Travel Writing & Commentary

Step inside this captivating account of Paulo Coehlo's pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. This fascinating parable explores the need to find one's own path....

One of the most important and influential books of the past half-century, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance tells the iconic story of a father and son's motorcycle trip across America in the 1960s....

Vagabonding is about taking time off from your normal life - from six weeks to four months to two years - to discover and experience the world on your own terms....

When Englishman Chris Broad landed in a rural village in northern Japan he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. With no knowledge of the language and zero teaching experience, was he was about to be the most quickly fired English teacher in Japan's history....

Ghost Empire is a rare treasure - an utterly captivating blend of the historical and the contemporary, realised by a master storyteller....

Pip and Shannon dreamed of living the good life. They wanted to slow down, grow their own food and spend more time with the people they love....

This gripping and triumphant memoir follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he makes his assault on history, one 8,000-meter summit at a time....

On October 6, 1973, Ted Simon knew there was no going back. He loaded up his 500cc Triumph Tiger in the pouring rain and said good-bye to London....

In Neither Here nor There Bill Bryson brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack and journeys from Hammerfest to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia....

Steve House built his reputation on ascents throughout the Alps, Canada, Alaska, the Karakoram, and the Himalaya that have expanded possibilities of style, speed, and difficulty....

Join the adventure as 33-year-old Rene Cormier politely removes himself from the working world that surrounds him and cashes in what few possessions he has to finance a three-year-long motorcycle journey around the world....

When expat blogger and mother of four Eva Melusine Thieme first harbors the idea of ringing out her three years in Africa on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, it sounds easy....

The Home of the Blizzard is a tale of discovery and adventure, of pioneering deeds, great courage, heart-stopping rescues and heroic endurance....

In a real-life fairy tale, Sheryl Ness shares how she fell in love with Vincenzo, a chef in a quaint Tuscan kitchen, over his decadent hot chocolate cake. This memoir will transport you to the cobblestone streets and lush hillsides that create the backdrop for her Italian love story....

The Great Railway Bazaar is Paul Theroux's account of his epic journey by rail through Asia....

The wonder of the night train: headlamps ablaze, passengers boarding after sunset and leaving before sunrise, slipping in and out of compartments unseen.

The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo Read by Walter Covell. Take a fascinating journey through strange and exotic countries...

This audiobook will change the way we understand ourselves and the great outdoors....

Lawrence Durrell's evocative memoir of living in Cyprus, just before the Greek/Turkish partition....

This touching, true story of the Texan pioneering spirit, English eccentricity, and two women old enough to know better will appeal to all baby boomer travel adventurers

16 countries, 124 days and 18,000 miles. This is the story of one woman’s solo lap of the planet by bike....

In the autumn of 1988, Michael Palin set out from the Reform Club with an ambitious plan: to circumnavigate the world....

Recounting the three weeks of blood, sweat, and tearsthat make up a 7,000 mile journey from the glitzy streets of Paris to the hinterland of northwestern Africa....

Two friends, zero preparation, one dream. From the author of the beloved bestseller The Emerald Mile comes a rollicking and poignant account of an epic 750-mile odyssey, on foot, through the heart of America’s most magnificent national park and the grandest wilderness on earth.

Michael Palin's epic voyages have seen him circumnavigate the globe, but perhaps the greatest single challenge he has faced is his latest, a crossing of the vast and merciless Sahara Desert....

A series of personal and reflective journeys through the streets of Victorian England, The Uncommercial Traveller explores the hidden corners of cities, the forgotten lives of ordinary people, and the quirks of everyday life. Written as a collection of loosely connected essays and travel pieces, it captures the essence of Dickens’ keen observational skills, as he paints portraits of people and places often overlooked by society.

The wonder of the night train: headlamps ablaze, passengers boarding after sunset and leaving before sunrise, slipping in and out of compartments unseen. For Monisha Rajesh, the singular thrill of sleeper trains inspired a new journey around the world – one filled with moonlit landscapes, cosy compartments and quirky companions. From Austria’s Nightjet to Scotland’s Caledonian Sleeper and Finland’s Santa Claus Express, Rajesh invites us on a multi-year adventure aboard the world’s most wondrous night trains.

For Parrotheads, armchair adventurers, and anyone who appreciates a good yarn and a hearty laugh, here is the ultimate backstage pass. You’ll read the kind of stories Jimmy usually reserves for his closest friends and you'll see a wonderful, wacky life through the eyes of the man who's lived it. Jimmy takes us from the legendary pirate coves of the Florida Keys to the ruins of ancient Cartegena. Along the way, we hear a tale or two of how he got his start in New Orleans, how he discovered his passion for flying planes, and how he almost died in a watery crash in Nantucket harbor.

The Uncommercial Traveller is the persona of Dickens for this collection of semi-autobiographical sketches. A kind of Victorian blogger, he is funny and affecting by turns as he recounts what he sees and wonders at its meaning. Whether laying bare ‘a wilderness of dirt, rags, and hunger’ or musing on the ‘moodiness’ of tom-cats; recounting Mr Indignation Cocker’s sherry bill or simply taking us by the hand as he goes about his ‘no-business’ in London and further afield, he brings the warmth, compassion and fleet-footed wit that infuse his novels.

Initially published in 1775, A Journey to the Western Isles recounts a three-month trip to upper Scotland that Samuel Johnson undertook with James Boswell a couple of years previously. During their adventure, they discover a novel culture, stunning landscapes and welcoming locals – all described in Johnson's captivating prose.

Blending travel writing, natural observation, and deep reflection, Thoreau invites listeners to see nature — and themselves — with new eyes. Cape Cod is a timeless meditation on solitude, resilience, and the beauty of the wild.

With his characteristic blend of scientific insight, personal biography, and poetic narrative, The Complete John Muir Collection is a fascinating audiobook for nature lovers, hiking enthusiasts, conservationists, and anyone passionate about the rich history behind America’s most beloved national park.

This is a completely clear and un-pixelated accounting of the life of four individuals who's worlds collide at a table, in a bar, on a beach in Southeast Asia. What happens next is magic. Follow the adventures of the four as they grapple with the wreckage of the lives they temporarily left behind in Sweden, the UK, Australia, and the United States. Heartache, loss of love, loss of self, and the reclamation of it all in a chance meeting at a Bar by the Beach.

Waking up in the Wilderness invites you to embark on a four-decade journey into Yellowstone National Park. Travel with Natalie Ogbourne as she navigates the fine line between isolation and solitude—on the road, on the trail, and in life. Encounter the park’s inseparable dangers and delights. Explore Yellowstone through each of its seasons—hiking, canoeing, fly fishing, snowmobiling, and camping along the way. Experience the transformational power of its wilderness.

Grab your cappuccino and settle in for a sweet taste of village life. After several trips to Italy over the last 25 years, Angela Correll and her husband, Jess, decided to take the leap and put down roots in a tiny Tuscan village, restoring a centuries-old horse stable into the home of their dreams. Angela invites you to immerse yourself in the captivating and quirky culture of her small hilltop village as she shares observations, stories, photographs, recipes, and ideas from her time in Tuscany.

Edward Abbey, who never much liked Alaska, called it "our biggest, buggiest, boggiest state." To others, it has been a cure for despair. When Michael Engelhard moved to Fairbanks more than three decades ago, he was a cheechako, a subarctic tenderfoot. Gathering skills and experiences the hard way, he attained "Sourdough" status while realizing there would always be more to learn, see, and do in the land of midnight sun and auroras.

Julia Blackburn has always collected things that hold stories about the past, especially the very distant past: mammoth bones, little shells that happen to be two million years old, a flint shaped as a weapon long ago. Shortly after her husband’s death, Blackburn became fascinated with Doggerland, the stretch of land that once connected Great Britain to Continental Europe but is now subsumed by the North Sea. She was driven to explore the lives of the people who lived there—studying its fossil record, as well as human artifacts that have been unearthed near the area.

What if the most unforgettable moments of your travels weren’t about the places you went—but the people you met along the way? In 5 Stars, 1 Rock, Shakir takes you on an electrifying adventure across 40+ countries and all seven continents, sharing stories of deep friendships, unexpected connections, and the highs and lows of life on the road.

Award-winning author and educator Dan Blanchard invites you on a one-of-a-kind journey across Connecticut’s secret stories and historic landmarks. From mysterious jail cells to Revolutionary War commons, from haunted homesteads to the homes of America’s greatest storytellers—this book shows that every place holds a lesson, and every lesson shapes a better leader.

Travel shapes our identity, from ancient spiritual journeys to the modern movement of people across the globe. In his latest book, Douglas J. Brouwer, a pastor, scholar and lifelong traveler, invites listeners to reflect on the profound, transformative power of travel in all its forms. With over 40 years of pastoral ministry in the U.S. and Europe, Doug shares personal stories from his own life, from childhood road trips to leading mission teams, study tours, and pilgrimages.