Departures and Arrivals: Complete & Unabridged

Newby, Eric

ISBN 10: 0754004880 ISBN 13: 9780754004882

Publisher: Chivers Audio Books, 2000

Synopsis

More episodes from the life and travels of one of our most celebrated travel writers.

This latest book demonstrates exactly why Newby has become a national treasure – his love of the unknown, the unusual and the totally absurd, combined with his sharp observation and glorious wit, are here for both his loyal audience and new admirers to relish.

Like this book, Newby’s life has been episodic, a string of situations into which he has thrown himself with verve, humour and fortitude. With pieces about England, India, Italy, Yemen, Turkey and Holland, among many other places, Departures and Arrivals will be hailed as another triumph of travel literature.

From Barnes to Beijing, Syria to Shekhavati, Purbeck to Palio, Newby and his most faithful travelling companion and wife, Wanda, never fail to delight and inform.

About this title

Review

Eric Newby may have been entitled to his pension for over a decade, but he is still globetrotting to his heart's content. In Departures and Arrivals, he brings us up to date on his latest world travels. Naturally, these no longer involve him navigating the length of the world's holiest river (Slowly Down the Ganges) or attempting to climb mountains with no previous experience (A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush)--but nevertheless, Newby'e endless curiosity for the world around him makes this book a worthy addition to his canon.

Beginning with his childhood memories of a Barnes that is long dead, he moves to evocations of the Orient Express, a lovely story from Calabria and a religious festival in Rajahstan which clearly moved him greatly. We also learn that Newby "discovered" the Meridian line, 2 degrees West, seven years before Nicholas Crane (Two Degrees West), when he sets off to cycle its length in 1991. In fact, this prescience, combined with his observant piece on Yemen which seems almost to foreshadow the great success of Tim Macintosh-Smith's Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land", goes to show that although Newby may be bowing gracefully to a younger generation of travel writers, he can still show them a thing or two. -- Toby Green

Review

'Wit, charm and effortless storytelling ability' Time Out

'[Newby's] eye as sharp as ever, he remains the King of Wry, and this quiver of 19 stories from a travelling life a delicious entertainment in the understated tradition. . . . Newby is a true comrade in tenuous and uncomfortable places and plainly a good man to be with when you are down to the last bottle of rough peasant red' Trevor Fishlock, Daily Telegraph

'Wherever he is, he writes with an eye for strange details and with a strong conviction that whatever else it is, travel should be fun' Sunday Times Travel

'A kind of pointillist memoir, a series of charming snapshots from a fascinating life. Newby is one of the funniest English writers ... fans will find in this collection of pieces all the hallmarks that have made him one of our best-loved writers: the gentle humour, the unpretentious modesty and the self-deprecating charm' William Dalrymple, Mail on Sunday

'With Newby in charge, you are guaranteed a memorable moment every step of the way. No other writer engages his readers more wholeheartedly in his adventures, or views the world through fresher eyes ... Newby is a travelling companion sans pareil' Christopher Matthew, Daily Mail

'Newby conveys the quirks of his histories and the contours of his landscapes and cultures with infectious enthusiasm and a gentlemanly scholarship' Andrew Mackenzie, Scotland on Sunday

'This book is like a suitcase into which Newby has stuffed colourful oddments from his life ... A writer with a painter's eye' Clare Colvin, Sunday Express

Edition details

• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0754004880
• ISBN 13: 9780754004882
• Binding: Audio Cassette