Long Way Down: An Epic Journey by Motorcycle from Scotland to South Africa

Being an avid motorcyclist, adventurer and non-fiction reader, I was excited to pick this book up when I saw it. Tried to get thru it several times, but it was just uncompelling. Very little about the actual bikes other than that they were BMW's. Having an entourage of trucks and cameras following them... What kind of adventure is that? ANYWAYS I never did get thru it although it was a good aid to falling asleep at night - 5 or 6 pages and I was out like a light.

I bought "Long way Down" ages ago with great expectations but I have to say, having finally found time to read it and having gotten myself half-way through, I feel decidedly underwhelmed. I went out and paid a handsome sum for this publication in hardcover after having my appetite aroused by blurbs which promised a great read, and a little humour, in the vein of classic travel writing. But that is not what I got. "Long Way Down" sallies forth into rich landscapes but gives up only a dull stream of prosaic impressions of the worlds and people which it passes. Its understanding of the nuance, complexity and colour of the locales it encounters is utterly superficial. This, it must be said, would be forgivable if the reward for such nearsightedness was a series of amusing or charming ironies. But charm and irony is a destination the writers of this drivel are unlikely ever to reach. It will remain a lasting shame to this century that Little Brown's Sphere buffoons have attempted to shove this abomination into the same generic space occupied by classics like Eric Newby's "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush". Like a square peg into a round hole this common little book will not make for such a fit. What was Sphere thinking? Surely there was someone working at LB who had read Waugh, Steinbeck or Sinclair; someone who could have applied the proverbial brakes before Sphere foisted this shameless potboiler on the world with promising blurbs of truly faith destroying proportions. Lies, damned lies, and a couple of fat gits. That's really all this book turned out to be. Thanks for nothing...

A travel story. Short on drama and suspense but a lot of description of lands and peoples. Little talk about motorcycles even though they had some difficulties that could have added some interest. I enjoyed it for what it is.

Being someone who loves motorcycles, travel, and thought Long Way Round was awesome, this book was already high on my list. I saw the one time showing of the Long Way Down movie and I am currently watching the full series on the Fox Reality Channel. I love this stuff!

So why didn't the book get five stars? Well, I think it suffered from being the second time around. It never felt quite as much of a seat of your pants adventure as Long Way Round did. I suppose it shouldn't since this is the second major trip and all the crew kind of know what they are doing. I also thought that having Ewan McGregor bring his wife along for part of the trip did change the dynamic of the trip, as you'll hear Charley Boorman say a few times. But it was damn funny to hear about her falling all the time.

I won't say much more so as not to ruin some of the truly entertaining and interesting parts of the book. But if you love motorcycles, travel, or both, this book is for you. Heck, you've probably already read it!

The first book was great and so was the series. This one is awesome as well. Very funny and a great read.