Bøger af Toby D. Smith

In this follow-up to the author's first book, Across Eurasia, Toby Smith sets out on an adventure that takes him overland, from the wilds of Alaska to the barren tip of Argentina, and back again. Smith and his partner Tamara leave Alaska in a battered 1973 Datsun 510, which they reluctantly abandon in the American Midwest, and continue on into Mexico and across Central and South America via bus, boat, train, and whatever transportation the locals rely upon. A little luck and the kindness of strangers help them survive political unrest, spiraling crime, despotic regimes, guerrillas, armed police, bandits, strikes, and protests - all functions of what Smith calls the American Dichotomy - in addition to Arctic blizzards, unreliable vehicles, shady used car salesmen, roach-infested hotels, erupting volcanoes, reckless bus drivers, tropical diseases, torrential rains, mudslides, altitude sickness, and dicey border crossings. Along the way, Smith explores the realities behind, and reasons for, Latin America's tumultuous and often violent past. The stories of those he meets along the way serve as poignant reminders of what can happen anywhere, in any era, when power is left unchecked.

Across Eurasia is a journey of discovery, which unfolds during a yearlong adventure that encircles the globe.Sensing that his life has edged towards meaninglessness, and finding little refuge in society's trappings, author Toby Smith returns to a mostly abandoned village high in the Mexican desert. His experience there reinvigorates his curiosity about one of life's most fundamental questions.In 1998, at age twenty-eight, he sets out to examine his beliefs firsthand by immersing himself in a hands-on exploration of the human condition. He treks through the Himalaya, barely survives a pilgrimage to Tibet, encircles the Indian subcontinent, and traverses Eastern Europe as the region emerges from the grip of the Cold War.As he comes full circle, Smith emerges a changed individual with newfound awareness about what makes us human. Eloquent, engaging, and enduring, Across Eurasia is a classic of transformative travel writing.