A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

I as a female I read this book and thought it was wonderful, hilarious and amazing all at once. To me, the best part was how brave men are and how they think. Problems every other page but they blissfully go on. I love men where would we be without their courage and preserverance. mj Alpine OR

Eric Newby does an excellent job in writing about his adventures, or misadventures in the Hindu Kush. He is witty in that British way that many Americans may not understand. However, due to the popularity of Britcoms in the United States, Americans should be able to appreciate Newby's not so subtle humor. Having traveled extensively myself, I was reminded of life on the road in the Middle East. I have experienced quite a few of the mishaps that Newby and his partner, Hugh Carless, experienced in the 1950s-particularly while the two are driving a station wagon through Turkey. Never drive in the Middle East if you have a bad back or a weak bladder. Newby and Carless are naive travellers and incompetant to tackle the trip they make. However, just by surviving the journey, the two men accomplish an heroic endeavor. I have read a number of travel writers, for example Bill Bryson, Paul Theroux, and Wilfred Thesiger. Bryson is more humorous than Newby, Theroux is more acerbic, and Thesiger is more wise and experienced. However, Newby takes a special place in my library because he really pushed my travel button. He makes his adventure human, real. I highly recommend his book.

This is a great travel book through part of Afganistan in the mid-1950's. Newby writes in a dry and witty style which I found perfect. It's not condecending or superior or too trite or "cute". It's only about 260 pages and that's a pity as I would of loved it being twice as long. I first came across it as an unabridged recording on 8 cassettes - it was a magnificent reading of it and it become a favourite of mine from the first. If you find or buy the recording (I think only one recording of it was ever made) then get it as it's well worth the price - but you might have to try the UK edition of this web site for it. Please ignore the one poor review listed here - this is a wonderful book. It's the sort of book I would like to write myself!

Quintessentially English bit of travel, with the ambitious idea of climbing Mir Samir in Afghanistan, but ostensibly to visit Nuristan next door. The English bit comes into play when you discover that Newby isn't a mountain climber, nor is his traveling friend. They "practice" for four days in Wales before embarking.This is the type of travel literature I favor. A trip, yes, with its attendant hazards and foibles, but also a story about the travelers, why they travel and the people they meet. So far, I can sense a "difference" in travel writing, easily two categories now, but possibly many others. This book would join with Seth & O'Hanlon as a "Hardship Trip"--a journey filled in pain and danger. Salzman and Mayle are "Sedentary Travelers." They both got to the place, then stuck around and observed the things that happened around them. This book also has one of the best last lines I've read in quite a while. I can't quote it, because not only would it ruin the line for you in case you choose to read this book yourself, but also because it is necessary to sit through the 180 or so pages that go before to fully appreciate the irony of it.

Eric Newby's account of his trip to the Hindu Kush is a book both daunting and delightful. He makes light of the incompetence and ignorance of both himself and his companion in the realm of climbing and exploring. Yet what they achieve is nothing short of remarkable, given their level of ignorance. Perhaps a more experienced team would have sensibly given up in the face of hunger, illness and cold. Messrs. Newby and Carless soldier on and the account, understandably slightly incoherent, is both funny, self-deprecating and very, very readable. Their account of a chance meeting with the famous explorer Wilfred Thesiger is recounted, far less humorously, by the great man in one of his recent books.

This is one of the best travelogues I've ever read. It is an account of travel to a little known corner of Afghanistan, which in itself is little travelled. Replete with rich humour, historically relevant details, and adventure, one could not ask for a more engaging read. I've read this book many times.