A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

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Newby of course said "yes," walking away from his career in the fashion industry. And thus was born his best-selling travel adventure, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. urn:lcp:shortwalkinhindu00newb:epub:99851117-9bc1-45e4-860e-bfacc8f7ce0a Foldoutcount 0 Identifier shortwalkinhindu00newb Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t76t1q20t Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Openlibrary_edition Gutcher, Lianne (5 February 2017). "Following Eric Newby's footsteps in the Hindu Kush". Wanderlust Travel Magazine . Retrieved 20 February 2018.

The book has been reprinted many times, in at least 16 English versions and in Spanish, Chinese and German editions. While some critics, and Newby himself, have considered Newby's Love and War in the Apennines a better book, A Short Walk was the book that made him well-known, and critics agree that it is very funny in an old-school British way. FROM MY BLOG) By 1956, Eric Newby had devoted ten years of his life to working as a dress buyer for a London fashion house. Then one day, he received a telegram from Hugh Carless, a casual friend, asking "CAN YOU TRAVEL NURISTAN JUNE?" It is an autobiographical travelogue of Eric Newby,describing,in a comic,understated style,his ascent to Mir Samir. Shapiro, Michael (15 May 2006). "No. 17: 'A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush' by Eric Newby". WorldHum . Retrieved 20 February 2018. urn:lcp:shortwalkinhindu00eric_0:epub:61fcce03-2a36-495b-8adb-914566f30566 Extramarc OhioLINK Library Catalog Foldoutcount 0 Identifier shortwalkinhindu00eric_0 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t8v99cm1c Isbn 0140095756

Nobody was better qualified to produce his own obituary than the travel writer Eric Newby, author of the classic A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, who has died aged 86. Ever ready to spill the autobiographical beans, he was not one to sell himself short. The notice would have read splendidly, for at his best Newby, a former Observer travel editor, could conjure a scene as Canaletto could a painting or Berlioz an opera. The "Hindu Kush" is the western part of the Himalayan Construct at Central Asia and the "top of the world." (Everest, K2 and similar record-breakers lie farther east). We Americans don't use that term so much, but consider that the Khyber Pass is part of the Hindu Kush. Newby writes in a humorous, self-deprecating and understated style about their efforts to properly outfit themselves and prepare for what he increasingly realized would be a totally foolhardy ordeal. The early chapters read like "Laurel and Hardy Go Mountaineering." Carless appears insouciant and confident; Newby was in a constant state of panic and alarm.

Meeting Carless, they drive across Turkey to Persia (present day Iran). They brake to an emergency stop on the road, just short of a dying nomad, and with difficulty convince the police they did not cause the death. Notable addition to the literature of unorthodox travel ... tough, extrovert, humorous and immensely literate' Times Literary Supplement I had the sensation of emerging from a country that would continue to exist more or less unchanged whatever disasters overtook the rest of mankind." Indeed, he was twice taken prisoner, and told the story of his recapture - "a very disagreeable experience" - in what many regard as his finest book, Love and War in the Apennines (1971), a superb reconstruction of how at the height of the guerrilla warfare against the Germans in Italy, he met Wanda, the girl he returned to find when the war was over and whom he subsequently married. Although A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush (1958) is the comic masterpiece Newby will be remembered by, Love and War revealed another side to what on the surface was an uncomplicated nature, a compelling tenderness and compassion. There are passages of great depth, quite beyond the range of ordinary travel writing.

One lone chapter only, of dry facts and figures--Chapter 7--but its the most concise history of the exploration of India I've ever encountered, and I will likely keep the book after I've completed it solely for this reason. Fast facts on all the various European expeditions of the 1800s--extremely convenient. Also, the diplomatic history; colonial maneuvering; tales of the various legations and consulates and missions. When we finished we gave out chocolate to the watchers, but it was like attempting to feed the five thousand without the aid of a miracle.

So here we have two pretentious ill prepared dandies floundering around the mountain, looking for a way to the top, enduring all sorts of rough demands, bullying their way along the trial. Through all the shenanigans and crises that ensue, we learn a little about the cultures and geography encountered and very little about the flora and fauna. Newby has nice comic timing for his narrative of events. It did feel like a wonder of heroic foolishness for them to get as far as they got, within 300 feet of the top of the 18,000 foot Mir Shamir. His critical asides can sometimes verge on caricature or stereotype in a way that seem a bit politically incorrect by today’s standards. For example, when he imputes menace or laziness or slovenliness in perception of their treatment or actions by the local people encountered on the journey. But I can see the point of wariness over menace in many cases, and the warmth of his heart in general toward people caught in poverty comes through. Also, he is often the ultimate butt of his humor as the one responsible for the insane quest in the first place and mistakes in first impressions. There are two hand-drawn maps. The "Map to illustrate a journey in Nuristan by Eric Newby and Hugh Carless in 1956", shows an area of 75 × 55 miles covering the Panjshir valley to the Northwest, and Nuristan and the Pushal valley to the Southeast; it has a small inset of Central Asia showing the area's location to the Northeast of Kabul. The other map, "Nuristan", covers a larger area of about 185 × 140 miles, showing Kabul and Jalalabad to the South, and Chitral and the Pakistan region of Kohistan to the East. [10] Preface [ edit ] Eric Newby (1919-2006) went on to a career of travel writing and is memorialized in this 2010 edition with its Afterword by fellow adventurer Hugh Carless (1925-2011). The Preface by writer Evelyn Waugh was already included in the first hardcover edition in 1958. It was during his time at the Observer that Newby became an expert photographer, often with the help and advice of exasperated picture editors. He left the paper in 1973 to produce The World Atlas of Exploration (1975), on terms that were alleged to put him on a secure financial footing for good. Subsequently, he published books in swift succession, often going over the same ground; in 1973 he brought out two within months. The spring of rich, fruity prose seemed inexhaustible. Wanda, a splendid homemaker who stood little, if any, nonsense, saw to his creature comforts, finally settling him down, spectacularly well-fed, in a lovely house in Surrey.Hugh comes across as this mysterious, aloof, travel partner whom Newby is able to portray with gut wrenching humor. Part of the success of the book is how they play off each other. The travel writer John Pilkington stated that the book had been an early inspiration in his life, and wrote of Newby that "He had an understated, self-deprecating sense of humour which was very British – perfect travel writing." [35] Michael Shapiro, interviewing Newby for Travelers' Tales, called the book "a classic piece of old-school British exploration, and established Newby's trademark self-deprecating wry humor" [36] and included it in WorldHum's list of favourite travel books. [37] Boyd Tonkin, writing in The Independent, called the book a "classic trek", and commented that while it is told light-heartedly, Newby, despite his comic gift, always retained his "capacity for wonderment". [38] Newby meets the explorer and travel writer Wilfred Thesiger, at the end of the book. Painting by Anthony Devas, 1944 Fox, Margalit (24 October 2006). "Eric Newby, 86, Acclaimed British Travel Writer, Dies". The New York Times . Retrieved 4 April 2013.

Eric Newby by perchance had, in real life, something similar happen to him in 1956. He had had enough of the rag trade, talked to a great mate, Hugh Carless, and next minute they were off to climb a little hill in a nearby county. Something like that anyway.Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2010-03-01 17:23:28 Boxid IA108921 Call number 3743049 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II Donor