The Mountains Look on Marrakech
A trek along the Atlas Mountains
Hamish Brown
ISBN 978-1870325-29-5 |
Shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Prize 2007Winner to be announced at the Kendal Mountain Book Festival, 16th November!After an initial visit of three months to the Atlas Mountains in 1965, well-known travel writer, climber and photographer Hamish Brown has been back every year since, and this book is something of a love story about one man's lifelong devotion to the Atlas Mountains and the Berber Highlanders who so strongly remind us of Scottish history, although in a harsher, bigger world where storms and flash floods can cause havoc. In his own words, I had put feet to my dream and this book is the story of that dream, the end-to-end trek of the Atlas Mountains, a 900-mile walk in 96 days, which I want to share before everything recedes like a tide into the flat waters of memory. Hamish makes light of what was a complicated and notable journey with endless passes, gorges and peaks taken in. With his wide knowledge of the Atlas and careful planning, the journey was kept in steady flow despite the many hazards, but it is the many cameos of description, meetings with villagers, entertaining folk tales, etc. which will beguile the reader and surely make this one of the classic stories of modern adventuring.
Contents: About the author: A professional writer, lecturer and photographer specialising in mountain, outdoor, travel and related topics, etc. the editor has written over 20 books including Hamish's Mountain Walk, his first and award-winning book. He is also a frequent contributor to magazines, the press, radio scripts and book illustrations and has become an inveterate wanderer. Other notable books include The Last Hundred, 25 Walks, Fife; 25 Walks, Skye and Kintail, Along the Fife Coastal Path, Speak to the Hills, Exploring the Edinburgh to Glasgow Canals and Seton Gordon's Scotland, an anthology. What the reviews say:'It was an epic undertaking by a man with a powerful personal attachment to that part of the world. However, The Mountains Look on Marrakech is not the story of a lone traveller in a dry and dusty wilderness - far from it. It is rooted in a sense of camaraderie and shared experience while celebrating a richly varied environment, the descriptions of which will amaze anyone who believes Morocco is (to use Brown's words) "all camels and kasbahs". ...vivid and compelling record ...an engaging storyteller ... Supplemented by maps and colour photographs, The Mountains Look on Marrakech is a delightful volume which clearly falls into the "labour of love" category'. Caithness Courier and The Northern Times'This book does not disappoint. ... Hamish is an imaginative user of metaphors, and the text is also peppered with quotations... excellent sketch maps demonstrate the route.'Leopard Magazine '...this is no stuffy tome. The book is a delight. Much more than a mere travelogue, the journey is the thread along which the narrative is woven. Hamish's affection for the Berber people and their country is apparent and he shares with the reader anecdotes and knowledge accumulated over the years. ...It's an essential aid for planning expeditions, supplies background information for anyone joining an organised trek, and is a good read for armchair travellers'. John Muir Trust Journal '...it will give you a fascinating view of the mountains and the people, and perhaps inspire you to cisit the Atlas.'Irish Mountain Log '...it deserves to become a classic Moroccan travel book.'planetFear
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