THROUGH SIBERIA BY ACCIDENT: A Small Slice of Autobiography.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE+/FINE.No owner inscrptn, and no price-clip (£18.99) to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,matt colour pictorial illustration by Kate Miller, illustrated dw/dj,with white,pale+dark blue lettering; with negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Book has a slight lean,and the majority of the light creasing is to top edges of dw/dj,head of spine/ backstrip of dw/dj minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing.Top+fore-edges imperceptibly aged/toned,but clean;contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - possibly unread? Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original,blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,vii-xvipp+ 1-302pp [paginated] includes contents list/table,acknowledgements, author's note,double-page b/w map (Siberia with author's route), author foreword,12 chapters.Plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication,and 2pp blanks at rear.
Dervla Murphy (28 November 1931 – 22 May 2022) was an Irish touring cyclist and author of adventure travel books,writing for more than 50 years.
Murphy is probably best known for her 1965 book 'Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle',about an overland cycling trip through Europe, Iran,Afghanistan,Pakistan and India. 'Through Siberia by Accident' is a book about a journey that didn't happen - and what happened instead.
Dervla Murphy found herself stymied by multiple minor injuries while still thousands of miles from her original destination,Ussuriland in the Russian Far East.She spent the next three months travelling by train and paddle-steamer amidst the vastness of Eastern Siberia. Knowing no more about Siberia than does the average citizen of Europe,her wanderings provided many surprises.
The sparsely inhabited territory,commonly visualised as bleak and monotonous,is in fact exhilaratingly varied and beautiful.Its biggest Republic,Sakya,is the size of India,with a population of about one million,and its major rivers are amongst the longest in the world.
The majority of Siberia's population are Russians who settled, voluntarily or involuntarily,in the world's largest colony after it was 'opened up' in the 16thC.Dervla Murphy's failure to reach Ussuriland was compensated for by these people's extraordinary hospitalty, generosity and helpfulness.Even today,foreign travellers are so rare in some towns that this maimed Irish babushka was the first Western European the locals had ever met.Yet many of them spontaneously welcomed her into their homes where she enjoyed stimulating conversations about a wide range of subjects from post-Soviet social problems to the unique inhabitants of Lake Baikal's depths.
Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!
** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE.
** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.