"Kipling was just twenty-three years old when he reached San Francisco in May 1889; he immediately began recording the sights and sounds of boom-town America. For four months he toured the United States, publishing accounts of his journey in the Pioneer, a major newspaper in western India. A few years later, when he lived in Vermont, Kipling wrote several syndicated articles published in both England and the U.S. Then in 1899 he revised and abridged the Pioneer versions and published them in From Sea to Sea. The second series of syndicated articles he collected in Letters of Travel (1920). Most of these travel writings are now out of print. In Kipling's America, Professor D. H. Stewart brings all of these articles together and reproduces the original printed versions. Readers are provided with the opportunity to hear again Kipling at his cocky and often opinionated best. From Kipling's perspective, America unleashed the chaotic energy latent in human beings, and he was uncertain whether this energy inevitably would be productive or destructive." "That some of his impressions were one-dimensional is undeniable, but equally undeniable is his gift of language - his access to a ready lexicon often composed of what he termed a "perpetual Pentecost" to describe the "talking in tongues" heard in British Overseas Clubs throughout the Empire. This hodgepodge of European languages (counter-pointed with pidgin English, Chinese, Hindi, American) produced a symphony (or cacophony) of bountiful word play."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

"Embark on a literary voyage spanning two decades with Rudyard Kipling in 'Letters of Travel (1892-1913).' This collection offers readers a captivating glimpse into the renowned author's observations and experiences as he travels across various continents. As Kipling traverses diverse landscapes and encounters different cultures, 'Letters of Travel' is more than a mere travelogue—it's a literary journey that reveals the keen insights and reflections of one of the greatest storytellers of the 20th century. Join Kipling on this literary expedition where each letter unfolds a new chapter of discovery, making 'Letters of Travel (1892-1913)' an essential read for those captivated by tales of exploration and the nuanced perspectives of a masterful writer."

Before New York Times bestselling author Bill Bryson wrote The Road to Little Dribbling, he took this delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation of Great Britain, which has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie’s Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey.

Penguin Classics e-books give you the best possible editions of Charles Dickens's works, including useful and informative introductions, the definitive, accurate text as it was meant to be published, a chronology of Dickens's life and notes that fill in the background to the book. When Charles Dickens set out for America in 1842 he was the most famous man of his day to travel there - curious about the revolutionary new civilization that had captured the English imagination. His frank and often humorous descriptions cover everything from his comically wretched sea voyage to his sheer astonishment at the magnificence of the Niagara Falls, while he also visited hospitals, prisons and law courts and found them exemplary. But Dickens's opinion of America as a land ruled by money, partly built on slavery, with a corrupt press and unsavoury manners, provoked a hostile reaction on both sides of the Atlantic. American Notes is an illuminating account of a great writer's revelatory encounter with the New World.