Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia

(Hardback)

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Description

Acclaimed journalist Bernard Ollivier continues his epic journey across Persia and Central Asia as he walks the length of the Great Silk Road. Walking to Samarkand is journalist Bernard Ollivier's stunning account of the second part of his 7,200-mile walk from Istanbul, Turkey to Xi'an, China along the Silk Road--the longest and perhaps most mythi

Reviews

Praise for Walking to Samarkand

"Ollivier is great company; curious, knowledgeable and self-reflexive, with a knack for being in the right place at the right time.Walking to Samarkandgives us a raw and real ground-level view of some of the worlds more complex places, and Ollivier brings back for us both the foreign and the familiar with a deft and considered approach.There are few destinations more worthy of such a journey than Samarkand, and this book does fine justice to the quest."Leon McCarron, adventurer and author of The Land Beyondand The Road Headed West

Praise for Bernard Ollivier

Bernard Ollivier is a maneager to learn about the world around him, a writer who openshis readers eyes. As a journalist, he knows how to extract lifes real secrets from peoples memories.Truth is,inheading out onto the Silk Road, he wasnt seeking history, but wisdom. And he finds it in the exceptional openness of nomads.This is the gift he offers tous.Dominique Gerbaud, president, Reporters Without Borders

Ollivier is a traveler. He doesntconsider himself a writer. As a result, his prose is at times better than that of professional travel writers: he writes simply, focused not on fancy phrasings, but on providing a true-to-life account of his experiences. He doesnt travel in order to write or publish a book. He travels as do so manyofConrads protagonists: for self-discovery.Le Monde

Author Bio

Career journalist turned traveler, Bernard Ollivier believes that walking has the power to transform. His publications include Out of Istanbul, numerous travel guides, both adult and young adult novels, andLa vie commence 60 ans (Life Begins at Sixty).In 2000, he founded the Seuil (Threshold) Association, helping troubled teens get back on track through walking. He lives in Normandy, France.

Dan Golembeski has worked as a French and Linguistics educator, a summer study abroad director in France, and has conducted fieldwork on language contact in Canada. An occasional, albeit fervent traveler, he increasingly crosses borders with words. In addition to Out of Istanbul, he is currently translating a science-fiction novel. He lives in Petoskey, Michigan.