This section contains some of our favorite books by women; guidebooks and travel literature titles that reflect the concerns and interests of women travellers everywhere.
Alexander's Path --Freya Stark's long out-of-print travelogue has finally been reissued. Intrigued by the famous journey taken by Alexander the Great over 2000 years earlier, Stark set out with two guides to retrace Alexander's route across Turkey. Her tale, filled with adventure and history, provides a vivid portrait of Turkey and its people. A classic of the travel genre. $13.95
Edith Wharton Abroad: Selected Travel Writings, 1888-1920 --Sarah Bird Wright has collected the best and most evocative of Edith Wharton's travel writings into one volume, and since many of Wharton's books on travel are out of print, Wright has done us all a real favor! Here you will find Wharton's descriptions of hidden corners of Europe, Morocco and the Mediterranean, with an especially well-trained eye focused on the art, architecture and gardens of those regions. Now in paper. $14.95
Forced To Grow --Sindiwe Magona's memoir of life in South Africa portrays her strength and courage as a single mother raising her children alone while battling persistent poverty and racism. She rises above her country's (and her own) expectations and proves that despite the odds one can choose one's own destiny. Well-written and poignant, this glimpse into Magona's life is impossible to put down. $12.95
Hitchhiking Vietnam --In this memoir of seven months wandering solo through Vietnam, Karin Muller gives us a good story, great writing, a well-developed sense of place and a narrator you can root for. Whether she is telling us about the miseries of being swindled by her communist youth league guides or her attempts to rescue endangered animals from the black market, Hitchhiking Vietnam is an example of what good travel writing can be: funny, wise, poignant and informative. $14.95
Islands in the Clouds --In this volume of the Lonely Planet Journeys series, Isabella Tree ventures into the remote Central Highlands region of Papua New Guinea, traveling into areas where few Westerners have ever gone. Accompanied by a native Highlander friend and a machete-wielding hired hand for protection, Tree explores the effects of clear-cutting, gold-mining, oil excavation and missionaries on the local people and land. By turns funny and serious, this is a thought-provoking account of a country torn between ancient traditions and rapid modernization. $10.95
Kingdom of the Film Stars --Part travel memoir, part inter-cultural love story, this is a beautifully drawn portrait of contemporary Jordan, from the modern streets of Amman to Petra to a Bedouin encampment in the remote desert. With her handsome Bedouin companion as a guide, Annie Caulfield travels as a near-insider throughout Jordan until struggles between tradition and modern life get in the way. An absorbing and witty addition to the Lonely Planet Journeys series. $10.95
On Persephone's Island --Mary Taylor Simeti went to Sicily in 1962 for a visit and stayed for over twenty years. This delightful book is her journal of one full year in Sicily and once you read it you will easily understand her love affair with this beautiful island. From Mafiosi to religious festivals to a sweet cake called "the Triumph of Greed", Simeti captures all the flavors and moods of Sicily and entices the reader with her intimate and informed prose. $13.00
No Pictures on My Grave --Susan Lloyd's quest to trace her roots in Sicily and at the same time track down the legendary Black Madonna. Lloyd blends mythology, folklore and her own personal history into a moving portrait. $12.95
Rough Guide: More Women Travel --Subtitled "Adventures and advice from more than 60 countries", this special edition from the Rough Guides contains accounts by contemporary women travellers in every part of the world. Their stories serve as encouragement and in some cases much needed warning--they all make for engrossing reading. $16.95
Shooting the Boh --When Tracy Johnston signed up for a rafting trip on Borneo's Boh river, she was ready for an unusual vacation. But what she did not expect, and of course gets in droves, are never-before-charted waters, treacherous rapids, sweat eating bees and evil spirits. Her offbeat and funny story illuminates life on and off the river, and might make you give up your dreams of wild adventure. $11.00.
NEW Travelers' Tales: Gutsy Mamas--Subtitled "Travel Tips and Wisdom for Mothers on the Road", each chapter of this pocket-sized volume covers different aspects of taking to the road (or air or sea) with your kids, from traveling when you are pregnant to traveling with babies and teens to traveling with grandkids. Marybeth Bond includes personal stories of her own, as well as other people's experiences, and offers helpful and realistic tips on how to travel successfully, from packing and planning to actual vacation suggestions. This book is full of wise, time-tested and witty advice that will help you travel well for years to come. $7.95
Also by Marybeth Bond:
Travelers’ Tales: A Woman’s World $17.95
Two Towns in Provence -- MFK Fisher's reminiscences of Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Provence in general, long before it became the hot spot it is now. She easily makes you understand the fascination with the region (and its food!). $16.00
Under the Tuscan Sun --If you are not yet in love with all things Italian, you will be once you have read this lovely memoir by Frances Mayes, a noted poet and food writer. It consists of the recollections of five summers in Cortona, a small village in Tuscany, where Mayes and her husband own a farmhouse. From her own expanding garden to colorful local markets to excursions into the hill towns, Mayes paints a vivid picture of her life in Italy and makes the reader feel like an cherished house guest. $14.00
The Waiting Land --Dervla Murphy, one of my all-time favorite writers, went to Nepal in 1965 to work at a Tibetan refugee camp. She travelled all over Nepal by bike (Leo, successor to Roz of Ireland to India fame) and foot, and here in journal form describes the Nepalese people and their country, and the unexpected events and friendships she encountered at every turn. Murphy writes with such a wonderful sense of understatement and intimacy that you feel as if she is regaling you with her adventures in person. $13.95