a travelogue
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12/23/07
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Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus by Robert D. Kaplan
Fantastic portrait of the Balkans and beyond. Kaplan more or less does the exact route I’ve been wanting to do — from eastern Europe through Turkey, Syria and several ‘stans. He doesn’t go all the way across Mongolia and China …continue reading »
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09/09/07
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Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
“All forms of colour were dissolved in a pearl-grey haze; there were no contrasts, no shading any more, only flowing transitions with the light throbbing through them, a single blur from which only the most fleeting of visions emerged.” This …continue reading »
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10/15/07
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Vertigo by W. G. Sebald
"There is something marvelous and bracing about wandering through a maze of unanswerable questions with an eccentrically brilliant guide" - Salon Reviewcontinue reading »
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10/15/07
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The Fever Coast Log: At Sea in Central America by Gordon Chaplin
A travelogue of a voyage from Miami to the Panama canal. Written in the spirit of Graham Greene and the like. It’s okay. Not one of my favorites.continue reading »
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10/15/07
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The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey by Salman Rushdie
In 1986 Rushdie traveled to Nicaragua as a guest of the Sandinista government, these essays (his only published non-fiction to date) were published shortly after his visit.continue reading »
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10/15/07
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Bird of Life, Bird of Death: A Naturalist’s Journey Through a Land of Political Turmoil by Jonathan Evan Maslow
From the NYTimes Review: In his introduction, Mr. Maslow suggests the book is "a kind of essay in political ornithology." While correct in believing this is "a field that does not quite exist, at least yet," he demonstrates why naturalists …continue reading »
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10/15/07
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Nicaraguan Sketches by Julio Cortazar
Julio Cortazar is a giant. You know you’re good when Borges sings your praises. But this book was not up to par compared to Hopscotch or Blow Up. Without having seen a Spanish copy my guess is that its a …continue reading »
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10/15/07
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The Best American Travel Writing 2003 by Jason Wilson
I was surprised how many of these I had already read in magazines. Always good to see what other travel writers are up to. A great collection made even better by the welcome absence of Dave Eggers.continue reading »
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10/16/07
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Under the Jaguar Sun by Italo Calvino
Calvino’s unfinished collection of short stories. The plan I guess was to have a story for each of the senses. It’s good, but clearly unfinished.continue reading »