From Our Editors
The bestselling travel writer and novelist now takes us on a magical tour of the Mediterranean. Theroux's other bestselling travel books include The Great Railway Bazaar, Riding the Iron Rooster, and The Happy Isles of Oceana
From the Publisher
"DAZZLING."
--Time
"[THEROUX''S] WORK IS DISTINGUISHED BY A SPLENDID EYE FOR DETAIL
AND THE TELLING GESTURE; a storyteller''s sense of pacing and gift
for granting closure to the most subtle progression of events; and
the graceful use of language. . . . We are delighted, along with
Theroux, by the politeness of the Turks, amazed by the mountainous
highlands in Syria, touched by the gesture of an Albanian waitress
who will not let him pay for his modest meal. . . . The Pillars of
Hercules [is] engrossing and enlightening from start (a damning
account of tourists annoying the apes of Gibraltar) to finish (an
utterly captivating visit with Paul Bowles in Tangier, worth the
price of the book all by itself)."
--Chicago Tribune
"ENTERTAINING READING . . . WHEN YOU READ THEROUX, YOU''RE TRULY ON
A TRIP."
--The Boston Sunday Globe
"HIS PICARESQUE NARRATIVE IS STUDDED WITH SCENES THAT STICK IN THE
MIND. He looks at strangers with a novelist''s eye, and his
portraits are pleasantly tinged with malice."
--The Washington Post Book World
"THEROUX AT HIS BEST . . . An armchair trip with Theroux is
sometimes dark, but always a delight."
--Playboy
"AS SATISFYING AS A GLASS OF COOL WINE ON A DUSTY CALABRIAN
AFTERNOON . . . With his effortless writing style, observant eye,
and take-no-prisoners approach, Theroux is in top form chronicling
this 18-month circuit of the Mediterranean."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
From the Jacket
"DAZZLING."
--Time
"[THEROUX''S] WORK IS DISTINGUISHED BY A SPLENDID EYE FOR DETAIL
AND THE TELLING GESTURE; a storyteller''s sense of pacing and gift
for granting closure to the most subtle progression of events; and
the graceful use of language. . . . We are delighted, along with
Theroux, by the politeness of the Turks, amazed by the mountainous
highlands in Syria, touched by the gesture of an Albanian waitress
who will not let him pay for his modest meal. . . . The Pillars of
Hercules [is] engrossing and enlightening from start (a damning
account of tourists annoying the apes of Gibraltar) to finish (an
utterly captivating visit with Paul Bowles in Tangier, worth the
price of the book all by itself)."
--Chicago Tribune
"ENTERTAINING READING . . . WHEN YOU READ THEROUX, YOU''RE TRULY ON
A TRIP."
--The Boston Sunday Globe
"HIS PICARESQUE NARRATIVE IS STUDDED WITH SCENES THAT STICK IN THE
MIND. He looks at strangers with a novelist''s eye, and his
portraits are pleasantly tinged with malice."
--The Washington Post Book World
"THEROUX AT HIS BEST . . . An armchair trip with Theroux is
sometimes dark, but always a delight."
--Playboy
"AS SATISFYING AS A GLASS OF COOL WINE ON A DUSTY CALABRIAN
AFTERNOON . . . With his effortless writing style, observant eye,
and take-no-prisoners approach, Theroux is in top form chronicling
this 18-month circuit of the Mediterranean."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
About the Author
Born in Medford, Massachusetts, Paul Theroux's writing reflects his relatively footloose life. Though known primarily as a travel writer, Theroux's literary output also includes novels, books for children, short stories, and poetry. His novels include Picture Palace (1978), which won the Whitbread Award; The Mosquito Coast (1981), which won the James Tait Black Award; Saint Jack (1973), filmed in 1979; and Doctor Slaughter (1984), filmed as Half Moon Street in 1987. Although Theroux has also written general travel books and books about various modes of transport, his name is synonymous with the literature of train travel. He has remarked that "ever since childhood, when I lived within earshot of the Boston and Maine, I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it. Those whistles sing bewitchment; railways are irresistible bazaars." Theroux's 1975 best-seller, The Great Railway Bazaar, takes the reader through Asia. His second book about train travel, The Old Patagonian Express (1979), describes his trip from Boston to the tip of South America. His third contribution to the railway travel genre, Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China (1989), won the Thomas Cook Prize for best literary travel book in 1989. Theroux's leisure interest in rowing perhaps accounts in part for his latest book, The Happy Isles of Oceania (1992). He traveled to 51 islands and 1 continent by cargo ship, train, and collapsible kayak. He explored obscure coastal nooks, juts, and islets and included, according to an article in the National Geographic Traveler, ". . . summary lessons on the concept of South Sea paradises, cargo cults, cannibalism, privately owned islands, missionaries, Thor Heyerdahl, diet, and colonialism."
Trade Paperback
528 Pages, 5.33 x 8.23 x 1.26 IN
October 29, 1996
Random House Publishing Group
0449910857
9780449910856