Among the Cities

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Here at last is a collection of the best work of Jan Morris, considered by many the preeminent travel writer of our age Reviewing her most recent book, The matter of Wales, the Christian Science Monitor wrote, With this book, Morris joins the immortals The splendors of the prose are like Homer s sea, simply everywhere She is an absolute master of the sentence Included are 37 separate pieces drawn from earlier books that span Morris s entire career as well as pieces origninally written for this book Whether taking us back to Berlin and Beirut of the 1950 s or to Houston and Sydney of the 1980s, Morris depicts each place with elegance, passion and wit She captures and conveys its complex personality and makes us see the familiar in a new light or introduces us to places off the beaten track, taking us around the globe from Sri Lanka and Cashmir to Trouville and Cozco to Wyoming and Bath.About the Author Jan Morris is the author of such books as the Pax Britannica trilogy, Spain, Destinations, and, most recently, Journeys and The Matter of Wales. New Download [ Among the Cities ] By [ Jan Morris ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr I am as surprised as anyone that this book didn t work for me I didn t enjoy it very much.True, there were a few chapters that I did enjoy the one on Sri Lanka, the Iceland one was ok, Istanbul was good, Cusco Peru ok But largely for me, they felt dated, negative and judgemental Written, I suppose, with British pomp, during the decolonisation of the British Empire.Normally I don t fault dated They should stand as a snapshot in time, and are not subject to updating or revisionism I am as surprised as anyone that this book didn t work for me I didn t enjoy it very much.True, there were a few chapters that I did enjoy the one on Sri Lanka, the Iceland one was ok, Istanbul was good, Cusco Peru ok But largely for me, they felt dated, negative and judgemental Written, I suppose, with British pomp, during the decolonisation of the British Empire.Normally I don t fault dated They should stand as a snapshot in time, and are not subject to updating or revisionis...Liked Combines local history with a personal account of cities and nice prose The author draws from an exceptional amount of travel. Disliked At times the author exhibits arrogance and condescension towards other cultures and peoples Chapter delivery begins to feel formula...Come for the pioneering trans author, stay for the unreconstructed imperialism Incredibly useful as a primary source and naturally a document of its time and unique authorial voice, but so cringey to a modern ear that it s a harder read than it should be.A collection of essays about famous cities or regions Would ve been so much better if they werecurrent When I visited Istanbul it had 14 million inhabitants, in the 1980s when the author described it, there were 3 million.As with most collections of essays especially one spanning such a long and varied career this was hit or miss I enjoy Jan Morris but this was perhaps not the best format to encounter her writing.

Among the Cities
  • English
  • 23 January 2019
  • Paperback
  • 410 pages
  • 0140074856
  • Jan Morris
  • Among the Cities