Equator: A Journey

Slightly dated now but still a very useful and interesting read on equatorial nations, their people, their problems and their eccentricities.

After a slow start in South America, Clarke gets into his groove in the small, doomed island nations, such as the Maldives and Kiribati. His thoughts on the (lack of) future for the Maldives is particularly sombre and poetic and made me look at a Maldives visit before it disappears beneath the rising sea and its customs, culture, history and geography are lost forever.

His African visit also had its highlights, including a pre-slide into anarchy Somalia where his biggest problem was being chased by locals trying to sell him fake Nazi memorabilia. The fact that he also visited a pre-war Rwanda is show more also of interest to those seeking to picking up hints on how a nation can slide into civil war and anarchy.

While sections on Singapore and Indonesia were less interesting, overall, this is one of the better travelogues I've read in my time. show less

Equator, by Thurston Clarke, is all about going around the world the hard way. That is, instead of doing a Michael Palin and tracing Phineas Fogg's northern hemisphere traverse of the globe, Clarke attempts to circumnavigate the earth by following its widest point, i.e. the equator itself. Clarke is a genial and entertaining tour guide as he takes us from northern South America, across the heart of Africa, through Singapore and Indonesia, and eventually to a couple of remote Pacific islands.

More specifically, Clarke begins his journey in Guyana, a country that few of us know much about. In fact Clarke spends too much time there as this initial section of the book drags just a bit. Things pick up, however, when he crosses the Atlantic show more and sets off of into the Congo, Rwanda, and Somalia. This part of the book moves quickly and is especially vivid. It’s also of some historical interest as Clarke experiences these countries just before the horrific events that have befallen all three in the years since.

I’d recommend this book to all fans of good travel writing, and anyone interested in the day-to-day life of tropical cultures. show less

I was reminded of this book when I read a friend's review. I read this book when it first came out and was traveling a lot in sub Sahara Africa and Asia. I was intrigued by his stories and many resonated with me. It would be fun to read again at some point.