| Description |
xiv, 458 pages ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
The 1950s ; 1. Mount Everest, 1953 ; 2. A benign republic: USA ; 3. Kingdom of troubles: the Middle East ; 4. South African White and Black ; 5. Confusions in paradise: the Caribbean ; 6. Europe: after the war was over ; 7. Orientalisms: The Far East -- The 1960s ; 8. The Eichmann Trial ; 9. The Cold War ; 10. South American frissons ; 11. Oxford, 1965 ; 12. Australia ; 13. A New Africa ; 14. Manhattan, 1969 -- The 1970s ; 15. Pleasure places ; 16. Ex-Britannica ; 17. Casablanca: a change of sex ; 18. London, 1975 ; 19. Post-glory: the USA ; 20. South African Black on White -- The 1980s ; 21. On wistful whims: virtual places ; 22. Sydney, 1983 ; 23. O Canada! ; 24. There stood China ; 25. Vienna, 1983 ; 26. Y Wladfa: another Wales ; 27. Berlin, 1989 -- The 1990s ; 28. The flux of Europe ; 29. Light and shade in the USA ; Portland, Oregon ; 30. Sydney, 1995 ; 31. Hong Kong |
| Summary |
"The career of Jan Morris began auspiciously enough fifty years ago "with an imperial exploit" that burst like a salvo into newspapers throughout the world. Assigned by The Times of London to cover the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, "the supreme mountain of the world," Morris was the only reporter allowed on Sir John Hunt's expedition. Morris's great "scoop," published in London on June 2, 1953, the very morning of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, not only marked the beginning of a "new Elizabethan age," but also established the twenty-six-year-old as the foremost travel essayist of the age." |
|
"Fifty years later, we now have The World, which provides us with as complete an overview of Morris's work as we will ever see. Dividing the volume into five decades, Morris presents history with an unparalleled dramatic flair, creating a riveting portrait of the twentieth century, from the political idealism of the postwar years to its more recent tensions and excesses. With characteristic nuance and keen perspective, Morris makes vast cities seem almost three-dimensional - re-creating moods and smells, describing people and history with an immediacy that makes you feel you are there. From Manhattan to Sydney, Hong Kong to Trieste, Morris reports on a world capable of producing limitless hope and soul-darkening despair - from the promise of Sputnik to the ravages of AIDS, and all manner of things in-between." |
| Notes |
"Originally published in Great Britain under the title A writer's world : travels 1950-2000"--T.p. verso |
|
Includes index |
| Subject |
Morris, Jan, 1926- -- Travel.
|
|
Voyages and travels.
|
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World politics -- 1945-1989.
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World politics -- 1989-
|
| Genre/Form |
Autobiographies.
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| LC no. |
2003019339 |
| ISBN |
0393052087 |
|
