How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Author: Franklin Foer
Who knew you could learn so much about globalization, economics and politics from soccer? Great read.
Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Author: Julia Cameron
One possible path to re-discovering the creativity you never knew you had.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
Author: Jared Diamond
An admirable crack at explaining why the world is the way it is by way of an anthropological macro-history. This book probably comes up the most in conversation as we travel.
The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
Author: Bill Shore
Inspiring profiles of social entrepreneurs and projects we all can learn from and hopefully replicate to give back to community.
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
Author: John Carlin
Although the storyline is built around the South African rugby team and the 1995 World Cup, this book is more about Nelson Mandela and how he was able to unite a divided country. Inspiring.
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Author: Paul Theroux
The author re-visits Africa and re-assesses the place he once knew... and judges it once and for all. Well written, poignant observations of the thumbprints left by career politicians, aid workers, and everyday people.
Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
A look at the internal and external factors of how extraordinary people got to be, well, extraordinary. One of those books that challenges assumptions and makes you think differently.
Shantaram: A Novel
Author: Gregory David Roberts
Administering first aid in a Bombay slum, selling fake passports and running guns to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Technically a novel, but closely linked to the Author's own experiences. Fantastic read.
When times were difficult during the years following independence, the men felt sorry for themselves and the women carried on with the business of providing for the family.
- a Georgian friend explaining the situation there during the early 1990s. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Hope for Humanity, Kyrgyzstan by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 4 January 2008
When we travel, we aim to maximize our depth of understanding of a place relative to the limited amount of time we have to spend there. We try to plan our visit to each location around the people we know, the recommendations they make and a list of sights that we’ve developed independently through our own research. Planning our visit to Kyrgyzstan was no exception. However, the wide cross-section of people, sights and activities to which we had access provided us the opportunity to dig more deeply than usual. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 16 December 2007
So we went a little nuts with photos in Kyrgyzstan. But we have an excuse. We were there for over a month – tracking down militsia (OVIR, to those familiar) to renew our visas, getting stuck in snowstorms, meeting old friends and collecting new ones, freezing to bits while taking in stunning scenery and enjoying some unbelievably kind hospitality.
Here’s our latest installment of photo essays: Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Photography, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
8 Comments | 28 October 2007
Though you might think that each day on a journey like this is blessed by beautiful fairy tale scenery, gourmet ethnic food, impeccable accommodation, comfortable transport and the best that humanity has to offer, the reality is often different. We thought it might be interesting to share what a “perfect day” looks and feels like to us.
While waiting to extend our Kyrgyz visa in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan, we opted for a getaway to Manzhyly, a shepherd’s outpost on the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, the second-largest alpine lake in the world. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
4 Comments | 5 October 2007
