Product Description

Philip Marsden returns to the remote, fiercely beautiful landscape that has exercised a powerful mythic appeal over him since his first encounter with it over twenty years ago. 'Ethiopia bred in me the conviction that if there is a wider purpose to our life, it is to understand the world, to seek out its diversity, to celebrate its heroes and its wonders -- in short, to witness it.' When Philip Marsden first went to Ethiopia in 1982, it changed the direction of his life. What he saw of its stunning antiquity, its raw Christianity, its extremes of brutality and grace prompted his curiosity, and made him a writer. But Ethiopia at that time was torn apart by civil war. The north, the ancient heartland of the country, was closed off. Twenty years later, Marsden returned. The result is this book -- the account of a journey deferred. Walking hundreds of miles through a landscape of cavernous gorges, tabletop mountains and semi-desert, Marsden encounters monks and hermits, rebels and farmers. And he creates an unforgettable picture of one of the most remote regions left on earth. As in his award-winning book 'The Spirit-Wrestlers', Marsden reminds us of the brilliant heights that travel writing can attain, whilst celebrating the ageless rewards of the open road and the people for whom the mythic and the everyday are inextricably joined.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55611 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 310 pages

Review
'His exhilarating, sometimes burlesque narrative introduces several fascinating characters!Ethiopia provides the questing spirit, as does this thrilling and intelligent book.' Daily Telegraph 'He rises above the physical trail to produce short intense vignettes that transport us to a world that few of us will ever see!As both Traveller and Scribe, the best travel writers, like Marsden, hammer out a chain between two worlds: the foreign and the familiar, the present and historical, the journey physical and interior, the road hard travelled and the story well told.' Sunday Times Praise for 'The Spirit Wrestlers': 'Marsden has movingly captured these communities in a series of exquisitely drawn word pictures. His encounters sing with a lyric intensity and he approaches his subjects with the clarity of a historian and the pity of a tragic dramatist.' Amanda Foreman, Independent 'Marsden ! has painted a picture of the land between the Black Sea and the Caspian which can only leave us aghast with wonder.' Teresa Waugh, Literary Review 'Having turned the last page of Philip Marsden's book, I sincerely regretted that it was my first encounter with this excellent travel writer. 'The Spirit-Wrestlers' charmed me' Vitali Vitaliev, Daily Telegraph Praise for 'The Bronski House': 'Magnificent ! a Polish Wild Swans meets Dr Zhivago, written in some of the most exquisite prose in the genre since the death of Chatwin.' William Dalrymple, Sunday Times Books of the Year 'A tragic story, beautifully told.' Colin Thubron, Daily Telegraph Books of the Year 'The book I've savoured most this year.' John Fowles, Spectator Books of the Year

Guardian
'Marsden has a talent for unpretentious prose that locks into the
rhythm of the places and people he sees...'

Mail on Sunday
'subtly enchanting...Marsden is such a passionate companion that...one has no difficulty sticking with him until the journey's end'

Customer Reviews

Get into the heart of Ethiopia
Philip Marsden returns to Ethiopia in 2003, having been entranced by the country during a short visit in 1982. This time he hires a guide and a succession of mules to walk across the north. He explores churches, meets a variety of monks and discusses Ethiopian history. You have to admire his courage and persistence as he sweats and climbs with his mules through the mountains - why doesn't he catch a bus? But he makes it all the way to his final destination without a vehicle, and gives a real insight into the country. In the beginning he writes "if there is any purpose to our time on earth, it is to understand it...to celebrate its heroes and its wonders - in short, to witness it". Witness it he does. Through his book I've gained an understanding of Ethiopia. And now I'd love to go there. What greater vindication of the success of a travel book could you want?

a lyrical treat
I read this on the strength of Marsden's other book: "The Crossing Place", he seems to have a knack for writing books about countries I'm slightly obsessed with. I hate to get bogged down in cliches but this is another modern classic. Within any travel book there needs to be a sound motivation for the journey, without this central motivation it often seems like somebody is just writing a book for money, or doing something to please a publisher. All my cynicism was left behind as I followed Marsden and his numerous guides through both the difficult topography and turbulent history of Ethiopia. I recommend this book to casual readers in search of some escape or serious students of history and theology. The strong point of the book is that he undertakes the journey on foot so we get highly lyrical descriptions, written from someone who has had alot of time to compose their thoughts and take in surroundings.
There has been little written about Ethiopia and it is still tarred with images from news footage of famines. Marsden offers us a new reflection on a truly unique place, unique in culture, customs and in it's general isolation from the West and the rest. If you intend on learning more about this quirky corner of Africa I recommend reading both "The Emperor" and "The Pale Abyssinian".

A Triumph!
Philip Marsden is without doubt the most important and erudite writer concerned with Africa today. This book will change the way you think.