A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush
Eric Newby

Some of the maps in this title are best viewed on a tablet device.A classic of travel writing, ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush’ is Eric Newby’s iconic account of his journey through one of the most remote and beautiful wildernesses on earth.It was 1956, and Eric Newby was earning an improbable living in the chaotic family business of London haute couture. Pining for adventure, Newby sent his friend Hugh Carless the now-famous cable - CAN YOU TRAVEL NURISTAN JUNE? - setting in motion a legendary journey from Mayfair to Afghanistan, and the mountains of the Hindu Kush, north-east of Kabul. Inexperienced and ill prepared (their preparations involved nothing more than some tips from a Welsh waitress), the amateurish rogues embark on a month of adventure and hardship in one of the most beautiful wildernesses on earth - a journey that adventurers with more experience and sense may never have undertaken. With good humour, sharp wit and keen observation, the charming narrative style of ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush’ would soon crystallise Newby's reputation as one of the greatest travel writers of all time.One of the greatest travel classics from one of Britain's best-loved travel writers, this edition includes new photographs, an epilogue from Newby's travelling companion, Hugh Carless, and a prologue from one of Newby's greatest proponents, Evelyn Waugh.

A Short Walkin the Hindu Kush

ERIC NEWBY

Preface by Evelyn Waugh

Epilogue by Hugh Carless

Table of Contents

Title Page (#u21b534a8-8987-5224-ba56-e7faae4298bc)

Dedication (#u16357e5b-dfea-5f82-9ac4-7def72241dc9)

Epigraph (#ucb34ce1e-3861-5b8a-8742-c28ea64854f3)

Maps (#ued6bef9e-5950-5750-83ca-6e74e53ab6f7)

Preface (#ua8056a95-33d1-50be-87c0-2945a8e7d14b)

Chapter One Life of a Salesman (#uc21eb36a-fa6e-5393-9f0c-37839c3caef1)

Chapter Two Death of a Salesman (#uad9e37f6-a529-55a1-b9cf-f46c08424f7d)

Chapter Three Birth of a Mountain Climber (#u61b45916-0373-59b5-bc3d-37dde9ea9829)

Chapter Four Pera Palace (#uaebe355c-77f9-5b14-ae7e-9273f4fa3ae4)

Chapter Five The Dying Nomad (#ue39ff9e0-2f1f-5476-a625-f3f3e986e4f3)

Chapter Six Airing in a Closed Carriage (#u6f771a57-4e59-5ede-9106-14d3b8edc034)

Chapter Seven A Little Bit of Protocol (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight Panjshir Valley (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine A Walk in the Sun (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten Finding our Feet (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven Western Approaches (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve Round 1 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen Coming Round the Mountain (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen Round 2 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen Knock-out (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen Over the Top (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen Going Down! (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen A Room with a View (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen Disaster at Lake Mundul (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty Beyond the Arayu (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue to the 50th Anniversary Edition (#litres_trial_promo)

Plates (#litres_trial_promo)

Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

About the author (#litres_trial_promo)

Praise (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Dedication (#ulink_0dbb7d69-6b1e-57dd-9598-27ba5f52f05a)

This book is dedicated to Hugh Carless of Her Majesty’s Foreign Service, without whose determination, it must be obvious to anyone who reads it, this journey could never have been made.

Epigraph (#ulink_c04ee1e8-8e45-5ca8-ae8e-ad0cff363865)

‘Il faudrait une expédition bien organisée et pourvue de moyens matérials puissants pour tenter l’étude de cette région de haute montagne dont les rares cols sont à plus de 5000 mètres d’altitude.’

L’Hindou Kouch et le Kaboulistan

Raymond Furon

MAPS (#ulink_0420bfa1-d46b-5d51-8ac3-b381c1810060)

Preface (#ulink_8f2a81a1-9c56-590b-b705-2d2c67ad6b24)

Mr Eric Newby must not be confused with the other English writer of the same surname. I began reading A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush in the belief that it was the work of his namesake, whom I have long relished. I found something equally delightful but quite different.