First Overland

First Overland
Author: Tim Slessor
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2016-03-07
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1908493208

Why Not? After all, no-one had ever done it before. It would be one of the longest of all overland journeys – half way round the world, from the English Channel to Singapore. They knew that several expeditions had already tried it. Some had got as far as the desrts of Persia; a few had even reached the plains of India. But no one had managed to go on from there: over the jungle clad mountains of Assam and across northern Burma to Thailand and Malaya. Over the last 3,000 miles it seemed there were ‘just too many rivers and too few roads'. But no-one really knew … In fact, their problems began much earlier than that. As mere undergraduates, they had no money, no cars, nothing. But with a cool audacity, which was to become characteristic, they set to work – wheedling and cajoling. First, they coaxed the BBC to come up with some film for a possible TV series. They then gently persuaded the manufacturers to lend them two factory-fresh Land Rovers. A publisher was even sweet-talked into giving them an advance on a book. By the time they were ready to go, their sponsors (more than 80 of them) ranged from whiskey distillers to the makers of collapsible buckets. In late 1955, they set off. Seven months and 12,000 miles later, two very weary Land Rovers, escorted by police outriders, rolled into Singapore – to flash bulbs and champagne. Now, fifty years on, their book, ‘First Overland', is republished – with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough. After all, it was he who gave them that film.

The Butterfield Overland Mail

The Butterfield Overland Mail
Author: Waterman L. Ormsby
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2018-12-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1789125588

This is the classic firsthand account by Waterman L. Ormsby, a reporter who in 1858 crossed the western states as the sole through passenger of the Butterfield Overland Mail stage on its first trip from St. Louis to San Francisco. Ormsby’s reports, which soon appeared in the New York Herald, are lively and exciting. He describes the journey in close detail, giving full accounts of the accommodations, the other passengers, the country through which they passed, the dangers to which they were exposed, and the constant necessity for speed. “A most interesting account of the first westbound trip of an overland mail stage.”—Southern California Historical Society Quarterly “The best narrative of the trip and one of the best accounts of western travel by stage.”—Pacific Historical Review “If other travelers had been as careful and observant as Ormsby we should know vastly more about our country and the ways of our fathers than we do...The book is fascinating. It will prove interesting to all who care for travelogues, the history of the West, and particularly to those interested in our economic history.”—Journal of Economic History

Travel the Planet Overland

Travel the Planet Overland
Author: Graeme Robert Bell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2016-10-03
Genre:
ISBN: 9780620719902

Travel the Planet Overland was written to inspire others to explore this magnificent rock we all call home and the core message is simply that anyone sufficiently inspired can travel the planet overland. We take the readers hand and walk them through the long term world travelers reality, introducing the different types of overland travelers and the vehicles they prefer based on the fluidity of their cash flow. We then guide readers through the financial and emotional preparations for overland travel and provide the tools for overland travel success!

Jue 477

Jue 477
Author: Martin Port
Publisher: Porter Press
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2020-09
Genre: Land-Rover trucks
ISBN: 9781907085789

Revealed to the world in 1948, the Land-Rover not only revived the Rover Company's fortunes in an austerity-riddled post-war period, but galvanized its future, thanks to the model's almost immediate success. With the manufacture of an initial 48 'pre-production' examples coming to a close, the first official production models were assembled - starting with chassis 860001. As original factory records prove, this pivotal vehicle was destined for His Royal Highness King George VI, but the decision was made to postpone the presentation and instead, 'number one' was retained by the factory until 1950, when it was registered JUE 477 before leaving Rover Company ownership. After decades left out in the cold and exposed to the elements, 860001 had certainly seen better days, but thanks to the determination of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and Chairman of INEOS, the future of JUE 477 was secured in 2017. Over the next two years, a dedicated team of experts, led by chief restorer, Julian Shoolheifer set about restoring the vehicle while retaining as much of its original DNA as was physically, and safely, possible and making sure that this remarkable vehicle's history and past life was still worn with pride.

Hiking the Overland Track

Hiking the Overland Track
Author: Warwick Sprawson
Publisher: Cicerone Press Limited
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2020-02-15
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1783628227

This guidebook covers the iconic Overland Track in Tasmania's stunning Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. The well-maintained 80km route from Cradle Valley to Lake St Clair is described over seven stages, along with optional sidetrips to the area's many accessible peaks including Mt Ossa, Tasmania's highest mountain. The track can be completed in between 5 and 9 days, depending on fitness and whether hikers undertake sidetrips. Each stage features clear 1:50,000 mapping and profiles alongside detailed route description. The guide also includes essential practical information about booking onto the track and arranging permits, as well as comprehensive notes about the facilities available at each of the Overland huts. The extensive plant and animal section provides photos and descriptions of the eclectic range of wildlife that can be spotted along the track, and many of these fascinating species are found nowhere else on Earth. The Overland Track crosses Tasmania's spectacular wild landscape, travelling through buttongrass moorland and rainforests, passing tranquil lakes and impressive waterfalls. Although more physically and technically challenging than the main route, the track's sidetrips are well worth the effort in good weather for the panoramic views they offer of the stunning Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

The First Overland Mail

The First Overland Mail
Author: Robert E. Pinkerton
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2017-06-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1787204693

First published in 1953, this book tells the story of John Butterfield, a mid-19th Century stagecoach and freight line operator and his line of stagecoaches, which took passengers and mail across the U.S. in the 1850s. Born on a farm in Berne, New York in 1801, Butterfield grew up on a farm and was mostly self-educated. At the age of 19, he became a professional stage driver. He was always interested in transportation, becoming involved in the livery business, establishing stage routes throughout New York. He also gained experience with steamboats, railroads, and local plank-roads. As a skilled businessman, he soon controlled most of the stage lines west of New York, and in 1849 he formed the companies that became American Express and Wells-Fargo, as well as the Butterfield Overland Stage Company. In 1857, American Express won the government contract for the first transcontinental stage line, carrying the mail from Missouri to California for $600,000 per year—the largest mail contract that had ever been awarded. Thus, Butterfield became president of the Overland Mail Company. Covering an exciting period in American history, this story of bravery and adventure will appeal to readers of all ages!

India, the Shimmering Dream

India, the Shimmering Dream
Author: Max Reisch
Publisher: Panther Publications
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2010
Genre: Asia
ISBN: 9780955659591

MOTORCYCLES: GENERAL INTEREST. This is a truly great travel adventure through Iraq, Iran and Baluchistan to India in 1933. But what really sets this book apart are the wonderful descriptions of the people and cultures, now nearly forgotten, but still hugely relevant in today's age: all brought evocatively to life by the wonderful photos from 1933. At that time, the idea of traveling to India on a motorbike through the deserts was considered impossible; there were no roads and they were attempting to cross the burning deserts in the middle of August, on a tiny two-stroke motorcycle with barely enough power for the bike and rider, let alone a pillion passenger! Gripping stuff, yet perceptive and full of drama - definitely a must for all travel and motorcycle enthusiasts.

Overland

Overland
Author: Graham Rawle
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2018-03-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1473547377

Welcome to Overland! Where the California sun shines down on synthetic grass and plastic oranges bedeck the trees all year round. Steam billows gently from the chimney tops and the blue tarpaulin lake is open for fishing... Hollywood set-designer George Godfrey has been called on to do his patriotic duty and he doesn’t believe in half-measures. If he is going to hide an American aircraft plant from the threat of Japanese aerial spies he has an almighty job on his hands. He will need an army of props and actors to make the Lockheed factory vanish behind the semblance of a suburban town. Every day, his “Residents” climb through a trapdoor in the factory roof to shift model cars, shop for imaginary groceries and rotate fake sheep in felt-green meadows. Overland is a beacon for the young women labouring below it: Queenie, dreaming of movie stardom while welding sheet metal; Kay, who must seek refuge from the order to intern “All Persons of Japanese Ancestry”. Meanwhile, George’s right-hand Resident, Jimmy, knows that High Command aren’t at all happy with the camouflage project... With George so bewitched by his own illusion, might it risk confusing everybody – not just the enemy? Overland is a book like no other -- to be read in landscape format. Based on true events, it is a novel where characters' dreams and desires come down to earth with more than a bump, confronting the hardships of life during wartime. As surreal and playful as it is affecting and unsettling, no-one other than Graham Rawle could have created it.

Wagons West

Wagons West
Author: Frank McLynn
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
Total Pages: 543
Release: 2007-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0802199143

An acclaimed historian’s “compellingly told” year-by-year account of the pioneering efforts to conquer the American West in the mid-nineteenth century (The Guardian). In all the sagas of human migration, few can top the drama of the journey by Midwestern farmers to Oregon and California from 1840 to 1849—between the era of the fur trappers and the beginning of the gold rush. Even with mountain men as guides, these pioneers literally plunged into the unknown, braving all manner of danger, including hunger, thirst, disease, and drowning. Employing numerous illustrations and extensive primary sources, including original diaries and memoirs, McLynn underscores the incredible heroism and dangerous folly on the overland trails. His authoritative narrative investigates the events leading up to the opening of the trails, the wagons and animals used, the roles of women, relations with Native Americans, and much else. The climax arrives in McLynn’s expertly re-created tale of the dreadful Donner party, and he closes with Brigham Young and the Mormons beginning communities of their own. Full of high drama, tragedy, and triumph, “rarely has a book so wonderfully brought to life the riveting tales of Americans’ trek to the Pacific” (Publishers Weekly).