When I was a teenager, I spent many a spare period in my high school’s library poring over an illustrated book for young people describing an early 20th century American adventurer’s romantic tales of international travel (the Taj Mahal! the pyramids!).
Being an academically oriented Canadian convent school (ahem…), this was a rather improbable and fanciful publication to find in the shelves. However, I was hooked on it and borrowed it again and again.
As a nostalgic adult, realizing the stories’ influence on my own desire to see the world, I cursed myself for not having tried to beg, borrow, buy, or steal (well, not steal) the treasured book upon my graduation. I further cursed myself for being unable to recall the author’s name. All I could remember was that he swam through the Panama Canal and crossed the Alps on an elephant.
Eventually, maybe 20 years ago, I figured out I’d glutted myself on the 634 pages of Richard Halliburton’s Complete Book of Marvels, a brick of a book published in 1941. Somehow (and it’s odd that today I can’t recall how), I found and purchased a first edition (for something like $100, which still seems like a lot), and it’s been a cherished possession ever since.
However (big however)… the last time I read it, a few years ago, I was bug-eyed and astonished at the racism (buying Black child slaves in Timbuktu, whuttt…..), which I did not remember from teenaged reading.
Tonight, searching for a podcast with which to relax, I stumbled across this one about a new (2014) biography by R. Scott Williams, The Forgotten Adventures of Richard Halliburton: A High-Flying Life from Tennessee to Timbuktu (and promptly bought the ebook for later).
So this evening I’m inspired to (re)revisit the text, reading about Halliburton’s experiences from San Francisco (visiting the top of the Golden Gate Bridge during construction) to Japan (climbing Mount Fuji). I’m intrigued to see whether I’ll be inspired, turned off, or likely both.
If you’re interested, both sections (The Occident & The Orient) are available for immediate download as ebooks from Amazon for under $3 each.
Richard Halliburton’s Book of Marvels: The Occident
Richard Halliburton’s Second Book of Marvels: The Orient
For further reading: Richard Halliburton on Wikipedia