Reads to rove about

[spindrifter]

With the emergence of branded publications such as Rough Guide and Lonely Planet, and the global reach of the internet, most people who want to find out what's going on in a country turn either to these books or to Google. Which begs the question of how relevant classic travel writing still is. And does a place get the writer it deserves?

Take Tim Mackintosh-Smith's Yemen. Not only is the author erudite and fluent in Arabic, the book contains this: "Nothing in the world, I thought as I started out along the track, sets you up for a walk as well as a plate of steaming fried liver at six in the morning at 7,000 feet." In one sentence, he tells you about the terrain (high), the cuisine (meat) and himself (ironic, but smart). Some places and writers are clearly made for each other. Equally Argentina could have hoped for no better chronicler than Bruce Chatwin, whose vanity and egotism was a perfect match for the country's own troubled history. In Borneo, Redmond O'Hanlon seems to know more about the wildlife and fauna than do the local head-hunters. In Venice, Henry James, John Ruskin and Jan Morris have all extolled the Serenissima's virtues. It would be hard to find a more exquisite or sexually confused trio to write about a place where even the locals admit that the truth is open to interpretation.

<snip>

http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/travel/story/0,,1711378,00.html

++++++

The article mentions numerous great travel writers and the topics of their muses. Do you have any favorites? I'm reading O'Hanlon's book now and it is fantastic--a river trip through Borneo. They have loads of adventures and see tons of birds. Great descriptions of the many leeches one can run into there.