Review
🔗 http://www.outsiderwriters.org/2012/a-kind-of-travel-book
Story Behind The Book
It’s a bit of a weird thing to do really, when you think about it. It’s all basically autobiographical (Paul Theroux quotes Pablo Almodovar as saying ‘Any writing that isn’t autobiographical is essentially plagiarism.’) But I have never really wanted to write an autobiography: Never wanted to put down tales of the punk days, the drinking and drugs of my youth, the political activism and god-forbid that I would ever write about my childhood! The reason I wanted to write about my travels was that I think I had something I wanted to say; stories that I wanted to recount. Ok, there are a lot of stories here that involve drink and drugs and a hedonistic lifestyle, but I hope that I haven’t come over all Charles Bukowski in all this. I wanted to tell about the people I’ve met, the places and situations that I have found myself in because I think they are sometimes funny, sad and sometimes frightening. And one thing for sure is that I never wanted to write about the churches and monuments I’ve been to, like a guidebook kind of thing. I also have never wanted to write of an epic journey that I have taken. (That’s a lie! I would love to have done that but never had the money, time or resources to do it.) So, I’m left with what I have; which is a whole mixture of bits and bobs and odds and sods. Little things that have meant a lot to me; small experiences, which were significant events in my life.
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<div><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:18px;"></span><h2 class="summary" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:5px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:5px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;font-family:GrandesignNeueSerif;line-height:1.3em;font-size:1.6em;color:#666666;">Burn your Lonely Planet</h2><div class="wpcr_fl wpcr_sc" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:1em;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:1em;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;float:left;color:#666666;font-family:GrandesignNeueSerif;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><abbr class="rating" title="4" 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style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:4px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-left-style:none;background-image:url(http://jottify.com/core/plugins/wp-customer-reviews/newstars.png);width:85px;height:17px;float:left;background-position:0px 0px;"><div class="average" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-left-style:none;background-image:url(http://jottify.com/core/plugins/wp-customer-reviews/newstars.png);text-indent:-9999px;height:17px;width:68px;background-position:0px -15px;"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="wpcr_fl wpcr_rname" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:1em;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:1em;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;float:left;line-height:20px;color:#666666;font-family:GrandesignNeueSerif;font-size:10px;"><abbr title="2012-02-18T03:50:03+00:00" class="dtreviewed" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;">Feb 18, 2012</abbr> <span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;">by</span> <span class="reviewer vcard" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:5px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:11px;"><span class="fn" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;">Martin Stevenson</span></span><div class="wpcr_clear" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;clear:both;"></div></div><div class="wpcr_clear wpcr_spacing1" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:5px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;clear:both;color:#666666;font-family:GrandesignNeueSerif;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"></div><blockquote class="description" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:10px;color:#666666;font-family:GrandesignNeueSerif;line-height:10px;"><p style="margin-top:2px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:2px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:11px;font-size:14px;">Writers are often told to find their ‘voice’ and Nick Gerrard has taken this to heart. I have been pleased to publish several of Nick’s articles over the years and have spent more than a few nights sitting opposite him in a pub over a few beers listening to his often hair-raising travel stories. I can tell you that Nick writes exactly as he talks. He may play fast and loose with grammar but his stories are always fascinating. Nick’s beers are now of the non-alcoholic variety but he will be the first to admit that his experiences, whether they involved gunfights in a Rio favela, building an eco-lodge in Malawi (only to wake up one night with an AK47 in his face), WHOOF-ing in Spain or chef-ing in Paris, were usually accompanied by, and often informed by, alcohol. Nick has a keen eye for sustainable travel (as evidenced by the eco-lodge he now runs with his wife in the Czech Republic) and however haphazard his journeys may appear he has always made a point of seeking out local people, learning about the area he is in, contributing to the local community and avoiding backpackers (about whom he has a lot to say).<br /><br />If you think your gap-year spent backpacking across Asia was an adventure, read Nick’s book, and burn your Lonely Planet.<br /><br />Martin Stevenson, Editor, More than footprints?</p></blockquote></div>