Contact!: A Book of Encounters - Hardcover

Born in 1926, Jan Morris is the author of such classics as the Pax Britannica trilogy and The World, among many others. She lives in Wales.

Recognized as a major contemporary travel writer, Morris, in the course of her profession/avocation, has explored all four corners of the globe—no exaggeration. Her latest book is a collection of short takes, each one running only one to three paragraphs in length. In introductory comments, the author, from Wales, observes that “in a lifetime of travel and literature, I have written relatively little about people.” Her new book, then, makes amends, offering glimpses of people encountered “across half a century and forty-odd books.” The emphasis on individuals rather than destinations results in a delightfully idiosyncratic kaleidoscope: small portraits rendered in colorful and not always adulatory prose. Visiting the current occupant of Longwood, a distinctive octagon-shaped mansion in Natchez, Louisiana, she is treated to a feast of southern fried chicken. Attending a Paris fashion show, however, was not so positive. She sat “among the condescending New York buyers and unbelievably ugly princesses of American fashion journalism.” Ouch! --Brad Hooper