These selections are taken from the Women Outdoors condensed bibliography, a listing of the books I've most enjoyed from over 900 books reviewed.Because I've found that I disagree with many other reviewers, I'll state my biases!
The "best" books are well written, and the women are competent, generally optimistic and uncomplaining, and interested and empathetic with the people and cultures they meet.
They are not unaware of their inner feelings, but don't make introspection the focus of their writings.
NOTE: The Women Outdoors Condensed Bibliography is available by sending $2 postpaid to Women Outdoors, 55 Talbot Ave., Medford, MA 02155. 18 pages of great recommendations and astute remarks.
The much larger full bibliography is also available for $6, postpaid.
Maiden VoyageTania Aebi
Thrilling account of 2-1/2 year solo sail around the world by a girl who was only 18 when she started. She reflects on her childhood, meets many helpful men (and a lover) and describes numerous locales very well, especially in the South Pacific and Mideast.
An Amateur's Guide to the PlanetJeannette Belliveau
Fascinating book covering budget trips to Madagascar, China, Borneo, East Africa, Japan, Polynesia, Thailand, Greece, Yucatan, Burma, Indonesia and Brazil with "lessons" to be learned about culture, environmental and historical issues. Extensive references as well as the author's knowledge of music, art and literature make for slow but very thought-provoking reading.
TracksRobyn Davidson
Intensely personal account of two years' preparation in Alice Springs, Australia, and then her camel trek across the central Australian desert to the ocean. Ingenuity and isolation are the key words. A great book.
Travels with Myself and AnotherMartha Gellhorn
Delightful descriptions of her misadventures while travelling in Crete, China, the Caribbean, Africa and the USSR. To my surprise, I learned that she was one of Ernest Hemingway's wives.
Travels in West AfricaMary Kingsley
700-plus pages of witty writing on her travels, native bliefs, etc. Wild adventures canoeing, trekking and climbing, but her focus is on fish and "fetish." Great people descriptions as well as political analysis. Best book of all time!
West with the NightBeryl Markham
Wonderful description of life with her father on a Kenya farm, horse training, flying and scouting for elephants with Blix, and her flight over the Atlantic.
Full TiltDervla Murphy
A gripping account of her bike trip from Ireland to India. Mostly on her adventures in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including Swat and Gilgit. Incredible hardships and much admiration for Moslem men.
Eight Feet in the AndesDervla Murphy
Travelling in Peru with 9-year-old Rachel, they meet withdrawn Indians, bugs, bad weather and no food with good spirits.
The Ukimwi Road: From Kenya to Zimbabwe
Dervla Murphy
On her mountain bike at age 60, she travels with minimal luggage fromNairobi through Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi to Zimbabwe, where she is felled by malaria. Mostly about converstaions with people about AIDS and politics, rather than about scenery and wildlife, but her spirit is terrific, and she copes adeptly with weather, bugs and bureaucracy. She feels Westerners have destroyed stable tribal cultures, and with men measuring virility by the number of their children and sexual exploits while doing little work, the outlook is dismal. Ukimwi = AIDS.
Polar DreamHelen Thayer
50-year-old woman pulls a sled to the Magnetic North Pole accompanied by her husky, Charlie, pulling his sled of dog food. She is stalked by polar bears, weathers fierce storms and loses her food and fuel but manages to sustain a positive attitude. A very well-written, gutsy book!
Islands in the Clouds: Travels in the Highlands of New GuineaIsabella Tree
Adventure travels, mostly in Papua New Guinea with one trip to Irian Jaya. In PNG, much tribal warfare, but they try to preserve customs in spite of considerable oil and gold development. In Irian Jaya, ethnocide and Western values. Great descriptions of places and people, including a sing-sing at Mount Hagen.
Black Lamb and Grey FalconRebecca West
A weighty 1,150-plus pages describing a two-month trip through Yugoslavia in 1937, with an in-depth review of the tangled history, ethnic and religious strife, and scenery and artifacts. With great characterizations of people, strongly feminist views, beautiful prose and remarkable insights, the book is surprisingly readable.
The Curve of TimeM. Wylie Blanchet
Beautiful story of two summers sailing and motoring in British Columbia by a widow and her five children. No plot or chronology but a great sense of present with adventures with storms, bears, cougars and climbing.
In Papua New GuineaChristina Dodwell
Two years of travel in the New Guinea bush by foot, horse and canoe, living with the people and overcoming fantastic hardships. Well-written travel classic by an intrepid woman.
A Journey with Elsa CloudLeila Hadley
Dense 600-page account of traveling with her daughter in India in the '70s. She has multiple associations to every sight including her personal experiences and an astounding knowledge of history, literature, religions and culture. They meet the Dalai Lama on the last page!
Hitchhiking VietnamKarin Muller
Muller traveled everywhere for seven months with particularly good experiences with the Hmong hill tribes. Elsewhere, there was much exploitation of tourists, so though she stayed only in run-down accommodations, she managed to spend $6,000. She joined in local farming activities, tried to save endangered animals found on sale in the markets, and projects a very positive attitude in this well-written book.
Rivers Running Free: Stories of Adventurous WomenJudith Niemi et al.
A super collection of canoeing stories, historical and contemporary, wilderness and urban. Must reading!
The Afghan AmuletSheila Paine
Four trips over two years, as a 62-year-old, indefatigable English woman looks for the historical origins of embroidery and an amulet on a tribal dress. Her amazing travels take her to Chitral and Gilbit on the Karakoram Highway, southern Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey and Bulgaria, with most areas in dire poverty and anarchy. Her coping ability is great!
Riding to Jerusalem: A Journey through Turkey and the Middle EastBettina Selby
Biking from England through Europe, boat to Istanbul and then biking along the coast of Turkey to Syria, Jordan and Israel, following the routes of the Crusaders and Christianity. Good historical information and present-day descriptions.
Frail Dream of TimbuktuBettina Selby
Beautifully written account of the land and peole as she travels by bike and pirogue following the Niger river in Niger and Mali with graphic but charitable descriptions of the travel difficulties.
