“It’s like ‘A Year In Provence’ with alligators, hit men, and post-apartheid racial politics!”
Welcome To “Pluto!”
It’s the wackiest planet in the solar system, and it’s home to Travel Writer Richard Grant – yes, there REALLY IS a Pluto, Mississippi!
Travel Writing By The Masters!
I am a big fan of adventure travel, and there are a few Writers who have mastered the genre. Paul Theroux is legendary for work like “The Pillars Of Hercules”…
Bill Bryson writes about his hilarious travel adventures in books like “A Walk In The Woods”…
Author Richard Grant has joined this elite group by virtue of his collection of outstanding travel memoirs, the latest of which takes him on a journey through the Mississippi Delta…
Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta!
Here is how the publisher describes the book:
“On a remote, isolated strip of land, three miles beyond the tiny community of Pluto, Richard and his girlfriend, Mariah, embark on a new life. They learn to hunt, grow their own food, and fend off alligators, snakes, and varmints galore. They befriend an array of unforgettable local characters—blues legend T-Model Ford, cookbook maven Martha Foose, catfish farmers, eccentric millionaires, and the actor Morgan Freeman.”
“Grant brings an adept, empathetic eye to the fascinating people he meets, capturing the rich, extraordinary culture of the Delta, while tracking its utterly bizarre and criminal extremes. Reporting from all angles as only an outsider can, Grant also delves deeply into the Delta’s lingering racial tensions. He finds that de facto segregation continues. Yet even as he observes major structural problems, he encounters many close, loving, and interdependent relationships between black and white families—and good reasons for hope.”
Here’s how one review captured the style and tone of Grant’s writing perfectly:
“In the best tradition of Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, British travel writer Richard Grant explores the otherworldly Mississippi Delta by settling into an aging plantation home and letting himself be captured by an eccentric, racially-tortured and wondrously hospitable culture. Dispatches from Pluto is wise, wry, sympathetic and spot-on.” (Curtis Wilkie, author of The Fall of the House of Zeus)
The Author takes readers on a journey though a world as foreign and unbelievable as walking on Pluto – as somebody describes the book:
“It’s like ‘A Year In Provence’ with alligators, hit men, and post-apartheid racial politics!”
This is an example of what rural Mississippi looks like – these pics aren’t from the book, but give an idea of the world that Grant was entering…
As the publisher noted, Actor Morgan Freeman turns up in the book, and tells the Author the meaning of life – just one of the many fascinating aspects of the book – and why it’s at the top of my “must read” list!
“Dispatches From Pluto” is the latest in a series of terrific books from Grant, a Brit who has come to America to see what all the fuss was about!
His previous book told the story of “American Nomads”, people who aren’t exploring to see new adventures, but in many case to escape their previous lives…
His story of “American Nomads” is a fascinating look at people who live “off the grid” in America – read all about it here:
Grant also explores one of Africa’s uncharted “crazy” rivers, and ends up in the middle of a fire fight with poachers!
This is a trip through the parts of Africa that you won’t see on safari! Grant’s exciting and dangerous journey can be read about here:
http://johnrieber.com/2015/02/02/africas-crazy-river-richard-grants-dangerous-african-adventure/
And speaking of dangerous, Grant travelled to what may be the single most dangerous place on earth:
His journey through Mexico’s Sierra Madre region is travel adventure writing at its absolute best – and most dangerous! Read about that journey here:
Kudos to Grant for another great book, and make sure to check out all of his work!
