Toujours plus loin. Toujours plus au nord. Toujours plus seul. Inspiré par ses lectures de Tolstoï et de Thoreau, Christopher McCandless a tout sacrifié à son idéal de pureté et de nature. En 1990, une fois son diplôme universitaire en poche, il offre ses économies à une association caritative et part, sans un adieu, vers son destin. Celui-ci s'achèvera tragiquement au coeur des forêts de l'Alaska... Jon Krakauer évoque aussi à travers cette échappée belle ceux qui, un jour, ont cherché à quitter la civilisation et à dépasser leurs limites. Magistralement porté à l'écran par Sean Penn, lnto the Wild s'inscrit dans la grande tradition du road-movie tragique et lumineux, une histoire aux échos universels.
Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family - acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long suffering mother and Roger the dog - take off for the island of Corfu. But the Durrells find that, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna.
Ahead lay almost 2,200 miles of remote mountain wilderness filled with bears, moose, bobcats, rattlesnakes, poisonous plants, disease-bearing tics, the occasional chuckling murderer and - perhaps most alarming of all - people whose favourite pastime is discussing the relative merits of the external-frame backpack.
It is the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents and still Australia teems with life - a large portion of it quite deadly. In fact, Australia has more things that can kill you in a very nasty way than anywhere else.
Ignoring such dangers - and yet curiously obsessed by them - Bill Bryson journeyed to Australia and promptly fell in love with the country. And who can blame him? The people are cheerful, extrovert, quick-witted and unfailingly obliging: their cities are safe and clean and nearly always built on water; the food is excellent; the beer is cold and the sun nearly always shines. Life doesn't get much better than this...
Travels to a remote country in search of a strange beast and, in the course of his travels, describes author's encounters with the people whose stories delay him on the road. This book is a quest or a Wonder Voyage. It is about wandering and exile.
B>Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air is the true story of a 24-hour period on Everest, when members of three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended in the worst single-season death toll in the peak's history./b> In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day, eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions.b>One of the inspirations for the major motion picture Everest, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Keira Knightley./b>
Contains three books - "My Family and Other Animals", "Birds, Beasts and Relatives" and "The Garden of the Gods". Offering portraits of the author's family and their many unusual hangers-on, this work also captures the beginnings of his lifelong love of animals.
SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER The highly anticipated new book from the internationally bestselling, prize-winning author of Landmarks, The Lost Words and The Old Ways 'You'd be crazy not to read this book' The Sunday Times ' Underland is a magnificent feat of writing, travelling and thinking that feels genuinely frontier pushing, unsettling and exploratory' Evening Standard Discover the hidden worlds beneath our feet... In Underland , Robert Macfarlane takes us on a journey into the worlds beneath our feet. From the ice-blue depths of Greenland's glaciers, to the underground networks by which trees communicate, from Bronze Age burial chambers to the rock art of remote Arctic sea-caves, this is a deep-time voyage into the planet's past and future. Global in its geography, gripping in its voice and haunting in its implications, Underland is a work of huge range and power, and a remarkable new chapter in Macfarlane's long-term exploration of landscape and the human heart. 'Marvellous... Neverending curiosity, generosity of spirit, erudition, bravery and clarity... This is a book well worth reading' The Times 'Extraordinary... at once learned and readable, thrilling and beautifully written' Observer 'Attentive, thoughtful, finely honed... I turned the last page with the unusual conviction of having been in the company of a fine writer who is - who must surely be - a good man' Telegraph 'Poetry, science, a healthy sense of the uncanny and a touch of the shamanic are the hallmarks of his writing... This is a journey that tells the story not just of nature but of human nature. And there is noone I would more gladly follow on it' i 'Startling and memorable, charting invisible and vanishing worlds. Macfarlane has made himself Orpheus, the poet who ventures down to the darkest depths and returns - frighteningly alone-to sing of what he has seen' New Statesman
INTRODUCED BY ADAM WEYMOUTH, award-winning author of The Kings of Yukon ''A wonderful book -- and a highly original contribution to the literature of travel'' PAUL THEROUX ''The Mississippi. Mighty, muddy, dangerous, rebellious and yet a strong, fathering kind of river. The river captured my imagination when I was young and has never let go.'' Mississippi Solo tells the story of one man''s voyage by canoe down the Mississippi River from its source in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico - a longtime dream, and a journey of over 2,000 miles through the heart of America. Paddling into the Southern states - going from ''where there ain''t no black folks to where they still don''t like us much'' - Eddy is confronted by the legacy of slavery and modern racism, including an incident with a pair of shotgun-toting bigots. There are also the dangers of passing barges, wild dogs roaming the wooded shore, and navigating a waterway that grows vaster, and more hazardous, every day. But Eddy also encounters immense human kindness, friendship and hospitality, as well as coming to know the majestic power - and the awesome dangers - of the river itself. Mississippi Solo is an unforgettable American adventure.
In 1993, before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family, Bill Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home.
Bill Bryson's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In Neither Here nor There he brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia. Fluent in, oh, at least one language, he retraces his travels as a student twenty years before.
Whether braving the homicidal motorists of Paris, being robbed by gypsies in Florence, attempting not to order tripe and eyeballs in a German restaurant or window-shopping in the sex shops of the Reeperbahn, Bryson takes in the sights, dissects the culture and illuminates each place and person with his hilariously caustic observations. He even goes to Liechtenstein.
In one devastating week, Raynor and her husband Moth lost their house and received a terminal diagnosis that took away their future together. With nowhere to call home, they instead embarked on a journey: to walk the South West Coast Path, a 630-mile sea-swept trail from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. This ancient, wind-battered landscape lays them bare, stripping away every comfort they have ever known. With almost no money for food orshelter, carrying the essentials for survival on their backs, they wild camp on beaches and clifftops. Until slowly, with every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, the walk sets them on a road of discovery. They don't know how far they will travel, but unexpectedly, they find themselves on a path to freedom. The Salt Path is an unflinchingly honest, inspiring and life-affirming true story about coming to terms with grief and the healing power of nature. Ultimately, it is a book about home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected of ways.
Standing on a train as it rushes past fields of cactus; witnessing his first bullfight in Mexico, high on opium; meditating in Tangiers; or falling in love with Montmartre - Kerouac's travels reveal both the endless diversity of human life and his own particular philosophy of self-fulfillment.
FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SALT PATH AND THE WILD SILENCEbr>br>Pre-order the latest book from global bestselling author Raynor Winn, and follow her journey across Great Britain exploring our relationship to the land, and to each otherbr>_________________br>br>We''re a long way from ''nearly there'', the path winds higher and higher, until it almost disappears. . . br>br>As the fracture lines between nations grow ever wider, how do we relate to each other, to the land on which we live and the world around us? br>br>Are we united enough to see protection of the natural environment as a priority? br>br>These are the questions Raynor asks herself as she embarks on her most ambitious walk to date with her husband Moth - from the dramatic beauty of the Cape Wrath Trail in the north-west corner of Scotland, to the familiar territory of the South-west Coast Path. br>br>Chronicling her journey across Great Britain with trademark luminous, exquisite prose, Raynor maps not only the physical terrain, but also captures the collective consciousness of a country facing an uncertain path ahead. br>_________________>
Like so many others, David Lebovitz dreamed about living in Paris ever since he first visited the city in the 1980s. Finally, after a nearly twodecade career as a pastry chef and cookbook author, he moved to Paris to start a new life. Having crammed all his worldly belongings into three suitcases, he arrived, hopes high, at his new apartment in the lively Bastille neighborhood. But he soon discovered it's a different world en France.From learning the ironclad rules of social conduct to the mysteries of men's footwear, from shopkeepers who work so hard not to sell you anything to the etiquette of working the right way around the cheese plate, here is David's story of how he came to fall in love withyes'>#8212;and even understandyes'>#8212;this glorious, yet sometimes maddening, city.When did he realize he had morphed into un vrai parisien? It might have been when he found himself considering a purchase of men's dress socks with cartoon characters on them. Or perhaps the time he went to a bank with 135 euros in hand to make a 134euro payment, was told the bank had no change that day, and thought it was completely normal. Or when he found himself dressing up to take out the garbage because he had come to accept that in Paris appearances and image mean everything. The more than fifty original recipes, for dishes both savory and sweet, such as Pork Loin with Brown Sugaryes'>#8211;Bourbon Glaze, Braised Turkey in Beaujolais Nouveau wih Prunes, Bacon and Bleu Cheese Cake, ChocolateCoconut Marshmallows, Chocolate Spice Bread, LemonGlazed Madeleines, and Mochayes'>#8211;Cryes'>#232;me Frayes'>#238;che Cake, will have readers running to the kitchen once they stop laughing. The Sweet Life in Paris is a deliciously funny, offbeat, and irreverent look at the city of lights, cheese, chocolate, and other confections.
''Joyful, life-affirming, greedy. I loved it'' - DIANA HENRY ''Whether you are an avid cyclist, a Francophile, a greedy gut, or simply an appreciator of impeccable writing - this book will get you hooked'' - YOTAM OTTOLENGHI The nation''s ''taster in chief'' cycles 2,300 km across France in search of the definitive versions of classic French dishes. Agreen bike drunkenly weaves its way up a cratered hill inthe late-morning sun, the gears grinding painfully, like apepper mill running on empty. The rider crouched on top in arictus of pain has slowed to a gravity-defying crawl when, fromsomewhere nearby, the whine of a nasal engine breaks through her ragged breathing. A battered van appears behind her, the customary cigarettedangling from its driver''s-side window... as he passes, she casually reaches down for some water,smiling broadly in the manner of someone having almost toomuch fun. ''No sweat,'' she says jauntily to his retreating exhaustpipe. ''Pas de probleme, monsieur.'' A land of glorious landscapes, and even more glorious food, France is a place built for cycling and for eating, too - a country large enough to give any journey an epic quality, but with a bakery on every corner. Here, you can go from beach to mountain, Atlantic to Mediterranean, polder to Pyrenees, and taste the difference every time you stop for lunch. If you make it to lunch, that is... Part travelogue, part food memoir, all love letter to France, One More Croissant for the Road follows ''the nation''s taster in chief'' Felicity Cloake''s very own Tour de France, cycling 2,300km across France in search of culinary perfection; from Tarte Tatin to Cassoulet via Poule au Pot, and Tartiflette. Each of the 21 ''stages'' concludes with Felicity putting this new found knowledge to good use in a fresh and definitive recipe for each dish - the culmination of her rigorous and thorough investigative work on behalf of all of our taste buds.
A flaneur is a stroller, a loiterer, someone who ambles without apparent purpose but is secretly attuned to the history of the streets he walks - and is in covert search of adventure, aesthetic or erotic. Acclaimed writer Edmund White, who lived in Paris for sixteen years, wanders through the avenues and along the quays, into parts of the city virtually unknown to visitors and indeed to many locals, luring the reader into the fascinating and seductive backstreets of his personal Paris.
This is a widely appealing idea for a travel/history book from the bestselling author of Italian Ways , in which Tim follows the hair-raising journey of Garibaldi, revolutionary and future architect of a united Italy, 250-miles on foot from Rome to Ravenna across the Appenines, to look at Italy past and present. In the summer of 1849 Giuseppe Garibaldi, legendary hero of guerrilla wars in South America, and future architect of a united Italy, was finally forced to concede defeat in his defence of a revolutionary Roman republic. After holding the city for four long months against overwhelming foreign forces, it was clear that the only surrender could prevent slaughter and destruction at the hands of a huge French army. But Garibaldi was determined to turn defeat into moral victory. On the evening of July 2 he led 4000 men out of the city to continue the struggle for national independence elsewhere. Hounded by both French and Austrian armies, constantly changing direction and often marching at night, he crossed the mountainous Appenines and after endless skirmishes and adventures arrived in Ravenna on August 2 with just 250 survivors. Despite a well-advanced pregnancy, his Brazilian wife Anita insisted on accompanying him and by the time the group commandeered fishing boats on the Adriatic coast in an attempt to reach the revolutionary republic of Venice, which was still holding out against the Austrians, she was seriously ill. When the boats were intercepted by the Austrian navy and forced to beach, Anita died and had to be hurriedly buried in a shallow grave. Garibaldi''s companions split up. Most were rounded up and executed, but the hero himself escaped, travelling back across Italy in disguise until he could finally embark from Genova, first for Africa, then the USA. Ten years later, his revolutionary campaign in Sicily would be the catalyst that brought about the unification of Italy
Bill Bryson has the rare knack of being out of his depth wherever he goes - even (perhaps especially) in the land of his birth. This became all too apparent when, after nearly two decades in England, the world's best-loved travel writer upped sticks with Mrs Bryson, little Jimmy et al. and returned to live in the country he had left as a youth.
Of course there were things Bryson missed about Blighty but any sense of loss was countered by the joy of rediscovering some of the forgotten treasures of his childhood: the glories of a New England autumn; the pleasingly comical sight of oneself in shorts; and motel rooms where you can generally count on being awakened in the night by a piercing shriek and the sound of a female voice pleading, 'Put the gun down, Vinnie, I'll do anything you say.' Whether discussing the strange appeal of breakfast pizza or the jaw-slackening direness of American TV, Bill Bryson brings his inimitable brand of bemused wit to bear on that strangest of phenomena - the American way of life.
"Songlines" are what Europeans call the labyrinth of invisible pathways that meander all over Australia - they are both intricate sources of personal identity and territorial markers. From these, Bruce Chatwin has traced a great deal about Aboriginal culture, as complex as it is different.
