Synopses & Reviews
A unique detailed record of the first round-the-world trip by carFrom Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, the ambition to make round-the-world trips was born, and the first man to do this in a motor car was Charles Glidden, in 1902. Along with his wife and British engineer Charles Thomas, the American millionaire took a Napier car twice around the world to visit places that hadn't conceived such an invention. Their journey took them from Boston to Austria, where they cruised 10 miles due to a frozen gas tank and were promptly arrested; the Arctic Circle; the Far East; and more. They encountered a variety of attitudes and people on their travels, including the last cannibal of Fiji and anti-Western sentiments in Japan. Here Andrew Jepson uses his grandfather Thomas's photographs to create a fascinating story of the groundbreaking journey. Perhaps it wasn't done in 80 days, but this is certainly a must read for all road trip enthusiasts.
About the Author
Andrew Jepson is the grandson of Napier motoring mechanic Charles Thomas, who accompanied Charles Gildden on his round-the-world motoring tours. He is a retired teacher who has followed in the footsteps of his grandfather with a lot of off-the-beaten-track traveling himself. It was after he had been away to the Rockies to take his own pictures that he came home to find albums from his grandfathers travels at the beginning of the twentieth century and his interest in the story was thus awakened. He lives in East Sussex.