The Last Overland, Alex Bescoby
The Last Overland, Alex Bescoby
List: $17.99 | Sale: $12.59
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The Last Overland
Singapore to London: The Return Journey of the Iconic Land Rover Expedition

Author: Alex Bescoby

Narrator: Alex Bescoby

Unabridged: 10 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/11/2022

Synopsis

"In 1955, a young TV producer named David Attenborough was approached by six recent graduates from Oxford and Cambridge universities determined to drive the entire length of Eurasia, as it was then known, from London to Singapore. Many tried this before, but none succeeded. Sensing this time might be different, Attenborough gave The Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition enough film reels to cover their attempt. The 19,000-mile journey completed by Tim Slessor and the team was told in Attenborough's Travellers' Tales and captivated a nation emerging from postwar austerity. Tim's book, The First Overland, was published shortly after and soon became the Bible of the overlanding religion. Inspired by Attenborough's comment fifty years on that it was a journey ""that I don't think could be made again today,"" Alex made contact with now eighty-six-year-old Tim, and together they planned an epic recreation of the original trip, this time from Singapore to London. With their improbable team and the prospect of getting the original Oxford, their goal was to complete the heroic journey that started more than sixty years earlier. In awe of the unstoppable Tim, and haunted by his own grandfather's deterioration due to tragedy and then dementia, Alex soon finds himself on the defining trip of his life and discovers how the world has changed for better, and for worse, since the First Overland..."

About Alex Bescoby

Alex Bescoby is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, and presenter with a love of history, travel, and storytelling. A Cambridge University history and politics graduate, he has written for BBC News, The Telegraph, National Geographic, and Lonely Planet. His long- and short-form films have been shown by global broadcasters including the BBC, History Channel, Discovery, and Canal+.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jean on April 25, 2023

The first Overland London to Singapore was in the early 1950s. David Attenborough filmed the adventure for BBC. In this book, Alex Bescoby writes about a repeat of the Land Rover expedition from Singapore to London. One of the Land Rover vehicles was the original Oxford Land Rover. There were some d......more

Goodreads review by Mab on April 23, 2024

I'm very torn on this. Bescoby is a charming narrator with genuine warmth and heart, the journey is an incredible achievement which made a lot of people very happy and proud, and it's a great manifesto for the spirit of pure adventure. It feels mean-spirited not to respond to all of that with joy. B......more

Goodreads review by Jeremy on February 15, 2024

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the story, but I am just not that much of a non fiction guy. I really liked Alex’s voice in the story and the journey in general was incredible. The only thing I wanted more of in the story was a bit more information about his other companions during the overland. Alex an......more

Goodreads review by David on June 21, 2024

4,5 stars The Last Overland stands out as a adventure/travel-book by being able to compare past advetures with current and being written by someone with good writing-know-how. Other travel-books have been poorly written, often by emotionally staunted/distracted/unavailable people, who used their trav......more

Goodreads review by Heather on September 01, 2024

This book really captured my imagination in the way that stories of great expeditions have always captured my imagination. A group of people set their sights on doing something great, and not necessarily for a purpose to further humanity, but rather because they could and the opportunity was there a......more

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