Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Travels in Spain

 


Mint condition. PB. 384pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

This book takes the reader on a journey from the earliest settlements on the Iberian Peninsula, through the influences of the Romans, the Goths and the Muslims, the traumas of expansion and the end of the Empire, right up to the present.

Riding on a donkey across Spain

 


Very good condition. PB. 336pp. $18 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Ludicrous, heart-warming and improbably inspirational, Spanish Steps is the story of what happens when a rather silly man tries to walk all the way across a very large country, with a very large animal who doesn't really want to.

Being larger than a cat, the donkey is the kind of animal Tim Moore is slightly scared of. Yet intrigued by epic accounts of a pilgrimage undertaken by one in three medieval Europeans, and committed to historical authenticity, he finds himself leading a Pyrenean ass named Shinto into Spain, headed for Santiago de Compostela.

Over 500 miles of extreme weather and agonising bestial sloth, it becomes memorably apparent that for the multinational band of eccentrics who keep the Santiagan flame alive, the pilgrimage has evolved from a purely devotional undertaking into a mobile therapist's couch.

'Hailed as the new Bill Bryson, he is in fact a writer of considerably more substance and the jokes come thick and fast' Irish Times

A Scotsman rides a motor bike across America.

 


Mint condition. PB. 303pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Follow much-loved Scottish comedian Billy Connolly across Route 66 on this unforgettable journey, filled with music, modern history and hilarious stories.

Billy Connolly first dreamed of taking a trip on the legendary Route 66 when he heard Chuck Berry belting out one of the greatest rock 'n' roll records of all time - and now he's finally had the chance to do it. Travelling every one of its 2,278 miles on his custom-make motorbike, Billy's journey takes him past many of the best-known icons in the US: the Gateway Arch in St Louis, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon, and the funky neon-lit gas stations and diners that once lined the route.

Billy also has the chance to get to know the people who call it home, from Mervin the Amish carpenter, to fellow banjo enthusiast and obsessive instrument collector Rob, to Angel, one of the many people determined to keep the spirit of the Mother Road alive. Funny, touching and inspiring in equal measure, the tales he gathers on the way tell the story of modern America.

With his unrivalled instinct for a good story, and the gregariousness that has made him a comedy legend, Billy Connolly is the ultimate guide to the ultimate road trip.