You have to go back to the 1980s and Granta's bestselling travel issue to find a book that compares to OxTravels. Introduced by Michael Palin, OxTravels features original stories from twenty-five top travel writers, including Michael Palin, Paul Theroux, Sara Wheeler, William Dalrymple, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Lloyd Jones, Rory Stewart, Jan Morris, Dervla Murphy, Rory MacLean, and others. Each of the stories takes as its theme a meeting - life-changing, affecting, amusing by turn - and together they transport readers into a brilliant, vivid atlas of encounters.This extraordinary collection is published in aid of Oxfam and all royalties from the book will support Oxfam's work.
OxTravels
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'Captivating... a collection that is filled with memorable brilliance.' --Real Travel
'A colourful suitacase of stories... will whip up your wanderlust.' --Sainsbury's Magazine
`A rare congregation of talent' --Lonely Planet Magazine
'Riveting... the stories leave you moved, long after you've stopped travelling' --Independent on Sunday
`Engaging' --Sunday Times
`This book is a small empire of joy... a diamond...' --Observer
'OxTravels should be on your summer reading list, for it includes stories of memorable meetings written by the established masters of travel writing' --Sunday Times
`An ideal holiday companion.' --Tom Robbins, FT
'Lie back with a chilled glass of wine and enjoy this page-turner' --Sunday Express
'A colourful suitacase of stories... will whip up your wanderlust.' --Sainsbury's Magazine
`A rare congregation of talent' --Lonely Planet Magazine
'Riveting... the stories leave you moved, long after you've stopped travelling' --Independent on Sunday
`Engaging' --Sunday Times
`This book is a small empire of joy... a diamond...' --Observer
'OxTravels should be on your summer reading list, for it includes stories of memorable meetings written by the established masters of travel writing' --Sunday Times
`An ideal holiday companion.' --Tom Robbins, FT
'Lie back with a chilled glass of wine and enjoy this page-turner' --Sunday Express
Book Description
OxTravels is a collection of travel writing, which will act as a focus for the Oxfam Bookfest in 2011 donated by world class travel writers. Proceeds will be given to Oxfam.Now a Radio 4 Book of the Week starting on the 30th May.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By M. Ellingham
Format:Paperback
You have to go back to the 1980s and Granta's bestselling travel issue to find a book that compares to OxTravels. Introduced by Michael Palin, OxTravels features original stories from twenty-five top travel writers, including Michael Palin, Paul Theroux, Sara Wheeler, William Dalrymple, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Lloyd Jones, Rory Stewart, Jan Morris, Dervla Murphy, Rory MacLean, and others. Each of the stories takes as its theme a meeting - life-changing, affecting, amusing by turn - and together they transport readers into a brilliant, vivid atlas of encounters. This extraordinary collection is published in aid of Oxfam and all royalties from the book will support Oxfam's work.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Tk Childs
Format:Paperback
This is an amazing collection of travel stories. I must confess that I don't usually read travel, so it's opened my eyes to some great writers, as well as taking me to places I hadn't expected to go. It's all in here - Africa, the Americas (North and South), Europe, Asia, and even Antarctica! The range of the stories is huge, not just geographically. From Nicholas Shakespear's moving piece on slavery to Sara Wheeler lovely story of a love affair, there's stories here that will make you laugh and others that will break your heart. An absolute joy to read from start to finish. Thoroughly recommended, whether you read on planes, trains, on the beach, or tucked up in bed.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Closet poet
Format:Paperback
Inspiring book of travel tales by some fantastic writers, it transported me to so many other worlds. Highly recommend to anyone who likes adventure, travel, short stories & Michael Palin of course! A great read for holidays, long plane or train journeys.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Ridout
Format:Paperback
This is a travel book you can gobble up in a couple of sittings or dip in and out of at your leisure. There's an amazing mix of encounters with people from such a range of perspectives and voices. I loved the tale of meeting the miners in Zimbabwe -- a great example of how we can all get caught up in risky situations in a few steps when in a strange place. Palin sums it up perfectly in his foreword: "It ranges right across the world and will hopefully restore your faith in the human race." Well done Oxfam!
By Emma
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Lots of great stories, really enjoyed all of them. This is a great book and introduces you to new writers.
Well worth buying
Well worth buying
Format:Paperback
Travel writing is a difficult genre - everyone wants to go to new destinations and experience them but it is not easy to read pages of descriptive prose often without narrative unless there is a strong hook to keep the reader motivated.
It is my experience as both a writer and reader that the hook that travel writing needs is usually based upon either an outstanding event or incident or a larger than life character or humour to keep the reader interested and many of these tales had none of the above. I gave each a score out of 10 and barely a third were above 5.
Some of the tales just petered out without a conclusion or punch line and some described events of little significance or interest.
However since I have been so scathing lets give praise where it is due to
Peter Godwin's Blood Diamonds set in Zimbabwe
William Dalrymple's The Nun's Tale set in India
Sara Wheeler's The End of the Bolster in Poland
Rory Maclean's Love in a Hot Climate set in Myanmar
Janine di Giovanni's Decide to be Bold
and you can judge for yourself if I am qualified to comment by going to notesfromanomad.net
Interestingly enough when reviewing the above it seems that sex sells - even in travel!
It is my experience as both a writer and reader that the hook that travel writing needs is usually based upon either an outstanding event or incident or a larger than life character or humour to keep the reader interested and many of these tales had none of the above. I gave each a score out of 10 and barely a third were above 5.
Some of the tales just petered out without a conclusion or punch line and some described events of little significance or interest.
However since I have been so scathing lets give praise where it is due to
Peter Godwin's Blood Diamonds set in Zimbabwe
William Dalrymple's The Nun's Tale set in India
Sara Wheeler's The End of the Bolster in Poland
Rory Maclean's Love in a Hot Climate set in Myanmar
Janine di Giovanni's Decide to be Bold
and you can judge for yourself if I am qualified to comment by going to notesfromanomad.net
Interestingly enough when reviewing the above it seems that sex sells - even in travel!
Format:Paperback
Taking a whole host of travel writers' pieces about places from Soviet bloc Poland to Antarctica, to Greece and an interesting commentary on Somalian poetry among others this collection is diverse, interesting and often moving too. i would say buy it
By A. Hunt
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm enjoying these stories as bedtime reads. Not normally an avid reader of short pieces (other than in the papers), it's been a pleasant change.
One of the surprises has been that I enjoyed some chapters more than I expected to: Victoria Hislop's for instance, looked unpromising given that she hadn't gone to the most obvious sources to research "The Island" (her travel piece describes her encounters with a Spinalonga leprosy victim, the subject of her bestseller). Tricky. But it was quite nicely done and she appeared to have built up a genuine relationship with the man, not to mention going to the trouble of learning Greek. So, hats off after all, Victoria.
Others, by contrast, didn't live up to my expectations. It would be churlish to go through those perhaps.
But it's all in aid of Oxfam, innit, so I've thrown in an extra star for that, and I'd say this would be a good present for anyone when you don't know what to get for their birthday. Even if they don't like to travel, there's always the armchair version. And for people who do travel, it's a no-brainer. They will enjoy it.
One of the surprises has been that I enjoyed some chapters more than I expected to: Victoria Hislop's for instance, looked unpromising given that she hadn't gone to the most obvious sources to research "The Island" (her travel piece describes her encounters with a Spinalonga leprosy victim, the subject of her bestseller). Tricky. But it was quite nicely done and she appeared to have built up a genuine relationship with the man, not to mention going to the trouble of learning Greek. So, hats off after all, Victoria.
Others, by contrast, didn't live up to my expectations. It would be churlish to go through those perhaps.
But it's all in aid of Oxfam, innit, so I've thrown in an extra star for that, and I'd say this would be a good present for anyone when you don't know what to get for their birthday. Even if they don't like to travel, there's always the armchair version. And for people who do travel, it's a no-brainer. They will enjoy it.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Travel broadens the mind
Wonderful. Masterpiece. Exemplory. I am running out of superlatives. This was so much better than I was expecting. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Michael Ward
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Ox Travels
This is an excellent book for travellers or would be travellers or even armchair travellers. It also makes an excellent gift fo a like minded friend.
Published 19 months ago by mubishi
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ox Travelled
An interesting book to dip into. My copy now reside in the guest bedroom- the stories are just long enough for a bed time read. Read more
Published 22 months ago by MXJ
4.0 out of 5 stars
a pleasure
Good bedtime/travelling reading. I was introduced to many writers I didn't know and who I will look out for now.
Published 22 months ago by viuda
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