Top 5 Reads on the Road in July
1. Agent Zizzag – Lover Traitor Spy by Ben Macintyre
This amazing book takes you back to a dark time in British history and gives you an insight into what really went on behind the scenes during World War Two. Our non fictional star has several aliases but for confusion's sake, he's called Eddie Chapman. Eddie parachutes into England in 1942 as a Nazi agent charged with sabotaging the British war effort. However in a highly welcome twist he begins to work both sides, saving lives, collecting lovers and making enemies along the way. Even MI5 were impressed by this real life account, pieced together from classified records, diaries and all sorts of secret spy sources. You can't swing a cat in London without hitting a six foot poster for this book and there's a good reason for this. It's a mighty fine read.
Agent Zizzag – Lover Traitor Spy by Ben Macintyre is published by Bloomsbury (paperback; £7.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
2. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
Many people presume that the Conservative party and closet case homosexuals go hand in hand. This book reinforces that presumption. It also introduces you to a lifestyle that was lost in the eighties, when Aids was beginning to transform the world as people knew it and the Conservatives were riding high on the crest of the iron lady. This is a wonderful and scarily accurate account of how the powerful and privileged socialites of the eighties ran their lives and the touchingly human repercussions. It breaks down social boundaries, documents ruined lives and will leave you rejoicing in the relief of the characters who manage to escape the onslaught of change. It's not everyone's cup of tea and it can be brutally descriptive but Hollinghurst has a real talent and will draw you in whether you like it or not.
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst is published by Pan Macmillan (paperback; £7.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
3. Paris Encounter by Catherine Le Nevez
This is a perfect, pocket size round up of the French capital, brought to you by the well travelled souls at Lonely Planet. Catherine Le Nevez blazes through everything that's fun, fair and frolicsome in this astounding city and she manages to cram the usual Lonely Planet quality into 232 A5 pages. It's like the literary equivalent to a vacuum packed duvet. Inside you will find antidotes to romance, the best spots to work on your novel, ghost tours of long abandoned metro stations, the top ten Montmartre artists and the inside story from the crew at the Eiffel Tower. There's so much more to it too but mentioning them would risk turning this review into a simple list. My personal favourite has to be the Coffee Talk section. Translating the necessity of coffee gets you our vote.
Paris Encounter by Catherine Le Nevez is published by Lonely Planet (paperback; £6.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
4. Travel Safe by Peter Constantine
This is a bit of a travel bible with nearly 350 pages of safety tips. It's not specific to you backpackers but it's still very useful and teaches the traveller how to get by with nothing but street smarts and a sprinkling of wit. For example did you now that you're likely to be attacked on holiday if loiterer conversations stops, someone makes an innocuous request or a bunch of apparently random people suddenly start walking towards you at the same time? Also it makes you more aware (especially in the travel writing industry) that you shouldn't believe everything you read in travel adverts. For example Mr Consterdine needed an armed escort against terrorist threats, in a National Park that was advertised in British travel magazines as a fun destination. Strange but true.
Travel Safe by Peter Constantine is published by Summersdale (paperback; £19.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
5. What's really in your basket? by Bill Statham
If you like discovering little nuggets of information about everyday facts of life and if you like freaking your friends out with these, then you're going to love this. What's that? Your best friend is constantly covered in rashes and it's actually caused by their favourite, corporate fizzy drink? Get out. I wonder how they'll take it. On the serious side this compilation of what's in your everyday shopping also provides invaluable information about the ingredients that can cause nausea, an increased risk of cancer and blindness. It's like the gym teacher said at school: “Your body is like a car and if you put the wrong fuel in, you're going to break down.”
What's really in your basket? by Bill Statham is published by Summersdale (paperback; £5.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
