Dreaming Of Jupiter

Ted Simon is the author of the classic travel book JUPITER'S TRAVELS. It documents his four-year journey round the world by motorbike, travelling through Europe, Africa, South and North America, and Asia. A number one bestseller in the late 1970s, it is still regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle books - indeed, one of the greatest travel books - ever written. In 2001, at the age of 69, Ted Simon decided to retrace his journey, and DREAMING OF JUPITER is the result. It took him two and a half years - during which time he revisited all the countries he had travelled through in the 1970s. He found much had changed, and he reflects upon the increased poverty, political upheavals, environmental issues and indeed the changes in himself. But ultimately, DREAMING OF JUPITER is a hugely inspiring read with a positive message at its heart - that even at the age of 70 you can still set off on an adventure, and be surprised and excited by what life throws at you along the way.

About the Author :
Ted Simon was raised in London, studied chemical engineering but went to Paris where he fell into journalism. He has ridden twice around the world on a motorcycle, and published five books on travel and other matters. He now lives in northern California.

Review :
'Gloriously luminescent, but always self-deprecating. Simon's physical powers are diminishing, but his writing just gets better. The wonderful portraits of the people he encounters, often redolent of Bruce Chatwin, are sometimes so enticing that, were this a movie, you'd swear they were a plant for later on' OBSERVER 'This book has barely left my side in the past few days. It is, by turns, sad, funny and immensely uplifting' TELEGRAPH 'A trip of dreams - and Ted Simon has done it twice . . . a terrific read' RTE GUIDE 'He was on the road for three years, and his new book, Dreaming of Jupiter, is a compelling account of the adventures en route, including breaking a leg in the middle of a vast plain in Ethiopia; a reunion with a camel rider he'd met 25 years before in Egypt; and crossing India and Thailand with Malu, 62, a former girlfriend, riding pillion' SAGA MAGAZINE 'A sharply-written read of incisive observations . . . this book is as much about where the boundaries of age and ambitions collide as it is about the 48 countries Simon travelled through' IRISH TIMES 'His prose is crisp and his thumbnail portraits vivid' SUNDAY BUSINESS POST 'For anyone who still dreams of zooming across continents, sleeping under stars, discovering beautiful empty beaches and being warmly welcomed by local tribes' TIMES 'His encounters are evocatively observed, frequently poignant and occasionally very funny' TLS 'Simon's immaculate, knowing and unabashedly humble prose makes me wish I was a better writer, so much so that this book has barely left my side in the past few days. It is, by turns, sad, funny and immensely uplifting' TELEGRAPH