1. ISBN13: 9780142437193
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Review :

In Patagonia is Bruce Chatwin's exquisite account of his journey through "the uttermost part of the earth," that stretch of land at the southern tip of South America, where bandits were once made welcome and Charles Darwin formed part of his "survival of the fittest" theory. Chatwin's evocative descriptions, notes on the odd history of the region, and enchanting anecdotes make In Patagonia an exhilarating look at a place that still retains the exotic mystery of a far-off, unseen land. An instant classic upon publication in 1977, In Patagonia remains a masterwork of literature.

Customer Review :

The Best Travel Book Ever Written

Of all the travel books I've read over the years, this is the one I always come back to. It's an extraordinary work: a brilliant mix of journey, revelation, history, people of another land, another time. I marvel at Chatwin's gift of language, his insights into the ways and means of how the people in this ancient land of South America live, and have lived for centuries. There's a kind of authenticity to the storytelling techniques that Chatwin employs: it makes everything personal, almost private. And as a reader, you're drawn into his world, his engagement with the locals, with their roots and the richness of their history. The book is, quite simply, a masterpiece.

-Tom Maremaa, Author of the Forthcoming Metal Heads: A Novel from Kunati Books in Spring 2009

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For Those With Wanderlust

My passion for travel and discovery made this man and his writings a great addition to my library. In Patagonia is a great introduction to Chatwin's style and stories of exploration, and the delivery is pleasant. He goes beyond the tourist venues to become immersed in local culture, and then shares his experiences in such a way as to make me grateful he did.

What makes his writings more than simply a travelogue is the ability to make culture and perspective not only accessible, but fun!

For those that want to go everywhere and do everything, Bruce Chatwin is a great example: he did. He did, and his writings are a beautiful tribute to that passion to go off the beaten track.


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oddly compelling travel writing

i didn't know what to make of this book when i heard about it. it seemed to be on on eveyone's list of must read travel writing so i added it prior to a trip to south america. it doesn't disappoint. there's a little bit of everything for everyone here. if you like personal vignettes, it's got 'em. if you want a historical perspective on things, it's got 'em. chatwin seems to weave together a compelling read without a well defined travelogue.

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Another view

Chatwin's "In Patagonia" continues to sell well and is widely appreciated as good writing, widely quoted, as if the book had some sort of value as a proper work on the history of the region. "In Patagonia" is great writing, some say, where style and entertainment are more important than the veracity of the content. And therein lies one of the curious issues surrounding good travel writing (though Chatwin reportedly did not like to be called a "travel writer.") Author Dan Buck was charitable when he wrote of Chatwin's book, "He narrated, but he was not necessarily telling the literal truth in every instance...." Writers from the region superficially visited by Chatwin often describe his work as something on the order of "full of inventions, but good writing." For tourists visiting Patagonia it may be sufficient to be amused and entertained by Chatwin's famous book. The cafés of Puerto Natales seem to be full of tourists reading and quoting from Chatwin's book as if it were the emblematic work on Patagonia. Fact-checkers, on the other hand, will seek other sources.

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A MASTER OF TRAVEL

Chatwin captures the essence of Patagonia page after page, and I really enjoyed how he described the bleakness of the land but also how he found and described interesting people along the way. His adjectives were wonderful. He's right up there with best travel writers of all time, including some of the early explorers into lands unknown to Europeans. A classic to be read every couple of years, and also one to have in your packsack when you venturing into Chile and Argentina. Paul Theroux and Graham Greene liked his writing - that's a message in itself. Very enjoyable afternoon read...

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Customer Review :

Slow as a sloth

When a book lacks tension and features extensive quoting, it's bound to be boring. This book is boring, and the main reason is that it lacks a narrative thread, other than "been there, saw somebody, told me a long and winding story about somebody who was here some day". All trips are inner trips, but in this case I would say Chatwin looked inside himself, found not a lot, and decided instead to cut and paste from old stories from down south.

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More interesting than informative.

Depending on what you look for in a "travel" book you may or may not like this. If you're looking for history, natural history, or political developments, this is not the book for you. It is not comprehensive in any way.

If you're looking for entertaining reading set in an interesting location with snippets of odd information this book would be entertaining. Of travel authors I have read, this author most closely resembles Theroux, but without the curmudgeonly judging. Like Theroux, his facts may or may not be correct but he doesn't claim to be writing a textbook, just some stuff that happened to him in this place.

Mercifully, Chatwin spares us deep philosphical introspections so prevalent in much modern "travel" writing.

I read it and enjoyed it and recommend it.

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Brilliant work

It's rare to encounter such subtle humor as one finds here; the book is not only an adept sketch of life at the bottom of the world, it's a screamingly, if subtly, funny throughout. I borrowed it from the library, read it, and was so entertained and impressed that I sought out and purchased a copy. Simply a terrific book.

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I live in Patagonia

I moved to Patagonia, on the Chilean side and have traversed the Andes north and south of here. I read many travel and guide books before hand, and none quite prepared me for Patagonia. I have just now finished his book, and I can tell you...Patagonia has not changed much. The earlier writer who debunked him must have been just a passer through, because life is still very much like "In Patagonia". I'm living and learning it ... still. March 2009.



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A Romatic tale of Patagonia

Chatwin's account of his journey across Patagonia in the late 1970's certainly is embellished with all the qualities of a good English romantic. His tale begins with a memory from his childhood about a piece skin that was in the procession of his grandmother. She told him that is belonged to a Brontosaurus and came from the distant land of Patagonia in the south of Argentina. It turns out that the piece of skin in question actually belonged to a Mylodon, an ancient Giant Sloth native to Patagonia, and Chatwin received his fair share of belittlement from his schoolmasters for claiming it came from a dinosaur. Still, he held a special revere for the skin though and hoped to become its caretaker one day. Unfortunately the skin was tossed out after his grandmother passed away. He never lost his fascination with the distant and mysterious land of Patagonia though and always hoped to secure a piece of Mylodon skin for himself one day.

Fast-forward about 25 years and we pick up Chatwin's story as he arrives in Argentina, finally fulfilling his dream to visit Patagonia. His journey takes him all over modern Patagonia, if one can use the word modern in regards to the region, bouncing from town to town in search of old legends and odd tales. He investigates the haunts of the last known days of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, visits the beaches the Darwin visited during his famous voyage aboard the Beagle, even visits the famous Mylodon cave where the archaic animal's remains were discovered.

Chatwin tells a remarkable tale and brings a nice mingling of history, myth, travel and local flavor all into one narrative. At several points he takes time to digress on several side stories that have a connection to the place he is visiting or a story that he is in the progress of rooting out. In spite of all this, or perhaps because of it, one gets the felling that all that Chatwin writes is not the stone cold truth. Certainly some areas are embellished to facilitate the flow of the narrative. Due to this it is hard to separate fact from fiction, but in a work such as this it is not especially important. Chatwin conveys the magic and mystery of the land that has for so long held a special place in his mind. He gives us a glimpse of what Patagonia has meant and stood for for generation after generation of seekers and travelers.

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Editorial Review :

Squeezed between a vast ocean and the longest mountain range on earth, Chile is 2,600 miles long and never more than 110 miles wide--not a country that lends itself to maps, as Sara Wheeler discovered when she traveled alone from the top to the bottom, from the driest desert in the world to the sepulchral wastes of Antarctica. Eloquent, astute, nimble with history and deftly amusing, Travels in a Thin Country established Sara Wheeler as one of the very best travel writers in the world.

Customer Review :

Superficial and disappointing

This is a 2006 reissue of a book written more than ten years earlier, and in her introduction to the reissue the author describes it as a young woman's book, but she is too kind: a rather silly and ignorant book would be more accurate. The central problem is that she doesn't seem to have decided what sort of book she was trying to write. A travel book may fall into one of three genres: a tourist guide, an analysis of the political and social character of the country visited, or an account of the adventures experienced by the author. Sara Wheeler doesn't appear to have had any adventures, so the third of these is a non-starter, but her book fails in both of the other two as well: it has too few descriptions of the places visited and too many accounts of the conversations she had about politics to succeed as a tourist guide; as a social and political analysis it has much too much chit-chat. In any case case her knowledge of Chile is very superficial -- the kind of thing she would have heard from her political exile friends in London before she went, rather than things she saw with her own eyes. One has the impression that her main objective was to confirm the ideas she had before going to Chile, and within Chile she stayed (amongst other places, of course) at the British Embassy and on the estates of very wealthy people, where no doubt, she was able to confirm her prejudices. She tells us, for example, that the Chilean population is riddled with anti-semitism: she could easily have picked up that idea from talking with her wealthy friends, but as a description of the population as a whole it is complete nonsense.

Who could visit Lake Chungura in the far north of Chile without finding anything at all to say about its beauty? Who could pass through the Region de los Lagos in the south, but refrain from stopping because she didn't think it would tell her much about Chile? Sara Wheeler, that's who. She mentions (correctly) that the Region de los Lagos is a favourite place for Chilean people to go on vacation, but it doesn't seem to have occurred to her that seeing where ordinary people go on vacation and what they do there would tell her more about the ordinary life of the country than visiting a military base in the Antarctic.

All in all a very disappointing book, with very little of interest to say.

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Journry through Chile

Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile (Modern Library)A very intertaining journal of travels through Chile.

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Our whole Book Club Hated this Book!

My entire book club hated this book. We all found the literary tone novice and the writing choppy and uninteresting. This is once case where pictures would have added a great deal. TERRIBLE.

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Disappointing

I eagerly snatched up this book, as there aren't that many armchair travel books about Chile. Unfortunately I just got bogged down with this one (twice!) and couldn't finish it, and I'm an avid reader who can slog through most any book. Though I wasn't expecting or even hoping for the liveliest of writing, I found it dull in both presentation and choice of material. Too bad. Two stars for choosing an interesting, beautiful country to write about.

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lover of travel lit

This was one of the most delightful travel books ever! Not only do you get a glimpse of the entire country, from north to south, but you get a real social feel for class differences between the oligarchy and the poor. The author has a great sense of humor, which is always a plus.

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1. ISBN13: 9780679727149
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
4. Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Editorial Review :

O'Hanlon takes us into the bug-ridden rain forest between the Orinoco and the Amazon--infested with jaguars and piranhas, where men would kill over a bottle of ketchup and where the locals may be the most violent people on earth (next to hockey fans).

Customer Review :

exotic travel, exploration and adventure in the remote Amazon

"In Trouble Again" by Redmond O'Hanlon is a book about exotic travel, exploration and adventure in the remote Amazon jungle and along its rivers.

O'Hanlon continues the flourishing line of eccentric English explorers who did so much to penetrate the far reaches of the known world a century or so ago - and indeed into the middle of the 20th century. To a man (and, with a few notable exceptions, they were mostly men) they relished hardship, discomfort and danger in the hope of extending the range of human knowledge of the physical and living worlds - and testing their own limits in the process.

It is a pity that similar challenges are disappearing for young men today, although not entirely as this book proves. O'Hanlons adventures would not have been out of place in the 19th century, yet the expedition described in the book took place in the mid-1980s.

The book describes O'Hanlon's expedition into the remote Amazonas jungle of Venezuela. Although the term "expedition" is perhaps too strong a term to describe a trip with idiosyncratic guides and companions that frequently went awry. He also encounters frightening animals and inhabitants. As a treat, the Yanomami inserted a long blowpipe into his nostrils and blew in yoppo, a mind-altering drug, during an evening hanging out in one of their villages. He met the dreaded assassin beetle, carrier of Chagas Disease.

However, the misadventures are very entertaining. O'Hanlon woke one morning to find his testicles looking like a bunch of green grapes. They were covered in ticks from a tapir killed the previous evening for food. Apparently some ticks migrate to the genitals of a new host because they have learned that the genitals are the only part of the body that a tapir will not scrape against a tree to dislodge parasites.

Anyone who has travelled down the Amazon and into its jungles as a conventional tourist will recognise many of the things described in the book: palm trees covered in long thorns, eating piranhas, the sounds of frogs, fire ants, curare arrows and much more. I highly recommend reading the book either before or after undertaking such a trip.


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Wit somewhat overstated

I like adventure. I also like a witty approach to writing, but this book seems to fall a little short in the humor category as it was hyped out to be. Forced and anxious would be a better description.

Nonetheless, O'Hanlon's escapades into uncharted Venezuelan Amazon River systems do bear fruit. From tolerating and coping with the many dangers of uncivilized jungle environs to befriending the fierce and violent Yanomami tribe, the author certainly has achieved what many would rather accomplish from an armchair.

The ending was abrupt and rather inconsiderate to the reader. It was as if the author's "writing" canoe just capsized.


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Good Read


This is an interesting travel book to read about Edmond O'Hanlon journey into the Amazon. Edmond manages to sucker a friend of his to come along on his crazy journey into the Amazon. His friend has no idea what he is getting himself into. It is an easy to read book with lots of English humour in it. Many time I found myself laughing. If you like travel books with adventure then this is a good read.


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WELL WRITTEN AND FUNNY, OVER THE TOP AT TIMES

Redmond O'Hanlon is a good travel writer, bringing the reader into his canoe as he faces a torrent of dangers and unpleasant situations. His British humour is very well placed in presenting some of the absurb situations he gets himself into. Especially with Simon as his sidekick (which gives the reader a somewhat normal view of things), the story is quite captivating.

However, some of his descriptions and stories did leave me with the feeling that he may have augmented the danger of situations to make the story more interesting. He also blew up the stupidity of some characters, giving in to what sounds like basic stereotypes of indians and the fears white people have of indians.

Overall, this is a decent book. If you are into Amazon travel, this is a nice adition. However, if you just want an intro to the Amazon through the eyes of an adventurer, there are better books, such as David Campbell's (1st person, more scientific pop writing with lyrical qualities) or Candice Millard's (old travel, relating Roosevelt's exploration in the Amazon).

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possibly funniest travel book ever

dry british humor. The funniest passage ever written may be Simon's tirade when he has had enough and tells O'Hanlon he wants out of this miserable trip. O'Hanlon is the master of travel gone bad.

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Editorial Review :

The Saddest Pleasure

The Saddest Pleasure is a deeply personal look at the people, poverty, beauty, art, music, literature, and passion of South America by an American who has spent most of his life there.

Moritz Thomsen was one of the early Peace Corps volunteers. Through his skill as a writer he vividly brings to life the people and landscapes he loves. The Saddest Pleasure tells the story of Thomsen's desperate departure from Ecuador at the age of sixty-three and his soul-searching journey through Brazil and the Amazon River. Along the way the author reflects on the meaning of his own life and the world around him, his friendships, and on the distances between people and cultures.

Thomsen's spirited observations are tinged with irascibility, as he moves from city to feudal countryside, from primitive conditions to the startlingly contemporary details of a culture in transition.

Paul Theroux's introduction to this book is a testament to Mr. Thomsen's remarkable life.

Customer Review :

Amazing journey within these pages...

I had this book for over ten years before I finally sat down to read it recently, at home from work with a cold. I quickly became engrossed in it to the point where I had a hard time putting it down. Thomsen's writing is superb. He weaves his personal story of early psychic hurt at the hands of his father and eccentric family into an exploration of global woes and human suffering, all the while with truly beautiful language. Alternately funny, gross, awful and awe-inspiring, you will come away dazzled, moved and yes, shaken by the vividness of his images and the depth of his understanding of the human condition. It is one of those rare books that transcends its own story line to show you a window onto our world of great clarity and understanding on issues like the economics of class, the gulfs between cultures, exploitation and poverty, the meaning of beauty, and the individual's struggle to find meaning in a chaotic world. In the end, you're not sure where you have gone, whether to Ecuador, Brazil, or on your own inner journey of discovery that you've unsuspectingly embarked on without ever leaving your room.

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lose yourself in the jungle

I liked the descriptions of river life; the leaves of plants, intricate flowers, the patch of sky, the dark soils, the quiet hillside, the jungle bacteria and fungi that grow on your body, the sound of a mango falling to the ground at night, and hungry, poor, dangerous people creeping around the farm. I liked the aimless walks through Brazilian cities such as Rio, Bahia, and Belem. I appreciated Thomsen's isolation from pretty much everyone, his inability to speak Portuguese or communicate well, and his sense of failure at life. I appreciated his openness to experience, perception, and courage to be the animal that suffers and works. Faced with Ramon's "you don't belong here" he realizes we are all being pushed out, there is no safe place. The man who works the land owns the land. Be a farmer. Enjoyable reading. Thanks!

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Life as it is, not as it should be

I found out about Thomsen from a Paul Theroux reference and like many of Theroux's references to other writers and books, this turned out to be a winner. It's the story of an expatriate, perhaps running from his father, or looking for life's answer, joins the Peace Corps at the age of 48. After leaving the Corps, he remains in Ecuador and scrapes out a living on a farm. After being forced off the farm by a younger co-worker, Thomsen embarks on a journey that takes him to Brazil and the Amazon basin. The journey is described from the poor travler's point of view with many sad recollections of his life.

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Best of Genre

Well you've found your way here to reviews of Moritz Thomsen's amazing travel book "Saddest Pleasure" - if you haven't read this you are just a slight movement away from the sweetest most poignant travelogue you've ever encountered. I've been reading traveler's tales for decades and this one ranks at the top of my list. I've read travel authors from Marco Polo to Paul Theroux to Michael Palin, to Herman Mellville and Pierre Loti writing about their sojourns in the South Seas... I read and loved Nick Danziger, Thor Heyerdahl and James Michener... and more, many more... too many to list. Moritz Thomsen's "Saddest Pleasure" tops my list of favorites. I first read it in the early nineties when I was in my mid forties and it stunned me then. Now that I am the same age as Thomsen was when he authored this and now I am a bit of a traveller as well, finding myself thousands of miles from home, alone among stragers, I just repurchased this book so I could experience it again. I still own my original copy but it's packed away in a box thousands of miles from here, so I bought another. So friend, - IF your finger is hovering over the "buy" button please allow me to urge you... don't hesitate. Reading this book will touch you in some deep ways. By all means - do not pass this one by. Thomsen shares tales of his travels both external and internal. He possessed a wonderful gift for personal observation and insight. Not to be missed.

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A Masterpiece Memoir

There are many reasons why I loved this book. There were sentences that astonished me, word-craft simple precise and searing. Paragraphs of description that somehow tied in a view, a history, and a personality with succinct power. Moritz did have a somewhat dour outlook on life and plenty of reason for it. His gift was to write of it with his personal life journey and to embilish his world view with the great connections of history,literature, music and a empathy for the poor, disadvantaged, and struggling people of South America.

He also is able to write of situations that leave me laughing hysterically as in the "despidida", the family ritual of mourning the departing traveler where the "male members of this tragic group, the uncles, the brothers, the godfathers, stand at the fringes. They stare at the floor, take deep drags on their cigarettes, and clench and unclench the muscles in their jaws. They are just a few seconds away from a total breakdown that would destroy forever the macho image they have spent a lifetime cultivating". I read another scene to my son about Moritz's avoidance of foods from the roadside stall that had me laughing so hard that I struggled to continue reading.

Moritz's first two books, "Living Poor" and "Farm on the River of Emeralds" also great books, were rooted in place in Esmeraldas Province of Ecuador. In "The Saddest Pleasure" he has left that place, left poverty in the village of his Peace Corps service and the farm he started with his Ecuadorian partner. In this book he faces the end of his life, returning to a "bourgeois" fate and begins this journey not knowing that it will redefine his life.

It may be helpful but not necessary to read Moritz's first two books before this. In the "Saddest Pleasure" Moritz expounds not only on poverty and place but more on what life is for, what life has become. I found the first two books to be much easier to assimilate than this but this again is richer and I will be sure to read it again.

I highly recommend this book to all avid readers I know.





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