Penguin travel library

First Penguin Edition

This is a fascinating book about an American who learns standard Indonesian and barters his way from Sarawak to Sabah through the rainforest. He trades shotgun shells and tobacco for tribal guides. He falls frequently, gets bitten by leeches and ends up having to rest his battered feet after 3-4 months in the Jungle. This has been a primer for me. I will visit Sabah for a month in few days. This is a great adventure by a crazy guy who really immerses himself in the culture.

CLASSIC TRAVEL WRITING. In the spring and summer of 1931, Wyndham Lewis travelled to Morocco. Escaping the furore that surrounded the publication of his controversial book on Hitler, Lewis also intended to explore the culture of the Berbers of Morocco. Lewis' text predates the ascent of Amazigh national consciousness in the late 20th century and his repeated play on the words Berber, Barbary, and barbarism reveals an important element of his attitude toward the Berber people. While avoiding labelling them as primitive, he associates them with strong practices of barbarian rule that at once contrast the enervation of European modernity and suggest a path by which Europe might revive itself. While his tone may be uncomfortable at times, he actually rejects and discredits all the familiar stereotypes of Oriental exoticism - unusual for a book of this period.