This album of over 200 century-old postcards takes the reader on a magical journey across the world in five travelogues, depicting the Orient, the Arab lands, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. These haunting postcards and the people they depict strike us with a special force today, vividly expressing a deep-seated connection with the land and customs that gave them their identities. The stories implicit in their eyes, their costumes and their postures act as a telling antidote to the rootlessness of our own times.
Introduction by Paul Theroux; 1. The Orient: Wonders of the East; 2. The Arabic Lands: Caravans Across the Desert; 3. Africa: All the World in One Continent; 4. The Americas: From Prairie to Pampas; 5. Oceania: Myriad Islands in an Azure Sea.
