For most of us, the name Britain or Britannia conjures up a map of the main countries within this archipelago: England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. For most of us, the name Britain or Britannia conjures up a map of the main countries within this archipelago: England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. But in this book, author Albinia places many of the smaller islands at the forefront, from the northernmost outpost of Shetland to the southern isles of Scilly, revealing how the islands served as centers of progress and development well before the mainland. Her travels to many of these islands, large and small, include a historical overview of the role of those islands in Britain's history and mythology, beginning with the Viking raiders who settled and became Lords of the Isles and bringing the reader to the recent (and somewhat hushed-up) history of Nazi occupation of Alderney and Jersey as well as of the long-time tax haven on the Isle of Man. She also points out the ways that women influenced the development of these islands, whether in leading society or armies (hello, Boudica), in mythological or divine guidance, or in upholding traditions in danger of being lost.
Each chapter is a richly drawn portrait of a single island or group of islands with a shared history and location, including "islands" that no longer appear to be islands (Thanet and Westminster), and Albinia captures both the romance and the reality of each of these places, adding tidbits of her personal story related to her visits. I confess that reading the book took me much longer than my usual speed because I spent so much time swiping between the book and Google Maps to zoom in on each island and explore it with her. An immersive read for armchair travelers as well as those who have traveled the British Isles extensively. 4 stars.
Thank you, W. W. Norton and Company and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own....more
Post-pandemic, many people have been eager to travel and to indulge in wanderlust, with advertising and media feeding that desire to see other places.Post-pandemic, many people have been eager to travel and to indulge in wanderlust, with advertising and media feeding that desire to see other places. But as Habib points out in this thoughtful and often pointed history of travel, the conditions of your travel plans will vary based on the color of your passport and the color of your skin (and possibly your gender). As a woman of color with family scattered around the world, Habib knows all too well the hurdles that people with Third World passports (yes, she uses the term Third World and explains why) must go through in order to travel from one country to another, and she also knows that visiting a new place more likely calls for caution rather than adventure.
Habib's research into the history of travel reveals how much the modern tourism industry is based on European and American consumerism, dating back to the era of colonialism and the age of "discovery" (which she refers to as "pseudiscovery"). She also unravels the connections between military presence and tourist development, as seen in the South Pacific following World War II. Throughout the book, she points out how privilege (in whatever way) influences how entitled a person may feel to travel and explore different areas of the world -- but also how that same privilege can block someone from true awareness of the political, social, and cultural life of the places they visit. Habib uses examples from her own travels as a Brown Muslim woman originally from India to shore up her points, and she makes a convincing argument that travel as we now know it still often falls into the old patterns and viewpoints of "discovering" and valuing the world through a Western lens.
Reading this book gave me many opportunities to reconsider not only the history I was taught in school but also my own experiences with traveling and how I feel about travel now. If travel should help us expand our horizons and learn more about the world outside of our own comfort zones, then this book is an essential read for anyone who welcomes the perspective of someone whose experiences are different from our own. 5 stars.
Thank you, Catapult and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own....more
The mystique of the Silk Road (a name given by Westerners to the trade routes across Central Asia) has long fascinated me for its rich history and theThe mystique of the Silk Road (a name given by Westerners to the trade routes across Central Asia) has long fascinated me for its rich history and the way the route crosses cultures, religions, and environments, so I had really hoped for more depth on those aspects of this area of the world. While Harris does address some of these things, I had the feeling that maybe she hadn't done quite as much research into the area before traveling or really prepared herself for encountering the people there. Yes, the book is more about her bike journey with her good friend Mel and the challenges they faced along the way, but I had real concerns at the beginning about her blind spots about her own privilege and Western attitudes. While she did acknowledge some of those along the way, I still cringed at some of the descriptions of their encounters. Above all, I came away from the book feeling that perhaps "explorer" is not necessarily a great occupation or avocation in itself, as it seems to carry overtones of pre-conceived notions and conquering, instead of learning and humility....more
Being a map lover myself, I picked this book off the library's new book shelf as soon as I spotted it. Jennings puts his vast trivia background into pBeing a map lover myself, I picked this book off the library's new book shelf as soon as I spotted it. Jennings puts his vast trivia background into play here, covering the history of cartography, map collecting and theft, travel, geocaching, lost or quirky points on the map, and roads in between. At times his clever irreverence gets tired, but overall it was an engaging and fun read that has me wanting to wrestle my mother to get my own atlas back. (I want my map book, doggone it!!!)...more
Loading...
