The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Magic and Madness on the Mediterranean

by Joel Stratte-McClure

Overview

"The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean" took readers on a 4,401-kilometer MedTrek through Morocco, Spain, France, Monaco and down the Italian coast to Rome in 2008. In 2013, "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean" takes readers 4,401-kilometers from Rome to the boot of Italy, around the islands of Sicily and Crete, into the Peloponnese, up Mount Olympus, on to numerous Mediterranean islands and down the Turkish coast to Imzir.

When inquisitive American journalist Joel Stratte-McClure decides to walk around the Mediterranean Sea, we re in for an exhilarating adventure. As a 30 year expatriate in France, he explores the coast, countryside and regional cultures as well as his own mind with compulsive vigour. Armed with a copy of Homer s Odyssey, he re-opens this great book for us as he ponders life, divorce, Buddhism, alcoholism, the art of trekking and a vast collection of weird, wicked, wonderful people along the way. This is a trip to get into!

Product Details

BN ID:	2940016367729
Publisher:	Slingshot/Freelance Ink
Publication date:	02/09/2013
Series:	The Idiot and the Odyssey , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Joel Stratte-McClure, an American journalist/ adventurer who lived in France for over three decades, has been writing about his global trekking and hiking adventures since the 1970s. His work has taken him to over 110 countries and his articles on a variety of subjects have appeared in The International Herald Tribune, Time Magazine, The Times of London, People Magazine and numer- ous other publications. He is currently based in Northern California but regularly travels to the Mediterranean to gather anecdotes and add kilometers for his third book in this series: The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean.

Editorial Reviews

“This is one of those seductive books that, as you read, slowly insinuates itself into your consciousness and becomes more and more compelling and entrancing….Stratte-McClure is so knowledgeable about the paths he walks and so sensitive to the history and landscapes around him that what he produces is not only an interesting travel book but a compelling story about a simple attempt to overcome a mid-life crisis and make some sense of the world.”

Sydney Morning Herlad - Bruce Elder

“There must be simpler - and less strenuous - ways to get over a mid-life crisis following a divorce. Walking around the Mediterranean does seem to be a bit extreme. But American journalist and author Joel Stratte-McClure doesn't seem to be the type to take the easy way out.”

Associated Press - Diana Plater

“The book’s title suggests its tone: at once ambitious and self-effacing, literate and down-to-earth. Stratte-McClure is an erudite man whose lust for life is balanced by Buddhist wisdom, and he brings to each moment on his journey a genuine affection for all he encounters that is irresistible.”

Chico News and Review - Robert Speer

“Stratte-McClure describes the food and the hotels where he stopped while hiking more than 2,700 miles in the course of the book. While reading in airports and my living rooms, I was transported to parts of the world where I have traveled but not really known.”

Grand Forks Herald - Marilyn Hagerty

“Facing a mid-life crisis and the collapse of your marriage after learning that your spouse has a lover half your age, what would you do? Get hammered? Not Joel Stratte-McClure. He'd already been there, done that, and quit drinking. Instead, the Stanford grad went back to basics — the very basics. He walked.”

East Bay Express - Anneli Rufus