Hold the Enlightenment: More Travel, Less Bliss
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THE A5 BOOK REVIEWTim Cahill is a celebrated travel writer, best known for his adventurous exploits and his self-deprecating sense of humor. Hold the Enlightenment is a solid collection of travel essays that take the reader to some of the most remote and inaccessible places on earth. The title comes from the first essay, an apathetic attempt to test enlightenment in yoga. From there, Cahill takes us on a trip to search for the potentially extinct Caspian tiger in Turkey and the wily platypus in Australia, adventures with bandits in Mali and rebels in Colombia, to a tour of the Hanford B reactors near the Columbia River. Some of the best stories revolve around his experience with wildlife; swimming with great white sharks, watching elephant seals and orcas off the Valdes Peninsula in Argentina, and a unique experience with the gorillas in Rwanda. Others revolve around the all too familiar ordeal of travel. Some of the essays are just plain funny, especially his restaurant conversation with Fabrice in a hotel in Mali. All in all, Hold the Enlightenment is a good example of adventure travel writing and a worthwhile read.
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OTHER A5 RECOMMENDED TRAVEL BOOKS - TIM CAHILL
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Tim Cahill is a celebrated adventure travel writer and an editor-at-large for Outside Magazine. His work has appeared in a number of national publications including National Geographic Adventure, the New York Times Book Review, and Esquire. Learn more about Tim Cahill here.
GREAT QUOTES:
"Risk sets its own rules, and one reacts to them instinctively, with an empty mind, in a state that some psychologists believe is akin to meditation. And, like the meditative state, risk takers sometimes feel they've caught a glimpse into eternity, into the wisdom of the Universe, and into the curve of blinding light itself. Just a glimpse."
- Tim Cahill, "Panic", Hold the Enlightenment
“Rule 2: Have a quest. The quest is the most significant and consequential of all travel plans. What you really want to do is to meet indigenous folks, understand their concerns, find out how things work, make friends. You don't do this in the company of traveling English-speakers."
- Tim Cahill, "Professor Cahill's Travel 101", Hold the Enlightenment
- Tim Cahill, "Panic", Hold the Enlightenment
“Rule 2: Have a quest. The quest is the most significant and consequential of all travel plans. What you really want to do is to meet indigenous folks, understand their concerns, find out how things work, make friends. You don't do this in the company of traveling English-speakers."
- Tim Cahill, "Professor Cahill's Travel 101", Hold the Enlightenment
INTERESTING LINKS:
- "This Teeming Ark", his story of an excruciating riverboat trip in the Congo, was selected for The Best American Travel Writing book series in 2000. "Powder Keg", his story of a trip exploring Ecuador's Volcano Alley, was selected for the 2001 edition.
