The ETG Book Club . Miscellaneous

In 2009, Caspar and Nichola created a plan to sail around the world with their children.  Five years of planning - the vision, practicalities, the highs and lows - led to two years of living their dream. It's a funny, heartwarming tale, a practical guide and a motivational story of leadership and teamwork within a family. 

Discover 200 of the best places to ride a bike in this illustrated hardback. From family-friendly, sightseeing urban rides to epic adventures off the beaten track. Destinations range from France and Italy, for the world's great bike races, to the wilds of Mongolia and Patagonia. These journeys will inspire - whether you are an experienced cyclist or just getting started.

This is the most comprehensive book ever published on curries, written by Madhur Jaffrey, the world's bestselling Indian cookery author. The influence of the Indian curry has been far-reaching: Indian immigrants and traders influenced the cooking of many other great cuisines of the world, including those of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and China. History blends with recipes in this meticulously researched book, which will prove fascinating reading for food lovers everywhere. 

Join Luke Nguyen on his latest adventure through the bustling and fragrant backstreets of Asia. Through Saigon, Jakarta, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Luke uncovers the hidden locations and secret street food cultures. Luke is in his element as he eats his way through traditional noodle soups, sweet sticky meats and more adventurous dishes like Stir-fried embryo egg with tamarind and Duck and banana blossom salad. Venturing out at dawn and late into the night to discover street vendors, stallholders and roaming food carts, Luke captures the energy and distinctive flavours of each location. Over 100 recipes and colourful pictures of the local personalities make Street Food Asia the go-to book on one of the world's richest food traditions.

In the BBC series, Far Eastern Odyssey, Rick Stein went on an ambitious journey in search of the authentic food of South East Asia. This accompanying book features 150 new recipes from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bali each complemented by Rick's colourful anecdotes from the trip and beautiful on-location photography.  It's a visually-stunning culinary tribute to Southeast Asian cooking that evokes the magic of bustling markets, the sizzle of oil and the aromatic steam from a Far Eastern kitchen.

"This is a book for serious cooks and you might need to hunt around for some of the ingredients, however everything I've tried from this book has been delicious and worth the effort!" Melissa, ETG

In this the sixth of John Le Carré's novels featuring George Smiley (and the second part of the Karla Trilogy) the battle of wits between the spymaster and his Russian adversary takes on an even more dangerous dimension.

George Smiley, now acting head of the Circus, must rebuild its shattered reputation after one of the biggest betrayals in its history. Using the talents of journalist and occasional spy Jerry Westerby, Smiley launches a risky operation uncovering a Russian money-laundering scheme in the Far East (the novel plays out in Hong Kong, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Shanghai). His aim: revenge on Karla, head of Moscow Centre and the architect of all his troubles.

Why are the region's richest countries such as Malaysia riddled with corruption? Why do Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines harbour unresolved violent insurgencies? How do deepening religious divisions in Indonesia and Malaysia and China's growing influence affect the region and the rest of the world?

Thought-provoking and eye-opening, Blood And Silk is an accessible, personal look at modern Southeast Asia, written by one of the region's most experienced outside observers. This is a first-hand account of what it's like to sit at the table with deadly Thai Muslim insurgents, mediate between warring clans in the Southern Philippines and console the victims of political violence in Indonesia - all in an effort to negotiate peace and understand the reasons behind endemic violence...

Recommended to us by Nick Nugent, former Asia Editor, BBC World Service

This modern classic was once a beautiful account of a distant place: French Indochina in its twilight. Now it is also the story of a lost world. Norman Lewis travelled through Saigon to Phnom Penh, and then via Angkor Wat on to Laos. Every person Lewis meets – monks, farmers, royalty, colonialists – become important in his or her own right; the writer's keen eye for telling detail puts the reader right beside him.

One of Amitav Ghosh’s few works in the non-fiction genre, this is a collection of five essays composed in a narrative journalism style.

Through extraordinary first-hand accounts, Amitav Ghosh presents a compelling chronicle of the turmoil of our times. `Dancing in Cambodia' recreates the first-ever visit to Europe by a troupe of Cambodian dancers with King Sisowath, in 1906. Ghosh links this historic visit, celebrated by Rodin in a series of sketches, to the more recent history of the Khmer Rouge revolution. 'The Town by the Sea' records his experiences in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands just days after the tsunami; Another essay is on Burma’s ill-fated connection with continuous political unrest, even after being granted freedom from British rule in 1947. It includes his interviews with several leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

In the 20th century, amateur photography took history -and collective memory - out of the hands of historians and gave it to individuals. In Pictures of You, bestselling British-Canadian travel writer (and ETG client!) Rory MacLean narrates a journey through 10 photographs, across the globe and into the lives of 10 ordinary men and women who lived through extraordinary times.

Each photograph (or group of photographs) comes from a different decade of the 20th Century: the first killing of the Cold War; the dying hopes of a doomed aviator; the ghosts of Native America at Alcatraz; Chairman Mao's most timid lover; Nature's final battle with humankind. Through these images, MacLean ventures from Siberia to Rangoon, China to Shepperton Studios, hearing forgotten voices that echo from the depths of time, picturing lives that mirror our own, and saving the stories behind these pictures of you.

In 2015, 19-year-old Londoner, Tom Davies rode 18,000 miles to become the youngest person ever to cycle around the world. This book recounts his journey, covering 100 miles a day and visiting 21 different countries to complete a very big circle from London to London. The narrative goes beyond the hardships Tom faced, focusing on the brutally honest thoughts of a teenager pushing himself to the limit. Covering everything from coping with new cultures and dealing with extreme boredom to living with ridiculous tan lines, the light-hearted nature and humour of the book makes this an easy read which will appeal to a wide audience. Laying bare his emotions and youthful naivety with the aim of inspiring others to push for their own personal goals, Tom provides an insight into why he took on this challenge. 

"Tom lives not far from our London office and his amazing cycle not only set a record and generated a great book but also he raised £50,000 for charity along the way." Alice, ETG 

A personal travel diary of a year's solo journey down the length of the Mekong River, from Tibet, through southern China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam to the South China Sea. A slim volume despite the scale of the journey but one in which Gargan, an American journalist, evokes the place and people along the banks of the Mekong as well as their often turbulent history as he travels some 2,700 miles along its length.  Published in 2003, many of the countries he passed through have since seen great and rapid change, but his insights into the different cultures along the river and how they have been and continue to be affected by external pressures and events remain pertinent today.

East: 120 vegetarian and vegan recipes from Bangalore to Beijing is a cornucopia of modern, vibrant, fuss-free food made from British ingredients but with an Eastern slant. There are noodles, curries, rice dishes, tofu, salads, sides and sweets, all surprisingly easy to make and bursting with exciting flavours. Taking you from India to Indonesia, Singapore to Japan, by way of China, Thailand, and Vietnam, East will show you how to whip up a chard potato and coconut curry and a swede laksa; how to make Kimchi pancakes, delicious dairy-free black dal, and chilli tofu. There are sweet potato momos for snacks and unexpected desserts like salted miso brownies and a no-churn Vietnamese coffee ice-cream.

"How can we think more deeply about travel?" 

This was the question that inspired Emily Thomas's journey into the philosophy of travel. Discover the dark side of maps, how the philosophy of space fuelled mountain tourism, and why you should wash underwear in woodland cabins...and confront profound issues, such as the ethics of 'doom tourism' (travel to 'doomed' glaciers and coral reefs), and the effect of space travel on human significance.

ETG's Sara says: "I'd say this is the perfect armchair travel book with which to ponder the link between philosophy and travel. It's brilliantly researched and detailed, as well as humorous, and explores how travelling can really broaden the mind. You might find it reshapes your understanding of travel and gets you thinking about how you might get the most out of your future adventures..."

Travel expert and writer Holly Tuppen cemented her interest in sustainable travel when she embarked on a 20-month no-fly round-the-world adventure back in 2008. In this book, she considers everything you need to know to make more sustainable, responsible and ethical choices to ensure your travel experiences do more good than harm.

Holly recognises the fact that tourism can put pressure on fragile environments and undermine local lives but that, also, travel can bring inspiration, create connections and can renew people and places. We wholly support her message to travellers to "seek out transformative and regenerative experiences, travel that is designed and driven by communities, travel that uplifts the host as much as the visitor, travel that changes hearts and minds for the better."