GEOGRAPHY AND LITERATURE
This is very much 'a work in progress'... Would love to spend a couple of months doing this section and re-reading all my books looking for the Geographical nuggets, but I can't afford the time....
The following areas are covered on this page: click the link to head for the appropriate anchor.
POLAR REGIONS: NORTH AND SOUTH
For a walk through post-war Europe, a Europe which has vanished, there is the classic Patrick Leigh Fermor account which is told in 2 books (although a third is apparently in preparation, but it has been for a decade at least...)
Patrick Leigh Fermor: "A Time of Gifts" and "Between the Woods and the Water" (
ITALY
There are some great descriptions of Northern Italy, between the valley of the River Po, and the Appenines in:
'The Little World of Don Camillo' by Giovanni Guareschi
In the foreword, there is the following passage:
"you cannot compare a river with a road, because roads belong to history and rivers to geography.... Men do not make history; they endure it as they endure geography. And history, anyhow, is all a matter of geography.
Men try to change geography. They bore through mountains and change the course of rivers, and in so doing imagine they change history; but they change absolutely nothing because sooner, sooner or later, everything will go to rack and ruin.
Water will engulf their bridges, destroy their dams and fill their mines; everything will collapse, from the most miserable dwellings to the grandest palaces, and then grass will grow on the ruins and all will once again be earth"
A recent read was Tim Park's absorbing: "A Season with Verona" which recounts a year following the football team of the city he has made his home. It shows the variety of landscapes, and the enduring rivalry between the different regions of Italy, which go beyond shouting 'vafanculo' when they meet. Towards the end he gets to travel with the team rather than the fanatical group of supporters he has accompanied for most of the season, and the book ends with an improbable last-gasp escape from relegation.
The first thing I did when I finished reading the book was check up on Verona's fortunes since, only to find them in Serie 'B', while the rival local team has replaced them in Serie 'A' and is doing very well.
'A Season in Verona' by Tim Parks
"Villa Fortuna"
FRANCE
SPAIN
Former member of Genesis (but a long time ago..) Chris Stewart made the right move when he began writing about the purchase and restoration of a farmhouse in southern Spain.
There are a wealth of books on the United States.
"Ghost Rider" is by Neil Peart: the drummer and lyricist with the Canadian rock band 'RUSH'. He decided to travel the USA following a double personal tragedy: the death of his daughter and his wife within a short space of time.
'Ghost Rider' - Neil Peart
A recent, and unrelated book was
MONTSERRAT: a volcanic territory of the UK. All was well in the 'Emerald Isle' of the Caribbean until the Soufriere Hills volcano awoke from its sleep.
Colin Thubron is a writer who immerses himself in the countries that he writes about, being able to speak the language helps. Over 20 years ago I remember rattling down to Somerset for a job interview.
A book I read about 20 years ago was Howard Jacobson's 'In the Land of Oz': an account of travels round Australia. It was a surreal read to take on a trip to the Isle of Skye: staying in a coastguard cottage overlooking the Minch and Duntulm castle, but absorbing and humorous. I re-read it recently.
POLAR REGIONS: NORTH AND SOUTH
SHACKLETON has been mentioned elsewhere on the site. There are numerous books relating his travels.
Not necessarily travel, but one of the best books I've read in recent years was Lucy Jago's 'Northern Lights'. It followed the development of theories relating to the cause of the Aurora Borealis (and Australis)