Empire’s Crossroads is subtitled A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day. Which is what it is. It’s historian Carrie Gibson‘s first book, built around her long-standing interest in the Caribbean. It was always going to be a challenge to put together a coherent narrative, given how many islands there are in … Continue reading Carrie Gibson: Empire’s Crossroads
“You come all this way to see the views and get out of breath? What a strange people you are.” This is the successor volume to Levison Wood‘s Walking The Nile, which recorded his journey on foot from the source of the Nile to the Mediterranean. It’s a companion to his TV series of the … Continue reading Levison Wood: Walking The Himalayas
We’ve been watching Levison Wood‘s Channel 4 series Walking the Himalayas. (And I’ve now reviewed his book of the series here.) The Boon Companion and I had to fight down a wave of nostalgia during the second episode, having spent a happy couple of weeks in Kashmir back in the early 80s, albeit followed by … Continue reading Graeme Dingle & Peter Hillary: First Across The Roof Of The World
This is a gorgeous book. Pen & Sword have done Mike Loades proud with the production values—it’s nicely laid out, beautifully illustrated, and has a deeply satisfactory heft to it. Even if you don’t recognize his name, Loades may be familiar to you if you watch the occasional historical documentary. I most recently caught sight … Continue reading Mike Loades: Swords and Swordsmen
Angela Gannon and George Geddes were archaeologists with the (now-defunct) Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Both have worked on the islands of St Kilda (Geddes lived there for six months), so they’re well qualified to write this book. St Kilda is that island group you can never quite see on … Continue reading Angela Gannon & George Geddes: St Kilda – The Last and Outermost Isle
Not only the best guide-book to that city ever written, but the best guide-book to any city ever written. Bernard Levin in The Times Joseph Gluckstein Links (1904-1997) wrote Venice for Pleasure in 1966, and it is now in its ninth edition. Venice being the city it is, and Links’s interests being what they are, … Continue reading J.G. Links: Venice for Pleasure