"A colorful report on far-flung destinations. Retired lawyers James and Grossman share an insatiable desire to travel, especially to isolated, sometimes-dangerous places where most tourists fear to go. Drawing on James's journals, Grossman's photographs, and their memories, they recount ten memorable trips to remote sites in countries such as Mali, Ethiopia, Iran, and Algeria. . . . Travel dispatches that offer a rare perspective on a world few see so intimately.”
—Kirkus Review
"It’s not uncommon for retired couples to travel, but it’s often a matter of visiting all fifty states, spending extended stays with family, or taking European grand tours. James and his wife, however, decided to see places that few tourists dare—or care—to encounter . . . . James recounts the adventures with an absence of hyperbole and does not gloss over the temporary miseries of being wet and muddy or trying to follow barely forged trails.”
—Booklist
"Traveling to parts of the world where few Americans dare to venture, Dennis James and Barbara Grossman bear witness to the resilience and creativity of those threatened by political oppression, poverty, and the encroachments of globalization. Keen to learn rather than to teach or preach, they write with compassion, humility and curiosity, rather than the condescending voyeurism that is far too common among Western tourists. ... Both senior citizens, . . . their spirit is ever youthful, and they distinguish themselves as citizens of the world."
—Adam Shatz, contributing editor of London Review of Books
"Two . . . retired attorneys, who know something about life having represented real people in Detroit starting in the rebellious sixties[,] . . . now take to the road—Barbara with her camera, Dennis with his pen—and their trips to really out-of-the-way places are thrilling. Read [Songs of the Baka], and get your passport renewed. You're in for a lot of adventures."
—Michael Steven Smith, author and co-host of Law and Disorder Radio
“The world of indigenous cultures sought out by Dennis James in Songs of the Baka and Other Discoveries are, sadly, fast disappearing. The ravages of modernity, enmeshing all of us, seems to have been, along with an inordinate curiosity, more than enough incentive for Dennis James, accompanied by his wife, Barbara Grossman, to see and experience parts of the world that you cannot expect your neighbors to know anything about. . . . [James] would be a spell-binding dinner guest. Songs of the Baka and Other Discoveries is, in the absence of a dinner invitation, a perfectly good way to spend time with a man whom you
will want to know.”
—James Elkins, editor of Legal Studies Forum
"Makes a strong case for independent and ambitious travel for those of us getting up in years. . . . Not letting other peoples’ cautious advice or their own fears stop them, James and Grossman show us how to take on unusual travel experiences without being foolhardy. This highly readable book is especially for those of us whose tastes in travel are anthropological, for those of us who are still really curious about the world, for those of us who are alive."
—Mark Fishman, retired Professor of Sociology of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Brooklyn College CUNY
"Dennis and Barbara travel exactly the opposite of the way I travel: in complete comfort. Yet their experiences make me yearn for the exotic, unexpected wonder that is only possible when you give yourself over to real adventure. While [they] take the uncharted paths, the reader travels along in “comfort class,” relishing every exciting moment in their brave new adventures."
—Benita Garvin, writer and producer of The Killing Yard
"A colorful report on far-flung destinations. Retired lawyers James and Grossman share an insatiable desire to travel, especially to isolated, sometimes-dangerous places where most tourists fear to go. Drawing on James's journals, Grossman's photographs, and their memories, they recount ten memorable trips to remote sites in countries such as Mali, Ethiopia, Iran, and Algeria. . . . Travel dispatches that offer a rare perspective on a world few see so intimately.”
—Kirkus Review
"It’s not uncommon for retired couples to travel, but it’s often a matter of visiting all fifty states, spending extended stays with family, or taking European grand tours. James and his wife, however, decided to see places that few tourists dare—or care—to encounter . . . . James recounts the adventures with an absence of hyperbole and does not gloss over the temporary miseries of being wet and muddy or trying to follow barely forged trails.”
—Booklist
"Traveling to parts of the world where few Americans dare to venture, Dennis James and Barbara Grossman bear witness to the resilience and creativity of those threatened by political oppression, poverty, and the encroachments of globalization. Keen to learn rather than to teach or preach, they write with compassion, humility and curiosity, rather than the condescending voyeurism that is far too common among Western tourists. ... Both senior citizens, . . . their spirit is ever youthful, and they distinguish themselves as citizens of the world."
—Adam Shatz, contributing editor of London Review of Books
"Two . . . retired attorneys, who know something about life having represented real people in Detroit starting in the rebellious sixties[,] . . . now take to the road—Barbara with her camera, Dennis with his pen—and their trips to really out-of-the-way places are thrilling. Read [Songs of the Baka], and get your passport renewed. You're in for a lot of adventures."
—Michael Steven Smith, author and co-host of Law and Disorder Radio
“The world of indigenous cultures sought out by Dennis James in Songs of the Baka and Other Discoveries are, sadly, fast disappearing. The ravages of modernity, enmeshing all of us, seems to have been, along with an inordinate curiosity, more than enough incentive for Dennis James, accompanied by his wife, Barbara Grossman, to see and experience parts of the world that you cannot expect your neighbors to know anything about. . . . [James] would be a spell-binding dinner guest. Songs of the Baka and Other Discoveries is, in the absence of a dinner invitation, a perfectly good way to spend time with a man whom you
will want to know.”
—James Elkins, editor of Legal Studies Forum
"Makes a strong case for independent and ambitious travel for those of us getting up in years. . . . Not letting other peoples’ cautious advice or their own fears stop them, James and Grossman show us how to take on unusual travel experiences without being foolhardy. This highly readable book is especially for those of us whose tastes in travel are anthropological, for those of us who are still really curious about the world, for those of us who are alive."
—Mark Fishman, retired Professor of Sociology of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Brooklyn College CUNY
"Dennis and Barbara travel exactly the opposite of the way I travel: in complete comfort. Yet their experiences make me yearn for the exotic, unexpected wonder that is only possible when you give yourself over to real adventure. While [they] take the uncharted paths, the reader travels along in “comfort class,” relishing every exciting moment in their brave new adventures."
—Benita Garvin, writer and producer of The Killing Yard
2016-11-21
Intrepid travelers offer a colorful report on far-flung destinations.Retired lawyers James and Grossman share an insatiable desire to travel, especially to isolated, sometimes-dangerous places where most tourists fear to go. Drawing on James' journals, Grossman's photographs, and their memories, they recount 10 memorable trips to remote sites in countries such as Mali, Ethiopia, Iran, and Algeria. The tone is calmly matter-of-fact even when the author is describing harrowing events: a mother rhino ready to charge in Nepal; a siege of tiny, vicious black ants in Cameroon; stingrays off the coast of Venezuela, where the minuscule puri puri burrowed through mosquito netting and left enough bite marks on James' leg "to form a dragon tattoo." Trekking in Nepal, Grossman fell and dislocated her elbow, requiring a helicopter flight to a hospital in Kathmandu where the elbow was painfully reset. But the incident hardly fazed them, and they soon finished their Nepal trip at Chitwan National Park. In Venezuela, James twice became so dehydrated that he needed a saline drip. Rudimentary habitations, mostly lacking plumbing, were part of the adventure. For the most part, they were welcomed warmly in the indigenous communities they visited, sometimes with celebratory rituals. Among the Baka, in Cameroon, after two hours of dances, songs, and games, the villagers sang the couple a song wishing them pleasant dreams. Even in Iran, where they visited in 2008, they were greeted with smiles. The travelers are deeply respectful of the people and cultures they encountered and applaud resistance to Westernization. The "generous, hardworking, and proud" inhabitants of Papua New Guinea, for example, "did not appear to aspire to the economic and social status of former colonists" and to change lives "that are stable, relatively healthy, and aesthetically satisfying." Still, the authors are forthright about the political problems they observed. They came away from a visit to Gaza in 2009, part of an anti-war delegation, feeling strong support for Palestinian self-determination. Travel dispatches that offer a rare perspective on a world few see so intimately.
