A humorous overview of Eric Newby's travels from Mayfair to the mountains of the Hindu Kush, north-east of Kabul, offering insight into the numerous eccentric characters and adventures he met along the way, and descriptions of the spectacular wilderness of Afghanistan. Last published in 1981.
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush
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Review
'The master storyteller. He transformed travel writing' Independent
'One of the most enjoyable reads of the last century' Herald Tribune
'The most successful travel writer of his generation. It's impossible to read this book without laughing aloud' Observer
'Endlessly entertaining and self-deprecating' Daily Mail
'Full of serendipity and surprise' The Economist
'A total success' New Yorker
'Notable addition to the literature of unorthodox travel … tough, extrovert, humorous and immensely literate' Times Literary Supplement
'”A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush” established him as a traveler who not only journeyed fruitfully but had the ability to bring his readers with him' William Trevor, Guardian
'I still think the last few sentences of “A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush” the funniest ending to any book I have read' Geoffrey Moorhouse, The Times
'The book that made [Newby's] reputation … typically ironic in its understatement' Observer
'Newby is easily the best of the bunch' Sunday Times
'All the lyricism, and spirit of adventure and discovery [in] Newby's work' The Times
'As good as its hype' Wanderlust
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.Book Description
When Eric Newby, improbably earning his living in the London haute-couture trade, sent his fateful cable – CAN YOU TRAVEL NURISTAN JUNE? – it was the first step on a legendary journey from Mayfair to Afghanistan and the mountains of the Hindu Kush, north-east of Kabul. Ill-prepared and inexperienced, Newby and Carless endured a month of hardship with great good humour in one of the most beautiful wildernesses on earth. ‘The most successful travel writer of his generation. It’s impossible to read this book without laughing aloud’ Observer ‘Tough, extrovert, humorous and immensely literate’ Times Literary Supplement ‘Full of serendipity and surprise’ The Economist ‘A total success’ New Yorker
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By T Brown
Format:Audio Cassette
It has to be said that "Short Walk..." is the best of Newby's travel books. I certainly think it should go down as a classic. Newby's books always have a very readable and charming style. You can't help but enjoy his books, especially this one.
"Short Walk..." is enjoyable because it's very down-to-earth. They go and climb this mountain in the middle of nowhere just because it's there. They don't do it for fame or fortune, the two of them just simply have a yearning for adventure. This whole amateurishness of the escapade makes it a delight to read... I loved it and would highly recommend it.
"Short Walk..." is enjoyable because it's very down-to-earth. They go and climb this mountain in the middle of nowhere just because it's there. They don't do it for fame or fortune, the two of them just simply have a yearning for adventure. This whole amateurishness of the escapade makes it a delight to read... I loved it and would highly recommend it.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Penny Turner
Format:Paperback
From the pathetically inadequate preparations to the cooking of Eric Newby`s watch to the meeting with Thesiger...One absurd incident follows another as the two brave and foolish climbers fail to achieve their declared aim. It is such a funny book, every page is a joy. It is the kind of book you hope will never end. Sadly it does. Nothing to do but read it again...but, alas, I lent my copy to someone, and then it went out of print.
Luckily I managed to find a replacement in a second hand book shop.
So glad its in print again,now I can lend my copy without risk of being unable to replace it if it strays..
Luckily I managed to find a replacement in a second hand book shop.
So glad its in print again,now I can lend my copy without risk of being unable to replace it if it strays..
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book describes an incredible story about a climbing trip to the remote Hindu Kush. Their preparation for the climb consisted of a weekend under the instruction of a pub waitress in North Wales. Along the way (driving by clapped out car from London to Afghanistan) they have numerous adventures including being arrested for running over and killing a nomadic herdsman. They had actually stopped to help him!
Most people will go through life never experiencing an adventure of this magnitude but for Eric Newby this is just one of several. Newby's other books include "Love and War in the Appennines" and "The Last Grain Race" both of which I thought were excellent.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By W. Weinstein
Format:Paperback
Eric Newby's account of his trip to the Hindu Kush is a book both daunting and delightful. He makes light of the incompetence and ignorance of both himself and his companion in the realm of climbing and exploring. Yet what they achieve is nothing short of remarkable, given their level of amateurishness. Perhaps a more experienced team would have sensibly given up in the face of hunger, illness and cold. Messrs. Newby and Carless soldier on and the account, understandably slightly incoherent, is both funny, self-deprecating and very, very readable. Their account of a chance meeting with the famous explorer Wilfred Thesiger is recounted, far less humorously, by the great man in one of his recent books.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By C. Foster
Format:Paperback
As per the other user reviews, this tells the story of a trip to the Hindu Kush taken in 1956 - apparently on no more than a whim.
Eric Newby was working in the fashion industry for some years before the journey and the opening chapter covers some of his time here.
As with other parts of the book, this can be a little confusing. Mr Newby also neglects to mention his time in the SBS and his earlier endeavours before and during the 2nd world war.
This book worked well on 2 levels for me -
Firstly, a charming travelogue chronicling the adventures and mishaps of 2 supposedly entirely inexperienced climbers going from a 2 day crash course in the Welsh mountains to the Hindu Kush in the space of weeks.
Bear in mind this lies in Afghanistan - "Kafiristan" - or Nuristan - is a region of that country rather than a country in its own right.
Secondly, many of the places mentioned on the way to the mountains are also mentioned in Rory Stewart's excellent book - "The Places In Between". In this book, Mr Stewart describes his walk across the mountains of Afghanistan in 2002.
The differences (or lack thereof) in the near half century gap are fascinating.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in either travel or the current situation in this region. On one level it is a simple and often funny story, on another an insight into a culture and way of life which must surely be living on borrowed time.
Eric Newby was working in the fashion industry for some years before the journey and the opening chapter covers some of his time here.
As with other parts of the book, this can be a little confusing. Mr Newby also neglects to mention his time in the SBS and his earlier endeavours before and during the 2nd world war.
This book worked well on 2 levels for me -
Firstly, a charming travelogue chronicling the adventures and mishaps of 2 supposedly entirely inexperienced climbers going from a 2 day crash course in the Welsh mountains to the Hindu Kush in the space of weeks.
Bear in mind this lies in Afghanistan - "Kafiristan" - or Nuristan - is a region of that country rather than a country in its own right.
Secondly, many of the places mentioned on the way to the mountains are also mentioned in Rory Stewart's excellent book - "The Places In Between". In this book, Mr Stewart describes his walk across the mountains of Afghanistan in 2002.
The differences (or lack thereof) in the near half century gap are fascinating.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in either travel or the current situation in this region. On one level it is a simple and often funny story, on another an insight into a culture and way of life which must surely be living on borrowed time.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Lazy Lee
Format:Paperback
This incredible story dates back to 1956, when two very English gentlemen decided on a whim to go into one of the most inaccessible corners of the planet. This book will amuse and surprise you on at least two levels: firstly, the challenges they happily take on and endure are terrifying by modern outdoor travel standards (they undertook just one session of mountain climbing practice in Wales and brought along brand new hiking boots, not yet worn in, for example) and secondly, their unshakeable "Englishness" above all, at all times, almost comes across as something out of a Noel Coward play. Several times, the trip might have come to an end, but they lived to tell the tale, and Mr. Newby has told it very well. I would agree this is by far his best book. Enjoy.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very readable account of two amateur mountaineers (their training comprised of a weekend of instruction in Snowdonia) as they set of to conquer the lofty peaks of Mir Samir in the Hindu Kush.
At time the trials and tribulations endured by Eric Newby and his climbing partner Hugh Carless on their journey read like a Noel Coward farce - Wilfred Thesiger they are not ! A very English sense of humour shines through the principal characters' often strained relationship.
A shame there aren't more photographs to accompany the text (the result of a bungled river crossing) but the 50th anniversary edition features an epilogue written by Hugh Carless.
An enjoyable read.
At time the trials and tribulations endured by Eric Newby and his climbing partner Hugh Carless on their journey read like a Noel Coward farce - Wilfred Thesiger they are not ! A very English sense of humour shines through the principal characters' often strained relationship.
A shame there aren't more photographs to accompany the text (the result of a bungled river crossing) but the 50th anniversary edition features an epilogue written by Hugh Carless.
An enjoyable read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the finest reads around
I have just read this book for the second time. I had forgotten what a brilliant read it is. The narrative is fascinating. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Gary B
5.0 out of 5 stars
typically British adventure
This book was my introduction to Eric Newby's writing, and it inspired me to read most of the rest of his stories, which are all equally funny and entertaining. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. Booklover
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
What a fantastic tale from days gone by, how these chaps didn't die is a miracle! Shame that I couldn't follow in Newby's footsteps.
Published 13 months ago by Gaz D
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvellously light touch
A Short Walk is a wonderfully written story, told so lightly and with so much joy of life and wry English humour that you hardly realize a tale is being spun. Read more
Published on 30 May 2011 by Engineer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eccentric and has made me a Newby convert!
I love travel writing and am SOOO pleased I've now discovered Newby. In the 1940s having been in the army and finding himself working in Haute Couture, Eric was persuaded to trek... Read more
Published on 20 May 2011 by The Dragonfly
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fine travel writing
Post-war, and after ten years being stifled in ladies fashion, Eric Newby breaks out and, with a young friend in the Diplomatic service, heads off to explore the Hindu Kush and to... Read more
Published on 19 May 2011 by Adrenalin Streams
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this book
This is the book I would take to a desert island, because it makes me laugh so much, and reminds me of that Britishness which is almost gone but was still there in my childhood. Read more
Published on 7 May 2011 by sparkle1
5.0 out of 5 stars
AUTHOR ERIC NEWBY IN THE MOUNTAINS OF AFGHANISTAN
Eric Newby's tongue-in-cheek wit, penetrating eye for detail, lyrical descriptions of natural wonders in a place rarely frequented by westerners, particularly in the 1950s, and... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2011 by WALTON Gabriel Mary
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tales from a bygone era.
This is a delightfully innocent account of Newby's first big adventure and the book that started it all. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2010 by A. S. Edwards
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different world
A most enjoyable book, full of incidents that are a fascinating view of a world that has probably now disappeared.
I will certainly be reading more of hos books.
I will certainly be reading more of hos books.
Published on 2 Jun 2010 by Bridgette A. Evans
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