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The Pillars of Hercules: A Grand Tour of the Mediterranean Paperback – 27 Jun. 1996

Spanish edition by Paul Theroux (Author)

4.3 614 ratings

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At the gateway to the Mediterranean lie the two Pillars of Hercules: Gibraltar and Ceuta, in Morocco. Paul Theroux decided to travel from one to the other – but taking the long way round.

His grand tour of the Mediterranean begins in Gibraltar and takes him through Spain, the French Riviera, Italy, Greece, Istanbul and beyond. He travels by any means necessary - including dilapidated taxi, smoke-filled bus, bicycle and even a cruise-liner. And he encounters bullfights, bazaars and British tourists, discovers pockets of humanity in war-torn Slovenia and Croatia, is astounded by the urban developments on the Costa del Sol and marvels at the ancient wonders of Delphi.

Told with Theroux's inimitable wit and style, this lively and eventful tour evokes the essence of Mediterranean life.

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Print length

544 pages
Language

English, Spanish
Publisher

Penguin
Publication date

27 Jun. 1996
Dimensions

19.8 x 12.9 x 3.24 cm
ISBN-10

9780140245332
ISBN-13

978-0140245332
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Product description

From the Back Cover

"DAZZLING."
--Time
"[THEROUX'S] WORK IS DISTINGUISHED BY A SPLENDID EYE FOR DETAIL AND THE TELLING GESTURE; a storyteller's sense of pacing and gift for granting closure to the most subtle progression of events; and the graceful use of language. . . . We are delighted, along with Theroux, by the politeness of the Turks, amazed by the mountainous highlands in Syria, touched by the gesture of an Albanian waitress who will not let him pay for his modest meal. . . . The Pillars of Hercules [is] engrossing and enlightening from start (a damning account of tourists annoying the apes of Gibraltar) to finish (an utterly captivating visit with Paul Bowles in Tangier, worth the price of the book all by itself)."
--Chicago Tribune
"ENTERTAINING READING . . . WHEN YOU READ THEROUX, YOU'RE TRULY ON A TRIP."
--The Boston Sunday Globe
"HIS PICARESQUE NARRATIVE IS STUDDED WITH SCENES THAT STICK IN THE MIND. He looks at strangers with a novelist's eye, and his portraits are pleasantly tinged with malice."
--The Washington Post Book World
"THEROUX AT HIS BEST . . . An armchair trip with Theroux is sometimes dark, but always a delight."
--Playboy
"AS SATISFYING AS A GLASS OF COOL WINE ON A DUSTY CALABRIAN AFTERNOON . . . With his effortless writing style, observant eye, and take-no-prisoners approach, Theroux is in top form chronicling this 18-month circuit of the Mediterranean."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

About the Author

Paul Theroux has written many works of fiction and travel writing, including the modern classics The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, My Secret History and The Mosquito Coast. He won the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing 2020. Paul Theroux divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian islands.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0140245332
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; Revised ed. edition (27 Jun. 1996)
Language ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780140245332
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140245332
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.8 x 12.9 x 3.24 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 74,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 72 in History of Discovery & Exploration
- 360 in Higher Education on Geography
- 430 in Rock & Pop Musician Biographies

Customer reviews:
4.3 614 ratings

About the author

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Paul Theroux

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Paul Theroux was born and educated in the United States. After graduating from university in 1963, he travelled first to Italy and then to Africa, where he worked as a Peace Corps teacher at a bush school in Malawi, and as a lecturer at Makerere University in Uganda. In 1968 he joined the University of Singapore and taught in the Department of English for three years. Throughout this time he was publishing short stories and journalism, and wrote a number of novels. Among these were Fong and the Indians, Girls at Play and Jungle Lovers, all of which appear in one volume, On the Edge of the Great Rift (Penguin, 1996).

In the early 1970s Paul Theroux moved with his wife and two children to Dorset, where he wrote Saint Jack, and then on to London. He was a resident in Britain for a total of seventeen years. In this time he wrote a dozen volumes of highly praised fiction and a number of successful travel books, from which a selection of writings were taken to compile his book Travelling the World (Penguin, 1992). Paul Theroux has now returned to the United States, but he continues to travel widely.

Paul Theroux's many books include Picture Palace, which won the 1978 Whitbread Literary Award; The Mosquito Coast, which was the 1981 Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year and joint winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and was also made into a feature film; Riding the Iron Rooster, which won the 1988 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award; The Pillars of Hercules, shortlisted for the 1996 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award; My Other Life: A Novel, Kowloon Tong, Sir Vidia's Shadow, Fresh-air Fiend and Hotel Honolulu. Blindness is his latest novel. Most of his books are published by Penguin.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

614 global ratings

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AT

Compulsive reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 June 2015

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The trouble is, Paul Theroux is such a good writer, I am now very hard-to-please when it comes to other travel book authors. No one has yet to satisfy me like he does. As a writer, he possesses the rare gift of being laid back, yet penetratingly incisive. (Is that a tautology?) His understanding of and fascination with human nature, along with his eye for detail, makes for compulsive reading. Not the sort of book to read if you lack self-control and are not on holiday.

One person found this helpful

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C. J. Cotton

Mediterranean Odyssey

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2017

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I've been aware of Paul Theroux for many years but this was the first of his ouvre that I have read. I enjoyed the journey around the Mediterranean rim in his company. I liked his itinerary, particularly his visits to the islands off Italy and I was very interested in his views of Israel.
The Pillars of Hercules is a very fine book that I'd happily reccommend as a good read.

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Ian Le Breton

Brilliant writing of Herculean tour around The Middle Sea

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2020

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Extremely readable and ideal for anyone who knows part of the Mediterranean
I particularly enjoyed the ending in Tangier
I will move on now to other works by this wonderful author

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Alan Arnold

Mediterranean journeys must have

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2013

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Not your normal tourist travel book, more of an insight to the people join the countries visited.
The author asks Intelligent, incisive questions of the people he meets along the way., and paints an accurate (hopefully) picture of the countries he visits.
A must for Mediterranean journeys.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 December 2023

Verified Purchase

Although Theroux make some pretty superficial and derogatory remarks about certain nations (Greece is an example - I have personally been going there regularly for 30 years and the people are lovely), this is still a light, easy and entertaining read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2013

Verified Purchase

I have always loved this book, but found it difficult to purchase the hard cover by traditional means.
My request was dealt with very professionally, as there was a slight hitch.
The book arrived quickly and is in good condition.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 March 2013

Verified Purchase

I wanted to read this book having watched Rick Steins Meditrannean escapes. There is very little mention of food, but Paul theroux is not blinkered to the down sides of the mediteranean and meets some great characters along the way. A thoroughly enjoyable read

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Neil Munro

Delivered in good time

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2019

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Delivered in good time and as expected

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Top reviews from other countries

Saburi

Below Average

Reviewed in India on 28 July 2021

Verified Purchase

Can be avoided. A below average book from a great writer.

not_a_dilettante

I love, love

Reviewed in Canada on 12 November 2014

Verified Purchase

I love, love, love, this book.
I'm enthralled by everything I've read so far written by this author.
This particular travelogue, after a biting beginning, backs off a bit; gives the reader a breather; then gets better and better; hits harder from about Albania through the rest of the trip.
I've always wanted to do the Mediterranean; mostly for its history, antiquity; now, I have, from the comfort of my armchair. (and now I know it's mostly no longer there, to miss--Pilfered long ago, apart from Istanbul/Constantinople/Byzantium.)

Zazee1

Are we there yet?

Reviewed in the United States on 1 September 2003

Verified Purchase

Way back in the sixties I watched some friends hit the hipster trail from Paris to Tangiers. They stopped in Ibitha (pronounced with a Castillian lisp) where they slept on the beach, adopted names like Pedro and peppered their speech with 'manana' and 'luego, baby.' Thanks to Paul Theroux I am no longer envious of my beret wearing pals. Embarking on an astonishingly ambitious journey around the entire shoreline of the Mediterranean he follows in the footsteps of Caesar and Alexander. I prefer to break out an atlas than break a sweat so this book was perfect.
Theroux acknowledges that most travel is arduous and sometimes dangerous but he succeeds in his quest to circumnavigate the old cradle of civilization. He winds his way through Spain, France and Italy managing to avoid the odious tourist industry by taking the train or using ferries, staying in no-star hotels. In these modest surroundings he manages to meet some real people. Except for the Spanish who are too embarrassed to talk about the past (Franco) and Albanians still paranoid about Big Brother he is rewarded with an abundance of entertaining material as he casually interviews folks in their own language. The coast of Yugoslavia has been balkanized with warring factions to the point where genocide is a way of life. The harrowing Third World atmosphere takes such a toll he decides to go home and work in his garden.
This intermission gives the reader a respite which extends to the next leg of his trip by his acceptance of a free ride on a luxury liner. Bountiful buffets, avuncular passengers and a sumptuous suite of his own. He has trouble tearing himself away from the sedutive 'Seabourne Spirit' but eventually resumes his no-frills method of travel. At every opportunity he evokes classical history and literature. Disparging contemporary writers he manages to meet with a few who are still alive. In Tangiers he finds Paul Bowles (my friends would be so jealous) and they spend a mellow afternoon toking kif. They agree that the area has been ill-served by books bemoaning the fact that travelling is different from staying home. This part of the world has been plundered by barbarians, vulgar tourists, writers and their acolytes. The author seems a little smug at times but if I were a wealthy erudite polyglot who travels for a living...

16 people found this helpful

Timothy C.

A good read about the real Mediterranean

Reviewed in the United States on 15 August 2021

Verified Purchase

I like Theroux's work, and his trip around the Mediterranean was epic. The book is now 25 yrs old, so I wonder if things are still similar? Gotta give the guy credit for visiting all these places in the winter when it is often raining, deserted, and kind of bleak. A good non-fiction read, recommended.

Bonnie Lee Black

More travels with Paul

Reviewed in the United States on 23 August 2021

Verified Purchase

I've spent a delightful summer traveling with Paul Theroux: first, from Britain to Asia ("The Great Railway Bazaar"), then from Cairo to Cape Town ("Dark Star Safari"), then from the U.S. Border to the southern tip of Mexico ("On the Plain of Snakes") and now all around the Mediterranean ("The Pillars of Hercules"). I've loved them all for the same reasons -- his astute observations, his vivid descriptions, his fascinating encounters with the locals, his brilliant literary allusions. I cannot recommend his books highly enough.

2 people found this helpful

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