All Titles from Sam Manicom

Sam Manicom’s dynamic third book transports you to Southern Africa, South and Central America. Sam has a gift for describing the vibrancy of people and places, and you are led effortlessly through three very different parts of the world by his enthusiasm and his acute observations. Human behaviour, drama, passion, disaster, humour, and the pure adrenaline buzz of overlanding such far-flung, wild and exotic places are all here.

This thought provoking mix is brought alive by both his descriptive, which can make the mouth water or the hairs on the back of the neck crawl, and the historical titbits and cultural notes about the people and places he visits. Distant Suns highlights the joys of traveling with others and how, when you are with others, you often do and see things you otherwise may not have done; but also touches on the added stress that comes with traveling in groups – even small groups.

Unlike his two previous books, Sam travels with a companion, Birgit, who you’ll have met during the course of his previous book ‘Under Asian Skies’. In part, Distant Suns is the story of how boy meets girl, both endowed with a mile-wide streak of wanderlust, and both fiercely independent, but learning to live together on the road, and saving each other's lives on occasion. Birgit catches your attention right away with her incredible initiative and capability with her bike. Yet she’d only been riding a bike for 600 miles when they arrived in Kenya at the beginning of this journey.

Sam and Birgit’s adventures are never without peril, but the attitude they have is what makes them terrific world travellers. Over the course of three years a lot of things can and do go wrong, but Sam and Birgit don’t let any of them stop them from completing their journey. When Paul Theroux wrote, “Take the leap. Go as far as you can. Try staying out of touch. Become a stranger in a strange land,” he could have been describing Distant Suns.

“This is a great story of Africa and South America, which reads with the ease of a novel. Distant Suns has it all: love, good guys, bad guys, danger, history, and last but not least, bikes. Distant Suns is a fast, easy, thoroughly enjoyable read.” -Web Bike World

“Sam's descriptions can make the mouth water, or the hairs on the back of the neck crawl, depending on whether he's describing a goat curry or the prospect of persuading armed Border guards that he's just a simple traveller.” - Daily Record

“If you're thinking of taking that first road trip yourself then you would be a fool not to read this book.” -Bikers Web.co.uk

“I find that I really connect with Sam when reading the book. I didn't have to but I pretty much read it straight through from start to finish. He definitely has a talent for this book writing lark!” - Honda Trail Riders Club

Into Africa

A liberating motorcycle journey through Africa with descriptions of the amazing people and places, the joy of big skies and the open road, and the sometimes harrowing events that would shape destiny.

Into Africa tells the story of a novice motorcyclist who takes on the challenge of riding the length of the continent just because, 'it seemed like a great idea’. Sam Manicom had only planned to take a temporary break from his successful retail career, but the one-year ride was so life-changing that he continued adventuring around the world for another seven years, covering 55 countries and 200,000 miles.

Sam had no idea how liberating motorcycle travel would be. Revelling in a new-found freedom without timetables or routines, he became fascinated by his ability to explore side roads at a whim and reach remote parts of the continent that many travellers never find. Though Africa is just 5,000 miles from top to toe, Sam explored over 22,000 miles on every kind of road imaginable.

Narrated by Sam, ride with him as he describes Africa's amazing people and places, the joy of big skies and the open road, and the sometimes harrowing events that would shape his destiny. This is a genuine tale of the unexpected.

Tortillas to Totems

Sam Manicom’s dynamic fourth book is an enticing yet frequently challenging motorcycle journey across the dramatic landscapes of Mexico, the United States and Canada. Sam’s partner Birgit is no longer a novice motorcyclist – riding through southern Africa and South America turned her into a rider capable of facing any challenge. But Sam was worried.

As they arrived into North America they had been travelling around the world by motorcycle for six years and he was beginning to think that North America was going to be easy; too easy in fact. Were all the challenges of travel in the developing world countries going to be missing? Sam couldn’t have been more wrong.

Samuel Johnson wrote, ‘The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them how they are.’ After all, aren’t these some of the main reasons for going travelling? To experience as many different things and ways of life as possible? To discover new and wonderful things, but also to have preconceived ideas challenged.

This true-life story has more twists and turns than a Rocky Mountain Pass, and more surprises than anyone could expect. As it did them, at times it could challenge you too. Woven into this surprising story are canyons, cowboys, idyllic beaches, bears, mountains, Californian Vineyards, gun-toting policemen with grudges, glaciers, exploding volcanoes, dodgy border crossings and some of the most stunning open roads that a traveller could ever wish to see.

A gripping rollercoaster of a journey across North America. Sam and Birgit are thrown into a completely new set of challenges. These adventures bring alive the history, geography, human relationships and the pure joy of the open road.

Under Asian Skies

Sam Manicom set off from the UK aiming to spend a year riding the length of Africa on a motorcycle; as told in his first book, Into Africa. This challenging first year was such fun that, in spite of a 17 bone fracture accident, being arrested, and being shot at, he decided not to head for home as planned. He finds passage on a container ship from South Africa to Australia, and a new adventure begins.

In Sam’s second book Under Asian Skies you’ll find yourself immersed in an enchanting mix of drama, majesty, laughter, mystery, love, and his usual disasters. Sometimes a traveller’s plans simply don’t work out as intended, but for Sam every mishap is the beginning of a unique adventure; silver linings do exist.

You’ll travel on a journey across the vastness of Australia, through the twists and turns of New Zealand, and on up into the exotic lands of South East Asia. You’ll ride dusty back roads, ease along rugged dramatic coastlines, and through history and cultures. Work with fruit pickers, sit under the desert stars with a blond-haired aborigine, and cross paths with a runaway from the police. How is Sam’s life saved by a Thai prostitute? And smugglers? Did he really find relatives in the steamy Sumatran jungle?

Soak up the magical scents and sounds as the journey continues on through India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Iran. This heart-warming tale will take you on Himalayan mountain roads and paddling through the orange glow of the dawn on the River Ganges. Meet the people who live in villages little changed since the Middle Ages, and share chai with strangers. You’ll explore the dramatic organised chaos of the grand cites of India, and ride the historic Grand Trunk Road.

This is a two-year journey where every day really is an adventure.

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All Titles from Sam Manicom

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