Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Other    2. Europe - Great Britain - General    3. Travel   

Editorial Review

In several of his recent fictions, Paul Theroux has visibly mined his own experience for raw material, going so far as to provide the protagonist of Read more

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Reviews (70)

Theroux critiques Nobel Naipaul
This was a catty but readable account of Paul Theroux's relationship with his onetime friend and mentor the Nobel Prize winning writer VS Naipaul. Theroux's at his best when he writes about things African, he's a great critic besides being a great writer, but his crustiness can't mask his love for the great continent and its people, especially its women. After leaving Africa and his African lover and marrying into a proper English family and lifestyle, and losing that to a divorce after a couple of decades, Theroux can't hide his supressed longing for his long lost African woman; in one short passionate passage he stunningly nails the youthful sensuality of their relationship. At the end of the book Sir Vidia's Shadow is a real-life sad but true tale, Theroux's family is breaking up and at that juncturehe needs Naipaul's approval more than Naipual needs his, and he was apparently blindsided by Naipaul's treating him no better than how Naipaul treated all those close to him by Theroux's own account: poorly. By the end of this book Theroux's become the cliche, that great writers are often damaged goods. It's a hard book to put down though, as this is one well written whinge.
Writing Lives
I haven't read anything by V.S. Naipaul but I've read nearly every book by Paul Theroux (all but three).
A fascinating personal memoir
In many ways, this is Theroux's best book (at least of those I have read), because it is his most personal.I am amazed at some of the criticisms I have read of this book, especially the allegation that it is a "poison pen" document.It is nothing of the sort.It is a coldly objective, detailed, and analytical chronicle of the author's thirty year friendship, with the writer V.S. Naipaul, that ended abruptly.Naipaul ended it; the termination of the friendship was totally unilateral.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    3. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    4. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    5. Authors, American    6. Authors, Trinidadian    7. Biography    8. Biography & Autobiography    9. Historical - General    10. Literary    11. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Italy    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Italian    5. Language    6. Polyglot Phrasebooks    7. Foreign Language Study / Italian   

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Language    2. Children's Audio - Language    3. French   

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Subjects:  1. Audio - Travel    2. Audio Adult: Other    3. United States - South Atlantic - South Carolina    4. Science / Biology   

Reviews (2)

mis-translated!
I got this book hoping I could learn the language before I went on my vacation to Casablanca. What I did find out later (I wouldnt have known unless someone told me) was that some words were not ranslated properly! One of the transliterations of a word gave the Arabic word: "tarjim" which means "translate" in Arabic! Big mistake! Also, some words in the translation for a phrase were missing. I wouldnt recommend it, unless you are desperate. Plus, a lot of the books pages (which aren't many, it's a very thin book)were taken up with how to count to ten in Berber, Berber phrases, and some French phrases. If I wanted a tiny French phrasebook I would have bought one. This book is really small and a lot of it is wasted with the French and Berber stuff, and too many incorrect (moroccan)Arabic transliterations.

a definite help
i used the library's copy of this tape and it was so great i decided to get one of my own. there is nothing like it out there. im learning moroccan arabic really quickly. thanks. andi ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arabic    2. Audio Adult: Language    3. General    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    6. Language self-study & phrasebooks    7. Language teaching theory & methods   

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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    3. Australasia    4. Travel writing   

Reviews (11)

Enjoyable travel essay on India
_Chasing the Monsoon_ by Alexander Frater was an enjoyable travel book, one that I read in just a few days. The author's intention, as one might guess from the title, was to follow the progress of the summer monsoon through India, beginning in the southernmost tip of the subcontinent, Cape Comorin, and following its progress up the west coast through Trivandrum, Calicut, Goa, and Bombay, then jetting over to Delhi, and then to experience the eastern arm of the monsoon (there are two arms, one in the east of India, one in the west) in Calcutta and in two places near Bangladesh, Shillong and Cherrapunji (there was a map illustrating his route).
Braids the story lines into a seamless retelling
In writing "Chasing the Monsoon: A Modern Pilgrimage through India" Alexander Frater weaves external observations his personal memories into a cohesive, entertaining account of his myriad experiences following the monsoon up and across the Indian subcontinent. Despite a plethora of details about the science and meteorology, accounts of his attempts to secure the blessings of a cumbersome Indian government's bureaucracy, his social interactions with people at all levels of Indian society, excruciating car trips, and recollections of his and his family's experiences living on islands in the Pacific, the book is neither dry nor dull.
chasing the monsoon
The most improbable of all "journeys"..... to chase a monsoon through India.But how lyrical and memorable this trip is.This is a story not just of Frater, but of the people of India he comes in contact with during this voyage, and an explanation of how the monsoon affects each of them.This is one of the VERYfew books I have ever read more than once.Another great read about a journey is South Wind by Norman Douglas. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - India    2. Audio Adult: Other    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. Travel    5. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction   

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    2. Foreign Language Study / Spanish    3. Spanish    4. Audiobooks    5. Foreign Languages    6. Language Instruction    7. Reference   

Reviews (2)

Practical & helpful...an excellent book
The Eyewitness Travel Phrase books are excellent guides for tourists looking to communicate as much as possible in foreign languages. They include a host of phrases that can be very helpful in many situations - there are the classic "Can you tell me what time it is?" to a variety of more complex or particular expressions. There's also a section on spelling and pronounciation. It also includes expressions used not only while on vacation, but also while doing business. I have seen better
This book is good for the very basics. But when I travel I like to make a serious effort at communicating in the local language. Other books are better for that purpose than this one. If all you want are the very basics, then perhaps this book will fullfill your needs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Spain & Portugal    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Language    5. Polyglot Phrasebooks    6. Portuguese    7. Portuguese language    8. Self-instruction    9. Sound recordings for English speakers    10. Spoken Portuguese    11. Foreign Language Study / Portuguese   

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Other   

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Reviews (7)

a couple of excellent pieces
What a convenience to be able to find high-quality travel writing all condensed into one volume.This book covers the globe in its range of articles and essays, from Papa New Guinea to the Texas/Mexican border, from Greece to the Sahara, from Bolivia to Israel.
Uneven collection...
This was a frustratingly uneven collection - when I pick up a book like this I expect consistent quality because the editors have done the work for me. But like another reviewer, perhaps I should have considered the fact that Frances Mayes edited this collection, and I'm not a fan of her work.
Francis Mayes' style is evident
I have been a big fan of this series and really enjoyed last year's compilation edited by Theroux.I also must admit that I really enjoy Theroux's travel writing as well.This year's edition, edited by Mayes, has the same faults that her books do, namely, they are long on description and short on plot.I have not gotten all of the way through The Best American Travel Writing of 2002 yet but what I have read is very similar to Mayes' "Under the Tuscan Sun".If you really like tales of flowery, descriptive (and dull) walks though Italian streets, etc. you will probably enjoy this book but if you are looking for more "great adventures" travel stories, try the 2001 edition instead. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Travel    2. Audiobooks    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. Travel    5. Travelers' writings, American    6. Unabridged Audio - Travel    7. United States - General    8. Voyages and travels    9. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Editorial Review

Michael Palin has certainly been busy since his days with Monty Python's Flying Circus. In Read more

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Reviews (8)

Arnold Rimmer
As always Palin has produced a great travel book and series... this I found better than his "80 Days". The other thing people might find interesting about this travel book is that it takes us to some places which are hard to reach even in this day and age, so this is the only way we can know them. Magnificent
Full Circle is just as good, if not better then his othertravel/comedy books. It is simply magnificent.

An enlightning tour of the Pacific Rim countries.
Michael Palin does it again with Full Circle. Starting in Alaska Michaeltravels anti-clockwise around the rim of the Pacific Ocean visitingcountries as diverse as Russia, Korea, Viet Nam, New Zealand, Colombia andthe west coast of North American.He tells of his adventures getting toand exploring some fantastic natural wonders, visiting a Russian gulag witha former inmate, the relief of Japan, the Vietnamese reactions to awesterner, the biggness of Australia and the hardworking people of SouthAmerica.The section on the United States is short and not always sweet. Palin is taken aback by the physical bigness of Americans, and rush, andloudness.By the time he reaches Canada and attends a"lumberjack" fair (no singing Mounties included!) he really"wants to go home".We also learn a bit about how the series andbook were produced, his wife Helen and their children, and that being on ajob for the BBC doesn't always mean smooth sailing!Michael's friend BasilPao took the photographs - he also joined Michael on "Around the Worldin Eighty Days".I can highly recommend this book and not only tofans of Monty Python - it doesn't end how you might expect! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Audiobooks    3. Australia & Oceania - General    4. Description and travel    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. General    7. Journeys    8. Pacific Area    9. Palin, Michael    10. Travel    11. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    12. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Travel    2. Audio Adult: Other    3. Europe - Great Britain - General    4. Europe - Gt. Britain/London    5. Great Britain    6. Unabridged Audio - Travel    7. England    8. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Travel   

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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Industries - Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    5. Management - General    6. Business & Economics / Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    7. Business strategy    8. Hospitality industry    9. Tourism industry   

Subjects:  1. Audio - Language    2. Audio: Juvenile    3. General    4. German    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Spanish    7. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    8. Vocabulary    9. Language teaching & learning material & coursework    10. Language teaching theory & methods   

Subjects:  1. Greece    2. Language learning: audio-visual & multimedia    3. Language self-study & phrasebooks    4. Modern Greek    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. France    2. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (1)

Tedious Read
To finish this book is an extremely tedious task. Peter Kerr writes about his life in Mallorca, having moved from Scotland to get a taste of a more idyllic lifestyle and away from the rat race. Except for the occasional familiar Spanish expressions and terms, this book tries to emulate the style of Peter Mayle's hugely successful and popular series on Provence. In my humble opinion, it failed quite badly. Peter Kerr tried to describe very minute details which may not interest readers. He tried to be humurous- marginally successful at times. If you want a good read of life in a foreign countryside, pick up Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, anytime. I may have been biased and it could be possible that I may like Peter Kerr's books on Mallorca had I begun with his first book on Mallorcan winter. Sometimes, the first book of a series is usually the best and as the series progresses, the author suffers from fatigue. So do readers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays & Travelogues    2. Unabridged Audio - Travel