November 11, 2021 Allegorizings by Jan Morris Review by Liz Dexter “If I had any moral principles to declare, I came to realize, they were extremely simplistic. First, there was the…
May 27, 2021 Reviewer’s Choice: Twentieth Century Paris (1900-1950) – A Literary Guide for Travellers by Marie-José Gransard While Shiny New Books concentrates on the new, occasionally, we give our reviewers room to share previously published – ie: ‘not Shiny New Books’…
January 21, 2021 The Passenger: Japan Reviewed by Terence Jagger Early last year, Europa launched a new imprint “for explorers of the world”: The Passenger. Now, the list includes Berlin,…
January 19, 2021 The Frozen River: Seeking Silence in the Himalaya by James Crowden Reviewed by Peter Reason Opening this book, I am immediately drawn in: ‘Silence, snow and solitude have got hold of me and will not…
September 24, 2020 Unofficial Britain: Journeys Through Unexpected Places by Gareth E. Rees Reviewed by Liz Dexter Opening notably and powerfully with a description of travelling through a traditional countryside location, innocent dry stone walls at first,…
September 24, 2020 Treasure Islands by Alec Crawford Review by Hayley Anderton The cover of this book is attractive, and the tag line ‘True Tales of a Shipwreck Hunter’ might always have…
May 28, 2020 Tracks: Walking the Ancient Landscapes of Britain by Philip Hughes Softback review by Liz Dexter This quietly stunning book will appeal to anyone interested in art, landscape, walking, geology, geography, maps and ancient monuments….
October 17, 2019 The Summer Isles by Philip Marsden Reviewed by Peter Reason The Summer Isles is an account of a single-handed voyage from the south coast of England round the west of…
September 26, 2019 The Pursuit of Art: Travels, Encounters and Revelations by Martin Gayford “The pursuit of art is a journey that never stops: the more you see, the more you want to see.” First of all much…
August 6, 2019 The Seafarers: A Journey Among Birds by Stephen Rutt Review by Liz Dexter This charming and perceptive book opens with a gut-wrenching account of taking off in a Very Small Plane from Kirkwall…
July 18, 2019 The Frayed Atlantic Edge by David Gange Reviewed by Peter Reason David Gange is historian at the University of Birmingham and a passion for mountains and wild water. Well before The…
October 16, 2018 Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places edited by Philip Wilkinson Reviewed by Harriet This attractive and informative volume does exactly what the title promises. It’s divided into ten sections: Science and Discovery; Travel and…
September 11, 2018 The Immeasurable World: Journeys in Desert Places by William Atkins Reviewed by Rebecca Foster When I saw him introduce The Immeasurable World as part of the Faber Spring Party, William Atkins characterised it as…
August 23, 2018 City of Light by Rupert Christiansen Reviewed by Karen Langley The city of Paris exerts an eternal fascination; chic and glamorous, the haunt of revolutionaries and intellectuals, and stuffed with…
May 8, 2018 Souvenir (Object Lessons) by Rolf Potts Review by Liz Dexter This book is part of the Object Lessons series, which exists to highlight the hidden lives of ordinary things. This…
February 22, 2018 From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty Reviewed by Rebecca Foster If you’ve read thirtysomething California funeral director Caitlin Doughty’s previous book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, you’ll remember her account…
January 18, 2018 Eastern Horizons: Hitchhiking the Silk Road by Levison Wood Review by Liz Dexter It’s worth noting from the off that this is not a “new” travel book by the popular explorer, but a…
December 14, 2017 Icebreaker: A Voyage Far North by Horatio Clare Horatio Clare, who is quite an accomplished nature and travel writer, having a book on container ships and several on birds to his name,…
November 30, 2017 An Odyssey: A Father, a Son and an Epic by Daniel Mendelsohn Reviewed by Rebecca Foster Daniel Mendelsohn chairs the Humanities department at Bard College, where he was previously a Classics professor. He is the author…
June 13, 2017 The Santiago Pilgrimage by Jean-Christophe Rufin Translated by Martina Devis & Malcolm Imrie Reviewed by Terence Jagger Monsieur Rufin is an impressive man, having founded Médecins sans Frontières, been an…
May 2, 2017 Hamlet: Globe to Globe by Dominic Dromgoole Reviewed by Harriet Dominic Dromgoole was the Artistic Director of London’s Globe Theatre from 2005 to 2016. During this successful period he initiated many…
April 4, 2017 Walking in Berlin by Franz Hessel Translated by Amanda DeMarco Reviewed by Rob Spence Berlin is one of my favourite cities, and I have spent a lot of time walking…
February 9, 2017 The January Man by Christopher Somerville Reviewed by Judith Wilson It was early January when I requested Christopher Somerville’s new walking book for review. I was simultaneously intrigued by its…
December 7, 2016 Footprints in Spain by Simon Courtauld Reviewed by Liz Dexter Written by someone who is obviously an expert on and traveller in Spain, this interesting book takes a look at…
October 20, 2016 Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Venice, Tokyo and London, by Lauren Elkin Reviewed by Helen Parry ‘I think people are made of the places not only where they’ve been raised, but that they’ve loved; I think…
