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Sport- und Gesundheitstourismus 2030: Wie die „Generation plus“ den Markt verändert
by Pamela Heise Michaela Axt-GadermannDieses Fachbuch fokussiert auf das sport- und gesundheitstouristische Nachfrageverhalten der "Generation plus". Einer Konsumentengruppe in ihrer zweiten Lebenshälfte, die mit einer großen Neugier in Bezug auf sich selbst und die Welt und einem Plus an Interessen, Anspruch und Kaufkraft ausgestattet ist. Durch die sich wandelnden soziodemographischen, ökonomischen und klimatischen Rahmenbedingungen ergeben sich auch im Bereich der Freizeit- und Tourismusbranche signifikante Änderungen zu den bisherigen Nachfrage- und Angebotsstrukturen. Destinationen, die sich bereits jetzt mit der wachsenden Zahl reifer Touristen beschäftigen, stellen ihre Weichen in Richtung Zukunft.Das Buch greift vor dem Hintergrund des demographischen Wandels aktuelle touristische Entwicklungen und zukünftige Herausforderungen auf, denen sich Destinationen und Anbieter im Sinne der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit stellen müssen. Das Buch richtet sich durch die Symbiose aus Theorie und Praxis im Sinne eines Handlungsleitfadens u.a. an Entscheider und Produktentwickler im touristischen Destinations- und Eventkontext, an Lehrende und Studierende sowie an alle, die eine anregende Lektüre suchen.
Sports Event Management: The Caribbean Experience (New Directions in Tourism Analysis)
by Leslie-Ann JordanExploring sports event management from a Caribbean, small island developing state perspective, this volume uses the events of the recently held Cricket World Cup 2007 (CWC 2007) as a launching pad for identifying best practices and the way forward. The CWC 2007 was the first time in any sport, a World Cup was staged in nine independent countries. None of the Caribbean territories hosting a match has a population larger than Jamaica's 3.4 million; most have less than a quarter of a million people; economies are small and infrastructure limited. The hosting of this event produced significant lessons that the region and the world can learn from concerning sports event management.
Sports Event Management: The Caribbean Experience (New Directions in Tourism Analysis)
by Ben Tyson Leslie-Ann Jordan David TrulyExploring sports event management from a Caribbean, small island developing state perspective, this volume uses the events of the recently held Cricket World Cup 2007 (CWC 2007) as a launching pad for identifying best practices and the way forward. The CWC 2007 was the first time in any sport, a World Cup was staged in nine independent countries. None of the Caribbean territories hosting a match has a population larger than Jamaica's 3.4 million; most have less than a quarter of a million people; economies are small and infrastructure limited. The hosting of this event produced significant lessons that the region and the world can learn from concerning sports event management.
The Sports Event Management and Marketing Playbook (The Wiley Event Management Series)
by Frank SupovitzAs a sporting event planner, how do you keep up with the trends of the ticket buying public, sponsorship and merchandising while at the same time attending to the hundreds of management and operational details required to execute the event? A successful sports event requires a planner that can read signals from their market and plan strategically to maintain sponsors and a fill an arena.
Sports Events, Society and Culture (Routledge Advances in Event Research Series)
by Katherine Dashper Thomas Fletcher Nicola McCulloughThis innovative and timely volume moves beyond existing operational and pragmatic approaches to events studies by exploring sports events as social, cultural, political and mediatised phenomena. As the study of this area is developing there is now a need for critical and theoretically informed debate regarding conceptualisation, significance and roles. This edited collection explores the core themes of consumption, media technologies, representation, identities and culture to offer new insight into how sports events contribute to generation of individual and shared meaning over personal, community and national identities as well as the associated issues of conflict, resistance and power. Chapters promote a critical (re)evaluation of emerging empirical research from a diverse range of sports events and locations from the international to local level. A multi-disciplinary approach is taken with contributions from areas including sports studies, media studies, sociology, cultural studies, communications, politics, tourism and gender studies. Written by leading academics in the area, this thorough exploration of the contested relationship between sports events, society and culture will be of interest to students, academics and researchers in Events, Sport, Tourism and Sociology.
Sports Events, Society and Culture (Routledge Advances in Event Research Series)
by Katherine Dashper Thomas Fletcher Nicola McculloughThis innovative and timely volume moves beyond existing operational and pragmatic approaches to events studies by exploring sports events as social, cultural, political and mediatised phenomena. As the study of this area is developing there is now a need for critical and theoretically informed debate regarding conceptualisation, significance and roles. This edited collection explores the core themes of consumption, media technologies, representation, identities and culture to offer new insight into how sports events contribute to generation of individual and shared meaning over personal, community and national identities as well as the associated issues of conflict, resistance and power. Chapters promote a critical (re)evaluation of emerging empirical research from a diverse range of sports events and locations from the international to local level. A multi-disciplinary approach is taken with contributions from areas including sports studies, media studies, sociology, cultural studies, communications, politics, tourism and gender studies. Written by leading academics in the area, this thorough exploration of the contested relationship between sports events, society and culture will be of interest to students, academics and researchers in Events, Sport, Tourism and Sociology.
Sports Management as an Emerging Economic Activity: Trends and Best Practices
by Marta Peris-Ortiz José Álvarez-García María de Del Río-RamaThis book examines the sports industry as a broad business and economic sector with an enormous influence on regional economic development. Covering topics such as sports economics, financing sports organizations, sustainability management in sports, sports tourism and doping among athletes, this book provides a timely collection of research and best practices in the areas of sports management and policy. Sports activity is a rapidly growing and evolving industry, offering numerous business opportunities--from the manufacturing of sporting equipment and activity at gyms and sports centers to revenue from sporting events and sport tourism. In order for the varied businesses across the sport industry, whether public or private, to be successful, proper management strategies and policies must be in place. This includes the knowledge of the industry, strategic planning, sector analysis, quality management and sustainable (economic and environmental) use of resources. Featuring case examples from several countries, including Spain, Turkey, Uruguay, Portugal, and Italy, this volume provides international perspectives on a wide spectrum of managerial issues across this dynamic industry.
Sports Tourism
by Chris Bull Mike WeedSports Tourism: participants, policy and providers is an unparalleled text that explains sports tourism as a social, economic and cultural phenomenon that stems from the unique interaction of activity, people and place. Unlike other texts, it seeks to present sports tourism as a unique area that produces its own unique issues, concerns and controversies.The text tackles these issues from three viewpoints: participants: examining the profiles, motivations and behaviour patterns of sports tourists to create a typology of participants policy: analyses the response by policy makers to this phenomenon and the problems of achieving integration between two sectors with historically different cultures providers: their motivations, aims, objectives and strategies Illustrated by international case studies in each chapter, and with four extended case study chapters, Sports Tourism: participants, policy and providers examines this area using real life experiences and concrete evidence.
Sports Tourism
by Chris Bull Mike WeedSports Tourism: participants, policy and providers is an unparalleled text that explains sports tourism as a social, economic and cultural phenomenon that stems from the unique interaction of activity, people and place. Unlike other texts, it seeks to present sports tourism as a unique area that produces its own unique issues, concerns and controversies.The text tackles these issues from three viewpoints: participants: examining the profiles, motivations and behaviour patterns of sports tourists to create a typology of participants policy: analyses the response by policy makers to this phenomenon and the problems of achieving integration between two sectors with historically different cultures providers: their motivations, aims, objectives and strategies Illustrated by international case studies in each chapter, and with four extended case study chapters, Sports Tourism: participants, policy and providers examines this area using real life experiences and concrete evidence.
Sports Tourism: Participants, Policy and Providers
by Mike Weed Chris BullSports Tourism: Participants, Policy and Providers is an unparalleled text that explains sports tourism as a social, economic and cultural phenomenon that stems from the unique interaction of activity, people and place. Unlike other texts, it establishes sports tourism as a unique area that produces its own unique issues, concerns and controversies. Extensively revised with cutting edge new material based on the latest research in the field, this edition uses recent international case studies to illustrate how theory is used in practice. The text tackles the complex and distinctive issues this sector faces from three viewpoints: participants: examining the profiles, motivations and behaviour patterns of sports tourists to create a participation model policy: analyzes the response by policy makers to this phenomenon and the problems of achieving integration between two sectors with historically different cultures providers: their motivations, aims, objectives and strategies. Now in its second edition, this book is an essential resource for those studying, teaching or working in sports tourism.
Sports Tourism: Participants, Policy and Providers
by Mike Weed Chris BullSports Tourism: Participants, Policy and Providers is an unparalleled text that explains sports tourism as a social, economic and cultural phenomenon that stems from the unique interaction of activity, people and place. Unlike other texts, it establishes sports tourism as a unique area that produces its own unique issues, concerns and controversies. Extensively revised with cutting edge new material based on the latest research in the field, this edition uses recent international case studies to illustrate how theory is used in practice. The text tackles the complex and distinctive issues this sector faces from three viewpoints: participants: examining the profiles, motivations and behaviour patterns of sports tourists to create a participation model policy: analyzes the response by policy makers to this phenomenon and the problems of achieving integration between two sectors with historically different cultures providers: their motivations, aims, objectives and strategies. Now in its second edition, this book is an essential resource for those studying, teaching or working in sports tourism.
Sports Travel Security
by Peter TarlowSports Team Security examines the security needs for sports teams and events of all sizes. This groundbreaking book provides a fundamental model for sports team security that can be applied almost universally, from youth sports to the Super Bowl and World Cup. The book develops, compares, and contrasts current methodologies in sports security, for both amateur and professional athletes, examining which paradigms work best and under which circumstances. This valuable information is applicable to nearly anyone involved in the safety of athletes, including event managers, law enforcement, parents, school administrators and coaches, security practitioners, tourism industry professionals, and legal professionals. It explores areas rarely investigated, providing key advice for creating best practices and guidelines in sports team security. Examines sports team security methodologies, helping to determine which paradigms work best and under which circumstancesProvides a generic template for sports team security, with checklists and log sheets provided for each type of systemDiscusses sports team security in relation to large and small teams, and even in single-player sports, as well as unique requirements to accommodate differences in age, culture, climate, language, geography, religion, and genderReviews security for special-needs athletes for events like the Special Olympics or Paralympic GamesApplies academic and practical knowledge for both security students and practitioners
A Spring Betrayal: An Inspector Akyl Borubaev Thriller (2) (An Inspector Akyl Borubaev Thriller #2)
by Tom Callaghan'Even better than Child 44. Akyl Borubaev is a terrific creation' Anthony HorowitzWE UNCOVERED THE LAST OF THE BODIES IN THE RED HOUR BEFORE DUSK, AS THE SUN STAINED THE SNOWCAPS OF THE TIAN SHAN MOUNTAINS THE COLOUR OF DRIED BLOOD. . .Inspector Akyl Borubaev of Bishkek Murder Squad has been exiled to the far corner of Kyrgyzstan, but death still haunts him at every turn. Borubaev soon finds himself caught up in a mysterious and gruesome new case: several children's bodies have been found buried together - all tagged with name bands. In his search for the truth behind the brutal killings, Borubaev hits a wall of silence, with no one to turn to outside his sometime lover, the beautiful undercover agent Saltanat Umarova.When Borubaev himself is framed, accused of involvement in the production of blood-soaked child pornography, it looks as though things couldn't get any worse. With the investigation at a dangerous standstill, Borubaev sets out to save his own integrity, and to deliver his own savage justice on behalf of the many dead who can't speak for themselves . . .'Just keeps getting better . . . buy the whole series right away' Peter Robinson, No.1 bestselling author of Sleeping in the Ground'Storytelling of the highest quality . . . Introduces a detective it is impossible not to believe in. Callaghan is a new voice to be welcomed' Daily Mail
Springtime For Germany: or How I Learned to Love Lederhosen
by Ben DonaldWith no apparent sense of humour and their excessive speed when securing sunloungers, the German people and their country have had a terrible reputation among the British since time immemorial (or 1914). So, going where very few travel-writers and holidaymakers have gone before, Ben Donald has visited Germany in order to overturn stereotypes and, at the same time, fall back in love with travel. From the massed ranks on the nudist beaches of Germany's north coast (they have a reputation for liking uniform, but they'd much rather be naked), via intimate encounters in the steam-rooms of Baden-Baden and the brothels of Hamburg (where he makes his excuses and leaves), to the rite of passage that is wearing Lederhosen to the Oktoberfest (which takes place in September), the author has put his body and his dignity on the line to get beneath the skin of this most maligned of countries. He even goes to see a German stand-up comedian. In - where else? - England. And what emerges is a Germany that will surprise many who thought they knew the country and its people; an eye-opener in other words - especially those nudist beaches.
Springwatch: Great British Walks
by Luke Waterson100 wildlife walks through our beautiful British countryside. The beautiful countryside and intimate wildlife stories explored in Springwatch have inspired viewers to get outside and reconnect with the natural world for almost 20 years. Now this new practical compendium will help you go further, bringing together the most scenic walks and diverse wildlife from around Britain. Covering every region in the UK, it includes a range of easy strolls and more challenging hikes for every level of walker, each featuring wildlife unique to the area: from white-tailed eagles on the Isle of Mull and red squirrels in Northumberland, to grey seals in Devon, bottlenose dolphins along the Welsh coast and sparrowhawks in Northern Ireland. Detailed descriptions of routes, specially-commissioned maps and easy-to-follow practical information ensure you have everything you need to set out on these walks yourself, with tips on spotting flora and fauna, with a key species selected for each walk across the country.With a foreword by Chris Packham, and beautiful line art throughout, whether you feel like wandering through a bluebell wood or enjoying the sea breeze on a dramatic coastal path, Springwatch: Great British Walks has something for every season - and it's all just outside your door.
An SPSS Guide for Tourism, Hospitality and Events Researchers
by Rahul Pratap Singh Kaurav Dogan Gursoy Nimit ChowdharyThis is the first book to provide the student of tourism, hospitality and events with all that they need to undertake statistical analysis using SPSS for research in their industry. Employing examples directly from the tourism, hospitality and events sector, it provides a comprehensive explanation on how appropriate statistical tools and methods can be identified for this research context and provides a step-by-step demonstration on how to carry out the chosen statistical operations. Each chapter opens with a sector-specific case study reflecting current research trends and issues from a range of different countries that are affecting the industry today. It is followed by an examination of the SPSS procedures relating to the case study and various solutions are offered. The implementation of clear, step-by-step demonstrations on how to carry out statistical operations using a combination of screenshots, diagrams, and tables aids the reader’s understanding. Chapters close with thorough guidance on how to appropriately write up interpretations of the research in a report. Research implications and recommendations for tourism and hospitality businesses are also provided, to enable them to successfully create and manage research strategies in action. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective and written by a range of industry experts from all over the globe, this book will be essential for all students and researchers in the field of tourism, hospitality, and events as well as all those in related fields with an interest in statistical data analysis.
An SPSS Guide for Tourism, Hospitality and Events Researchers
by Rahul Pratap Singh Kaurav Dogan Gursoy Nimit ChowdharyThis is the first book to provide the student of tourism, hospitality and events with all that they need to undertake statistical analysis using SPSS for research in their industry. Employing examples directly from the tourism, hospitality and events sector, it provides a comprehensive explanation on how appropriate statistical tools and methods can be identified for this research context and provides a step-by-step demonstration on how to carry out the chosen statistical operations. Each chapter opens with a sector-specific case study reflecting current research trends and issues from a range of different countries that are affecting the industry today. It is followed by an examination of the SPSS procedures relating to the case study and various solutions are offered. The implementation of clear, step-by-step demonstrations on how to carry out statistical operations using a combination of screenshots, diagrams, and tables aids the reader’s understanding. Chapters close with thorough guidance on how to appropriately write up interpretations of the research in a report. Research implications and recommendations for tourism and hospitality businesses are also provided, to enable them to successfully create and manage research strategies in action. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective and written by a range of industry experts from all over the globe, this book will be essential for all students and researchers in the field of tourism, hospitality, and events as well as all those in related fields with an interest in statistical data analysis.
Squirrel Pie (and other stories): Adventures in Food Across the Globe
by Ms Elisabeth Luard'Sacrilegious to say it but Elizabeth Luard even beats Elizabeth David. Exquisite writing and wonderful food, and funny too' Prue Leith'Elisabeth Luard proves that no matter where you are, there is food to be gathered, or hunted, or found. Squirrel Pie is a beautifully written tribute to food that has all but vanished from our everyday lives' Alice WatersElisabeth Luard, one of the food world's most entertaining and evocative writers, has travelled extensively throughout her life, meeting fascinating people, observing different cultures and uncovering extraordinary ingredients in unusual places. In this enchanting food memoir, she shares tales and dishes gathered from her global ramblings.With refreshing honesty and warmth, she recounts anecdotes of the many places she has visited: scouring for snails in Crete, sampling exotic spices in Ethiopia and tasting pampered oysters in Tasmania. She describes encounters with a cellarer-in-chief and a mushroom-king, and explains why stress is good news for fruit and vegetables, and how to spot a truffle lurking under an oak tree. Divided into four landscapes – rivers, islands, deserts and forests – Elisabeth's stories are coupled with more than fifty authentic recipes, each one a reflection of its unique place of origin, including Boston bean-pot, Hawaiian poke, Cretan bouboutie, mung-bean roti, roasted buttered coffee beans, Anzac biscuits and Sardinian lemon macaroons. Illustrated with Elisabeth's own sketches, Squirrel Pie will appeal to anyone with a taste for travel, and an affinity for that most universal of languages, food.
Squirting Milk at Chameleons: An Accidental African
by Simon FentonOn the cusp of middle age, Simon Fenton leaves Britain in search of adventure and finds Senegal, love, fatherhood, witch doctors – and a piece of land that could make a perfect guest house, if only he knew how to build one. The Casamance is an undiscovered paradise where mystic Africa governs life, people walk to the beat of the djembe, when it rains it pours and the mangos are free. But the fact that his name translates to 'vampire' and he has had a curse placed on him via the medium of eggs could mean Simon's new life may not be so easy.
St George: The patron saint of England (Pocket Essential Ser.)
by Giles MorganSt. George is a figure that bridges many worlds. At the heart of the myths and legends surrounding this English icon lies the story of an early Christian martyr persecuted by the Roman Empire around the third century AD. But England is only one country to have adopted this legendary soldier saint as their patron. Other countries including Germany, Armenia, Hungary, Portugal, Catalonia and Malta have all claimed him as their own. The cult of St. George is astonishingly widespread with churches being dedicated to him in Ethiopia, Egypt, Greece and France.His heroic struggle and victory against the dragon can be interpreted as representing the bravery of an individual Christian or as the eternal battle been good and evil. But closer examination of the cult of St. George yields unexpected results. There are clear parallels between his legendary battle and that of earlier pre-Christian heroes such as Perseus and Beowulf. St. George is also identified with the Islamic hero Al Khidr who is said to have discovered the fountain of youth. He has been associated with the coming of spring and has functioned as fertility symbol and been closely linked to the Green Man of Pre-Christian Myth. St. George has also acted as a symbol of chastity and served as a healing saint. His flag has been appropriated by the far right but in recent times come to identify a multi-cultural England.'fascinating...Well written and meandering delightfully, Morgan held my attention more than I had anticipated' - Bob Rickard, Fortean Times
St. Peter's (Wonders of the world #8)
by Keith MillerBuilt by the decree of Constantine, rebuilt by some of the most distinguished architects in Renaissance Italy, emulated by Hitler’s architect in his vision for Germania, immortalized on film by Fellini, and fictionalized by a modern American bestseller, St. Peter’s is the most easily recognizable church in the world. This book is a cultural history of one of the most significant structures in the West. It bears the imprint of Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini, and Canova. For Grand Tourists of the eighteenth century, St. Peter’s exemplified the sublime. It continues to fascinate visitors today and appears globally as a familiar symbol of the papacy and of the Catholic Church itself.
St Petersburg: A Traveller's Reader (Traveller's Reader)
by Laurence KellyFeaturing a vivid selection from biographies, novels, letters, poems, diaries and memoirs, this volume traces the story of St Petersburg from earliest times. Through these pieces, readers can observe the city's foundation by Peter the Great on the marshy shores of the Gulf of Finland; see how literature and the other arts flowered during the nineteenth century; and observe the often violent turning points of its later history.First-hand accounts tell of the 1825 Decembrists standing in the snow in Senate Square, refusing to accept Nicholas I as Tsar, being shot down where they stood; of the imprisonment of Dostoevsky and the duel that killed Pushkin; of the last moments of the mad Emperor Paul; and of the storming of the Winter Palace by the crowd in 1917. Many more historic scenes are witnessed by such diverse characters as Tolstoy, Catherine the Great and a voluble maid-servant of Irish descent. Designed for on-the-spot use by visitors to the city, and as a highly readable anthology for the armchair traveller, this Traveller's Reader includes maps, engravings and notes on history, art, architecture and city life.
Staging Tourism: Bodies on Display from Waikiki to Sea World (Science And Its Conceptual Foundations Ser.)
by Jane C. DesmondFrom Shamu the dancing whale at Sea World to Hawaiian lu'au shows, Staging Tourism analyzes issues of performance in a wide range of tourist venues. Jane C. Desmond argues that the public display of bodies—how they look, what they do, where they do it, who watches, and under what conditions—is profoundly important in structuring identity categories of race, gender, and cultural affiliation. These fantastic spectacles of corporeality form the basis of hugely profitable tourist industries, which in turn form crucial arenas of public culture where embodied notions of identity are sold, enacted, and debated. Gathering together written accounts, postcards, photographs, advertisements, films, and oral histories as well as her own interpretations of these displays, Desmond gives us a vibrant account of U.S. tourism in Waikiki from 1900 to the present. She then juxtaposes cultural tourism with "animal tourism" in the United States, which takes place at zoos, aquariums, and animal theme parks. In each case, Desmond argues, the relationship between the viewer and the viewed is ultimately based on concepts of physical difference harking back to the nineteenth century.
A Stain in the Blood: The Remarkable Voyage of Sir Kenelm Digby
by Joe MoshenskaSHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY and THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY'A thrilling account' The Times'As heroic as Digby himself, Moshenska has defied the tyranny of genre and made his own absorbing account' Observer'A master storyteller. Full of exquisite details, but with the grandest themes... this is a gripping adventure story' Zia Haider Rahman'A brilliant account of one of the seventeenth century's most dashing lives' Ruth Scurr'Gripping and extraordinary' Ann WroeOn the 16th of August 1628, five battle-scarred English ships sailed into the harbour of the Greek island of Milos. Dropping anchor, the 25-year-old captain banqueted with the local lord before sitting down to write an account of his journey – an account that would transform him entirely. Sir Kenelm Digby was one of the most remarkable Englishmen who ever lived: a trusted advisor to the King, but the sworn enemy of the all-powerful Duke of Buckingham; a pioneering philosopher and scientist, but committed to the occult arts of alchemy and astrology; a friend not only of Ben Jonson, Thomas Hobbes and van Dyck, but even Oliver Cromwell. He was also widely known as the ‘son of a traytor and husband of a whore’: a man who witnessed his father’s gruesome execution for high treason as a Gunpowder Plotter, and the lover of the most celebrated beauty of the age, Venetia Stanley. In an attempt to clear his name, and on a quest for personal glory, Digby assembled a fleet and set sail for the Mediterranean: a world of pirate cities and ancient ruins where people, ideas and exotic goods moved freely between languages and nations. His journey – encompassing fevers, mutiny, piracy, daring rescues and heroic sea battles – is a great and terribly overlooked adventure, and a prism through which to view England, and all of Europe, during one of the most pivotal periods in its history. A Stain in the Blood is the story of an extraordinary life, and of a journey that helped to shape a nation. It is a revelatory first work of non-fiction by one of the brightest young writers and thinkers of today.
Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik: One Woman's Solo Misadventures Across Africa
by Marie JavinsStalking the Wild Dik-Dik is a spirited African adventure of a solo woman traveler whose overland excursion across the continent includes challenges, inevitable mishaps, and more than a few debacles.Author and world traveler Marie Javins is an unflappable narrator, who takes even the most bizarre and patience-trying situations with a dose of good humor. Javins fell in love with Africa when she traversed the continent in 2001 as part of a larger world tour. She later returned to spend half of 2005 revisiting the people and places that had so impacted her on her first trip. Javins was struck not by the desperation of Africa, but by its hope - the dignity of its people, the vibrancy of its cities, and the inherent adventure that is inherent it offered.Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik is a funny and compassionate account of the sort of lively and heedless undertaking that could only happen in Africa. Javins's brushes with wildlife are punctuated with more serious dilemmas. Through it all, Javins's experience of Africa is life-altering, and her witty observations make for the best kind of travel literature which takes its readers into the heart and soul of the continent.