The Bridge Between Worlds
A Brief History of Connection
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Canongate Books
Published:12th Sep '24
Should be back in stock very soon
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback - Signed First Edition£20.00(9781805300137-SF)
In a world increasingly preoccupied by borders, bridges celebrate the possibility of connection, allowing the flow of goods, people and ideas. Bridges are among our grandest physical structures with the power of transforming lives and economies, but we also stand (or fall) upon the simple arch of bones in our feet. Text is a bridge between writer and reader, and conversation builds bridges of understanding between minds.
Dr Gavin Francis has spent his life fascinated by the power of bridges to improve human connection. In The Bridge Between Worlds he examines bridges both actual and metaphorical, on a journey through more than twenty countries, across four decades of travel.
From Rome's Ponte Sant'Angelo to Brooklyn, Victoria Falls to London, Singapore to Siberia, this thought-provoking book reflects on connections between nations and between individuals. Francis demonstrates what the building of bridges has meant to our civilisation, how crossings can enrich our lives, and the price we pay when we tear them down.
Gavin Francis has written an exquisite book on a human structure we usually take for granted. This is a fascinating and delightful read -- ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH
Informative, imaginative and hugely enjoyable. Who knew? A bridge can take you anywhere! -- SARA WHEELER
It's rare and interesting to see bridges explored both as metaphors and as structures. The Bridge Between Worlds is a valuable reminder that the physical environment we build has immense social and cultural consequences -- SARAH MOSS
Francis writes with energy, flair and empathy: The Bridge Between Worlds opens a marvellously rich seam of inquiry, striking many urgent and timely reverberations -- MARINA WARNER
Francis is a thoughtful and engaging writer . . . there is a lightness of touch to Francis's prose that is a delight to read -- DOUG JOHNSTONE * * Big Issue * *
The Bridge Between Worlds is a delight - a memoir of restlessness. Across five decades, Gavin Francis takes us to lands known and unknown, making us wonder on the very links that bind us as beings -- JAMES CANTON
[A] meditative travelogue . . . there is elegance in Francis's book -- ERICA WAGNER * * Financial Times * *
Wonderful in the truest sense of the word. Thought-provoking and beautifully written. I'm full of admiration for his ability to seamlessly blend travelogue and memoir with a compassionate analysis of human endeavour and behaviour -- MARISA HAETZMAN
Praise for Gavin Francis: Gavin Francis is a wonderful writer - thoughtful, engaging, immensely knowledgeable and supremely human -- BILL BRYSON
Thought-provoking and elegant -- HILARY MANTEL
ISBN: 9781805300137
Dimensions: 220mm x 159mm x 30mm
Weight: 444g
288 pages
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