suroor alikhan
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Riding with Ghosts: Gwen Maka
Published by Eye Books, 2000, 276 pages Gwen Maka always knew that she would set off on a Grand Tour someday. When she was in her 40s after her children had left home and her dog had died, she made… Continue reading
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Indonesia etc.—Exploring the Improbable Nation: Elizabeth Pisani
Published by W. W. Norton & Company / Granta Publications, 2014, 405 pages Indonesia is a complex country. It is made up of 13,466 islands with over 360 ethnic groups and 719 languages. When it gained independence from the Dutch… Continue reading
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A Slow Train to Switzerland: Diccon Bewes
Published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2013, 320 pages While researching a book on a Switzerland, Diccon Bewes—a Briton who has lived in Switzerland for over eight years—found a reference to a diary written by an English woman, Jemimah Morrell (known… Continue reading
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The Imported Ghanaian: Alba Kunadu Sumprim
Published by Mavrik, 20o6, 288 pages One way to really know a country is through its people. Alba Kunadu Sumprim’s parents are Ghanaian, but she was born and raised in London. She had decided to move back to Ghana, thinking… Continue reading
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The Kama Sutra Diaries—Intimate Journeys through Modern India: Sally Howard
Published by Tranquebar Press / John Murray, 2013, 248 pages This is a travel book with a difference. Sally Howard takes us on a journey through the sexual mores of India, with all the contradictions. The civilization that gave us… Continue reading
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Four Corners—A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea: Kira Salak
Published by National Geographic, 2001, 319 pages This is unlike any travel book by a woman that I’ve read so far. Kira Salak is an adventurer in the real sense of the word—she lets nothing stop her, whether it’s fear… Continue reading
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Stranger on a Train—Daydreaming and Smoking around America with Interruptions: Jenny Diski
Published by Virago / Picador, 2002, 288 pages. This account of two railway journeys Jenny Diski took through the US—a short one, from Georgia to Arizona, and a longer one from New York circling the country—is not a conventional travel… Continue reading
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The Olive Route—A Personal Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean: Carol Drinkwater
Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006, 448 pages. Carol Drinkwater is passionate about the olive tree—she has an olive grove in Provence—and this book is about her search for its history around the Mediterranean through Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Malta, Tunisia,… Continue reading
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Sliced Iguana—Travels in Mexico: Isabella Tree
Published by Penguin / Hamish Hamilton, 2001, 336 pages. If you’re looking for a tourist guide, you won’t find it here. Isabella Tree travelled to Mexico determined to get under the skin of the country, to see beyond what most… Continue reading
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Honeymoon in Purdah—An Iranian Journey: Alison Wearing
Published by Picador / Macmillan, 2000, 336 pages. This book is a mosaic of Iran, made up through portraits of its people. It is perceptive, funny and thoroughly enjoyable. By providing a glimpse into everyday lives, it breaks the stereotypes… Continue reading
Women's Travel Books 