Peter Biddlecombe has dragged his beleaguered expense account around no fewer than 170 countries of variable merit, which puts him literally miles ahead of every other travel writer. Wittily and informatively he brings a unique businessman's perspective to his destinations - Biddlecombe has to land running in order to survive. IRELAND: IN A GLASS OF ITS OWN - in many ways the perfect marriage of author and subject - marks a departure, as it focuses upon one comparatively small country. In this book Biddlecombe argues - in inimitable fashion - that the thirty-two counties can be said to represent the constituent parts of a pint of the black stuff. (Happily, the author has lost none of his famed thirst.) The roasted, malted barley, for example, comes from the farming counties: Wicklow, Kilkenny and Meath. This is Biddlecombe's hilarious account of Ireland - not just the coastal areas beloved of normal (I.e. lesser) travel writers but the bits in between. Particularly those bits with pubs on them. Well, just to save you the embarrassment of drinking on your own ... Cheers.
Peter Biddlecombe takes us on another irreverent global tour, snubbing his nose at the "gimmick tourists" and carrying on doing what he does best—business, all over the world, with a wonderfully diverse range of characters. Power-players in Milan, storm-trooping language police in Toronto, and just general chaos in Kinshasa are a mere selection of the obstacles the international businessman must face as he struggles to come to grips with the local way of doing things. But it's all in the name of commerce, and whether he's trapped in a luxury hotel during the riots in Bombay or working his way through a "Good Food Guide" to Ouagadougou, Peter Biddlecombe always comes out with a tale to tell.
It is a great truth of modern life that businessmen today are the world's most accomplished travellers. Like Marco Polo, the business traveller has a purpose; he is a man with a mission. Not for him a simple trawl through tourist hell - his experiences are authentic, driven by career rather than courier. Consequently, the adventurous nature of such trips is never forced - the Hindu Kush, Amazonian jungle or Kalahari hold no fears for those who have faced the Tokyo underground in rush hour. In TRAVELS WITH MY BRIEFCASE Peter Biddlecombe introduces us to the world of the business traveller, stumbling across the humorous and the bizarre in the most unexpected places - like Switzerland - and generally proving that you don't have to be a student, aesthete or one-eyed skate-boarder to experience the thrill and excitement of exploring the world.
The United States of America is, aw shucks, many things to many people. But to businessman and travel writer Peter Biddlecombe it's FOOD. Huge, enormous, vitamin-fortified, artery-clogging, fat-laden, calorie-packed, colonic blocking, microwavable mountains of the stuff. And most of all it's burgers. In his ninth irrepressible, irreverent travel book Biddlecombe chews over the whole of the USA, state-by-state-by-state, as if it was a Huge Burger. From the Chicken States of Kentucky and Rhode Island to the Ice State, Alaska, he describes an entire continent with wit and precision, whilst imparting a great deal of practical information. This is arguably the first travel book ever written by anyone who has actually visited every one of the 51 states - and Survived.
Living out of a briefcase has become a way of life for Peter Biddlecombe - and his regular dispatches from the front line of international expense account culture have offered desk-bound readers everywhere a unique insight into the strange, bizarre and often hilarious places where business and pleasure meet all over the world. Yet despite all his efforts in this, the age of the virtual boardroom, the lot of the English businessman abroad is still not a happy one. VERY FUNNY is the fifth in the series of dispatches from all over the world in which Peter Biddlecombe recounts his battles to survive the black magic voodoo of 5-star international travel; in which former European footballers of the year open their own high street bank, alcohol free lager is invented to give the good people of Oslo an excuse to enjoy themselves, and the formation dancing team of the Ukranian mafia can register 6.7 on the Richter scale.
In the time it takes to get through Atlanta airport's luggage system, Peter Biddlecombe negotiates the perils of business life in twenty cities from Beirut to Budapest, all courtesy of another awe-inspiring expense account. This volume finds the first-class hero at his hilarious and thoughtful best; ostensibly developing contacts, striking deals and attending foreign delegations, he is an astute, informed commentator everywhere he goes, bringing a businessman's eye to bear on the economic and political challenges faced by both post-cold war Europe and the developing nations of Asia and Africa - while simultaneously over-testing the theory that a nation's culture is contained within its bars and restaurants. Whether power-shopping in Miami, attending a Finnish masterclass in the art of vodka-drinking, or simply lamenting the disappearance of the Trabant, Peter Biddlecombe is the perfect bon viveur in a hugely entertaining series of trips across the world.
Living out of a briefcase has become a way of life for Peter Biddlecombe - and his regular dispatches from the front line of international expense account culture have offered desk-bound readers everywhere a unique insight into the strange, bizarre and often hilarious places where business and pleasure meet all over the world. Yet despite all his efforts in this, the age of the virtual boardroom, the lot of the English businessman abroad is still not a happy one. VERY FUNNY is the fifth in the series of dispatches from all over the world in which Peter Biddlecombe recounts his battles to survive the black magic voodoo of 5-star international travel; in which former European footballers of the year open their own high street bank, alcohol free lager is invented to give the good people of Oslo an excuse to enjoy themselves, and the formation dancing team of the Ukranian mafia can register 6.7 on the Richter scale.
Having already dragged his beleaguered expense account around no fewer than 170 countries of variable merit, Peter Biddlecombe is literally miles ahead of every other travel writer. Wittily and informatively he brings a unique businessman's perspective to his destinations. Unlike many other travel writers who can look in from the outside and paint a leisurely portrait of the sights and sounds of exotic places, Biddlecombe has to land running in order to survive. In ALWAYS FEEL A FRIEND, the destinations include Cape Verde, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Mauritius, Samoa and Fiji. There is also a bizarre interlude in Paraguay, a country with some very unusual citizens.erde, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Mauritius, Samoa and Fiji. There is also a bizarre interlude in Paraguay, a country with some very unusual citizens.
Having travelled across West Africa for over ten years, Peter Biddlecombe's often hilarious account of a long and lingering liaison dangereuse with the sixty per cent of the continent that is French-speaking is a highly readable, hugely entertaining introduction to the je ne sais quoi of French Africa. In countries such as Togo, Mali and Burkina Faso, Biddlecome encounters old-fashioned camel butchers, modern witch doctors who run mail-order companies, gold smugglers and counterfeiters who send their sons to Oxford. He also experiences a delicious foie gras of places: from eerie voodoo ceremonies in the old slave port of Ouidah to Italian ice-cream parlors in the middle of the Sahara desert. And Biddlecombe reveals not only Francophone Africa's politics, often bizarre business traditions and culture, but also provides a mass of practical advice on everything from how to eat a water-rat to talking your way through a road block in the middle of an attempted coup.
The United States of America is, aw shucks, many things to many people. But to businessman and travel writer Peter Biddlecombe it's FOOD. Huge, vitamin-fortified, artery-clogging, fat-laden, calorie-packed, colonic blocking, microwavable mountains of the stuff. And most of all it's burgers. McBurgers. In his ninth irreverent travel book Biddlecombe chews over the whole of the USA, state-by-state-by-state, as if it was a McHuge McBurger. From the Chicken States of Kentucky and Rhode Island to the Ice State, Alaska, he describes an entire continent whilst imparting a greal deal of practical information.
Travel-hardened businessman Peter Biddlecombe presents a seventh collection of travel tales. He meets the world's greatest dodgers in Guyana, visits Paramaribo—swapped for New York in one of the greatest cons in history, and sips champagne with a Buddhist monk in Luang Prabang.
Having visited over 170 countries, businessman Peter Biddlecombe is the most well-travelled travel writer around. In his eighth collection of his international escapades, he once more brings his journeys hilariously to life, and lets of steam about the parts of travelling he likes the least: being passed back and forth between bank branch and call centre as he tries to order his traveller's cheques; the 'super-fit yahoos' who can't carry their designer suitcases but have to wheel them everywhere they go; the perils and pitfalls of the check-in desk and the loudspeaker announcements from Planet Stupid. From Peshawar to Palermo, Bishkek to Belieze City, Never Feel a Stranger finds Peter Biddlecombe at his irrepressible, irreverent best.
In the time it takes to get through Atlanta airport's luggage system, Peter Biddlecombe negotiates the perils of business life in twenty cities from Beirut to Budapest, all courtesy of another awe-inspiring expense account. I Came, I Saw, I Lost My Luggage finds the first-class hero at his hilarious and thoughtful best: ostensibly developing contacts, striking deals and attending foreign delegations, he is an astute, informed commentator everywhere he goes, bringing a businessman's eye to bear on the economic and political challenges faced by both post-cold war Europe and the developing nations of Asia and Africa - while simultaneously over-testing the theory that a nation's culture is contained within its bars and restaurants. Whether power-shopping in Miami, feeling the earth move in Mexico, attending a Finnish masterclass in the noble art of vodka-drinking or simply lamenting the disappearance of the Trabant, Peter Biddlecombe is the perfect bon viveur in a hugely enjoyable alternative world tour - until the malignant evil trading as the Heathrow baggage handlers decide to lose his briefcase again.
For decades Peter O'Sullevan was one of the iconic sports commentators, providing the sound track for half a century of horseracing as he called home such legends of the sport as Arkle, Nijinsky, Red Rum and Desert Orchid. His rapid-fire commentary seemed to echo the sound of horses' hooves, and it was not long before he became known as 'The Voice of Racing'. But in addition to his legendary status as a TV personality, Peter O'Sullevan was also a notable journalist and much-admired writer, and it is a measure of his standing both within and beyond the world of racing that his compulsively readable autobiography Calling the Horses, first published in 1989 and reprinted eight times, reached the top of the SUNDAY TIMES non-fiction bestseller list. The most recent edition of Calling the Horses was published in 1994, and the twenty years since then have brought many fresh episodes in the ongoing Peter O'Sullevan story, including the last racing days of his great friend Lester Piggott in 1995, his commentary on the 'Bomb Scare' Grand National of 1997, and his retirement from the BBC. He also describes setting up the Sir Peter O'Sullevan Charitable Trust, which has raised over £3.5 million for animal welfare charities, as well as offering his appreciation of a new generation of racing heroes, including jockey AP McCoy, who has come to dominate jump racing in a manner unparalleled in any sport, and the wonder-horse Frankel. The heartening news for the legions of Peter O'Sullevan fans is that, despite his years, his enthusiasm for racing is undiminished, and so are the elegance, fluency and wit which infuse his writing style. This new and extensively updated edition of Calling the Horses is a very remarkable book by a very remarkable man.
Real life crimes, famous and forgotten, re-examined by leading crime writersA superb collection of brand new and original essays about famous and obscure real life crimes, Truly Criminal showcases a group of highly regarded, award-winning writers who all share a special passion for crime. Among these real-life crimes, famous and forgotten, are such notorious cases as Samuel Herbert Dougal, the Moat Farm murderer; George Joseph Smith, the Brides in the Bath killer; and Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, one of the most infamous killers in British history. Featuring a dazzling list of contributors, including leading crime novelists Peter Lovesey, Andrew Taylor, and Catherine Aird, as well as 2013 CWA Crime Non-Fiction Dagger winner Paul French; a bonus essay by the late great Margery Allingham about the controversial William Herbert Wallace case has also been rediscovered. With a foreword by international bestselling writer Peter James, this collection will thrill lovers of true-crime writing.
The story of Captain Harold Chesterman was one of the many quiet contributors to our society heroes, really who have lived among us without widespread recognition. Master Mariner follows this remarkable man’s professional association with the sea. From when he was one of the few Australian lads enrolled in a British maritime training college to when he captained a support ship that serviced lighthouses and beacons along the Queensland coast.
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