Asia Overland

Asia Overland

"Asia Overland" by Mark Elliott and Wil Klass was an idiosyncratic book of the 1990's which developed a minor cult following amongst backpackers in Asia and the former Soviet Union. Although it has been out of print since 2002, the book remains a talking point amongst older travellers. Its unique feature was that practical information was displayed in a set of schematic 'treasure maps' [ [http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1873756100 Amazon.ca: Asia Overland: Books: Mark Elliott,Wil Klass ] ] rather than in run-on text, a style later replicated in certain other books by Trailblazer [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1873756674 Amazon.com: Trailblazer South East Asia: The Graphic Guide: Books: Mark Elliott ] ] , [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/customer-reviews/1873756674 Amazon.co.uk: Reviews for South-East Asia (Trailblazer): Books: Mark Elliott ] ] .

Between maps, the book's writing offered a way to inspire questions and investigation more than providing answers in the style of more classic Lonely Planet style guides. The guide gained a certain notoriety by explaining 'tricks' for crossing ex-Soviet borders semi-legally, reaching Iraqi Kurdistan when that area was still little known to exist, and for getting into North Korea without a visa. Today these tips appear extremely foolhardy but at the time the book was written (largely pre-Internet) they worked and caused much excitement amongst travellers of the era. Despite considerable interest from the public, there has been no follow up edition and at times second-hand copies of the original edition have been offered at relatively exhorbitant prices on Amazon and e-Bay.

Trivia

The book contains several hidden in-jokes including 'towns' on maps named after friends of the authors (Bakus, Danigrad etc).

Asia Overland was the first practical guide book in English to cover the ex-Soviet Caucasus region after the break up of the USSR

Page Count = 567 Map Count = 452

Publisher = Trailblazer

Publishing date = 1998

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Overland travel — or overlanding refers to an overland journey perhaps originating with Marco Polo s first overland expedition in the 13th century from Venice to the Chinese court of Kublai Khan.[1] Today overlanding is a form of extended adventure holiday,… …   Wikipedia

  • ASIA — History Jewish history originated in this continent, in the Near Eastern complex of the Fertile Crescent. The journeyings of the patriarchs led from ur of the Chaldees in present day iraq through the Fertile Crescent to egypt . In antiquity,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Overland Route (Australia) — The Overland Route is a route to Australia and East Asia. The route crosses the European continent. It was inaugurated by Thomas Fletcher Waghorn in 1845, and was modified on the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The route now crosses the… …   Wikipedia

  • Overland Telegraph Line — noun the first coast to coast telegraphic line in Australia, which connected Darwin, NT, to Adelaide, SA; completed in 1872 with span of 2900 km; established telegraphic communication between Australia and overseas by linking to a submarine cable …  

  • Imperialism in Asia — This article is part of the New Imperialism series. Origins of New Imperialism Imperialism in Asia The Scramble for Africa Theories of New Imperialism Imperialism in Asia traces its roots …   Wikipedia

  • Chronology of European exploration of Asia — The Fra Mauro map, completed around 1459, is a map of the then known world. Following the standard practice at that time, south is at the top. The map was said by Giovanni Battista Ramusio to have been partially based on the one brought from… …   Wikipedia

  • Christianity in Asia — Christianity spread from Western Asia to China between the 1st to the 14th century AD, and further to Eastern Asia from the 16th century with the European Age of Discovery. Christianity in Asia has its roots in the very inception of Christianity …   Wikipedia

  • History of Eastern Christianity in Asia — Judging from the New Testament account of the rise and expansion of the early church, during the first few centuries of Christianity, the most extensive dissemination of the gospel was not in the West but in the East. In fact, conditions in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Roman Catholicism in Asia — has its roots in the very inception of Christianity, which originated in the western part of the Asian continent in the area of the Levant, at the beginning of the 1st millennium CE.According to tradition, the Christian movement was started by… …   Wikipedia

  • Hippie trail — The hippie trail is a term used to describe the journeys taken by hippies and others in the 1960s and 1970s from Europe, overland to and from eastern Asia. One of the key motivations was the desire to travel as cheaply as possible, mainly to… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”