book cover of Riding Through History
Added by 3 members
 

Riding Through History

(2021)
A non fiction book by

 
 
This remarkable collection follows explorer Tim Severin as he follows some of the greatest journeys from history.

The first in this collection is Tracing Marco Polo. Marco Polo was one of the greatest explorers of all time, and having completed some tough voyages of his own, Tim Severin takes up the challenge of following in his footsteps. Using the great explorer’s journals as a route guide, Severin follows him all the way from Venice to Afghanistan — on a motorbike. This is his witty and enthralling account of a latter-day caravan through Armenia and Persia, across deserts and mountains, as Severin and his companions overcome crashes, floods, sandstorms and linguistic muddles with zest and ingenuity.

Next, Severin goes In Search of Genghis Khan along with six Mongol companions and a photographer. Intent on following the paths trodden by the soldiers of Genghis Khan in the thirteenth century, they cross some of the most remote and inhospitable territory of Mongolia.

Many surprises await throughout the barren terrain: the August snows, the Black Death that still breaks out annually among the horse herders, the ancient lamas and the toothless shaman woman.

The final installment is Crusader: by Horse to Jerusalem, in which, nearly 900 years after Duke Godfrey de Bouillon embarked on the First Crusade, Tim Severin sets out with one woman and two horses to retrace his steps. Starting out from Chateau Bouillon in Belgium, Severin follows the historic trail for eight and a half months. Riding out of the green countryside of northern Europe into the heat and parched landscape of the Near East, he and his companion cover more than 2,500 miles, past ruined Crusader settlements and ancient battlefields, through arduous mountain passes and across barren Anatolian steppes.

The Riding Through History series omnibus is a collection of gripping and fascinating true-life tales that will please fans of William Dalrymple, Simon Sebag Montefiore and Colin Thubron, as well as readers with an interest in history and anthropology.

Praise for Tim Severin:
‘Enthralling’ - Guardian

‘An extraordinary explorer’ - Independent

`Written with all the wit and assurance we have come to expect from this remarkable author, In Search of Genghis Khan is ... a delight' - Daily Mail

Tim Severin
(1940–2020) was an author, explorer, film-maker and lecturer, who made many expeditions, including an Atlantic crossing in a medieval leather. He wrote about all of his adventures and during a long career won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, the Book of the Sea Award, a Christopher Prize, and the literary medal of the Academie de la Marine.



Used availability for Tim Severin's Riding Through History


About Fantastic Fiction       Information for Authors