Left Beyond the Horizon

Book excerpt: 200,000 kilometres in 3,000 days across five continents. Or in other words, just 66 kilometres a day on average - which is quite enough for a 30-year-old Land Rover. Amidst the Scottish Highlands, battered by the elements, stands a neglected Land Rover. It does not seem to be the ideal vehicle for a trip around the world, but Christopher Many believes otherwise. He has the dream of embarking on a tour de force to the frozen wastelands of Siberia, North and South America, and across the continent of Africa - equipped with little more than a passport, credit card and full tank of petrol. His goal? "To explore strange new worlds and boldly go where no Land Rover has gone before." Intelligently and with perseverance, Christopher scours the globe from Mongolia to Somaliland to find out what makes the earth "tick". Soon enough the adventure turns into a sprawling n-dimensional tapestry of philosophical conundrums, rollercoaster emotions and first-hand observations in 100 countries. When he pulls on a few loose threads, a Pandora's box of information is released, often at odds with conventional Western views. Christopher returns eight years later - exhausted, snake-bitten and malaria-infected - but with a few prized cogwheels in his knapsack, a greater understanding of the world we live in, and, with the love of his life. Equal parts sophisticated lexicon on global affairs and darkly witty travel chronicle, his book presents a vivid picture of the adventures, agonies and joys of world travel, and asks some very "uncomfortable" questions - truly going where few have gone before. Take a ride in Matilda's passenger seat next to this vagabonding philosopher, provided you are not in a rush... 39 colour