Hildy Corrigan, almost a teenager, returns home to discover that her stepmother has abandoned her and taken her brother and four sisters. Fighting anger and self-blame, Hildy refuses to stay with her backwoods grandmother and runs away with her cousin Ruby in hopes of finding her family.
Why Not? After all, no-one had ever done it before. It would be one of the longest of all overland journeys – half way round the world, from the English Channel to Singapore. They knew that several expeditions had already tried it. Some had got as far as the desrts of Persia; a few had even reached the plains of India. But no one had managed to go on from there: over the jungle clad mountains of Assam and across northern Burma to Thailand and Malaya. Over the last 3,000 miles it seemed there were ‘just too many rivers and too few roads'. But no-one really knew … In fact, their problems began much earlier than that. As mere undergraduates, they had no money, no cars, nothing. But with a cool audacity, which was to become characteristic, they set to work – wheedling and cajoling. First, they coaxed the BBC to come up with some film for a possible TV series. They then gently persuaded the manufacturers to lend them two factory-fresh Land Rovers. A publisher was even sweet-talked into giving them an advance on a book. By the time they were ready to go, their sponsors (more than 80 of them) ranged from whiskey distillers to the makers of collapsible buckets. In late 1955, they set off. Seven months and 12,000 miles later, two very weary Land Rovers, escorted by police outriders, rolled into Singapore – to flash bulbs and champagne. Now, fifty years on, their book, ‘First Overland', is republished – with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough. After all, it was he who gave them that film.
Traces the author's 2011 road trip from the southernmost to the northernmost points of the United States to experience firsthand the country's diversity and political tensions in the face of a historic economic recession.
In the first book to focus on relations between Indians and emigrants on the overland trails, Michael L. Tate shows that such encounters were far more often characterized by cooperation than by conflict. Having combed hundreds of unpublished sources and Indian oral traditions, Tate finds Indians and Anglo-Americans continuously trading goods and news with each other, and Indians providing various forms of assistance to overlanders. Tate admits that both sides normally followed their own best interests and ethical standards, which sometimes created distrust. But many acts of kindness by emigrants and by Indians can be attributed to simple human compassion. Not until the mid-1850s did Plains tribes begin to see their independence and cultural traditions threatened by the flood of white travelers. As buffalo herds dwindled and more Indians died from diseases brought by emigrants, violent clashes between wagon trains and Indians became more frequent, and the first Anglo-Indian wars erupted on the plains. Yet, even in the 1860s, Tate finds, friendly encounters were still the rule. Despite thousands of mutually beneficial exchanges between whites and Indians between 1840 and 1870, the image of Plains Indians as the overland pioneers’ worst enemies prevailed in American popular culture. In explaining the persistence of that stereotype, Tate seeks to dispel one of the West’s oldest cultural misunderstandings.
When eleven-year-old Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats and giant cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. Gregor has a vital role to play in the Underland's uncertain future.
An acclaimed historian’s “compellingly told” year-by-year account of the pioneering efforts to conquer the American West in the mid-nineteenth century (The Guardian). In all the sagas of human migration, few can top the drama of the journey by Midwestern farmers to Oregon and California from 1840 to 1849—between the era of the fur trappers and the beginning of the gold rush. Even with mountain men as guides, these pioneers literally plunged into the unknown, braving all manner of danger, including hunger, thirst, disease, and drowning. Employing numerous illustrations and extensive primary sources, including original diaries and memoirs, McLynn underscores the incredible heroism and dangerous folly on the overland trails. His authoritative narrative investigates the events leading up to the opening of the trails, the wagons and animals used, the roles of women, relations with Native Americans, and much else. The climax arrives in McLynn’s expertly re-created tale of the dreadful Donner party, and he closes with Brigham Young and the Mormons beginning communities of their own. Full of high drama, tragedy, and triumph, “rarely has a book so wonderfully brought to life the riveting tales of Americans’ trek to the Pacific” (Publishers Weekly).
This hip, hilarious travelogue, which takes the author on the Sixties hippie trail — from the UK to Australia without flying — will strike a chord with all those travelers who have stood where Moore stood, and entertain and alarm lovers of off-the-beaten-track travel adventures with his characteristically quirky descriptions of places and people.
Chris Scott and his band of globetrotting contributors and specialists have put together the definitive manual for planning and undertaking a vehicle-dependent overlanding adventure across the wilds of Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Overlanders’ Handbook is written in the same entertaining yet clear jargon-free English for which Chris’s other books are known – it doesn’t assume you know your plug gap from a radiator cap. Planning – When to go; typical costs; documentation; sponsorship; early overland journeys. Vehicle choice and preparation – The Overlanders’ Handbook is the most comprehensive account in print, covering everything from adapting a cheap car to equipping a campervan or 4x4 for months on the road, or even building and outfitting your own accommodation module to mount on an all-terrain truck chassis. Life on the road – How to handle dodgy borders, haggle over a purchase, treat a dodgy stomach and cope with crazy driving conditions. Guidance on wild camping; navigation and mapping strategies; onward shipping; advice for solo women overlanders; travelling with children or with pets; vehicle repairs and troubleshooting; and off-road driving techniques. Continental route outlines – Guidelines on both popular and obscure overland routes through Africa, Asia and Latin America. Includes fuel prices, easiest borders and best seasons, visa strategies, danger zones and regional highlights. Overlanders’ Tales – Half a dozen accounts of global adventures lasting months or even years – in vans, 4x4s and all-terrain trucks – from contributors aged from 9 to 69. Supported by the online resource: www.overlanders-handbook.com
A practical and inspirational guide to planning every kind of off-road cycling, from nearby “microadventures” to global itineraries, drawing on the author’s own epic journeys From wilderness treks to weekends spent following local coastal paths, adventure cycling combines cycle touring, mountain biking, and camping to open up new and exciting possibilities for adventure on two wheels. Cycling writer and photographer Joshua Cunningham spent eleven months cycling from London to Hong Kong, a journey that spanned twenty- six countries and 13,670 miles. During his journey, he captured thousands of photographs of the landscapes—many barely touched by humans— and acquired a wealth of invaluable experience, from arranging travel and selecting the best bike to what to pack for each climate and terrain, and how to choose and navigate your route. Part travelogue, part practical guide, this exhilarating account divides the stages of Cunningham’s tour into five chapters, each focusing on a geographical environment: forest, desert, mountain, tropical, and urban. Packaged in a travel-friendly format, this combination of practical text and inspiring photography will appeal to every bike adventurer.