From Publishers Weekly
Because it is a tie-in volume to a public-television series, and makes repeated references to location scouting, filming and refilming, this collection of travel pieces, which record the experiences of seven author/adventurers as they explore some of the world's most important trade routes and passageways, feels oddly two-dimensional. Unfortunately, while many of the abundant photographs are beautiful, they relate to the text only superficially. Nevertheless, much of the writing is lively and interesting. Noteworthy is Naomi James's no-nonsense account of her travels to the Polynesian islands of Tonga, Western Samoa, Tahiti, Society Islands and Easter Island. Her analysis of the effect of the West on the beguilingly laid-back cultures of this area is both clearheaded and compassionate. Not so enlightening is Hugo Williams's condescending record of his trip down the Pan American Highway from Texas to Panama. The author is more concerned with the boozy seediness of shabby Third World towns than in whatever g sociological and historical significance this area might hold. Each chapter is accompanied by a helpful map. Griffiths is a photojournalist; photographer Edmunds's books include Bhutan: The Land of the Thunder Dragons.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The "great journeys" here--with well-known writers/adventurers, including Jones-Griffiths, Naomi James, Colin Thubron, William Shawcross, and others--were filmed for a PBS series airing in spring 1990. There's nothing ordinary in these departures and arrivals. The routes are the stuff of myth, history, and personal challenge: the Silk Road; the Polynesian navigators' route; the Pan American Highway; the Viking's invasion route, between Leningrad on the Baltic and Yalta on the Black Sea; the Salt Road from Morocco into Niger and Mali; and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The authors offer interesting, informative texts. Jones-Griffiths chapter on the Ho Chi Minh Trail is the most ideologically passionate. Smallish maps are useful, but identification of the stunning photos is confusing. Librarians should be prepared for requests.
- Libby K. White, Schenectady Cty. P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Libby K. White, Schenectady Cty. P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
