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  • A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

  • By: Eric Newby
  • Narrated by: Richard E. Grant
  • Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2 ratings)

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A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

By: Eric Newby
Narrated by: Richard E. Grant
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Publisher's Summary

A classic of travel writing, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush is Eric Newby's iconic account of his journey through one of the most remote and beautiful wildernesses on earth.

It was 1956, and Eric Newby was earning an improbable living in the chaotic family business of London haute couture. Pining for adventure, Newby sent his friend Hugh Carless the now-famous cable - "Can you travel Nuristan June?" - setting in motion a legendary journey from Mayfair to Afghanistan and the mountains of the Hindu Kush, northeast of Kabul. Inexperienced and ill prepared (their preparations involved nothing more than some tips from a Welsh waitress), the amateurish rogues embark on a month of adventure and hardship in one of the most beautiful wildernesses on earth - a journey that adventurers with more experience and sense may never have undertaken.

With good humour, sharp wit and keen observation, the charming narrative style of A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush would soon crystallise Newby's reputation as one of the greatest travel writers of all time. One of the greatest travel classics from one of Britain's best-loved travel writers, this edition includes an epilogue from Newby's travelling companion, Hugh Carless, and a prologue from one of Newby's greatest proponents, Evelyn Waugh.

©1958 Eric Newby (P)1995 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

''The master storyteller. He transformed travel writing.'' ( Independent)
''One of the most enjoyable reads of the last century.'' ( Herald Tribune)
''The most successful travel writer of his generation. It's impossible to read this book without laughing aloud.'' ( Observer)
''Endlessly entertaining and self-deprecating.'' ( Daily Mail)
''Full of serendipity and surprise.'' ( The Economist)
''A total success.'' ( New Yorker)
''Notable addition to the literature of unorthodox travel...tough, extrovert, humorous and immensely literate.'' ( Times Literary Supplement)
'' A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush established him as a traveler who not only journeyed fruitfully but had the ability to bring his readers with him.'' (William Trevor, Guardian)
''I still think the last few sentences of A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush the funniest ending to any book I have read.'' (Geoffrey Moorhouse, The Times)
''The book that made [Newby's] reputation...typically ironic in its understatement.'' ( Observer)
''Newby is easily the best of the bunch.'' ( Sunday Times)
''All the lyricism, and spirit of adventure and discovery [in] Newby's work.'' ( The Times)
''As good as its hype.'' ( Wanderlust)

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Epilogue and prologue missing

The title details advertise an epilogue and prologue with ‘this edition’, neither of which was present. Pity because it is a very short book and I would have liked those extras especially the supposed epilogue from Newby’s travelling companion. The story is fascinating although I found some descriptions hard to visualise. The social mores are different now and I found myself thinking that Newby and his companion were incredibly selfish and reckless by exposing themselves and their assistants to extreme danger. It was a folly they inflicted on others less fortunate who needed the money.

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