In the original dust jacket. Purple cloth binding spine with gilt. Cream boards.

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For conditions, please view our photographs. A nice clean original book from the library gathered by the famous Cambridge Don, computer scientist, food and wine connoisseur, Jack Arnold LANG.

Featuring Henry James on the Epsom Derby, Cecil Beaton on an evening with the Rolling Stones in Marrakesh, and Hannibal on crossing the Alps, this anthology offers more than three hundred travel pieces dating from 430 B.C. to the 1980s

Review: This book is a collection of excerpts from travel memoirs of the great travellers and explorers over the ages. Arranged into chapters by geographical area it contains pieces by everyone from Ibn Battuta to Queen Victoria and includes great moments such as Stanley & Livingstone’s first encounter and the diaries of Robert Scott. The range of the book is wonderful – from anecdotes about customs in far-flung places to getting out of some very sticky situations. What really comes across is the unknown that explorers went into in the past. Travel is so easy now and much of the world is relatively well-explored and civilised. But imagine exploring Africa 200 years ago – going into uncharted land, encountering hostile natives and all the hardships of lack of food, water and shelter. This book was published in 1985 and covers centuries of travel. I would love to see an extended version covering the travel to the present day – perhaps some Ranulph Fiennes, Michael Palin or even Ewan McGregor would bring it up to date. I liked this book but then I like travelling and I like classic literature. Most of all it has given me great respect for the pioneering explorers who have paved the way for people like me to travel and explore in their own small way.

George Eric Newby CBE MC (6 December 1919 – 20 October 2006) was an English travel writer. His works include A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, The Last Grain Race and A Small Place in Italy.