Subjects:  1. Artists, Architects, Photographers    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. Individual Photographer    5. Mountaineering    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Photo Techniques    8. Photography    9. Pictorial works    10. Travel photography    11. Travelers    12. Voyages and travels    13. Individual photographers    14. Sports & Recreation / Mountaineering   

Reviews (4)

Excellently Honest
Anyone who doubts that North Korea is an "Axis of Evil" needs to read this book. Kang gives a straightforward first-person account of his life inside an aquarium called North Korea, where there is only fear, propaganda, corruption, prisons, hard labor and starvation. He gives us his memoir of enduring all these hardships and his astonishment at the freedoms of South Korea, which present him with new challenges. If you want to know the truth about North Korea, it doesn't come much closer than this first-hand experience.

A very disturbing look into the world's last Stalinist country
Aquariums of Pyongyang is the story of one man's life through ten years of captivity in a North Korean gulag....an incredible story of struggle against man's inhumanity to man. Many who read this book will probably view his family as highly naive for leaving Japan for North Korea and in believing North Korean propaganda over what they heard firsthand from people who had been there. On the docks before leaving, they were warned about going back and about the conditions to be found in North Korea. But, the elder family members were ardent supporters of Kim Il-Sung, and believed the propaganda put out on a daily basis. Little did they know they were putting their kids into a deathtrap from which they would have to endure many years of beatings and privation at the hands of the guards. The reeducation lessons are particularly noteworthy, as readers can gain valuable insight into how this regime works. Even dead people were not immune from being used to inculcate hate.....the picture of the prisoners being forced to throw rocks at the people hanging on the gallows (because they were enemies of the state no less, even when dead!) until they were unrecognizable is one of the most chilling things I have ever read. All in the name of propping up one of the worst ideologies the world has ever known.
Wow
An exceptional book.A first hand account of life in a NK concentration camp.The account is horrifyingly similar to other diaries of Nazi concentration camps and the Russian Gulag, but fifty years closer to the present. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Christianity - General    4. Personal Memoirs    5. Religion    6. Travelers    7. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    8. Biography: historical    9. Human rights    10. North Korea   

Reviews (117)

adventures with attitude
While I agree that the adventures that Michael Crichton has written about in this book are sometimes pretty interesting, I found by the end of the book that I was disgusted with him and really ended up not liking him at all. It is impossible to write about personal travels without your true personality coming through in your writing- and his came across as arrogant and self righteous. He seemed to think that people should treat him a certain way because of who he was (or what he had-which obviously was plenty of money and free time). I pictured him as some sort of grown-up, spoiled rich kid who has not an ounce of humble in him. He's obviously a successful writer- but for travel adventure reading--stick with Paul Cahill, Bill Bryson and David Quammen--all guys who go to wild places, have cool experiences, get along with the locals and are funny. Those three seem like really good guys that you could actually have a great time travelling with.

Interesting...yes.Troubling... yes.
There are adventures throughout the world.If you can write well, you can share those adventures with others.
Renaissance Man
"Travels" is a collection of essays forming an autobiography of this amazing man's adult life. Michael Crichton is a modern renaissance man--a disillusioned doctor, a fantastically successful writer, a world traveler, an amateur practitioner of paranormal phenomena. Everyone knows his books, but you don't have to be a fan (I'm not particularly) to enjoy "Travels."
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Subjects:  1. 1942-    2. 20th century    3. American novelists    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Crichton, Michael,    9. Literary    10. Novelists, American    11. Special Interest - Adventure    12. Travel    13. Travelers    14. Voyages and travels    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (41)

an enchanted Africa
Karen Blixen's wonderful writing actually reminds of another Dane, Hans Christian Anderson, for its magical quality and ability to make the most ordinary things latent with mystery. Africa becomes a fairy-tale world in the Dinesen's book, and the setting for her great love withDenys Finch-Hatton. One feels her love of him and of the countryside, and especially her devotion for the people who live all around her. A truly beautiful and mystical writer, who could see beyond the surface of things, she has the skill of imparting joy as well as tragedy.

A Breathtaking View of a Vanished World
I've long been fascinated by Isak Dinesen's life and with this book she lovingly describes the very heart of it, her sixteen years running a coffee plantation in the African highlands.She tells the reader almost nothing personal; but her descriptions of this vanished place and time are nothing short of magic.By "erasing" herself from the landscape, you are really and truly experiencing her life there.It was a mesmerizing experience and I hated to finish the book.Fortunately, it's now mine and I can re-read it any time I want to!

Denisen's Mastery of the Memoir
Denisen's ability to take you into Africa and make you know it as she did is astounding--she captures feelings very difficult to describe, and makes you want to see Kenya for yourself, the Hills of Ngong. She is a story-teller, yes, but she does not tell her stories in any way conventional; much of the time you have no idea as to the chronological order of things. Yet it doesn't matter, because she is conveying feelings and emotions which are not limited by time. And when time does come to play a role in her stories you are informed of it as is necessary. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to experience life as it should be experienced, confusing the primitive life of the Natives with the sophisticated Europeans come to visit Isak on her farm. Through the course of the novel, conflicts arise, celebrations take place, nature's best is described in full detail, and living things die as is natural. Denisen ends her work as beautifully as she began it, and you feel as though you have been through something really important when you finish. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1895-1963    2. 20th century    3. Authors, Danish    4. Biography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Classics    7. Country life    8. Description And Travel    9. General    10. Kenya    11. Literature - Classics / Criticism    12. Social life and customs    13. Biography: general    14. Dinesen, Isak    15. Fiction / General    16. Homes and haunts    17. Travel writing   

Reviews (67)

Absolutley wonderful!
Linda Hunt should receive a gold medal for this performance.The research required to put together this forgotten story is incredible.Ms Hunt does such a fine job, I actually felt I was there with Helga Estby at times.The courage these women had to cross the country, in thier times is a display of what I think many should appreciate about women.There are many great women that were/are great leaders...Helga is one example.Thanks to Dr. Hunt for a fantastic job of telling this forgotten story.

It's really not worth it.
Linda Lawrence Hunt must have had a time machine.She chronicles Helga and Clara Estby's 1896 walk from Washington State to New York City in her 336 page book Bold Spirit.She did so, even though all were unavailable to her.Helga Estby, a Norwegian immigrant, keep many detailed journals during and after her journey, but her family burned them out of spite and shame.Helga Estby walked across America to receive $10,000.She planned to use it to pay off the debts she and her husband Ole and their ten children had accumulated.Or so says Linda Lawrence Hunt.
a heroic biography
This is a wonderful story written from the author's investigation into the life of an amazing woman whose story was purposely forgotten by her resentful family.The author makes necessary brave assumptions in an attempt to fill in the gaps of a story that was pieced together as much as possible from Helga Estby's great-great-granddaughter Thelma.Anyone interested in women's literature would enjoy this story of a courageous woman and her daughter treking across America without a man, left to their own devices, and succeeding much to the chagrin of the then-society.Although the promise made to her was ultimately not satisfied, the courage it must have taken these two women to make the unpopular choice of embarking on such a scandalous adventure is worth remembering and certainly worth reading.It is a very empowering story.Kudos to the author as well, as she ranks in my book also among strong women! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1865-1918    2. 19th century    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Description And Travel    6. Estby, Helga,    7. History    8. History: American    9. Mothers and daughters    10. Norwegian Americans    11. Social life and customs    12. Travelers    13. United States    14. United States - 19th Century    15. United States - General    16. Walking    17. Women    18. Women In The U.S.    19. History / United States / 19th Century   

Reviews (3)

Walk in a Relaxed Manner
This is an amazing book about an amazing experience--walking across Spain--and well after midlife. We share the hardships and blessings of this journey and are able to walk, talk and think in a relaxed manner while reading it. There are lessons subtly given that everyone can shsare.

A Pilgrimage Of Body and Spirit
Back in the summer of 2003, I visited a former seminary roommate in Leon, Spain.I showed up a couple of days before his wedding after backpacking through Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Madrid.While strolling together through Leon, my Spanish friend remarked that people thought I was a "Pilgrim" because of my clothing and backpack.I asked him to clarify, and he replied that Leon was on the path of the Camino Pilgrimage.Thus began my interest in the topic.
Down-to-Earth and Deeply Spiritual
As she approached her 60th birthday, spiritual writer and retreat leader Joyce Rupp abandoned her plan to hole up for a six-month sabbatical by the ocean to bask in solitude. Instead, she embarked on a 37-day walking trek across Spain with her friend Tom Pfeffer. The two prepared and trained for a year before making the historical pilgrimage from Roncesvilles on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees to the Cathedral of St. James in the city of Santiago, a journey commonly referred to as "the Camino."
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Europe - Spain & Portugal    3. Personal Memoirs    4. Religion    5. Spirituality - General    6. Travelers    7. Spain    8. Travel & holiday guides   

Editorial Review

As a teacher of English literature, Jamie Zeppa would understand how the story of her journey into Bhutan could be fit into the convenient box of "coming-of-age romance," a romance with a landscape, a people, a religion, and a dark, irresistible student. An innocent, young Catholic woman from a Canadian mining town who had "never been anywhere," Zeppa signed up for a two-year stint teaching in a remote corner of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Despite the initial shock of material privation and such minor inconveniences as giardia, boils, and leeches, Zeppa felt herself growing into the vast spaces of simplicity that opened up beyond the clutter of modern life. Alongside her burgeoning enchantment, a parallel realization that all was not right in Shangri-La arose, especially after her transfer to a college campus charged with the politics of ethnic division. Still she maintained her center by devouring the library's Buddhist tracts and persevering in an increasingly fruitful meditation practice. When the time came for her to leave, she had undergone a personal transformation and found herself caught between two worlds that were incompatible and mutually incomprehensible. Zeppa's candid, witty account is a spiritual memoir, a travel diary, and, more than anything, a romance that retraces the vicissitudes of ineluctable passion. Read more

Reviews (67)

More like a diary than a travelogue
There is a subgenre of travel writing in which a sheltered, white kid from a middle class background travels to a foreign country, usually as a volunteer, and goes through a predictable set of phases. It starts with loneliness and despair, laments of the "what am I doing here?" variety; then a sudden awakening to the opportunity to experience a completely different culture; the realization of the changes the experience has wrought on the author; and then either the sadness at having to depart or going native.
beautiful
I couldn't put this book down.In my read of the other reviews, I was not surprised to find that some people were put off by the relationship (and encounter) that Zeppa had with two of her students.Let's please keep in mind that these were university students, for a start, in their 20's...which DOES happen in Western society as well, and professors are not always fired from their jobs; often simply reprimanded.(interestingly enough, it's usually MALE profs involved with FEMALE students...somehow that makes it acceptable for some people!)What I treasured about the book was her voice, and the way that she really opens our eyes to the material culture of the west, and the lack of responsibility we take for our actions the more 'advanced' we get.She was NOT aware of the conflict between the Hindi and Budddhist students until she was among them, and that makes sense, since Westerners tend to be slightly 'blind' to what things are happening around the world, especially in tiny, seemingly 'unimportant' countries. I am an American living in China, and I completely understand that experience now that I've been here for two years. Her descriptions of the landscape that are pervasive throughout the novel, were vivid enough to see and feel; this is can be a difficult task for a writer, since it can be hard to find the words to capture the beauty of a place that you are deeply connected to.Her journey to Buddhism was interesting to read about, and some of her explanations of Buddhist philosophy shed greater light into the teachings and beliefs.I was slightly disappointed in the ending...she leaves us a bit too abruptly, but I got so much out of the rest of it, it was difficult to criticize.If you are open-minded, able to get out of the 'box' of your own Western culture, and you are not hell bent on finding moral wrong with the choices that people make, then this book is well worth reading!!

Not Without Merits, But Troublesome in Parts
I'm sort of splitting the difference here between those who seem to think this book is flawless and those who seem to think that it is complete and utter tripe.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Asia - India & South Asia    3. Asia - Southeast    4. Bhutan    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Description and travel    7. Essays & Travelogues    8. Journeys    9. Travel    10. Travel - General    11. Travelers    12. Women    13. Zeppa, Jamie    14. Travel / General   

Reviews (72)

empty
Although the project that founds the book is very seducive (the reason why you might be convinced by friend's reviews and impressed by Pulitzer and other readers's ratings), this book is very disappointing. The lady is simply describing how she is pleased to see that cities can be beautiful; she makes friends by discussing paintings in a way that would send you to bed (to sleep), and simply describes the succession of her ordinary discoveries, whithout what was a awaited from such an endeavour: a specific vision of the world, be it simple, but at least original; a way to look at human beings. For example, a Parisian would tell you that her approach to Paris is that of any 1960's tourist guide, suprisingly obsolete; that may be nice... but does not deserve a book. Nicolas Bouvier, the Swiss writer, is immensely worthier.

everyone's dream
This book was wonderful, i read it as slow as possible, savoring every word. I likedhow down to earth Ms. Steinbach appeared, she never talked down to the reader. there were many times when the author made fun of herself and the situations she put herself in, just like any normal person would do. i have traveled to europe five times but have never gone with the intention to learn a new skill, take a class etc. This book was so inspiring to me to travel in a new way, to go with my mom or a friend instead of the whole family. I really loved this book and read the sequel too. I hope Ms. Steinbach continues to write about future adventures. The chapters flow from one adventure to the next and my only complaint were that I wanted even more details of everything, just couldn't get enough!

Carpe Diem
Who doesn't dream of quitting her job and traveling the world? Alice Steinbach wangles a leave of absence from her job and goes to Europe -- the dream with training wheels. Even though she has the security of knowing her home and job are waiting for her and she goes to countries that are comfortably strange, it is still a big leap for her. She makes the most of it and tells a great story.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Essays & Travelogues    5. Travelers    6. Women    7. Biography & Autobiography / Women    8. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (18)

A True Boating Advenyure
What a fun read, what a masterful and accurate description of the real of boating on the ICW and rivers of this wonderful country - all I can say is THANK YOU. The reading of your book gave me great pleasure and makes me want to do it all over again.

Terrific Read...Even If You Don't Own a Boat
Honey, Let's Get a Boat"
A delightful read
There are lots of technical boating books out there and they are easy to find.This book chronicles one couple's own adventure on the "Great Loop" in their first cruiser, a 40' (wow) trawler.I loved the writing style--great humor and sometimes romantic descriptions of the goings on (Mr.'s descriptions of Mrs., their married kids' near "marital conflagration" on deck, the story of the chocolates, cruising with the senior ladies. The descriptions of the travel are very well written. The experiences aboard will be appreciated by addicted boaters and non-boaters alike. This is an adventure story.When I finally retire and head for the Great Loop in my cruiser, I will think often and fondly of the Stob's and this delightful book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway    2. Boats and boating    3. Canada, Eastern    4. Canals    5. East (U.S.)    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Rivers    8. Sailing - Narratives    9. Sports    10. Travel - General    11. Travelers   

Reviews (13)

Insights unique outside of the occupying forces.
BABYLON BY BUS is for any counter-culture reader or autobiography fan who wants something different: a kind of Kerouac bus trip extended overseas to Iraq. The two young, directionless American men went to Baghdad in 2003 in search of truth and adventure, giving up their jobs selling 'Yankees Suck' t-shirts at Fenway and becoming volunteers for the U.S. Government Coalition's Provisional Authority. BABYLON BY BUS recounts their eye-opening new duties as volunteers, which allowed them access to the streets of Baghdad and gave them insights unique outside of the occupying forces.
Mildly Entertaining and Somewhat Insightful
This is a mildly entertaining firsthand account of Ray and Jeff's experience in Baghdad, from a period of relative calm when they arrived, to the ensuing chaos a few months later culminated by the clash between U.S. forces and Al Sadr's Mahdi army.In January, 2004, Ray and Jeff traveled to Baghdad via Israel, The West Bank, and Jordan.The two were employed by the CPA in a charity donation organization they built (HAND) and lived in the Green Zone for most of their four month stay in Baghdad.They traveled frequently to the slums of Sadr city to distribute donated goods to the needy.Just when the situation in Iraq began to take a turn for the worse, the two pill popping adventurists managed to get themselves barred from returning to Iraq during a visit to Jordan after a petty altercation with a Jordanian shop owner and his brother which nearly landed them in jail for 11 years if it weren't for Uncle Sam's help.
I actually read the book....
Seems like some of the other reviewers are reviewing the authors' appearances on C-Span and at various Q+A's. Being someone who's never met these guys (although I must admit I come from a similar background and through degrees of seperation may even know people they hung out with in decades past) I feel I can comment on the book itself, not on the writers or any appearances they may have made.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Coalition Provisional Authority    6. Essays & Travelogues    7. Iraq    8. Iraq War, 2003-    9. Middle East - General    10. Military    11. Military History - 1990-    12. Officials and employees    13. Personal narratives, American    14. Postwar reconstruction    15. Travelers    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Editorial Review

It's hard to believe that the stories in Read more

Reviews (70)

A laugh out loud hoot and a half
Literally the funniest book I have ever read. I started reading at 9 am and read throughout the day not finishing the book until 11:30 that night. I couldnt put the book down and then when it was over I wasnt ready to stop.. I hopped back on Amazon.com and ordered his continental drifter book.. I cant wait...
Extremly Funny, Gross, & Entertaining!
A friend of mine wrote a review on this book back in 2002.His review is titled, "In the Friendly Skies," by D. Clancy.Mr. Clancy has written a lot of reviews on here and was a very wonderful person, who passed away 2 yrs ago, and is extremely missed by friends, family, and the theater community in Portland, Or, where he was a very active member.He also worked in the airline industry for some time and I remember him telling me about this book and how wonderfully funny it was and I never forgot it!
Interesting
I thought the content in this book was quite informational as I have never know anyone who was a flight attendant.It was quite comical and believable as to how some humans act under some extreme circumstances.For the price, I would recommend this to anyone wanting a light read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. Flight attendants    5. Hester, Elliott    6. Travel    7. Travelers    8. United States   

Reviews (2)

Coping with loss
The Two Lives of the title are those of the author's great-uncle, the Indian-born Shanti and of his Jewish German-born wife Henny, both born in 1908.They were living in London when 17-year-old Vikram arrived there in 1969 from Calcutta to go to school at Tonbridge; and they remained his base in England until their deaths in 1998 and 1989 respectively, for they were like parents to him, rejoicing in his academic and authorial achievements, and he loved them dearly.Most of the first 50 pages of the book give a charming account of their intimate relationship.
A Memoir spanning the whole Twentieth Century
Vikram Seth's Two Lives is a biography, a memoir, a novel and a collection of letters rolled into one. The landscape it covers includes India, Germany, England and America, and the timespan includes most of the twentieth century. An Indian Hindu, Shanti comes to Berlin, Germany in the beginning of 1930s to study Dentistry, forms friendships with both Christians and Jews and Henny (who is of same age, and his landlady's daughter) becomes his particular friend. After finishing his studies, Shanti returns to England, where his degrees are not recognized, and he takes exams again. He enlists and fights in second world war. Loses his right arm, and yet battles on with his left hand to become an able dentist again.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. English Novel And Short Story    5. Indian Literature In English    6. Literary    7. Travelers    8. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Subjects:  1. Aliens    2. Americans    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Business & Economics    5. Business / Economics / Finance    6. General    7. History    8. Mexico    9. Personal Finance    10. Personal Finance - Retirement Planning    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Reference    13. Sayulita (Nayarit)    14. Travelers    15. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / Retirement Planning   

Reviews (11)

Can you say bourgeois?
Constantly shopping and bragging about her connections, she must mention buying linens a hundred times. I was fairly horrified by how much emphasis she put on feathering her nest and bargain-hunting. I felt like I was listening to some horrid aunt go on and on about her friends and her clever buys, and I just wanted to say, "Well aren't you just wonderful?" I want to move to France to get away from people like her!

and the reason for writing the book was: ______________?
Planning to relocate to Paris? Maybe just thinking about it? Mulling over what problems you will encounter? Then do NOT buy this book. Suzy spends more time babbling about her preparations to bed a still-married geriatric aristocrat. Pathetic. Fortunately I did not buy the copy I read, I found it on a park bench in town. No wonder it had been abandoned...
fun rip thru paris with some pangs
If you take this book as just an inside look into a widow's go-it-alone establishment in Paris after the passing of her husband, then I think you will get enjoyment out of her daily adventures.You also might get some good advice on culture and home hunting in Paris.(However, keep in mind that this woman had many contacts and previous experience in Paris, oh yeah, and a pretty big wad of money.)
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Culture    5. Description And Travel    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Travelers    8. Women    9. Biography & Autobiography / Women   

Editorial Review

Known as the Camino, the Santiago de Compostela Camino is a famouspilgrimage that has been undertaken by people for centuries across northern Spain. It is saidthat this 500-mile path lies directly under the Milky Way and that it reflectsthe energy of the star systems above it. Facing her sixth decade of life onearth, writer and actor Shirley MacLaine decided to go on this trek. She wasn'tsure why, she only knew that the Camino had been traveled for thousands of yearsby "saints, sinners, generals, misfits, kings and queens. It is done by theintent to find one's deepest spiritual meaning and resolutions regardingconflicts in Self."Read more

Reviews (96)

The Power of Past-Life Pilgrimage
In the Nineties, Shirley MacLaine traveled to Spain to walk the pilgrimage trail that ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Along the way she experienced foot blisters, wild dogs, autograph hounds, paparazzi, and spiritual visions. These visions gave Ms. MacLaine glimpses of a past life as a Moorish girl during the time of Charlemagne. They also re-introduced her to an old friend and spiritual mentor, John the Scot, who took this opportunity to share some esoteric teachings.
What a mistake- save your money
Well, I suppose there is something for everyone, but this book was not for me.I even question if someone could even write such a diluted, empty book based in ridiculous illusions of spirituality.In fact, it seemed that one of her top priorities was proving that at 60, young men are still attracted to her.Who cares?I personally feel that she never did the walk but bases her experiences in loose facts read elsewhere that consequently allow her to give the superficial appearance of having walked the ancient pilgrimage route.
El Camino - Shirley Mc Laine
I read this book 2003 before I actually walked El Camino. I also
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Subjects:  1. Actors    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    8. General    9. New Age    10. Pilgrims and pilgrimages    11. Santiago de Compostela    12. Spain    13. Travelers    14. United States    15. Biography & Autobiography / Religious    16. Pilgrimage    17. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Artists    2. Authors, Chinese    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography And Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. China    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Physicians    11. Travelers    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / General    15. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (67)

Lads on the road
The text of the original motorcycle diaries givesa strong sense, much more than the movie, of the factors that influenced this artist/activist as young man. Idealistic, cheeky, sexually libidinous, political, strong minded. Che and his older companion set off on a wild journey across South America. The wretched poverty they witness across that continent - especially when he shares a blanket with a destitute beggar high up on the Andean Sierra - strikes home, as well as some of the aesthetic beauties of the wild and mystical land, such as the Inca ruins around Cuzco, Peru. Che's description of the stonework at the Sacsaywaman fortress rivals the greatest travel writings of Robert Byron, Bruce Chatwin or Patrick Leigh Fermor in its stylishness and accuracy of description.
this translation leaves a lot unsaid
i really enjoyed the motorcycle diaries.when the movie was in theatres i decided to read the book first so that i could understand the film better, but i chose to read it in the original spanish version.it was thought provoking prose.i was impressed that such insight came from the child of a wealthy argentinean family.when i read the translation in english i was a little disappointed.i did think that it was very good, but a little bit of the nuance is lost.if at all possible i suggest that you read it in the original spanish text, it is a little bit more inspiring.