On The Plain of Snakes: Mexican Road Trip by Paul Theroux

$35.00 AUD

Category: Travel

Nogales is a border town caught between Mexico and the United States of America. A forty-foot steel fence runs through its centre, separating the prosperous US side from the impoverished Mexican side. It is a fascinating site of tension, now more than ever, as the town fills with hopeful border crossers and the deportees who have been caught and brought back. And it is here that Paul Theroux will begin his journey into the culturally rich but troubled heart of modern Mexico. Mexico is a country that has captured literary imaginations from D. H. Lawrence and Graham Greene to Aldous Huxley. Now Paul Theroux, master of travel writing, immerses himself, attending local language and culinary schools, driving through the country, getting under its skin. ...Show more

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2020 by Lonely Planet

$27.99 AUD

Category: Travel | Series: Lonely Planet Ser.

It's back: our agenda-setting compilation of the hottest destinations in the world. Our staff, authors and online community have travelled to every corner of the world and we've distilled their adventures down to the most outstanding, underrated and overlooked places - and tell readers why to go in 2020 .* We rank the top 10 countries, regions, cities and best-value places* Practical itineraries and unmissable experiences for every destination* Inspires travellers to leave the ordinary and the crowds behind ...Show more

Danube by Claudio Magris

$24.99 AUD

Category: Vintage Classics

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY RICHARD FLANAGAN. In this fascinating journey Claudio Magris, whose knowledge is encyclopaedic and whose curiosity limitless, guides his reader from the source of the Danube in the Bavarian hills through Austro-Hungary and the Balkans to the Black Sea. Along the way he raises the ghosts that inhabit the houses and monuments - from Ovid to Kafka and Canetti - and in so doing sets his finger on the pulse of Central Europe, the vital crucible of a culture that draws on influences of East and West, of Christendom and Islam. ...Show more

Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities and the Pleasures of Solitude by Stephanie Rosenbloom

$27.99 AUD

Category: Travel

Travelling with friends and family is usually thought of as a privilege. In theory, anyway. In practice, it's more often about debating which sights to see, panicking over diminishing phone batteries and bickering over what to eat. Not much joy in that. But alone you can do as you please. You can wander markets, relish silence, go to a park. Go to Paris. Why not? In Alone Time, New York Times travel columnist Stephanie Rosenbloom travels alone in four seasons to four remarkable cities - Paris, Istanbul, Florence and New York - exploring the sensory experience of solitude. Along the way she illuminates the psychological arguments for alone time, revealing that whether you recognize it or not, it's good to be alone now and then. This is a book about the pleasures and benefits of savouring the moment, examining things closely, using all your senses to take in your surroundings, whether travelling to faraway places or walking the streets of your own city. Through on-the-ground observations and anecdotes, and drawing on the thinking of artists, writers and innovators who have cherished solitude, Alone Time lays bare the magic of going solo. ...Show more

Tracks by Robyn Davidson

$19.99 AUD

Category: Travel

A revised, reissued fortieth anniversary edition of this prize-winning, bestselling account of one woman's solo journey across 1,700 miles of Australian Outback 'I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult and there's no going back.' S o begins Robyn Davidson's perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company. Enduring sweltering heat, fending off poisonous snakes and lecherous men, chasing her camels when they get skittish and nursing them when they are injured, Davidson emerges as an extraordinarily courageous heroine driven by a love of Australia's landscape, an empathy for its indigenous people, and a willingness to cast away the trappings of her former identity. Tracks is the compelling, candid story of her odyssey of discovery and transformation. WITH A NEW POSTSCRIPT BY THE AUTHOR AND A STUNNING COLOUR PICTURE SECTION ...Show more

Great Railway Journeys in Australia & New Zealand by David Bowden

$39.99 AUD

Category: Travel

  35 trips that highlight some of the most interesting, scenic and rewarding railway journeys in Australia and New Zealand. They include the renowned long-distance journeys, such as The Indian Pacific in Australia that takes travellers on a three-day trip from Perth to Sydney or the The Northern E xplorer in New Zealand's North Island that stretches from Wellington to Auckland, as well as those that traverse stunning scenery, such as New Zealand's TranzAlpine train or the Spirit of the Outback in Australia. There are also routes on which restored steam locomotives operate and other lines included for the wonder of their engineering.   Trains are a great way to travel in these countries, taking you at ground level past superb scenery that often cannot be seen by any other means of transport. David Bowden's entertaining text describes the route, the major features of interest along the way and any special technical details about the locomotive or the track.   ...Show more

Beyond the Map: Unruly enclaves, ghostly places, emerging lands and our search for new utopias by Alastair Bonnett

$29.99 AUD

Category: Travel

Geography is getting stranger. Out there fleets of new islands are under construction and eye-wateringly insane micro-nations are struggling into the light; unseen rivers are tumbling under sleeping cites and once secret fantasy- gardens are cracking open their doors. As groups like Islamic State fabric ate proto-states whose boundaries ebb and flow with each passing day, it certainly feels as if all the old maps are being frantically scribbled over or torn up. The world's unruly places, the zones unmarked on any official map, are multiplying and changing fast.In this book, Alaistair Bonnet presents the stories of 43 of these extraordinary places, all of which will challenge the very concept of place. The ever more unruly maps of human and physical geography can seem overwhelming. Perhaps that's why little places, the small secrets, the hidden surprises, have become so important. Alastair will set out on a journey across the world in search of a diverse range of modern utopias, from the Dubai Shopping Mall to the caliphate of the Islamic State, from the Findhorn eco-community in Scotland to Cybertopias such as Second Life.Follows in the great tradition of writing on place and what it tells us about ourselves and the world, and our previous success with Off the Map. Off the Map was very well reviewed and received - would be great title for coverage in national newspapers, and their magazines. Alastair is available for publicity and would be great for radio interviews, for Radio 4 programmes and debates. ...Show more

Autumn Light: Japan's Season of Fire and Farewells by Pico IYER

$29.99 AUD

Category: Travel

 For decades now, Pico Iyer has been based for much of the year in Nara, Japan, where he and his Japanese wife, Hiroko, share a two-room apartment. But when his father-in-law dies suddenly, calling him back to Japan earlier than expected, Iyer begins to grapple with the question we all have to live with: how to hold on to the things we love, even though we know that we and they are dying.In a country whose calendar is marked with occasions honouring the dead, this question has a special urgency and currency. Iyer leads us through the autumn following his father-in-law's death, introducing us to the people who populate his days: his ailing mother-in-law, who often forgets that her husband has died; his absent brother-in-law, who severed ties with his family years ago but to whom Hiroko still writes letters; and the men and women in his ping-pong club, who, many years his senior, traverse their autumn years in different ways. And as the maple leaves begin to redden and the heat begins to soften, Iyer offers us a singular view of Japan, in the season that reminds us to take nothing for granted. ...Show more

Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries: Two Years in France by Barbara Santich

$34.95 AUD

Category: Travel

  I drank Normandy farmhouse cider, ate strawberries dipped in red wine then sugar, and tasted truffles and soft goat cheeses for the first time. I returned to Australia inspired to become a food writer. France bewitched Barbara Santich as a student in the early 1970s. She vowed to return, and s oon enough she did - with husband and infant twins in tow. Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries tells the story of the magical two years that followed. Buoyed by na ve enthusiasm, Barbara and her husband launched themselves into French village life, a world of winemaking, rabbit raising, cherry picking and exuberant 14 Juillet celebrations. Here we see the awakening of Barbara Santich's lifelong love affair with food history. And also a lost France, 'when the 19th century almost touched hands with the 21st'. Shepherds still led their flocks to pasture each day and, even near the bustling towns, wild strawberries hid at the forest's edge. ...Show more

Melbourne Precincts - A Curated Guide to the City's Best Shops, Eateries, Bars and Other Hangouts by Dale Campisi

$39.99 AUD

Category: Travel | Series: The\Precincts Ser.

'The perfect day out in Melbourne, like any ordinary day out in Melbourne, necessarily involves coffee, sandwiches, beer, a bike ride and maybe a tram trip.' Book jacket.

PhotoCity New York 1 by Lonely Planet

$29.99 AUD

Category: Travel | Series: Lonely Planet

The Little(r) Museums of Paris - An Illustrated Guide to the City's Hidden Gems by Emma Jacobs

$26.99 AUD

Category: Travel

A visit to Paris can often seen like a highlight reel -- the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower. But Paris isn't only about the big attractions; in fact, some might say it's the off-beat destinations that hold the greatest treasures. The Little(r) Museums of Paris takes a whimsical journey thro ugh these smaller destinations, from the fantastical to the bizarre, offering both a guide to the city and inspiration for armchair travelers. Rather than traveling by neighborhood, this charming guide explores the different types of institutions nestled within Paris, from time capsules like the Musee Nissim de Camondo to explorations of the world beyond the city limits, including the Institute of the Arab World. Readers will peek behind the curtains of artists' apartments and into the microscopes of collections of scientific oddities. Each entry opens up a new world of adventure, with a description of the museum's collection, as well as a short history, watercolor illustrations, and a miniature map. For residents and visitors alike, the captivating illustrations and deeply-researched yet approachable writing will encourage greater appreciation of the cultural diversity, history, and colorful characters that give Paris that je ne sai quois. ...Show more