That’s the title of a photo essay in the Telegraph that I found very entertaining. I’ve read a number of the books they selected, including:
- Laurie Lee‘s ‘As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning‘;
- Bill Bryson‘s ‘Notes From A Small Island‘;
- George Orwell‘s ‘Homage To Catalonia‘ (which seems to me to be more of a war memoir than a travel book, but I guess there’s enough travel in it to qualify); and –
- Paul Theroux‘s first book, ‘The Great Railway Bazaar‘ (a must read for vintage rail fans).
However, there are several books of which I’d never heard, but which look very interesting indeed. I can see I’m going to have to add them to my reading list for future reference.
Those who enjoy vicariously joining in an author’s travels through the medium of his books should take a look. Recommended.
Peter
Bill Bryson is hilarious and a very good writer to boot. My favorite Bryson book is his Australian travel book A SUNBURNED COUNTRY. His books have humor as well as a lot of interesting trivia and topics included as well.
If you are considering hiking the Appalachian Trail (Georgia – Maine), his book A WALK IN THE WOODS is also recommended.
Thanks for the list above sir.
Durn, I went over the list again. I think BLUE HIGHWAYS by William Least-Heat Moon should also make the list.
"Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain. I've heard that it is the best selling travel book of all time. It is recognized as one of the four best books Twain wrote. I'm thinking that being that high on Twain's list ought to at least crack the top 20 on this list.