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Impact Assessment in Tourism Economics
by Álvaro Matias Peter Nijkamp João RomãoThis book presents a series of studies on the socio-economic impacts of tourism, with a special focus on the determinants of tourism competitiveness at the destination level. The authors offer a systematic overview of this important issue, presenting relevant empirical studies from different parts of the world, based on modern theoretical approaches and adequate analysis tools, in the context of their policy or managerial implications. The first part of the book discusses the analysis and assessment of quantitative tourism impacts on local economies, while the second part focuses on non-material aspects of tourism development, in particular those related to the role of innovation and human resources. The final section highlights the different dynamics often observed in tourism destinations arising from the interaction between tourists and local communities.
The Impact of Tourist Activities on Low-Density Territories: Evaluation Frameworks, Lessons, and Policy Recommendations (Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management)
by Rui Pedro Marques Ana I. Melo Maria Manuela Natário Ricardo BiscaiaThis book tackles the question of how tourism development and suitable policies can be used to promote sustainable development in Low-Density Territories (LDTs). The respective chapters, written by prominent experts, identify the problems associated with LDTs; highlight the comparative advantages of these territories with regard to tourism; propose methodologies for assessing the impact of tourism; and present case studies on the application of sustainable policies in tourism. Given its scope, it will be especially interesting for academics and researchers investigating LDTs and sustainable tourism, and for policymakers interested in developing these territories. LDTs represent an economic challenge, especially because most of them are home to an increasingly ageing population unable to pursue economic development. In these territories, tourism is emerging as an excellent opportunity to promote innovative dynamics, to lure investment, and to attract new people. However, it is important to promote sustainable tourism, which preserves the environment and communities’ quality of life.The Chapter "Tourism, immigrants and lifestyle entrepreneurship: The (In)coming of people as a key factor for sustainability of low-density territories – A case study in Portugal" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Imperfect Passage: A Sailing Story of Vision, Terror, and Redemption
by Michael CosgroveTurning sixty isn’t the end; it’s only the beginning. Michael Cosgrove had a beautiful family, a successful career, and a lovely Southern California home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. At age sixty, he decided to leave all that behind to sail around the world. With the vision of rugged individualism and salty tales to share with his grandchildren, Cosgrove quickly realized that sailing around the world wasn’t as easy as he had imagined. From a psychotic crewmate, to sleep deprivation and mental breakdowns, to constant storms and hallucinations, Cosgrove rode the waves, trying to keep his idea of "doing something grand” alive. Alone, and thousands of miles away from everyone he loved, he was forced to ask himself one question: What in God’s name am I doing here? In his attempt to avoid the inevitable (growing old, weak, frail), Cosgrove runs amok. He breaks his budget to outfit the boat and then refuses to read the manuals. He enters unfamiliar harbors in the dead of night, hires a violent first mate, and sails headlong into ferocious storms. At the same time, he longs for the simpler days when his four daughters were still children, when his first marriage was still intact, and when his dreams were still within reach. Though driven by scenes of sheer terror, absurd folly, and deep inner searching, the tone is always buoyant and laugh-out-loud funny. Imperfect Passage is the story of one man’s perseverance against Father Time and Mother Nature, proving that with enough will, one can indeed conquer the unconquerable.
Imperfect Passage
by Michael CosgroveMichael Cosgrove had a beautiful family, a successful career, and a lovely Southern California home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. At the age sixty, he decided to leave that all behind to sail around the world. In spite of his romanticized vision of rugged individualism and salty tales to share with his grandchildren, Cosgrove quickly realizes that sailing around the world isn't going to be as easy as he'd imagined. From a psychotic crewmate, sleep deprivation, and mental breakdowns, to stormy weather and hallucinations, Cosgrove rides the waves, holding on as best he can to his dream of "doing something grand." Alone, and thousands of miles away from everyone and everything he loves, he is forced to ask himself one question: what in God's name am I doing here? In his attempt to avoid the inevitable (growing old, weak, frail), Cosgrove runs amok. He breaks his budget to outfit the boat and then refuses to read the manuals. He enters unfamiliar harbors in the dead of night, hires a violent first mate, and sails headlong into ferocious storms. In the midst of his adventures, he longs for the simpler days when his four daughters were still children, when his first marriage was still intact, and when his future still seemed bright and expansive. Though driven by scenes of sheer terror, absurd folly, and deep inner searching, Cosgrove keeps his sense of humor throughout his harrowing journey. Imperfect Passage is the story of one man's perseverance against Father Time and Mother Nature, proving that with enough will, one can, in his or her own way, conquer the unconquerable. Michael Cosgrove will be donating a portion of his profits to the Navy Special Warfare Family Foundation.
Imperial Dreams: Tracking the Imperial Woodpecker Through the Wild Sierra Madre
by Tim GallagherA decade ago, Tim Gallagher was one of the rediscoverers of the legendary ivory-billed woodpecker, which most scientists believed had been extinct for more than half a century—now Gallagher once again hits the trail, journeying deep into Mexico&’s savagely beautiful Sierra Madre Occidental, home to rich wildlife, as well as to Mexican drug cartels, in a perilous quest to locate the most elusive bird in the world—the imperial woodpecker.The imperial woodpecker&’s trumpetlike calls and distinctive hammering on massive pines once echoed through the high forests. Two feet tall, with deep black plumage, a brilliant snow-white shield on its back, and a crimson crest, the imperial woodpecker had largely disappeared fifty years ago, though reports persist of the bird still flying through remote mountain stands. In an attempt to find and protect the imperial woodpecker in its last habitat, Gallagher is guided by a map of sightings of this natural treasure of the Sierra Madre, bestowed on him by a friend on his deathbed. Charged with continuing the quest of a line of distinguished naturalists, including the great Aldo Leopold, Gallagher treks through this mysterious, historically untamed and untamable territory. Here, where an ancient petroglyph of the imperial can still be found, Geronimo led Apaches in their last stand, William Randolph Hearst held a storied million-acre ranch, and Pancho Villa once roamed, today ruthless drug lords terrorize residents and steal and strip the land. Gallagher&’s passionate quest takes a harrowing turn as he encounters armed drug traffickers, burning houses, and fleeing villagers. His mission becomes a life-and-death drama that will keep armchair adventurers enthralled as he chases truth in the most dangerous of habitats.
Imperial Powers and Humanitarian Interventions: The Zanzibar Sultanate, Britain, and France in the Indian Ocean, 1862–1905 (Empires in Perspective)
by Raphaël CheriauIn the second half of the nineteenth century, the Zanzibar Sultanate became the focal point of European imperial and humanitarian policies, most notably Britain, France, and Germany. In fact, the Sultanate was one of the few places in the world where humanitarianism and imperialism met in the most obvious fashion. This crucial encounter was perfectly embodied by the iconic meeting of Dr. Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley in 1871. This book challenges the common presumption that those humanitarian concerns only served to conceal vile colonial interests. It brings the repression of the East African slave trade at sea and the expansion of empires into a new light in comparing French and British archives for the first time.
Un imperio de ingenieros
by Manuel Lucena Felipe Fernández-ArmestoUna nueva historia del Imperio español. Existe una figura ambigua, a medio camino entre lo militar y lo civil, que no se terminó de definir hasta hace poco: el ingeniero. Este libro es una exploración fascinante de su papel central en la forja del Imperio español. También es una celebración de la curiosidad humana, del ingenio y de la sorprendente capacidad de adaptación de unos profesionales que no se limitaron a trasladar los postulados europeos, sino que se empaparon de los nuevos espacios hallados en ultramar y los admiraron. La formación de un imperio requiere una reestructuración del paisaje con fines administrativos así como la vinculación de comunidades dispares en una sola entidad política por medio de infraestructuras. En el Imperio español, que se fijó en el romano como modelo, los ingenieros dirigieron obras públicas clave para lograr eficacia económica e integración social y cultural, pues facilitaban las comunicaciones y la salubridad y proporcionaban lo necesario para la defensa. Además, tuvieron que trabajar en un territorio extraordinariamente grande, con fronteras indefendibles y rutas vulnerables, o con recursos distribuidos de manera muy dispersa. Además, lo hicieron en un contexto de escasez financiera debida a las crisis económicas y las guerras dinásticas imperiales, dentro de un proceso de expansión tan agotador como asombroso. Felipe Fernández-Armesto y Manuel Lucena Giraldo exploran la actividad de los ingenieros a partir de un sinfín de atractivas historias, siempre bien contadas, y ofrecen una visión muy singular de la construcción del Imperio español, con sus virtudes y extraordinarios logros.
Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century
by Simon KuperAn entertaining and openhearted tale of a naïf eventually getting to understand a complex, glittering, beautiful and often cruel society - at least a little. When Simon Kuper left London for Paris in his early thirties, he wasn't planning to make a permanent move. Paris, however, had other plans. Kuper has grown middle-aged there, eaten the croissants, seen his American wife through life-threatening cancer, taken his children to countless football matches on freezing Saturday mornings in the city's notorious banlieues, and in 2015 lived through two terrorist attacks on their neighborhood. Over two decades of becoming something of a cantankerous Parisian himself, Kuper has watched the city change. This century, it has globalized, gentrified, and been shocked into realizing its role as the crucible of civilizational conflict. Sometimes it's a multicultural paradise, and sometimes it isn't. This decade, Parisians have lived through a sequence of shocks: terrorist attacks, record floods and heatwaves, the burning of Notre Dame, the storming of the city by gilets jaunes, and then the pandemic. Now, as the Olympics come to town, France is busy executing the "Grand Paris" project: the most serious attempt yet to knit together the bejewelled city with its neglected suburbs. This is a captivating memoir of the Paris of today, without the Parisian clichés.
Impossible Journey: Two Against the Sahara
by Michael AsherWritten by the same author as "A Desert Dies" and "In Search of the Forty Days Road", this book describes the longest camel journey ever made by Westerners. The author and his wife made unique observations along the way of the effects of the drought and the increasing spread of the desert.
Impossible Owls: Essays from the Ends of the World
by Brian PhillipsNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'Hilarious, nimble, and thoroughly illuminating' Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad'Recalls the work of John Jeremiah Sullivan and the late David Foster Wallace, with a dash of Janet Malcolm' VogueFrom its opening journey into remote Alaska for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, IMPOSSIBLE OWLS leads us on a kaleidoscopic exploration of contemporary reality. Brian Phillips takes us to a sumo tournament in Japan, the jungle in India, the studio of a great Russian animator, a royal tour of the Yukon Territory with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and into the weird heart of America. This exhilarating debut visits borders both real and imagined, and asks what it means, in our age, to travel to the end of the map.
Impossible Owls: Essays
by Brian PhillipsNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. SEMI-FINALIST FOR THE PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD FOR ART OF THE ESSAY.One of Amazon, Buzzfeed, ELLE, Electric Literature and Pop Sugar's Best Books of 2018. Named one of the Best Books of October and Fall by Amazon, Buzzfeed, TIME, Vulture, The Millions and Vol. 1 Brooklyn.“Hilarious, nimble, and thoroughly illuminating.” —Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground RailroadA globe-spanning, ambitious book of essays from one of the most enthralling storytellers in narrative nonfictionIn his highly anticipated debut essay collection, Impossible Owls, Brian Phillips demonstrates why he’s one of the most iconoclastic journalists of the digital age, beloved for his ambitious, off-kilter, meticulously reported essays that read like novels.The eight essays assembled here—five from Phillips’s Grantland and MTV days, and three new pieces—go beyond simply chronicling some of the modern world’s most uncanny, unbelievable, and spectacular oddities (though they do that, too). Researched for months and even years on end, they explore the interconnectedness of the globalized world, the consequences of history, the power of myth, and the ways people attempt to find meaning. He searches for tigers in India, and uncovers a multigenerational mystery involving an oil tycoon and his niece turned stepdaughter turned wife in the Oklahoma town where he grew up. Through each adventure, Phillips’s remarkable voice becomes a character itself—full of verve, rich with offhanded humor, and revealing unexpected vulnerability. Dogged, self-aware, and radiating a contagious enthusiasm for his subjects, Phillips is an exhilarating guide to the confusion and wonder of the world today. If John Jeremiah Sullivan’s Pulphead was the last great collection of New Journalism from the print era, Impossible Owls is the first of the digital age.
The Impossible Voyage of Kon-Tiki
by Deborah Kogan RayCombining history with culture, the ocean with exploration, and risk with triumph—this rich offering is the only picture book account of Thor Heyerdahl's world-famous Kon-Tiki expedition, during which he sailed a raft 5,000 miles from the coast of South America to the islands of the South Pacific.Author Deborah Kogan Ray clearly and succinctly sets up how Norwegian anthropologist Heyerdahl became convinced that ancient Peruvians arrived in the South Pacific via raft, why he wanted to re-create the voyage, and how he planned for it. She uses primary-source quotations on each spread to shore up the factual history of the events portrayed in the book. Her illustrations add emotion to this harrowing journey.
Impressions of Japanese Architecture
by Mira Locher Ralph Adams Cram"The best book on Japanese architecture ever produced by a Westerner." --The American ArchitectJapanese architecture is undoubtedly less well known and less appreciated than the architecture of any other civilized nation. Not only this, but it is almost universally misjudged, and while the world has by degrees come to know and admire the pictorial and industrial arts of Japan, her architecture, which is the rot and vehicle of all other modes of art, is passed over with a casual reference to its fantastic quality or a patronizing tribute to the excellence of some of its carved decoration.Written at a time when Japanese art was only beginning to be appreciated in the West, Impressions of Japanese Architecture conveys a sense of discovery and enthusiasm that modern readers will find as interesting and infectious as the book's first readers did. Long considered a classic, this new edition contains a foreword by acclaimed contemporary architect and author, Mira Locher. Originally published about one hundred years ago, Impressions of Japanese Architecture is still of immense value to anyone wishing for a better understanding of Japanese architecture, art and culture.
Impressions of Paris: An Artist's Sketchbook
by Cat SetoArtist Cat Seto, founder of the acclaimed Ferme à Papier brand, introduces you to the City of Light as never before in this distinctive volume—both a visual feast and celebration of the artistic process—filled with lavish illustrations and descriptive meditations that capture the quotidian pleasures of France’s capital city and how they have inspired creativity.In Impressions of Paris, Cat Seto takes you on a dazzling and enlightening tour of Paris, from familiar sights to hidden surprises, to reveal this legendary city as never before. Combining informative and entertaining vignettes, stories, and notes with stunning full-color illustrations, she draws parallels between the city and the art it inspires. Organized around four main principles of art—color, pattern, perspective, and rhythm—Impressions of Paris is a celebration of the artistic spark in the city’s mundane yet marvelous details: the pistachio and cassis palette triggered by the ice cream case at Berthillon; how a rainy stroll through an open air market transforms into a smudgy gouache (pronounced gwash) pattern; the lovely ubiquity of the iconic French stripe, the Breton.Pretty and inventive, surprising and stimulating, Impressions of Paris captures the beauty and charms of this stunning city and extols its power to stimulate the creative imagination—inviting artists and art appreciators to intimately experience a painter’s process.
The Imprisoned Traveler: Joseph Forsyth and Napoleon's Italy (Transits: Literature, Thought & Culture 1650-1850)
by Keith CrookThe Imprisoned Traveler is a fascinating portrait of a unique book, its context, and its elusive author. Joseph Forsyth, traveling through an Italy plundered by Napoleon, was unjustly imprisoned in 1803 by the French as an enemy alien. Out of his arduous eleven-year “detention” came his only book, Remarks on Antiquities, Arts, and Letters during an Excursion in Italy (1813). Written as an (unsuccessful) appeal for release, praised by Forsyth’s contemporaries for its originality and fine taste, it is now recognized as a classic of Romantic period travel writing. Keith Crook, in this authoritative study, evokes the peculiar miseries that Forsyth endured in French prisons, reveals the significance of Forsyth’s encounters with scientists, poets, scholars, and ordinary Italians, and analyzes his judgments on Italian artworks. He uncovers how Forsyth’s allusiveness functions as a method of covert protest against Napoleon and reproduces the hitherto unpublished correspondence between the imprisoned Forsyth and his brother. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.
The Improbable Conquest: Sixteenth-Century Letters from the Río de la Plata (Latin American Originals #9)
by Pablo García Loaeza Victoria L. GarrettThe Improbable Conquest offers translations of a series of little-known letters from the chaotic Spanish conquest of the Río de la Plata region, uncovering a rich and understudied historical resource. These letters were written by a wide variety of individuals, including clergy, military officers, and the region’s first governor, Pedro de Mendoza. There is also an exceptional contribution from Isabel de Guevara, one of the few women involved in the conquest to have recorded her experiences. Writing about the conditions of settlements and expeditions, these individuals vividly expose the less glamorous side of the conquest, narrating in detail various misfortunes, infighting, corruption, and complaints. Their letters further reveal the colony’s fraught relationship with the native peoples it sought to colonize, giving insight into the complexities of the conquest and the colonization process. Pablo García Loaeza and Victoria Garrett provide an introduction to the history of the region and the conquest’s key players, as well as a timeline and a glossary explaining difficult and archaic Spanish terms.
The Improbable Conquest: Sixteenth-Century Letters from the Río de la Plata (Latin American Originals)
by Pablo García Loaeza and Victoria L. GarrettThe Improbable Conquest offers translations of a series of little-known letters from the chaotic Spanish conquest of the Río de la Plata region, uncovering a rich and understudied historical resource. These letters were written by a wide variety of individuals, including clergy, military officers, and the region’s first governor, Pedro de Mendoza. There is also an exceptional contribution from Isabel de Guevara, one of the few women involved in the conquest to have recorded her experiences. Writing about the conditions of settlements and expeditions, these individuals vividly expose the less glamorous side of the conquest, narrating in detail various misfortunes, infighting, corruption, and complaints. Their letters further reveal the colony’s fraught relationship with the native peoples it sought to colonize, giving insight into the complexities of the conquest and the colonization process. Pablo García Loaeza and Victoria Garrett provide an introduction to the history of the region and the conquest’s key players, as well as a timeline and a glossary explaining difficult and archaic Spanish terms.
The Improbable Voyage
by Tristan JonesThe sailor-author navigates his famous yacht, Outward Leg, across the rivers of Europe in this travel memoir that&’s &“vintage Tristan Jones&” (Publishers Weekly). The Improbable Voyage is the account of master sailor and storyteller Tristan Jones' 2,307-mile voyage across Europe in an oceangoing trimaran, Outward Leg. Continuing his round-the-world journey, Jones traveled from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the rivers Rhine and Danube. Battling ice and cold, life-threatening rapids and narrow defiles, German bureaucrats and Romanian frontier police, the indomitable Jones made his way through eight countries and emerged triumphant, if battered, bruised and penniless, at the Black Sea.Tristan Jones is one of the best-known authors of sailing stories. A Welshman, he left school at age 14 to work on sailing barges and spent the rest of his life at sea.
Improving Food and Beverage Performance
by Keith WallerThe food and beverage aspect of hotel operations is often the most difficult area to control effectively, but it plays a crucial role in customer satisfaction. Improving Food and Beverage Performance is able to show how successful catering operations can increase profitability whilst providing continuing improvements in quality, value and service. Keith Waller looks at the practical issues of improving performance combining the key themes of quality customer service and efficient management. This text will enable managers and students alike to recognise all the contributing factors to a successful food and beverage operation.Keith Waller is Senior Lecturer for the Faculty of Business and Management at Blackpool and the Fylde College. He has extensive experience in the hospitality industry and is a member of the Hotel and Catering International Management Association. He is the co-author, with Professor John Fuller, of The Menu, Food and Profit.
Improving Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry (Hospitality Essentials Series)
by Lieke Sauer Frans MelissenOver the past few years the hospitality industry has become a lot more sustainable than it used to be. However, the industry’s contribution to the sustainable development of our societies is still significantly smaller than it could be. This book specifically addresses the links between operations, tactics and strategy from a sustainable development perspective and moves beyond describing what is to reflect on what could be or even what should be, thus providing students with a concise guide for improving sustainability concepts and businesses in the hospitality industry. Each chapter uses specific cases and examples to reflect on different ways in which sustainability principles can be used for revisiting the host–guest relationship and improving the industry’s business processes and models. In doing so, the book provides current and future professionals with guidelines, inspiration and a call for action to take sustainability within the hospitality industry to the next level, based on inclusiveness, equality and a sustainable relationship with our natural environment.
In a Land Far from Home: a JM Journey
by Syed Mujtaba AliWITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY TARAN KHAN, author of Shadow CityTRANSLATED FROM BENGALI BY NAZES AFROZAn intrepid traveller and true cosmopolitan, legendary Bengali writer Syed Mujtaba Ali spent a year and a half teaching in Kabul from 1927 to 1929. Curious to explore Afghan society, Mujtaba Ali had access to a cross-section of Kabul's population, and in In a Land Far from Home he chronicles his experiences with a keen eye and a wicked sense of humour.Mujtaba Ali's travels coincided with a critical point in Afghanistan's history: when the reformist King Amanullah tried to steer his country towards modernity by encouraging education for girls and giving them the choice of removing the burqa. Branded a 'kafir', Amanullah was overthrown by the bandit leader Bacha-e-Saqao. With striking parallels to twenty-first century events in the region, In a Land Far From Home is the only first-hand account of this tumultuous period by a non-Afghan.Providing a unique perspective, Mujtaba Ali's fascinating account is brought to life by contact with a colourful cast of characters at all levels of society -- from the garrulous Pathan Dost Muhammed and the gentle Russian giant Bolshov, to his servant, Abdur Rahman and his partner in tennis, the Crown Prince Enayatullah.
In a Rocket Made of Ice
by Gail GutradtA beautifully told, inspiring true story of one woman's volunteer experiences at an orphanage in rural Cambodia--a book that embodies the belief that love, compassion, and generosity of spirit can overcome even the most fearsome of obstacles. Gail Gutradt was at a crossroads in her life when she learned of the Wat Opot Children's Community. Begun with just fifty dollars in the pocket of Wayne Dale Matthysse, a former Marine Corps medic in Vietnam, Wat Opot, a temple complex nestled among Cambodia's verdant rice paddies, was once a haunted scrubland that became a place of healing and respite where children with or orphaned by HIV/AIDS could live outside of fear or judgment, and find a new family--a place that Gutradt calls "a workshop for souls." Disarming, funny, deeply moving, In a Rocket Made of Ice gathers the stories of children saved and changed by this very special place, and of one woman's transformation in trying to help them. With wry perceptiveness and stunning humanity and humor, this courageous, surprising, and evocative memoir etches the people of Wat Opot forever on your heart.From the Hardcover edition.
In a Sunburned Country
by Bill BrysonA CLASSIC FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ONE SUMMER Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature threatens to break out. His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods. In A Sunburned Country is his report on what he found in an entirely different place: Australia, the country that doubles as a continent, and a place with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, and the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on the planet. The result is a deliciously funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiousity.Despite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles, snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path. Wherever he goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and unfailingly obliging, and these beaming products of land with clean, safe cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine fill the pages of this wonderful book. Australia is an immense and fortunate land, and it has found in Bill Bryson its perfect guide.From the Trade Paperback edition.
In a Time of Monsters: Travels Through a Middle East in Revolt
by Emma SkyReturning to the UK in September 2010 after serving in Iraq as the political adviser to the top American general, Emma Sky felt no sense of homecoming. She soon found herself back in the Middle East traveling through a region in revolt. In a Time of Monsters bears witness to the demands of young people for dignity and justice during the Arab Spring; the inability of sclerotic regimes to reform; the descent of Syria into civil war; the rise of the Islamic State; and the flight of refugees to Europe. With deep empathy for its people and an extensive understanding of the Middle East, Sky makes a complex region more comprehensible. A great storyteller and observational writer, Sky also reveals the ties that bind the Middle East to the West and how blowback from our interventions in the region contributed to the British vote to leave the European Union and to the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.
In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale (Vintage Departures)
by Amitav GhoshOnce upon a time an Indian writer named Amitav Ghosh set out an Indian slave, name unknown, who some seven hundred years before had traveled to the Middle East. The journey took him to a small village in Egypt, where medieval customs coexist with twentieth-century desires and discontents. But even as Ghosh sought to re-create the life of his Indian predecessor, he found himself immersed in those of his modern Egyptian neighbors. Combining shrewd observations with painstaking historical research, Ghosh serves up skeptics and holy men, merchants and sorcerers. Some of these figures are real, some only imagined, but all emerge as vividly as the characters in a great novel. In an Antique Land is an inspired work that transcends genres as deftly as it does eras, weaving an entrancing and intoxicating spell.