I've got a similar post over on "Your Choice", but would
like to get a female perspective on it: I've just been over
to the Salon Magazine site, and a guy there has published
his list of the ten best travel books of this century. I'd
like to hear your opinions of the books he has chosen, and
your nominations for the best travel book written by a
woman.
Here comes the list:
1) "The Snow Leopard," by Peter Matthiessen.
2) "Journeys," by Jan Morris.
3) "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush," by Eric Newby.
4) "Coming Into the Country," by John McPhee.
5) "The Great Railway Bazaar," by Paul Theroux.
6) "In Patagonia," by Bruce Chatwin.
7) "Video Night in Kathmandu," by Pico Iyer.
8) "No Mercy," by Redmond O'Hanlon.
9) "Two Towns in Provence," by M.F.K. Fisher.
10) "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," by Robert
M. Pirsig.
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Hi, I have a comment about Paul Theroux - I haven't read the
book mentioned above but I did try to read his book about
traveling through China by rail. He was one of the best
selling travel authors but I got about halfway through the
book before I had to stop in disgust! I've read a number
of great travel books by other authors but I was constantly
dumfounded by Theroux's racist remarks and lack of
consideration about the Chinese people. He obviously comes
from a very different culture to China but he seems to have
no tolerance for customs, traditions or practices that don't
conform to his nicely western upbringing. I asked other
people to read his book to find out if it was just me
getting the wrong end of the stick - but they were also
amazed by some of the things he said! I'm curious to find
out if other people have the same view of his books?
I haven't come across many women travel writers but I've
enjoyed the ones below:-
Dervla Murphy - all of them!
Josie Dew - Wind behind my Wheels and In a Strange State
Frigid Women by a mother and daughter team whose names
escape me is fun - it's about the all women team who made it
to the North Pole.
I agree that Dervla Murphy is excellent, if occasionally
lacking a tad on subtelty. I read an excellendt bok on
Greece called "Dinner with Persephone" though I can't
remember the name of the author.
The best there is on North Africa is "A Sahara Unveiled: A
Journey across the Desert" by William Langewiesche.
Read anything by Freya Stark, a Brit who traveled the
Arabian lands in the first half of the century. She has
marvelous insights. I believe one of her titles is "The
Marsh Arabs" about southern Iraq; the rest I can't remember.
Also, if you want a historical perspective on how much the
middle-east has changed in the last 50 years, you'd do well
to pick up "The Vanishing Nomad" by Wilfred Thessinger,
another Brit who truly was a "citizen of the world."
For essays on contemporary middle-eastern societies and
thought, try "Among the Believers" by V.S. Naipaul.
The only book of his I read was The Great Railway Bazaar and I absolutely loved it...I thought he struck a great balance between talking about travelling itself and talking about the places he visited. It was a long time ago, but I don't remember thinking he was being racist or anything.
Regarding the original question here...I'm amazed at how few women travel writers I can actually think of, let alone how few I've read! I guess we'll all just have to get out there and get writing...
Alexandra David-Neel, especially "My Journey to Lhasa" and
"Magic and Mystery in Tibet"
Maiden Voyage: Tania Aebi
Hitchhiking Vietnam....by...can't remember her name.
Does anyone knows if some of the above mentioned books
have been translated in italian?
Thanks
...was written by Karin Muller. Parts of it are on the web,
at http://www.pbs.org/hitchhikingvietnam/.
Tried to make it through Video Nights....he's a disaster as
a travel writer----boring, pedantic, etc. There's a great
adventure travel compendium by women, can't think of the
name.
I really like the Paul Theroux books. Two of my favorites are Riding the Iron Rooster and The Pillars of Hercules. He doesn't try to show you the places you must visit but instead tells it like it is. The guy is a traveller, not a tourist. I also find him very funny. Another book I enjoyed very much was I Should Have Stayed Home in which a number of writers tell about their worst experiences ( and face it, we all have some bad experiences when we travel). Some of the tales are hilarious. The Traveller's Tales series cannot be beat for tales of travel from plain folks, not your polished travel writer. Try A Woman's World for all the female travel writing you can want. Enjoy!