Eighty Days : Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race… (original 2013; edition 2013)

Thanks to the publisher for sending me this Advanced Reader's Copy. I had heard of Nellie Blly but didn't know much about her. I had never heard of Elizabeth Bisland so this non-fiction narrative was very informative, educational and historical for me. There is a lot of detail which made it a slow-read for me. However, I found it interesting overall and would recommend it.

Set in 1889, it was about the two journalists (Bly and Bisland) and their competitive race around the world, one heading east and the other heading weat. They were trying to beat the record of Phileas Fogg, Jules Verne's protagonist in 'Around the World in 80 Days.' Travel in 1889 was difficult in many ways but these two determined women tried very hard to beat Fogg's record.

It is obvious that Mr. Goodman did a remarkable amount of research to complete this work. His writing is superb. I wish he had included maps which would have helped follow the route these two brave women took. At times, I could not mentally picture where they were during their travels. Hopefully, the finished book will include maps. ( )

What an interesting topic! In 1888, two young women set out on a round the world journey. One was racing the other, though the latter was unaware. Heading in opposite directions, both women traveled alone through Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. Nellie Bly headed east, while Elizabeth Bisland took the western route.

The story is incredibly compelling. Goodman draws on personal accounts and other travel narratives to paint vivid pictures of Hong Kong, Brindisi, and other exotic destinations. Alternating between the reporters' travels, he carefully charts their journeys. Unfortunately, the women take the same route, albeit in the opposite order. This makes the middle of the book a bit dull, as place descriptions that seemed charming the first time are not as compelling when repeated 30 pages later. But the pace does pick up a bit as both near the finish line.

This is a very nice historical account, but it really made me wish for a bit more social history and human details. For instance, how did Nellie manage to travel more than 2 months with only one dress? A few more details about the daily lives of guests and crew aboard some of the vessels would have been helpful too. This book did succeed in making me want to investigate more, which is the hallmark of a good nonfiction read. ( )

I really enjoyed this book at would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in women's history or travel. It was a fun story of two women traveling when it wasn't "proper" to travel alone. I will say I like the Elizabeth Bisland, the runner-up in the race more than I like Nellie Bly. Elizabeth's attitude towards the various people and cultures she encountered was more one of interest and learning while Nellie had a very superior, America is the best kind of attitude which annoyed me. ( )

I could sit here and rave about Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World for a good, long while. But I'll try to keep it short and sweet.
I don't usually historical non-fiction, but after reading this book, I know I need to find more time for this genre. I enjoy history and I'm a big documentary watcher so this book intrigued me right off the bat.
What a gem this was! I had no idea who Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland were before this. These two amazing ladies decided to travel around the world in 1889.

Part publicity stunt and partly her own idea, Nellie Bly was to be sent on a trip around the globe. She was inspired by Jules Verne's novel, Around the World in 80 Days and she wanted to beat that record.

At this point Nellie Bly was a successful female journalist, writing for the New York World newspaper. She was known for her famous exposé pieces, the most famous of all being when she faked insanity and was actually admitted into an insane asylum for women. After Bly was released and reported the poor treatment the patients were receiving, a grand jury launched to launch an investigation into conditions at the asylum. Partly thanks to Bly, the conditions were changed and funds for the asylum were increased, helping that the patients be treated decently. I found that about Nellie Bly to be the most impressive thing of all. She spent ten days inside that insane asylum experiencing first hand the horrific treatment those patients were going through and she made sure she did something about it.

But I digress....Enter Elizabeth Bisland who was a successful journalist in her own right working as an editor for Cosmopolitan and known for her beauty and brains. Once her boss caught wind of the Bly's trip, he sent Bisland a few hours later.
Both women departed on November 14, 1889, Bly from Hoboken and Bisland from New York.

These two ladies ended up racing each other around the globe via railroad and steamboats for twenty-eight thousand miles. How awesome is that?! Funny enough, Bly was about halfway through her journey when she found out she had competition.

I love hearing stories about strong women who made an impact in history. This book wasn't just about the race around the world, it goes into in depth details about these women lives and backgrounds. We get to see how both these ladies grew up and came to be writers. The author goes into the account of Bly's visit with writer Jules Verne himself. Various details of the ladies trips are included, everything from train scheduling and stormy seas to the hotels they stood in and the people they met.

I felt like I was on an adventure myself as I read this wonderful book. The writing is great, it simply flows and I never found myself bored. I had to mention that because this book is 480 pages long, it is surely a lengthy read but I didn't mind that one bit. There's all types of historical tidbits about all different events and historical figures of the time in here. People like Joseph Pulitzer and the Vanderbilts are mentioned. I was very impressed by the research author Matthew Goodman obviously did. There's a few small photographs included within the pages. I wished the photos were larger, but maybe they are in the hard copy of the book, I read the e-book version.
The author writes a history book that reads like an adventure story. I also liked reading about the settings as the ladies traveled the globe. I could almost hear the steamboats and see the trains racing by. In the end, it didn't matter which lady won the race, it was just amazing that they did it.

Thank you to author Matthew Goodman for writing a captivating and informative book, one that I will be raving about for a long time. I've been to the Hoboken Pier before, and now that I know Nelly Bly set sail from there, it's a pretty cool thing.

I recommend Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World if you're a history buff of course, but also to those looking to read about two strong females who did something pretty amazing.
Simply fantastic. This book will make it to my top reads of 2013. I must purchase a hard copy for my shelves.

"There was a blast from a horn. at 9:40A.M., with a sudden shiver of movement, the Augusta Victoria pulled away from the Hoboken pier. Nellie Bly stood at the port rail with the other passengers and waved her cap to those she was leaving behind.; she could not help but wonder if she would ever see them again. Seventy-five days, which had seemed so short in the planning, now seemed an age. Smoke poured from the ship's three funnels in thick black columns, then turned an irresolute gray and dissipated into the sky. The timbers of the deck thrummed softly beneath her feet."
p.86, Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World

Disclaimer:
This review is my honest opinion. I received a free e-copy of this book for a possible review. I did not receive any type of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers and authors, such as this one, I am under no obligation to write a positive review

http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/2013/04/eighty-days-nellie-bly-and-elizabeth.h... ( )

This book about a newspaper stunt that captivated America in 1889-1890 excels at giving a sense of people, time, and place, evoking the sights, sounds, technology, and culture of the era in vivid and fascinating detail. When the Suez Canal opened creating a water route from Europe to Asia at about the same time that the transcontinental railroad was completed in the U.S., people, including Jules Verne, began to speculate about how fast a trip around the world could be. Jules Verne’s fictional hero managed it in 80 days, but reporter Nellie Bly and her editor thought she could do it faster, and sell a lot of newspapers in the attempt, so with almost no time to prepare she was off--heading east on a ship over the Atlantic. Later that day and with even less preparation Elizabeth Bisland working for an early incarnation of Cosmopolitan Magazine started off in the other direction.

The two women make interesting and appealing book subjects. They were very different--Nellie who did undercover reporting was scrappy while Elizabeth more interested in books and conversation was more cultured, but both came from impoverished backgrounds and had to work hard to be part of the mostly male world of journalism. The chapters alternate between the women as they venture around the world in opposite directions, often reacting very differently to what they encountered. I found myself hoping that somehow both women in this highly enjoyable book could win their globe spanning race. ( )