TRAVERSE Issue 11 - April 2019 | Page 115

BOOK REVIEWS I Too often travel writers describe their 'adventure' as a point to point tale of being on the road. Lawrence Bransby's Two Fingers On The Jugular does just that however, through an al- most delicate vulnerability Lawrence takes you not only along the ride but also into what he is experiencing and feeling. Riding across the world's largest country and the notorious Road Of Bones, Lawrence finds himself with- out a travelling partner and on board a very much aging bike; he's left to contemplate whether the machine will make it and also whether he him- Two Fingers On The Jugular self will make it. Lawrence Bransby Throughout the journey Lawrence 2018 discovers what it means to be Rus- sian; is the country really free of the past? Should it be free from the E Motorcycle Messengers Jeremy Kroeker (editor) 2015 W Motorcycle Messengers, a compila- tion of tales from the road, is a collec- tion of stories relating to motorcycles and travel, for the most part written by well-travelled and often published writers. Edited by Jeremy Kroeker, a Cana- dian based traveller himself, Motor- cycle Messengers is almost like an anthology of stories directing to you to the writer’s other works. It could be a problem for some, we don’t think so as all the stories are engaging and inspiring, you’ll want to read more. Motorcycle Messengers includes many of the big names of motorcycle travel; Ted Simon, Sam Manicom, Lois Pryce, Geoff Hill however, some of the lesser known are the better reads, perhaps they come across as being fresh, more open and honest. TRAVERSE 115 past? It's an insight that many travel- lers through Russia perhaps struggle with. Are the people of Russia any better off than what they were under Communism? Throughout his journey Lawrence is confronted by these challenging questions and yet there's one con- stant; Two Finger On The Jugular. The people of Russia want to share their lives, their community, their country. Two Fingers On The Jugular is an outstanding read that you will strug- gle to put down, you'll want to keep going with Lawrence, get to the end, turn around and do it all again ... you'll want to be shown Two Fingers On The Jugular ... S That’s not to say the big names aren’t worth reading, they certainly are, in fact they’re a must. This compilation is extremely hard to put down, you’ll ride with every traveller from location to location in one hit, it’s easy reading yet many will have you thinking, will have you laughing, will have you crying. Motorcycle Messengers 2 is on its way, so make sure you grab a copy of the original first … the one thing we do hope with volume 2 is that a dif- ferent collection of travellers gets to explore their tales.