Lonely Planet on the Edge: (Adventurous escapades from around the world) [Paperback]

Cecil Kuhne (Author), Permissions (Author), Inc. Random House (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Travel is the basis of true adventure, and a thirst for adventure lies at the heart of the most memorable travel. Venturing where no one has ever gone before, pushing your body to its limits in the harshest natural environments, or having to adapt, physically and mentally, to the demands of an alien culture: such moments bring both ourselves and our world into focus like nothing else. Lonely Planet...On the Edge follows the fortunes and misfortunes of the world's best travel writers in jungles and on the seas, off the beaten track and even off the planet. On foot, on camel or on a sailing ship: Lonely Planet...On The Edge will enthral you from start to finish.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Thirty-three contributors are included in this anthology of travel pieces, which is divided into eight sections: Africa, Oceania, Antarctica, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the moon. Yes, the moon--a piece written by astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin about his space travel. Paul Theroux is the other familiar name here. In an excerpt from The Old Patagonian Express: By Train through the Americas, Theroux writes about the rabid soccer fans during a match he attended in San Salvador. The adventurous escapades include a frightening mountaineering accident in South America, a strange trip across the Sahara on a camel, and an epic bicycle journey from Ireland to India in which the cyclist climbed to 10,380 feet over the Shibar Pass. Other writers describe a nightmare--a freezing bus ride through a bleak mountain region of China, a hike in the rain forests of the Borneo jungle, and a winter voyage by boat to Antarctica. Some of these accounts are humorous, some are scary, and all are engrossing. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Lonely Planet guides are a must-pack” --Toronto Star, February 2006

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1864502223
• ISBN-13: 978-1864502220
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,449,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended for the Toilet Traveler, October 28, 2001

By 

Shawn Wedel (Kirkwood, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet on the Edge: (Adventurous escapades from around the world) (Paperback)

To dub me green when it comes to the travel-writing genre - not to mention trekking beyond the borders of the United States - admittedly qualifies as an understatement. Especially when jaded notions of exploring the world around me are relegated to the obligatory business trip every other week compounded with the daily bump and grind of inching through St. Louis traffic. Indeed, the time is opportune for escape. And it was with "Lonely Planet . . . On the Edge" that I initiated a fresh journey into unexplored literary terrain.

Critically, I possess no frame of reference to compare the contributions to this anthology with those writings outside it - after all, what is good travel writing and what is poor travel writing to someone who has never read travel writing? That being said, I was pleased to discover "On the Edge" provided a fantastic release from the tedium of the mundane, whether or not my body eventually traverses these same grounds as my mind so vividly did with this collection.

With 33 respected and well-seasoned authors jam-packed into a book numbering less than 230 pages, the entries are bound to be compact and succinct, a fitting vehicle for the essential lunchtime retreat or the bedtime ritual of winding down. Not to mention the benefits it provides the "toilet traveler," usurping bathroom breaks to sneak in 10-minute peeks into the perceived eccentricities of our global neighbors, near and far.

"Lonely Planet . . . On the Edge" whisked me around the world and to the moon and back again. And, if I understand travel writing in general and this book in particular, isn't that the point?

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not what's expected, March 30, 2005

By 

Anemone (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet on the Edge: (Adventurous escapades from around the world) (Paperback)

I am a big fan of travel writing, but i have to say that this book was a bit too formal/bit to professional for what's usually expected of them. Don't get me wrong, they are still good stories and well written, just not exactly what I'm used to when purchasing a travel journal-type book. it was written so formally that it didn't really hold my attention as much as other books I have read. (for example: by lonely planet, "Rite of Passage: Tales of Backpacking 'round Europe" is a great read. try that if you are more into reading for pleasure and enjoyment and learning INSTEAD of a literary work).