- Paperback: 560 pages
- Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd; 1st Edition edition (24 Aug 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0719566754
- ISBN-13: 978-0719566752
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 470,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Review
'An insightful and entertaining exploration of the relationships between people and nature. Middleton combines a traveller's passion with a geographer's knowledge and insight' (Geographical Magazine )
'This affable Oxford don has evolved his own brand of "extreme travel" . . . one of the joys of reading Middleton is to see him confronting his phobias and fears . . . credit must go to both author and publisher for creating something far more worthy than the average TV tie-in.' (Wanderlust )
'A magnificent insight into life in the extremes' (Good Book Guide )
'His travel books are wonderfully descriptive and evocative' (Daily Express )
'This affable Oxford don has evolved his own brand of "extreme travel" . . . one of the joys of reading Middleton is to see him confronting his phobias and fears . . . credit must go to both author and publisher for creating something far more worthy than the average TV tie-in.' (Wanderlust )
'A magnificent insight into life in the extremes' (Good Book Guide )
'His travel books are wonderfully descriptive and evocative' (Daily Express )
'Each [essay] is an admirable work in its own right. . . an informative, enjoyable book'
(Adventure Travel Magazine )'An engaging insight into the lives of people who continue to survive in the harsh environments that make up this great historical trade route . . . [The book] succeeds in portraying a far greater insight into the unforgiving territory he visits and sheer warmth of the people he meets . . . crucially, he manages to maintain the right balance of personal experience'
(Birmingham Post )'Middleton has good stories to tell, and tells them very well'
(BBC Focus Magazine ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Guardian
'With his eye for detail and his ear for the absurd, Middleton could be funny on the Gatwick Express'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
I think the editors tacked on the word extremes as he doesn't really go anywhere really extreme.
The Kazakstan bit was interesting as with Tibet but Mongolia had been done before in his previous book, it was pretty inspiring stuff but I felt he was treading already gone over ground.
The Kazakstan bit was interesting as with Tibet but Mongolia had been done before in his previous book, it was pretty inspiring stuff but I felt he was treading already gone over ground.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Extremes Along The Silk Road.
Dr Nick Middleton is an allegedly upper-middle-class, seemingly soft-living geographer who has travelled and explored more than 50 countries and published books (as a sole writer) going back as far as 1988.
However, "soft-living" is not a phrase that could be used to describe his exploits into the world's harshest - truly harshest - environments.
With an Extremely (pun intended) engaging personality which is more apparent in the Channel Four programmes he's made than in his writing - Nick scribes with a sense of humility and honesty, but beyond explaining his motivations for going to such extreme locales never alludes to any personal details - meaning his books reveal little behind the man, the preference being to concentrate on travel and the environments themselves. This makes for objective correspondence, but also provides an enigma to the man behind it - a point, perhaps, that makes his work so totally engrossing and leaves you wanting, or rather needing, more.
The style with which he writes is far more accessible than that of say Jack London or Henry David Thoreau (okay, so Nick is contemporary - there lyeth the answer - but even so, he could, but doesn't, add any pretence) without elaborate allegories, but is also infinitely more enchanting than a lot of the more modern day off-the-beaten-track travel writers.
As a younger end Thirty Something, I always prefer to see the more tenured traveller exploring and writing about this type of passage, and along with Michael Palin, Nick Middleton is now well and truly a favourite. Of the younger generation of travel writers, I think only Simon Reeve comes close.
All in all, Nick Middleton's books on Extremes are truly fascinating works of brilliance. I only wish he'd cover some of the more anthropogenic extremes like Bhopal, Chernobyl (which he has said is on his list, but which is - unfortunately - no longer off-the-beaten-path, being as it's now a tourist attraction) The Banqioa Dam, Goianas, etc, as he did with Voz Island (Rebirth Island) in this book.
Many thanks Nick, these books have been great companions. Congratulations on your first child.
Dr Nick Middleton is an allegedly upper-middle-class, seemingly soft-living geographer who has travelled and explored more than 50 countries and published books (as a sole writer) going back as far as 1988.
However, "soft-living" is not a phrase that could be used to describe his exploits into the world's harshest - truly harshest - environments.
With an Extremely (pun intended) engaging personality which is more apparent in the Channel Four programmes he's made than in his writing - Nick scribes with a sense of humility and honesty, but beyond explaining his motivations for going to such extreme locales never alludes to any personal details - meaning his books reveal little behind the man, the preference being to concentrate on travel and the environments themselves. This makes for objective correspondence, but also provides an enigma to the man behind it - a point, perhaps, that makes his work so totally engrossing and leaves you wanting, or rather needing, more.
The style with which he writes is far more accessible than that of say Jack London or Henry David Thoreau (okay, so Nick is contemporary - there lyeth the answer - but even so, he could, but doesn't, add any pretence) without elaborate allegories, but is also infinitely more enchanting than a lot of the more modern day off-the-beaten-track travel writers.
As a younger end Thirty Something, I always prefer to see the more tenured traveller exploring and writing about this type of passage, and along with Michael Palin, Nick Middleton is now well and truly a favourite. Of the younger generation of travel writers, I think only Simon Reeve comes close.
All in all, Nick Middleton's books on Extremes are truly fascinating works of brilliance. I only wish he'd cover some of the more anthropogenic extremes like Bhopal, Chernobyl (which he has said is on his list, but which is - unfortunately - no longer off-the-beaten-path, being as it's now a tourist attraction) The Banqioa Dam, Goianas, etc, as he did with Voz Island (Rebirth Island) in this book.
Many thanks Nick, these books have been great companions. Congratulations on your first child.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is very readable and is an important contribution to South Africa's current affairs/recent history. Written by an outsider, it is unbiased and is good background reading for anyone new to the country. I recommend it for anyone that may need to interact with the political and economic landscape of the country.
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