This author explores the boundaries of human experience and civilization through vivid accounts of travel in remote parts of the world. His writing delves into themes of isolation, cultural encounters, and the search for essential existence under extreme conditions. With a unique style and profound insight into the human psyche, he offers readers an immersive and often challenging literary journey. His work is an expedition into the unknown, examining what it means to be human outside conventional societal structures.
In Search of the Lost Pirate Utopias of the Indian Ocean
Kevin Rushby's objective is to locate the descendants of the 16th century pirates who had carved kingdoms for themselves in the remote jungles of north-east Madagascar. Hitching rides on a motley assortment of freighters, dhows, yachts and fishing smacks, he sails up the African coast, then east towards his goal.
They murdered more than a million travellers without spilling a drop of blood. They were inspired by religious fanaticism, yet came from many faiths. Their weapon was the handkerchief, their sacrament sugar, and their goddess Kali. They were the thugs.
Bruce Wannell was a true original, remembered here with affection, humour and wonder by fifty writers including such friends as Kevin Rushby, Lisa Chaney, Tim Mackintosh-Smith, Tahir Shah and William Dalrymple.