hawaiian protagonist buys the bottle from a man with a fabulous house and plenty of money, but who has grown old and must be rid of the bottle (the only thing the imp cannot control is aging of the owner).
There are various twists and turns in this short read, but mostly just a quick, fun experience.
4.5 stars
This Penguin 70 collect two excerpts from Evelyn Waugh's Remote People, a book that I read around 10 years ago and enjoyed. I remarked in my review of that book that the description of the Coronation was fairly minimal, and it seems the rest of the book was superior to that section.
Collected here in an excerpt, the Coronation read quite well. Waugh was quite descriptive and provided a little background and explained who all the main characters were. He shared a fair amount of behind the scenes logistics and gossip from the other journalists. I probably enjoyed this excerpt more this time around.
The second much shorter excerpt was one I would consider poorly selected. It had little context, not even sharing his location in Africa at the start, was principally a moan about boredom and whether boredom at home in England would remind him of his journey, or whether the journal he kept would read as boring when at home. In the end it turns out he was on a 4 day train journey to Djibouti, missed his connecting steamer and then explained some (fairly boring at it turned out) logistics in finding a new ship.
3 stars - albeit would have been 4 stars but the second excerpt dragged it down!
Excellent - I really enjoyed this memoir from a young British traveller who is starting out on his photography career. Stowers picks up the story in 1988 in Singapore, after a sea journey in a Bugis spice ship (around which his first book is based), when he is aged 20. Initially required to teach English to build up some money to spend on photography equipment and travel he soon concludes that he needs to ditch the other work and commit to the nomadic life of a freelance photographer.
While the book is largely linear in timeline, there are diversions back to previous travels to fill in gaps in the direction Stowers' life takes and to provide a bit of back story. I found the writing and storyline really engaging and immersive, the pace was good all the way through and the progress he made in his career trajectory and decisions in his travel all came across as legitimate and realistic. I was impressed with the writing and editing, and though it was a long book (470 pages) it kept me enthusiastically reading.
Stower's story takes the reading to an array of interesting locations and situations as Stowers' visits place to speculatively take photographs and pen articles or is commissioned to do so. While based in Singapore initially, hen Hong Kong for the majority of his time, he covers local events but more often to wide spread spots such as Pakistan, Indonesia (various locations), Borneo (Indonesian and Malaysian), Brunei, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan. He covers lots of things from dramatic events, political disturbances and captures pictures of prominent people.
Eventually he considers he needs to head 'home' to the UK. Like I did when I was living in Ireland, he decided to make the longest journey home that he could plan, and ended up travelling a lot of the route I took in reverse. Notwithstanding the fact he hopped about a bit to chase events, Stowers started in Hong Kong, travelled to China, Mongolia, Russia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Hungary, Germany, Netherlands and finally to the UK arriving in 1992. (Mine started in Lithuania, then Latvia, Russia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia to Singapore, then a short visit to Melbourne before home to NZ).
The blurb mentions a few of his adventures, so me touching on those doesn't seem like spoilers, such as tear-gassed by riot police in Manila, and crosses an imploding Soviet Union by train, only to be abducted by a group of heavily-armed Serb militia. There was literally something going in each short chapter (again pointing the engaging writing and editing to keep the story moving at pace) and the regular change of location, some of which I am familiar with, only increased the appeal for me. Likewise I though Stowers explained the critical thought processes in his decision making, some of which were pivotal in his success in building relationships with employers / those who will purchase his photographs, many of which go into stock photo libraries and are purchased where relevant photographs are used for current articles.
Obviously the book contains a number of Stowers photos (which are obviously good!) but also some of the magazine covers on which his work is featured and numerous newspapers, but most of the photos are more candid featuring people in the story who he relied on to move is progress forward.
The title of the book comes from advice offered to him by a couple of much more experienced photographers to "shoot first, then ask permission. And when that fails, run!"
A digital copy of this book was provided to me by Earnshaw Books, the publisher to read and review.
5 stars
Hopkirk's magnum opus 'The Great Game' feeds into his other books (some of which I have read), but ostensibly tells the big picture of Russia vs Britain in the fight for Central Asia throughout the 19th century to around 1907 when it concludes.
There are currently a little under 800 reviews on GR and a little over 8,800 ratings, with an average of 4.33 stars. There is likely little I can say about it that hasn't already been said.
My opinion, this exceeded expectations, as I have read my fair share of Central Asian history, mostly around the Great Game periods. Hopkirk has managed to keep it punchy, in short chapters, each covering a discrete aspect of the overall narrative. He makes the complex overlapping and confusing nature of this period into a cohesive and engaging narrative. The Khanates, the cities, the countries of Central Asia all evoke for me a sense of wonder and mystery - unrealistic I am sure, but nevertheless I find it a fascinating history.
There is perhaps an aspect of balance missing - the British certainly are described far more positively than their opponent. The vast amount of records and information on the British version of events likely contributes to this, with much of the Russian information never made public, so that perhaps tips the balance in what can be accurately described by Hopkirk, but even so with the British agents brave and ingenious, the Russians skulking in the lawless steppe, the savage Afghans, etc it is certainly British-centric in its view.
One pertinent quote from the last page of the book brings into focus how much of a Russian and British story this is, and how little say those effected by the Great Game had. (From 1990 when published)
As for the Indians themselves, they were neither consulted nor considered in any of this. Yet, like their Muslim neighbours across the frontier, it was largely their blood which was spilt during the imperial struggle. All they ever wanted was to be left alone, something they achieved in 1947, when the British packed their bags and departed. But the peoples of Central Asia were less fortunate at their conquerors’ hands. For more than a century now the vast Russian empire there has served as a monument to the Tsarist heroes of the Great Game. How much longer it will continue to do so, in view of the violent turmoil threatening the Soviet Union, is impossible to forecast.
One worrying aspect is the massive bibliography and Hopkirk calling out some particularly interesting looking books which do nothing for my ever expanding to read list!
There are other great reviews which summarise events which I can't begin to frame!
For me 5 stars.
Published in 1975 this book, which at first I struggled to take very seriously, brings together all the previously writings the author can find on the lost worlds.
The first chapter covers Atlantis, but brings in Lemuria & Mu, which are considered variants. The content varies wildly, from the relatively sane - historical writings, references in saga's, geological explorations to the crackpots of occultists, mystics, theologians, theosophists, those with visions and those with access to secret historical documents from Tibet or India which have been shared with them by ancient keepers of knowledge - which of course nobody else may examine, or have now been lost, etc.
This section, by some distance the longest, is concluded with a summary.
Second on the list is a section on Lost Lands of the East, and covers the Garden of Eden, The country of the Queen of Sheba, the country of the Amazons, and the country of Prester John. These sections tend to outline the challenges around tracking down the locations of these people or places, then make some judgements without being very decisive!
The third and final section is titled Lost Lands of the British Isles largely dealing with Roman or pre-Roman legends and myths about The Cassitterides, St Brendan's Island, Avalon, Lyonesse. Most of these reach a conclusion of sorts.
This was a quick read which fits into a genre I read which can probably be described as quirks in geography, lost places, and myth tracing. St Brendan of course is the topic of Tim Severin's excellent The Brendan Voyage.
Amusing, albeit probably not ground breaking, and likely superseded by more recent publications!
3 stars.
Published in 1902 this very short short story is based on the 'Genie giving three wishes' concept. In this case a family are visited by an old acquaintance returned from India in possession of a monkey's paw, with a spell cast of it by a Fakir. The paw will grant three separate men three wishes each.
The old solider had been he second man, and gave nothing away about his three wishes, but cast the paw onto the fire saying it would be best destroyed.
Of course the man rescues the paw and the short story goes on to explain his three wishes!
Too short to write more, and give away the story!
Punchy and short, amusing enough.
4 short story stars.
Well, this is certainly an odd book. I am not sure what I expected, but it was not this.
Basically in the late 1970s a secret unit was formed within the US Army to research psychological advantages to be used in war. From the outright wacky (attempting to walk through walls) to the at best marginal - remote viewing, psychic spies, lsd experimentation, subliminal messaging, and of course the ability to kill goats just by staring at them!
Ronson is like a dog with bone, researching over a long period of time, regularly checking in with each of his contacts, pestering them with questions and asking them to recount events and eventually learning the names of other operatives who he can try to track down.
Much of the content is absurd, ludicrous even, but more worrying is the amount of money funneled into this military experimentation.
For all that, the book wanders about from person to person and topic to topic. It isn't able to be categoric about what actually happened and what didn't, what was real and what was speculation. There is a healthy dose of conspiracy theory mixed in, the entirety of linking what is happening now with what was experimented with in the 70s and 80s is the prime example - it just wasn't convincing.
For example in the 70s it was suggested that music was used to soothe natives as teh American military invade (or occupy, or whatever); in the early 2000's Iraq music was used for sleep deprivation through the continual playing of music (heavy metal, Matchbox Twenty or Barney the dinosaur - unclear which would be worse). The use of cultural humiliation - treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, offending them with sexually explicit behaviour strongly misaligned with their religion was also linked back to psychoanalysis done in the 70s an 80s, again I think unsuccessfully linked.
Not convinced I will go out looking for more from this author.
3 stars
In 1976 the author and his wife came to China (Beijing and then Shanghai) to complete postgrad studies in modern Chinese literature (although they didn't choose this specialty until later). Nine days after arrival, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and leader of the country died, throwing China in a period of unsurety and political turmoil. Perhaps one of the most interesting periods to be a witness to the machinations of China, and likely a rare view from within, Andy Kirkpatrick shares his experiences of Chinese politicking along with his experiences at a university and almost mixing with Chinese people. I say almost, because any member of the public approaching foreign students was immediately taken aside for questioning, and the university system was set up such that they had only limited crossover.
While the author and his wife were not permitted to live together ("students may not marry", "But we re married...", "Students may not marry"), they were flatting with Chinese students, although these roommates were obliged to provide reports on the foreign students each week. Visiting a farming commune was part of the curriculum for all students (so academics are able to learn form the workers), but again, the interactions were controlled and kept to a minimum. They make several trips for a week at a time to various farms or factories.
There are plenty of amusing anecdotes from University life, many disenchanting experiences, but almost as many positive experiences, well maybe. It is clear the author made an effort to try and engage in the culture, joining a football club to try and mix with more Chinese, only to find no player knew any other player's name! He even met Margaret Thatcher who was on a tour of the University, and dobbed in the University for setting up false representations of how open they were (in this case they laid out international newspapers in the library, saying they were always available - of course they were available only when Thatcher was in the building...)
Overall an enjoyable read, a rare view of China in the 1970s immediately after Mao's death.
3.5 stars
While this book is short in length, its content is slowly paced, which made it quite a slow read for me. It covers Spanish authors return trip to Iran in 1994, having lived in Tehran as a student in 1973 and 1974. The trip in 1994 she spends a month and while based in Tehran travels to Chalus on the Caspian Sea and to Kashan south of Tehran.
The author is travelling with another Spanish woman Irene, who is married to a Persian man Bahram, and it is Bahram's extended family with whom the author spends most of this visit. The reader gets to learn the in's and out's of the family while recounting stories and experiences from her previous visit, thereby providing comparison between the days of the Shah and the Islamic revolutionary government of 1994.
The telling is thoughtful and slowly paced, often meandering then diverting into a short explanation of an aspect of Persian history. Interestingly being clad in a chador and therefore largely anonymous the author was able to visit mosques and other sensitive places that foreigners are not usually permitted - a inside view that the reader doesn't normally appreciate. The author shares an understanding of Persian society, religion and often cuisine, making it a well rounded read. It is followed by a postscript from her immediate return to Barcelona, and then two years on another postscript of a visit to New York, and a final in Barcelona, where the author says "Life goes on, and if I don't finish this book here, I never will."
3 stars
This is the first of Roy Chapman Andrews' books I have read. This one documents his "Second Asiatic Expedition" 1918-1920 in Mongolia and Northern China.
As the blurb says, the book is written entirely from the sportsman's standpoint and has purposely avoided scientific details which would prove uninteresting or wearisome to the general public.
Andrews makes his way through the narrative with various companions, including his wife who gets credit for the many very good photographs in the book, and towards the end it breaks into chapters of which each is a separate outing, with a range of companions.
Making use of of various modes of transport, including cars, horses and walking and seldom with out a rifle in hand, Andrews collects mammal specimens for the American Museum of Natural History (of which he is the associate curator). While the needs of the museum dictate the animals 'collected' it is obvious that Andrews is also a keen hunter, and along with his companions they take most opportunities to bag their prey. Many of the villages eat well after their outings!
The irony of his suggestion that ...because of unceasing native persecution, lack of protection, the continued destruction of forests and the ever increasing facilities for transportation to the remote districts of the interior, many of China's most interesting and important forms of wild life are doomed to extermination in the very near future... is not lost on the modern reader.
Among those animals collected in the general narrative are antelope, bustards, geese, cranes, gophers, wolves, marmots, wapiti, various deer species (including roebuck and sika, muskdeer) and wild pigs.
At the end there are separate chapters on the great ram of Shanxi, the Mongolian "Argali," the horse-deer of Shanxi, the Wapiti, Roebuck and Goral, wild pigs, and the hunting parks of the eastern tombs.
Within the middle of the book Andrews describes village life in Urga (now Ulan Baatar), including descriptions of Mongolian men and women, their lifestyle and beliefs, lama's and religion.
Other than details of the animal species they were hunting, this book provided an insight into the variety of landscape in Mongolia. Despite having spent 4 weeks in Mongolia myself, I still think of Mongolia as the Gobi Desert, of desert and desert scenery. Andrews visits other parts of Mongolia which are forested and valleys carpeted with flowers, rivers and swamps.
3.5 stars.
My lack of research before I bought this book has come back to bite me. I didn't enjoy this book, and had I understood its premise I would not have bought it... so let me explain...
This is the GR blurb: It is 1912, the age of Antarctic exploration. Scott's journey has ended. Mawson's is just beginning. This book transports us to the last days of those expeditions in the white continent. Sweeping through deaths and disasters, this book lays bare the forces that drove these explorers.
The back of the book however says: It is 1912, the age of Antarctic exploration. Scott's journey has ended. Mawson's is just beginning. Adrian Caesar's stunning stroke of imaginative re-creation transports us to the last days of those perilous expeditions in the heart of the white continent.
And so, there is my problem "imaginative re-creation". In other words this author is fictionalising the known facts and filling in his own gaps.
So both RF Scott and Douglas Mawson were carrying out Antarctic expeditions over the period of 1911 to 1913, independently of each other, although they did have history together. Scott was racing to be first to reach the pole, against yet another expedition - led by Amundsen the Norwegian. Mawson was on an Australian expedition exploring the Antarctic coast closest to Australia.
This book concentrates on the end of both Scott and Mawson's journeys. In each case he has diaries of the men on the expeditions and in Mawson's case various information released after his return - Scott of course dies (not a spoiler to most I expect!).
I found it ironic that Caesar mentions more than once that when carrying out his research at the libraries where the archives of the respective explorers are held, the staff at Scott's said the hoped it wasn't another hatchet-job, and the staff at Mawson's said they hoped it wasn't another hagiography... because that was exactly how this book read.
Nothing about Scott was very upbeat and Caesar was critical of everything. For Mawson it was more that events conspired against his planning. I didn't find the writing very even-handed. But worse that this, there was far too much speculation in this for me - speculation about conversations with the other men, speculation about things the mend did and things they thought. There were even several examples of where the author outlined a dream these men had and what it meant...
This type of speculation just does not appeal to me, and I really should not have started reading this book, let alone finished it... so really my fault...
2 stars
I thought this looked a quick read, but it wasn't particularly. Peregrine Hodson travelled in Afghanistan under the name of Abdul Baz, "my name, unabbreviated, was difficult to pronounce while in its shortened form it sounded like a word in Dari meaning 'fairy' or 'female angel': so I was given the name Abdul. I added the word 'baz', which means falcon."
He was there for just over three months in 1984 to provide the Sunday Times with a report on the 'People's War'. This book is not his report, but a record of his journey. He kept a detailed diary and used a tape recorder to capture many of his conversations. Hodson spoke fluent Farsi (the modern Persian language); and therefore could communicate well in Dari (one of two official Afghan languages) languages which are mutually intelligible, especially in written form, although they have some differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and usage.
The 'People's War' refers to the Soviet-Afghan War, where the Soviets moved massive numbers of troops into Afghanistan ostensibly to assist the Afghan Government (and therefore the Afghan Armed Forces) to put down the Islamic militants - the Mujahedin. And, of course, it is with the Mujahedin that Hodson travelled. From Pakistan he crossed the border by foot with a group of Mujahedin returning to their homes and to defend them against the Soviet forces - who by this time had resorted to bombing raids by their air force which was very successful given the Mujahadin had little capacity to shoot down fighter jets.
The journey is described in detail - it was a tough journey, Hodson was unwell for practically all of his time in Afghanistan - which which was inevitable really, with the water quality, the poor diet and limited sanitary conditions, mosquitos carrying Malaria and the high risk of hepatitis. Hodson followed a looping course through northern Afghanistan (the provinces of Lowgar, Wardak, Bamiyan, Takhar, Kunar and Nuristan). He moved from village to village, met with the Mujahedin leader in each, was provided with hospitality and accompanied by guides and assistance, although generally he joined groups of men moving from one area to the next. In reality he only had limited ability to determine his own route, and was regularly under threat of war, often being rushed from a village to lie in the relative safety of trenches while jets dropped bombs.
He spoke with many men, from all levels of society, on many topics. The narrative is wide ranging, but all comes back to the hardships of the Mujahedin, their resistance of the Soviets and the complexity of the power struggle of rival factions of the Mujahedin.
For me there were two major insights. The first was the authors ability to communicate directly with the Afghanis. This meant no reliance on interpreters who would notoriously tailor their translations to their perspective, to assist themselves or to tell the journalist what they think they want to hear. This gave Hodson a huge advantage in the presentation of his story.
The other insight was the Islamic responsibility for hospitality. In the absolute worst of circumstances, people with the least to offer provide food, shelter and assistance to the author and other foreign journalists who are basically coming to Afghanistan to gather stories to sell. It astounds me the lengths people go to in assisting the author and his companions (the last third of his journey he makes with two other journalists).
Worth seeking out.
4 stars.
Despite a torturous opening page (upon reading I was ready to give up), once underway ACD has a tidy short story about three University students in rooms one above the other. At the top, Abercrombie Smith, below him Edward Bellingham and below him, William Monkhouse Lee.
While Smith our protagonist is a medical student, Bellingham is a languages scholar, who engages in Egyptology and a hobby. In fact he takes his hobby quite seriously, judging by the mummy kept within his room.
Short stories need no more plot outlining for fear of spoiling the whole story, but one can clearly imagine that the mummy, which was purchased at auction (lot 249), is at the centre of strange goings on on campus, and Smith becomes the vigilante to put this to an end.
I do believe I enjoyed this more than some of his Sherlock Holmes short stories.
4 stars.