Johnny Gingers Last Ride

Tom Freemantle

ISBN 10: 0330376926 / ISBN 13: 9780330376921

Published by Pan, 2000

About this Item

Johnny Ginger?s Last Ride (2000) by Tom Freemantle Pan | ISBN: 9780330376921 Condition: Good As sold by Crappy Old Books There are war novels that arrive draped in solemn heroism, polished medals, and the reassuring certainty that history can be arranged into neat moral rows. Then there are books like Johnny Ginger?s Last Ride , which sound from the title alone as though they may contain mud, chaos, eccentric courage, and a deeply British suspicion that glory is usually accompanied by discomfort and poor planning. A promising start. Tom Freemantle?s novel belongs to that robust and distinctly human tradition of military fiction in which the machinery of war is never allowed to overshadow the peculiar, fallible, often darkly funny people trapped inside it. ?Johnny Ginger? is exactly the sort of name to inspire confidence and concern in equal measure. One imagines a man of stamina, resourcefulness, and perhaps an unreliable relationship with discipline, setting off on what is billed as a final mission and is therefore, by literary law, unlikely to remain simple for very long. The title has a fine old swagger to it. Last Ride suggests action, finality, danger, and the possibility that whatever happens will involve speed, nerve, and at least one decision that would look questionable on paper. It hints at the romance of war stories while also quietly acknowledging their futility. After all, ?one last ride? is the sort of phrase that sounds glorious in retrospect and deeply inconvenient at the time. Books like this often thrive on precisely that tension between adventure and absurdity. War is full of grand language, but the lived reality tends to involve noise, confusion, bad luck, stubbornness, and people making the best of circumstances no sane person would have chosen. The best military fiction understands this, and in doing so produces something much truer than simple battlefield spectacle. One suspects Johnny Ginger?s Last Ride has that earthier quality: less trumpet fanfare, more grit and character. Published in 2000 by Pan , this edition has the comfortable feel of a proper modern paperback war novel: readable, purposeful, and intended for the sort of reader who enjoys a good story with action, atmosphere, and enough historical texture to make the whole thing feel convincingly lived-in. Pan was very good at this kind of thing, producing books that could be taken on trains, read late into the evening, and finished with the satisfying feeling that one had spent time in capable narrative hands. There is also something pleasingly ironic about the enduring appeal of novels of this kind. They often deal with danger, violence, and institutional madness, yet are consumed in perfect safety with a cup of tea and perhaps a biscuit nearby. That, of course, is part of their function. They allow readers to visit the harsher edges of human experience from a suitably upholstered distance, while still enjoying the comradeship, courage, and black humour that make such stories worth telling. This copy is in good condition , showing the expected signs of age and reading but remaining sound, tidy, and entirely ready for another campaign through its pages. A good reading copy is exactly what one wants with a novel like this: sturdy, usable, and prepared to get on with the job. A fine choice for readers of military fiction, wartime adventure, and novels that combine action with a sense of character and the occasional sideways glance at the madness of it all. Johnny Ginger?s Last Ride promises a proper story, a memorable title, and the kind of journey likely to involve bravery, trouble, and very little chance of everything proceeding according to plan.

Seller Inventory # 6020

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Johnny Gingers Last Ride
• Publisher: Pan
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0330376926
• ISBN 13: 9780330376921
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

'Johnny Ginger, the least travelled man I know, inspires me to ride a bicycle half way around the world. Swanbourne was his world....and he never once left the village in his lifetime....'So begins Tom Fremantle's epic journey from Swanbourne, England to Swanbourne, Australia - a very small town near Fremantle (named after his ancestor who founded the port 200 years ago). A lousy mariner, Tom decided not to sail in the wake of Captain Charles Fremantle, but took an alternative overland route through 20 countries including Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, China and Cambodia. Captain Charles also wrote a journal about his travels that is used in conjunction with Tom's own.17 months, 12,600 miles later, Tom comes to realise that Johnny Ginger may just have a point after all.

Synopsis

In 1996, Tom Fremantle began an epic journey, cycling from Swanbourne, England to Swanbourne, Australia, following in the footsteps of his ancestor, Captain Charles, founder of Fremantle port. His route led him through 20 countries, including Syria, Iran, Tibet, Vietnam and Cambodia, and "Johnny Ginger's Last Ride" is Tom's account of his extensive travels. From a mood of despair in Calais to euphoria in the Middle East and from desperate illness in Afghanistan to Christmas festivties in China, Tom's memories of a man named Jonny Ginger helped sustain him through a journey that was at times demanding and dangerous. Johnny was an inspirational character from Tom's childhood - an elderly man with an air of mystery who made a strong impression on the young boy that would eventually compel him to understake this cycle ride. "Johnny Ginger's Last Ride" is the lively travelogue of this two-wheeled Odyssey.