The Travelling Ape: What Travelling (Nearly) Everywhere Taught Me about Humanity, Geopolitics, and Happiness - Softcover

Mackay Richards, Mr Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1739366956 ISBN 13: 9781739366957

Publisher: Fuzzy Flamingo, 2023

Synopsis

Gold Medal Winner: Independent Press Awards in the Travel Category, 2024

Gold Medal Winner: International Book Awards in the Travel Category, 2024

Silver Medal Winner: Readers' Favorite in the Travel Category, 2024

“Heartfelt, illuminating, and frequently humorous” — Thomas Swick, NYTimes Book Review contributor and author of The Joys of Travel

“A travel book like no other” — Matt Walker, Guardian contributor and author of Europe United

“These fun, inspiring (and sometimes alarming) adventures will persuade you that the urge to travel is in our DNA” — Charles Wheelan, NYTimes contributor and author of We Came, We Saw, We Left

“At once a bible for us dromomaniacs and a persuasive polemic for why you should become one” — Travis Jeppesen, Author of See You Again Pyongyang

“Oozes love for travel, cultures, the human race, and most importantly learning” – Nicos Hadjicostis, Award-winning author of Destination Earth

“The author leaves the reader with a refreshing and positive outlook on our shared humanity” – Bhavana Gesota, author of The Art of Slow Travel

What’s our planet really like?
Are humans mostly good or bad?
Is civilisation heading in the right or wrong direction?
How many rhetorical questions can you ask before it gets boring?

One bewildered, insignificant ape believes he has answers to these questions. Michael Mackay Richards is one of around 400 Homo sapiens – 0.000000001% of people who’ve ever lived – to have visited over 150 of the world’s 195 countries. Which last time he checked, was officially quite a lot of countries.

The Travelling Ape is an award-winning book that explores what travelling the world taught him about life, humanity, and the geopolitical turmoil that so defines us. And how exploring the world changed him as a person, too. A journey infused with sharp insights and equally entertaining anecdotes of personal humiliation, from when travel goes wrong. From the streets of Pyongyang and street food in Bangkok, to silent meditation retreats in India, to a ride on an abandoned roller coaster in Iraq for some reason, no stone is left unturned on this epic (and sometimes weird) global odyssey. Throughout The Travelling Ape, Richards highlights key insights and personal growth through travel, such as:

• Travel renews your spirit and curiosity in the planet.
• Humanity and the world are in much better shape than the media makes out.
• People of different cultures and religions are all essentially the same.
• Over 99% of people are good people.
• Travel can change you as a person and help you fall in love with humanity.

With a unique voice, one of the best-travelled apes in history offers you a fresh take on the world.
It’s one that just might help you fall back in love with it.

About this title

About the Author

MICHAEL MACKAY RICHARDS is an author, as well as a global economic and political research analyst from London, UK. Prior to this, he completed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Politics and International Relations from the University of Bristol in England. His passion for global affairs extends to travel. He's visited 155 out of the world's 195 countries according to the UN definition, documenting his travels and views on his website Michael is also a certified meditation instructor with the British School of Meditation, with several thousand hours of meditation practice and several silent meditation retreats under his belt. He also wrote this blurb about himself in the third person.

Edition details

• Publisher: Fuzzy Flamingo
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1739366956
• ISBN 13: 9781739366957
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 516