For his 65th birthday, acclaimed novelist Michael Mewshaw took a 4,000-mile overland trip across North Africa. Arriving in Egypt during food riots, he heads west into Libya, where billions in oil money have produced little except citizens eager to flee to Europe or join the jihad in Iraq. In Tunis, Mewshaw visits an abandoned Star Wars movie set where Al Qaeda has just kidnapped two tourists.
Ignoring U.S. Embassy warnings he crosses into Algeria, traveling through mountain towns and seething metropolises where 200,000 people have died during more than a decade of sectarian violence. Searching for the tombs of seven monks murdered by Islamic fundamentalists, he reaches a village where six more people have been beheaded the day before. When he interviews a repentant terrorist responsible for 5,000 deaths, the man praises the Boy Scouts for training him.
By contrast, the Moroccan city of Tangier seems almost tame. But then he meets the last literary protégé of Paul Bowles who accuses Bowles of plagiarism and murder. In the end, the reader, like the author, is immersed in a fascinating adventure that’s sometimes tragic, often funny, occasionally terrifying and always a revelation of a strange place and its people.
Praise for Between Terror and Tourism
"Mewshaw, an intrepid travel writer and prolific novelist (Year of the Gun; Shelter from the Storm), celebrated his 65th birthday by taking an astonishing but somewhat hapless journey across North Africa. Sprinkling his account with literary allusions, he starts in Alexandria, Egypt, heads west through Libya, backtracks to Egypt, and continues on to Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, revealing his dogged determination, edgy fearlessness, and knack for faithful dialog. Seasoned travelers will sympathize with the cultural misunderstandings and bureaucratic troubles encountered in various places, particularly Libya. Mewshaw admits that "travel is a need as urgent as oxygen." That urgency is evident in each well-turned phrase and incisive observation.
Verdict: Recommended for Arabists and libraries with larger travel collections. Readers who enjoyed Michael Benanav’s Men of Salt will appreciate this book." Library Journal
Mewshaw wonderfully engages the travel reader’s vicarious demand for history, cultural insight, and unexpected incident.” Booklist
"Michael Mewshaw takes the reader on a journey most can only dream of. He
scares, thrills and informs on his gritty tale of solo travel through a
region little understood by the outside world. His hilarious accounts of his
quixotic experiences underplay the dangers he faces. If you want to feel the
warmth of the Mediterranean sun, the chill of north African rain and the
bumps in the road this is the book to read. Mewshaw is one of the finest
travel writers of our time." Nic Robertson, CNN
Praise for Michael Mewshaw
I have been an admirer of Michael Mewshaw’s writing for some thirty years. Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay Mewshaw is to admit that I was once fired from a job for reading him, or more accurately, for being unable to stop reading him.” Professor Richard J. Golsan, Texas A&M University
Perhaps the best American writer you never heard of.” The San Francisco Chronicle
Publisher: Counterpoint
Distributor: Perseus Distribution
Publication Date: 02-16-2010
Pages: 384
Measurements: 9.00in X 6.00in X 19.50oz
