Part I – “Australia’s curious sense of disconnectedness” is about the Aussie people, a “beguiling fusion of America and Britain” – 11 Sept 2014 Part II – “It is an environment that wants your dead”  – Bryson writes about his travels through the Australian Outback – 18 Sept 2014   They are “unaccountably overlooked,” in this land “packed with unappreciated wonders,” Bill Bryson comments on Australia’s Aborigines. In a Sunburned Country Bryson humorously, seriously, and poignantly writes about the great continent Down […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR

In the canon of travel literature, few books match The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. The tales of his journey are the tallest, many pure fantasy. His book – also called The Book of Marvels and Travels – was one of “the most popular in Medieval Europe.,” available in English, Latin, French, German, and other tongues. Few scholars believe Mandeville existed. All have speculated on the author’s true identity. No one knows for sure. Nonetheless, Travels is a sine qua non of guidebooks. […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR

Part 1 is introduces the Silk Road, the world’s best known itinerary Read part 2 (21 Aug) about the Road’s ethnic diversity ranging from Europe to Korea   “Magic clung about it always. The earliest silk – the Indians called it woven wind – was sheer as gauze.” Colin Thubron’s splendid travelogue, Shadow of the Silk Road, winds through Afghanistan and Iran. He spends his last night in ancient Antioch. Today called Antakya, the Silk Road ended – or began – at […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR

Part 1 is introduces the Silk Road, the world’s best known itinerary Part 3 (28 Aug) discusses Thubron’s journey through Afghanistan and Iran, ending in Turkey Colin Thubron’s travelogue, Shadow of the Silk Road, is pure joy. His descriptions are vivid. They are alive. His natural and spontaneous metaphors and similes have immediate impact. His prose runs effortlessly. Thubron leaves Xian bound for Kashgar via the Road’s southern route. He rides through fifteen hundred miles of desolation rimming the Taklamakan dessert and Tibetan […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR

Read part 2 (21 Aug) about the Road’s ethnic diversity ranging from Europe to Korea Part 3 (28 Aug) discusses Thubron’s journey through Afghanistan and Iran, ending in Turkey   Colin Thubron’s Shadow of the Silk Road records his 7,000 mile journey from Xi’an China to Antioch, Turkey (today Antaky). Thubron is a peerless author of travel books. The Times of London placed him 45th on their list of the 50 greatest writers since 1945. The New York Times says he is “the dean of […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR