Author | Dervla Murphy |
---|---|
Publisher | John Murray |
Publication date | 1965 |
Pages | 235 (first edition) |
OCLC | 773284636 |
915.4 | |
Followed by | Tibetan Foothold |
Full Tilt is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy, about an overland cycling trip through Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. [1] [2] It was first published by John Murray in 1965. [3] The book is usually given the subtitle Ireland to India with a Bicycle, but has been called Dunkirk to Delhi by Bicycle [4] and From Dublin to Delhi with a Bicycle. [5]
Full Tilt has been described as both one of the best cycling books, [6] [7] and one of the best travel books. [8] [9]
In 1963 Murphy set off on her first long-distance bicycle tour, a self-supported trip from Ireland to India. Taking a pistol along with other equipment aboard her Armstrong Cadet men's bicycle (named Rozinante in allusion to Don Quixote's steed, and always known as Roz), she passed through Europe during one of the worst winters in years. In Yugoslavia, Murphy began to write a journal instead of mailing letters. In Iran she used her gun to frighten off a group of thieves, and "used unprintable tactics" to escape from an attempted rapist at a police station. She received her worst injury of the journey on a bus in Afghanistan, when a rifle butt hit her and fractured three ribs; however, this only delayed her for a short while. She wrote appreciatively about the landscape and people of Afghanistan, calling herself "Afghanatical" and claiming that the Afghan "is a man after my own heart". In Pakistan, she visited Swat (where she was a guest of the last wali, Miangul Aurangzeb) and the mountain area of Gilgit. The final leg of her trip took her through the Punjab region and over the border to India towards Delhi. Her journal was later published by John Murray in 1965. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be planned by the participant or organized by a tourism business, local club or organization, or a charity as a fund-raising venture.
Dervla Murphy was an Irish touring cyclist and author of adventure travel books, writing for more than 50 years.
Full Tilt may refer to:
The bicycle had a significant impact on the lives of women in a variety of areas. The greatest impact the bicycle had on the societal role of women occurred in the 1890s during the bicycle craze that swept American and European society. During this time, the primary achievement the bicycle gained for the women's movement was that it gave women a greater amount of social mobility. The feminist Annie Londonderry accomplished her around-the-globe bicycle trip as the first woman in this time. Due to the price and the various payment plans offered by American bicycle companies, the bicycle was affordable to the majority of people. However, the bicycle impacted upper and middle class white women the most. This transformed their role in society from remaining in the private or domestic sphere as caregivers, wives, and mothers to one of greater public appearance and involvement in the community. In the 21st century bicycling remains a contentious issue addressed by feminists in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.
A Place Apart is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 1978, and won the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize in 1979. The book is usually given the subtitle Northern Ireland in the 1970s, but has been called A Record of Northern Ireland.
A Month by the Sea: Encounters in Gaza is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by Eland Books in 2013.
Between River and Sea: Encounters in Israel and Palestine is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by Eland Books in 2015. It was Murphy's final book before her death in 2022.
In Ethiopia with a Mule is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 1968.
The Island that Dared: Journeys in Cuba is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by Eland Books in 2008.
On a Shoestring to Coorg is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 1976. The book is usually given the subtitle An Experience of Southern India, but has been called An Experience of South India and A Travel Memoir of India.
Tibetan Foothold is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 1966.
The Waiting Land is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 1967 and has been described as one of the top ten books about the Himalayas.
Where the Indus Is Young is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 1977. The book is usually given the subtitle A winter in Baltistan, but has been called Midwinter in Baltistan.
Tales from Two Cities: Travel of Another Sort is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 1987.
Eight Feet in the Andes is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 1983.
Race to the Finish? The Nuclear Stakes is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. The book was first published in 1981. Like Murphy's other earlier works, it was published by Jock Murray of the John Murray publishing house.
Wheels Within Wheels: Autobiography is Irish cyclist and travel writer Dervla Murphy's autobiographical book. It was first published in 1979 by John Murray, and reprinted by Eland Books in 2010 with the subtitle The Makings of a Traveller.
Silverland: A Winter Journey Beyond the Urals is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 2006.
Visiting Rwanda is a nonfiction book by Irish author Dervla Murphy, detailing her travels in Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It was first published in 1998.
Through Siberia by Accident: A Small Slice of Autobiography is a book by Irish author Dervla Murphy. It was first published by John Murray in 2005.
I am filled with admiration for her courage, resource, good nature and unselfconsciousness ... the charm of spontaneity and the ring of absolute truth,
Punctures, broken ribs, hornets and scorpions notwithstanding, it was a high old time between Miss Murphy and her Islamic hosts ... her book is sensible, warm-hearted, unfinicky.
This vivid journal ... would have delighted Cervantes with its almost incredible surprises: a valley full of birds the size of butterflies and butterflies as big as robins; a village where the cattle eat apricots and the villagers eat clover ... Somewhere between Kabul and Jalalabad, she thought she was dreaming when she woke from a roadside nap to find that nomads had raised a tent over her to shield her from the sun.
She avoided wolves (animal and human), floods, robbery, had three ribs broken in a brawl in an Afghan bus; waded across an ice torrent, hugging a cow ... suffered extremes of heat and cold, ate everything, liked almost everybody
I don't know when I've enjoyed the account of a journey more. A great part of the enchantment of her book is that it is so good humoured and so funny. I laughed ... and learned a good deal ... one follows her with pleasure ... a brave, intelligent, rare and amusing human being.
A journey with incalculable hardships and perils. It is unexpected, but then everything Dervla Murphy does is unexpected ... an enchantment that holds the reader as engrossed as would an exciting thriller.
Warmly described, and with a lack of self-regard that immediately endears her to the reader.