Fulfilling a childhood dream, Dervla Murphy embarked in 1963 on an epic journey from Dunkirk to Delhi with her trusty bicycle, Roz. She began her trek during the worst winter in living memory, and even when the weather improved there were enough difficulties and dangers to satisfy the most intrepid of travellers. Her resourcefulness, however, matched up to her unexpected encounters, and she turned a blind eye to personal danger and discomfort. Yet, everywhere she ventured, she was met with kindness and hospitality, which is the focus of this travel diary.
Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle
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From the Back Cover
Shortly after her tenth birthday, Dervla Murphy decided to cycle to India. Almost twenty years later she set out to achieve her ambition, pedalling her trusty bicycle, Roz.
Her epic journey began during the coldest winter in living memory, and took her through Europe, Persia (Iran), Afghanistan, over the Himalayas to Pakistan and into India. A woman travelling alone in these countries was an unusual focus of interest and, even when the weather improved, there were enough difficulties and dangers to satisfy the most dedicated traveller. But although, in a world of vanishing tracks and political chaos, the solitary cyclist was grateful for the revolver in her saddle bag, her journey was enriched by acts of unexpected kindness.
"Few people can have had a better chance of understanding Asian people than Dervla Murphy"
DAILY TELEGRAPH
"This book has the charm of spontaneity and the ring of absolute truth"
IRISH TIMES
"A distinctive and highly entertaining account of the tribulations encountered and the beauty along the way … 'Full Tilt' richly deserves a place on many bookshelves"
TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
"Miss Murphy proves herself a true traveller … who engages sympathy from the start by her qualities of tact, charity and courage"
SPECTATOR
"Warmly described, and with a lack of self-regard that immediately endears her to the reader"
SUNDAY TIMES
About the Author
Dervla Murphy was born in Co. Waterford, Ireland, of Dublin parents and still lives there. Since 1964 she has been regularly publishing descriptions of her journeys – by bicycle or on foot – in the remoter areas of four continents. She has also written about the problems of Northern Ireland, the hazards of the nuclear power industry and race relations in Britain.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Full Tilt is the most engaging of all Dervla Murphy's travel books. Whilst her travels, in the most unlikely and inconvenient places, are always captivating, her sheer delight with Afghanistan and Pakistan and their people lifts this above the others. One wants to set off on one's own bicycle at once and head straight for all the places she so effortlessly brings to life. Definately not a book to miss, read it once and it will stay in your heart for ever.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this when it was first published and her bravado and guts filled me with admiration. The lands she travelled in seemed so exotic and far away - although they soon became part of the Hippy Trail of the late 60s and 70s.
On re-reading it my admiration for her courage is undimished - but I was soon struck my just how much the world has changed. Some of the countries she travelled through (albeit with some difficulties) have since become impossible for any independent traveller. The cold war conflict between the USSR and USA were being played out in Afghanistan but who could have guessed the tragedy that lay ahead for the Afghans? I had forgotten the episode visiting the Buddhas at Bamian - a sight no-one will ever see again as these were destroyed by the Taliban a few years ago. She writes of both Afghanistan and Pakistan with great affection but is much less kind to Iran and India.....
She is well able to cope with the simplicity on offer. Her description of a Grade A hotel in Herat was wonderful: "It has an Eastern lavatory but with flush attached (when I pulled the string the whole apparatus collapsed and I was drenched in rusty water!) and there is also a holder for lavatory paper on the wall which makes one feel that if one stayed here long enough it might have paper too some day."
I do have problems with writers who make sweeping negative statements about a whole people. About the Kashmiris she said "The people are in general the most moronic I've met since Persia..." Also "The standard of intelligence of the average village school-teacher is incredibly low" - this was stated after 26 days in Pakistan!
And I wonder if she would still agree with her statement re literacy: "We have yet to prove that universal literacy as we know it advances the mass of the people in any worth-while direction"
As a traveller she obviously relates well to the people she meets along the way. However she is not clear about the number of invitations and introductions she arranged before she set out. How many travellers end up dining with the President of Pakistan?
Loved the list of kit at the end - today surely this would be fleeces and Gore-Tex!
On re-reading it my admiration for her courage is undimished - but I was soon struck my just how much the world has changed. Some of the countries she travelled through (albeit with some difficulties) have since become impossible for any independent traveller. The cold war conflict between the USSR and USA were being played out in Afghanistan but who could have guessed the tragedy that lay ahead for the Afghans? I had forgotten the episode visiting the Buddhas at Bamian - a sight no-one will ever see again as these were destroyed by the Taliban a few years ago. She writes of both Afghanistan and Pakistan with great affection but is much less kind to Iran and India.....
She is well able to cope with the simplicity on offer. Her description of a Grade A hotel in Herat was wonderful: "It has an Eastern lavatory but with flush attached (when I pulled the string the whole apparatus collapsed and I was drenched in rusty water!) and there is also a holder for lavatory paper on the wall which makes one feel that if one stayed here long enough it might have paper too some day."
I do have problems with writers who make sweeping negative statements about a whole people. About the Kashmiris she said "The people are in general the most moronic I've met since Persia..." Also "The standard of intelligence of the average village school-teacher is incredibly low" - this was stated after 26 days in Pakistan!
And I wonder if she would still agree with her statement re literacy: "We have yet to prove that universal literacy as we know it advances the mass of the people in any worth-while direction"
As a traveller she obviously relates well to the people she meets along the way. However she is not clear about the number of invitations and introductions she arranged before she set out. How many travellers end up dining with the President of Pakistan?
Loved the list of kit at the end - today surely this would be fleeces and Gore-Tex!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By I. Viehoff
Format:Paperback
Dervla travelled from Dunkirk to Delhi on a three-speed roadster. Across Afghanistan. In the 60s. Unable even to mend a puncture. With a large supply of cigarettes. And a gun. Bitten by a wolf in Yugoslavia. When the road was rough in Iran, she cycled in the river bed instead. An blow with an Afghan rifle butt broke her ribs...
In comparison to this, anyone other (even her own) cycle trip just pales into ordinariness. The material is sufficiently extraordinary that the plain diary style is an adequate vehicle. The observations and empathy for the peoples and places make this a great travel book, not just the greatest cycle travel book.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very human
She is a great writer to travel with. One learns so much! I really enjoyed this book mostly about Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Published 2 months ago by Peter Munn
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting at first but a bit jolly hockey sticks
The premise is interesting, a woman cycling from Ireland to India via Pakistan and Afghanistan and the first half is interesting, the events, the scenery the people, the sheer... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Michelle
5.0 out of 5 stars
the inimitable Ms. Murphy
I have read three books by Dervla Murphy and having travelled to some of the regions in this globe that she has covered, find her books fascinating, humorous and entertaining, also... Read more
Published 6 months ago by isabella
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic
I bought this for my daughter who is cycling to India. She read some of it before she went and was enjoying it so much she took it with her, despite her skeletal packing, and... Read more
Published 12 months ago by valcorbett
4.0 out of 5 stars
a snapshot in time
Dervla Murphy's first book is probably as dated now as tales from the Raj,but it's still a great read.As Lance Armstrong said,it's not about the bike. Read more
Published 14 months ago by bikerboy
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Insane Journey
A friend recommended Dervla Murphy to me, so I thought I'd start with her very first book. She has a good, easy to read, flowing style with a wry sense of humour. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Lucy Child
5.0 out of 5 stars
full tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle
If you like adventure and travel, read this book. Fear of what might happen often means we do not give ourselves the opportunity to experience life fully. Read more
Published 20 months ago by L. J. Papworth
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating story of cycling endeavour
A superbly written account of a quite extraordinary adventure. The author clearly has an indomitable spirit to which one is filled with admiration.
Published on 25 Mar 2011 by Leeon
4.0 out of 5 stars
"On my tenth birthday a bicycle and an atlas coincided as presents and...
So begins Dervla Murphy's first published book. Astonishingly, 21 years after making this decision, she did cycle from Ireland to India via Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2011 by Fiona Hurley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Experience of a lifetime
The incredible adventure of a woman in a difficult time. But also the evolution of her mind as the journey goes.
Published on 11 Jan 2011 by Megaceros
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