Travel doesn’t always mean moving (physically). Books prove that you don’t need a plane ticket or a four-wheel drive to immerse yourself in adventure. Pick up a book, explore the world, and go on mind-trips.
Here are 10 books with the theme "Around the World," recommended by the Editors of international travel magazines, that will open up adventures that anyone can join - even while you're curled up in bed.
A Book of Migrations - Rebecca Solnit, 1997
This is the story of the author's long walking trip in the West of Ireland, and how that story eventually leads to reflections on displacement with its distinct cultural, psychological, and personal movements.A Book of Migrations(A Book of Migrations) has built a microcosm of the invasions, colonizations, migrations, nomadic life and tourist culture of humans. The journey is on the way through the history, culture and landscape of Ireland.
Cover of the book A Book of Migrations
Seven Years in Tibet - Heinrich Harrer, 1953
The book is essentially an autobiography of Heinrich Harrer's own experiences in Tibet from 1944 to 1951, when he was still an Austrian mountaineer during the outbreak of World War II. He escaped from a British prisoner of war camp in India and later formed an unusual friendship with the Dalai Lama. Heinrich writes in the book, “Wherever I live, I miss my home in Tibet. I often think that I can still hear the cries of wild geese and cranes, and the flapping of their wings as they fly over Lhasa under the clear, cold moonlight. It is my sincere hope that this story may bring some understanding of a people with a strong will to live who have won so little sympathy from an indifferent world.”
Seven Years in Tibet, aired in 1997
In Patagonia (In Patagonia) - Bruce Chatwin, 1977
As a child, Chatwin found a piece of thick leather in his grandmother’s drawer. Adults told him it was from a dinosaur in Patagonia. This inspired the young writer and journalist, and years later he set out to travel to the southern tip of South America. The journey led to countless stories about the notorious bandit Butch Cassidy and the Welsh immigrants in that land.
Cover of the book In Patagonia, 1988 edition
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer, 1996
Opening with the protagonist's death in an abandoned bus in the mountains, the work is based on the true story of Christ J. McCandless (or Alexander Supertramp as he calls himself). In his twenties, with a wealthy family, a high education and a bright future ahead of him, he donated his entire $25,000 savings to charity, abandoned his car and almost all his possessions, burned the cash in his wallet and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mount McKinley. In a postcard to his friend Wayne Westerberg, McCandless wrote, "If this adventure is fatal and you never hear from me again, I want you to know that I am a great person. Now I'm going into the wilderness, Alex."
Christ McCandless and the Abandoned Bus
Brazilian Adventure - Peter Fleming, 1933
Many people know Ian Fleming - the father of the legendary James Bond 007 - but few know the person who had a decisive influence on the birth of James Bond. That is the writer, traveler, intelligence captain Peter Fleming, Ian Fleming's brother. In 1932, Peter began his travels to write books when he read an advertisement in The Times, recruiting people for a trip to the ghostly rivers in Central Brazil. After a year of participating in the journey, he wrote a book titledBrazilian Adventure, tells the story of a dangerous hunt in the Brazilian jungle, nearly 5,000 km long, to find out the fate of a missing British explorer.
An article in The Times about Peter Fleming and his book Brazilian Adventure - Photo: @geogrimo
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne, 1870
This is a name that is so familiar that when it is mentioned in any "recommended" article, people may think it is redundant. But this book itself deserves such praise.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seais a fantasy novel, but it is vivid and full of reality, a gateway to a thrilling adventure for any generation of readers. Enter the world of the deep ocean inTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, is to join strange hunting trips, embark on a journey to escape shark fins, run away from natives, mine diamonds, explore new lands and finally get trapped in an iceberg in the Arctic...
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Literature Publishing House
In Ethiopia With a Mule - Dervla Murphy, 1968
Lost in a swamp, sharing dinner with strange highlanders, fighting bandits - these are the experiences of famous travel writer Dervla Murphy on a 1,000-mile journey across Ethiopia. He traveled alone, carrying only a 30-pound backpack and a mule named Jock.
Cover of the book In Ethiopia With a Mule, 2003 edition
Journey to the West - Wu Cheng'en, 1590s
There is no surviving direct evidence to indicate the author's name.Journey to the West, but this work is still often attributed to the author Ngo Thua An. This is a name that everyone knows, and most people are associated with the movie.Journey to the West, not with the book named in the four greatest works of classical Chinese literature. This novel is not only a story about the journey to India to get the Buddhist scriptures of the four masters and disciples of Tang Sanzang, but also contains countless meanings and philosophies that people still cannot fully understand to this day.
Journey to the West, broadcast in 1986
Southern Forest Land - Doan Gioi, 1957
The novel is set in the Southwest region of Vietnam in 1945, after the French colonialists returned to invade. Little An - the main character of the whole story - is like a guide leading the reader to the Southern land, from Tien River, Hau River stretching to Kien Giang - Rach Gia, then down to U Minh forest, then stopping at Nam Can Ca Mau. There, people live in a majestic natural land, with immense fields, murmuring waves, rich jungles, wild animals of all kinds...
Cover of the book Southern Forest Land, Literature Publishing House
Bamboo Raft Vietnam Travelogue: 5,500 Miles Across the Pacific - Tim Severin, 2014
Today, if someone told you that thousands of years ago, people in China and Southeast Asia crossed the Pacific Ocean on rafts made of bamboo with not a single piece of iron, would you believe it? In 1991, to prove this controversial hypothesis of Orientalist Joseph Needham, explorer, historian and writer Tim Severin decided to recreate the ancient voyage.Bamboo raft Vietnam travelogueis a memoir about Tim Severin and his crew, on a journey across the Pacific Ocean on a bamboo raft. The journey is not only an extraordinary story, but also offers a unique perspective on what happens when historical theories are put to the test.
Bamboo Raft Vietnam Travelogue: 5,500 Miles Across the Pacific Ocean
