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You are here: Backpacker Resources > Travel Books > Top 5 Books for May 2011

Top 5 Books for May 2011

1. Frontline by David Loyn

   You can make up your own mind about this journalistic retrospective in the May 2011 book extract, but as far as this review goes anyone who picks up a copy of Frontline can expect a shocking, enthralling and important account of this news agency’s fearless reporting efforts, as told by a BBC journalist who worked with them in the most extreme of circumstances. Journalists are seldom regarded as heroes but you might change your mind after reading these tales of courage and sacrifice in conflicts like Kosovo, Kashmir and Afghanistan during the rise of the Taliban.

   Frontline by David Loyn is published by Summersdale (paperback; £9.99). It is also available through amazon.com and all good booksellers.

2. To Prussia With Love by Roger Boyes

   Take a stressed out journo (Roger), a floundering relationship with his girlfriend (Lena) and a fast paced city where it’s all too easy to let things plod along unfixed (Berlin). Now throw in a plan to solve all of the above woes by ditching the city for a random country retreat in Alt-Globnitz, near the Polish border, and you have To Prussia With Love. Embarking on a new career as B&B managers, the couple’s Brandenburg lifestyle soon boils down to an eclectic mix of all nationalities playing cricket on an old Russian minefield. It’s a very British spin on an ex-pat lifestyle and hilarious because of this.

   To Prussia With Love by Roger Boyes is published by Summerdale (paperback; £8.99). It is also available through amazon.com and all good booksellers.

3. Florence of Arabia by Christopher Buckley

   It’s the book that spawned politically incorrect puns like the Shiite hitting the fan and in true Buckley style, it doesn’t hold back. This boys and girls, is the tongue in cheek tale of Florence Farfarletti who attempts to use her position as deputy to the deputy assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, to gain equal rights for women. Farfarletti is secretly enlisted by the American government to fight for equal rights in the emirate of Matar using a CIA hit man, a gay bureaucrat, a PR liaison and her TV show. Picture Oprah Winfrey featuring self-defence tips to be used against abusive boyfriends during Ramadan and your half way there. It’s an unbelievable tale but the hypothetical situation and the response it evokes, beautifully entertains the what-if –things-were-different factor. It you like mildly offensive satire, give this a go.

   Florence of Arabia by Christopher Buckley is published by Random House (paperback; £8.44). It is also available through amazon.com and all good booksellers.

4. The Boat by Nam Lee

   Short stories are sometimes best for the stop-start sessions on the backpacker trail and this collection of seven top tales will not disappoint on that front. Nam Le’s anthology spans the planet and beautifully interprets the varied scenes through an array of characters. From the eyes of a refugee fleeing Vietnam to a Columbian assassin, the tales are convincing, delicately told and very much moreish. You’d hope that when it comes to better understanding others that this book would be included in diplomacy 101 at the training grounds of the UN.

   The Boat by Nam Le is published by Cannongate (paperback; £7.99). It is also available through amazon.com and all good booksellers.

5. Half Empty by David Rakoff

   David Rakoff is a rare talent that pops up in podcasts from time to time and too infrequently, in bestseller lists. If there were any justice in the world this would be a more frequent occurrence and this collection of essays is testament to that. You can’t avoid the modern day mentality where everyone wants to be a reality TV star but you can take the edge off it with Mr Rakoff’s musings and the oh-so-refreshing (and acerbic) view that said dreams will be dashed while adversity continues to reign supreme. It’s a not a happily ended point of view on modern living, but if more people read it, there’d be far fewer talentless, wannabe celebrities making good people’s skin crawl on internationally syndicated, trash TV.

   Half Empty by David Rakoff is published by Doubleday Books. It is also available through amazon.com and all good booksellers.

- Rob Savage