The Wrong Way Home by Peter Moore popped up on Amazon as a recommendation based on previous purchases. With a few pounds to go to reach the free postage limit, I clicked it into my basket, and kicked myself for being such a sucker for marketing tactics.

As it turned out, the book was a little gem leading me to buy the whole of Mr Moore’s back catalogue. WWH is the first book of many. Moore is one of a rare breed of travel writer who is good enough to actually make it as a professional writer, and not just self publishing his own travel journals.

WWH did start out that way however from what I can gather from the book. Peter had spent time travelling, and a year in the UK before deciding to go home. However, inspired by the hippy travellers of the late 1960’s travelling from London overland to the East (specifically in that case India, Nepal and Tibet), Peter decides to travel overland all the way from London to Sydney – without using air travel.

Peter’s journey took place in 1994 – just at the point when the former Yugoslavia was in the throes of war and negotiating Iranian and Chinese borders was going to be a little tricky.

I loved this book. It was well written and funny, I wanted to know more, to read more, and did dash to his website to see the pics when I’d finished.

Even though the journey took place 15 years ago, the most interesting part was that he covered a lot of the region we have just been to in the Balkans. Particularly interesting for me were his accounts of Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina during the Balkans War; as we still saw the ravages of the conflict in existence at the time Peter was making this journey just a few months ago.

The book was therefore a real mix of remembering and recapping journeys we have made and places we have seen with soaking up the detail of the journeys we want to make and places we want to see.

You got a real feel for not only the places (Afghanistan included) but the people he met on the way who helped or hindered, irritated or inspired.

I loved every second of this very entertaining book, and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the others!