- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 2000 First Edition edition (1 Oct 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1864502223
- ISBN-13: 978-1864502220
- Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 12.9 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 353,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
"Travel far enough and you're bound to have the odd moment on the edge", writes Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler in his preface to On The Edge; except that most contributors to this "adventurous escapades" collection got there by choice rather than unlucky accident. There are more than 30 extracts of gallant expedition books, from Arctic crossings to Everest scaling. Also included are close-shave tales from star travel writers such as Eric Newby and Paul Theroux, who comments, "Travel is pointless without certain risks".
On The Edge speedily whisks you to the heart of the action, beginning with Mark Jenkins hair-raising account of three men in kayaks greeting crocodiles on an African river. "On every journey there is something waiting for you", he writes, "Something specific. When you find it, you will think it just happened to be there, but in fact it was there only for you. It is not a coincidence".
From here on, the white-knuckle moments come thick and fast. Each extract is only a few pages, skipping tedious expedition-planning diatribes for the real excitement: from cyclists in Zambia being mistaken for South African spies to encounters with gorillas, bears, death and storms at sea. The Texan editor Cecil Kunne is a real adrenaline junkie, one of the world's kayaking/rafting experts (when not being a lawyer). Having written nine books on the subject, he inevitably chooses many canoeing capers.
Most extracts come from the highly traditional intrepid explorer genre, dating back to Victorian grand "expeditions". The question is, does it take you to the frontier of human existence; or just the "edge" of the white man's world? Buzz Aldrin's account of his first steps on the moon (and the miniature Presbyterian communion he held before he took them) definitely does. However the "edge" in many of the stories is simply daily life for the "natives", from Aborigines to Zairian gorilla rangers. This aside, On The Edge is an excellent sampler, providing easily digestible chapters. Ideal for reading between tube stops as well as on epic treks. --Sarah Champion
Review
Lonely Planet guides are a must-pack --Toronto Star, February 2006
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
C.S. LEWIS once noted that 'To have lost the taste for marvels and adventures is no more a matter for congratulation than losing our teeth, our hair, our palate, and finally, our hopes.' Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
C.S. LEWIS once noted that 'To have lost the taste for marvels and adventures is no more a matter for congratulation than losing our teeth, our hair, our palate, and finally, our hopes.' Read the first page
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This collection of stories addresses the more spiritual side of travelling, exploring the emotions experienced by these adventurous souls and putting their physical and mental challenges into a perspective which is not usually addressed in main-stream travel-writing. This is an interesting read, and is aimed at the 'serious' travelling audience.
Format:Paperback
Great little book. I love travel literature but it's difficult at times to find good and interesting reads. This book offers a flavour of 30 or so different books and authors. The collection, in my view, has been put together with some thought - so much so that I figure I'll be buying at least a third of them in full.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Highly Recommended for the Toilet Traveler
29 Oct 2001
Format:Paperback
To dub me green when it comes to the travel-writing genre - not to mention trekking beyond the borders of the United States - admittedly qualifies as an understatement. Especially when jaded notions of exploring the world around me are relegated to the obligatory business trip every other week compounded with the daily bump and grind of inching through St. Louis traffic. Indeed, the time is opportune for escape. And it was with "Lonely Planet . . . On the Edge" that I initiated a fresh journey into unexplored literary terrain.
Critically, I possess no frame of reference to compare the contributions to this anthology with those writings outside it - after all, what is good travel writing and what is poor travel writing to someone who has never read travel writing? That being said, I was pleased to discover "On the Edge" provided a fantastic release from the tedium of the mundane, whether or not my body eventually traverses these same grounds as my mind so vividly did with this collection.
With 33 respected and well-seasoned authors jam-packed into a book numbering less than 230 pages, the entries are bound to be compact and succinct, a fitting vehicle for the essential lunchtime retreat or the bedtime ritual of winding down. Not to mention the benefits it provides the "toilet traveler," usurping bathroom breaks to sneak in 10-minute peeks into the perceived eccentricities of our global neighbors, near and far.
"Lonely Planet . . . On the Edge" whisked me around the world and to the moon and back again. And, if I understand travel writing in general and this book in particular, isn't that the point?
Good, but not what's expected
31 Mar 2005
Format:Paperback
I am a big fan of travel writing, but i have to say that this book was a bit too formal/bit to professional for what's usually expected of them. Don't get me wrong, they are still good stories and well written, just not exactly what I'm used to when purchasing a travel journal-type book. it was written so formally that it didn't really hold my attention as much as other books I have read. (for example: by lonely planet, "Rite of Passage: Tales of Backpacking 'round Europe" is a great read. try that if you are more into reading for pleasure and enjoyment and learning INSTEAD of a literary work).
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