Where the Earth Ends - A Journey Beyond Patagonia

John Harrison was born to travel. His grandfather and great grandfather both sailed round Cape Horn from Liverpool. Harrison’s was the first generation not to do so. He’s now put that right thirteen times over and Where the Earth Ends is a record of one such a trip. Harrison’s wanderlust was fuelled by childhood books and it seems he hasn’t stopped reading about travellers ever since. One of the reasons for the voyage described in Where the Earth Ends is Harrison’s desire to find out what happened when the cultures of European settlers and natives in South America collided. The book is peppered with characters from such clashes, like El Jimmy or James Radburne who at the end of the nineteenth century graduated from being a poacher in England to becoming a bandit in Patagonia, befriending the Indians of the Tehuelche tribe who taught him their many skills. There’s a light touch to Harrison’s writing. His prose is often sparse, perhaps reflecting the lands he is writing about. He interweaves his traveller’s tales with the history of countries he’s moving through, usually finding strong personalities to illustrate the information in a satisfyingly human way. For those of us unable or unwilling to travel great distances, Harrison’s book is a highly entertaining way to make the world a little smaller from the comfort of an armchair. -- Kevin Ashford @ www.gwales.com