literature travel

Hardcover. NY, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1st US, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. Full number line down to and including 1. In grey boards with blue type to spine. Searching for an inn, the enigmatic traveler Hans stops in a small city on the border between Saxony and Prussia. The next morning, Hans meets an old organ-grinder in the market square and immediately finds himself enmeshed in an intense debate-on identity and what it is that defines us-from which he cannot break free. Indefinitely stuck in Wandernburg until his debate with the organ-grinder is concluded, he begins to meet the various characters who populate the town, including a young freethinker named Sophie. Though she is engaged to be married, Sophie and Hans begin a relationship that defies contemporary mores about female sexuality and what can and cannot be said about it. Traveler of the Century is a deeply intellectual novel, chock-full of discussions about philosophy, history, literature, love, and translation. It is a book that looks to the past in order to have us reconsider the conflicts of our present. The winner of Spain's prestigious Alfaguara Prize and the National Critics Prize, Traveler of the Century marks the English-language debut of Andres Neuman, a writer described by Roberto Bolano as being "touched by grace." Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, pages. In a bright dust jacket. Eco displays in these essays the same wit, learning, and lively intelligence that delighted readers of The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum. His range is wide, and his insights are acute, frequently ironic, and often downright funny. Translated by William Weaver.

Hardcover. NY, Simon & Schuster, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket with light sticker residue, 203 pages. The travel author and historian journeys to the beguiling city of Trieste, Italy, which has enchanted her for more than fifty years, to explore issues of patriotism, decency, wildness, and sex. In this love letter to Trieste a city she has grown to love over the years and never got tired of exploring Morris looks back on her life. She recalls first coming to Trieste as a soldier [male] in World War II and discusses the impact the city's way of life has had on her own philosophy of life. Each chapter begins with a philosophical quote stating its theme and setting the atmosphere. Morris is not only skilled at vividly describing townspeople and buildings in a way that brings Trieste to life, but she also successfully balances the personal with the historical by providing references to both history and literature. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Viking, 1st, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 554 pages. This compilation of correspondence is aptly titled. British travel writer and novelist Chatwin traveled widely, constantly, and obsessively--everywhere under the sun, in other words. He possessed a restless soul, to be sure. And to a large degree, he was secretive; information about his homosexuality and his affliction with the AIDS virus was closely guarded. He cast a personal spell with his charm and a lasting one through his works, which are so imaginative they are pure excitement to read; at the same time, however, it can be confusing to determine whether to see them as fiction or nonfiction. Nevertheless, beginning with his first published book, In Patagonia (1977), Chatwin maintained a reputation among discerning readers for his riveting characters--invented or not is unimportant, even in his travel books--and his rigorously precise writing style. Chatwin's wife and his biographer (Bruce Chatwin, 2000) combined efforts over a two-decade period to retrieve more than 90 percent of Chatwin's correspondence from childhood to immediately before his untimely death at 48. Chatwin's many appreciators will see the compilation in its overall significance as a personal visit with one of their literary heroes, as much as that is possible now. Remainder line on bottom edge otherwise like new.

Hardcover. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1st, 1956, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover, 178 pages. Dust jacket slightly worn and with short tears. Some foxing on endpages, top edge stained red.

Hardcover. Munich, Hirmer, 1st, 2024, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in pictorial boards, 240 pages. Ylla (1911-1955) devoted herself exclusively to animal portraiture at a time when no one had thought of only photographing animals. Driven by her symbiotic relationship with animals, she created a new genre in animal photography: the expression and personality in animals. Ylla: The Birth of Modern Animal Photography recounts the eventful odyssey of a "New Woman" par excellence, fearless and knowing no limits. She was part of artists' circles in Belgrade and Paris, however during WW II she fled to New York via Marseille where she started her career again from square one. Originally taking beguiling photos in her studio and zoos, Ylla finally traveled to Africa and India where she died in a tragic accident during a water buffalo race. Her Animals in Africa and Animals in India are some of the first books on the subject. Ylla also introduced photography to children's literature. Her books The Sleepy Little Lion and Two Little Bears are juvenile classics. This book details her remarkable life and work.

Hardcover. NY, Bobbs-Merrill, 1st, 1949, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, blue cloth stamped in gilt. 192 pages, illustrated endpapers. Tarkington's letters written and illustrated with pen-and-ink sketches in 1903 and 1904 from Europe addressed to his three nephews. Clean copy, no dust jacket.