Alexandria to Wyoming

Press, 14 March 1987, Page 23

Alexandria to Wyoming

Among the Cities. By Jan Morris. Penguin, 1986. 410 pp. $16.50 (paperback). (Reviewed by Joan Curry) Like a standard “overseas trip” that takes in X number of countries in X minus two days, this is a book that covers 37 places in as long as it takes you to read 410 pages. Unlike a standard overseas trip, however, you will probably know rather more about those 37 places than you could ever find out from a whistle-stop tour. In these days of relatively easy travel, when so many people have been there and done that, travel writing has to be exceptional to be worth reading. From an impressive career devoted to exploring and writing about far-flung urban places, Jan Morris has selected those fine pieces. From A to W (Alexandria to Wyoming) every piece is a beautifully shaped, uniquely textured essay. Jan Morris has a gift for colourful

or telling detail. Cities come to life, take on personalities. You can hear the hum of commerce, wilt in the class-conscious romanticism of Vienna, cringe at the loutishness of Sydney. s She remembers the sound of the wheels on the cart of the legless beggar who pursued her through the streets of Alexandria; observed the ferocious game called pelota in the Basque country, when even the spectators end up limp with exhaustion; gained comfort from the benign and dignified, if steamy, alr’flf Bath; saw Beirut before catastrophe overtook it; observed with a wickedly accurate eye Society with a capital; S in Chicago: pondered the strangely puppet-like behaviour of children in Shanghai; looked upon the mighty Himalayas from the cool mist of Darjeeling and felt cut down to size; whistled into Finland on a wave of high spirits and penetrating westwards through the Iron Curtain. '*