Alexander Frater

Chasing the Monsoon

Part memoir, part travelogue, Tales From the Torrid Zone is rooted in Alex Frater's birthplace, the tiny tropical republic of Vanuatu where his father ran its hospital and his mother, in her front garden, built its first school. From this obscure South Seas group he ranges over the hot, wet, beautiful swathe of the world that has haunted him ever since – dines with a tropical queen in a leper colony, makes his way across tropical Africa (and two civil wars) in a forty-four-year-old flying boat, delivers a new church bell to a remote Oceanian island and visits scores of countries to learn about their history, politics, medicine, flora and fauna (including the remarkable role of the coconut in tropical life). But, as becomes plain, the torrid zone is not just a geographical phenomenon, it’s also a state of mind. The result is a witty, entertaining and immensely readable book from a fine storyteller.

Travels in the Deep Tropics

Tales from the Torrid Zone

An account of the author's experience following the Indian monsoon through its unpredictable cause through India.

In Beyond The Blue Horizon Alexander Frater reveals and relives the romance and breathtaking excitement of the legendary Imperial Airways Eastbound Empire service – the world’s longest and most adventurous scheduled air route. Written with an infectious passion, this is an extraordinarily original and genre-defining piece of travel writing by one of our most highly respected travel correspondents. ‘Whether being mown down by stampeding Baghdad-bound passengers in Cairo airport, or battling with Indian Airline staff (and failing) to reconfirm six vital going-on flights from Delhi, or being lured unwittingly into a souvenir shop selling pornographic wood carvings in Lombok, or hitting tropical cyclones Ferdinand in a 748 en route from Sumba to Bali, Frater rises above it all with humour, style and a wonderfully sharp eye’ Evening Standard

Beyond The Blue Horizon

On the 20th May the Indian summer monsoon will begin to envelop the country in two great wet arms, one coming from the east, the other from the west. They are united over central India around the 10th July, a date that can be calculated to within seven or eight days. Frater follows the monsoon, staying sometimes behind it, sometimes in front of it, and always watching the impact of this extraordinary phenomenon. During the anxious waiting, the weather forecaster is king, and a joyful period ensues: there is a time of promiscuity, and scandals proliferate. It takes him from Bangkok to Akyab in Burma (where the front funnels up between the mountains and the sea). Alexander Frater's fascinating narrative reveals the exotic, often startling discoveries of an ambitious and irresistibly romantic adventure.

A Modern Pilgrimage Through India

At the heart of his story lies the Balloon Factory, a cathedral-sized shed overlooking Farnborough Common, and its most celebrated occupant, the remarkable long-haired gun-toting ex-cowboy, Sam Cody. Frater, in a work that is part history, part travelogue, goes in search of some of the most extraordinary pioneers, including Sam Cody, John William Dunne, Sir George Cayley and Geoffrey De Havilland. His richly described and wonderfully anecdotal journey brings those magnificent men, the rock stars of their time, and the places they knew vibrantly to life. ‘Frater’s book is a treasure chest of facts wrapped in anecdotes . . . The Balloon Factory should be purchased in bulk by BA and substituted for the glossy in-flight magazine’ Literary Review ‘The Balloon Factory is the rarest of things – a thorough overview of a subject that manages to remain enjoyable and entertaining throughout.’ BBC Focus magazine ‘Alexander Frater is a renowned travel writer with an infectious interest in early aviation, a strong practical grasp of aeronautics and a gift for lyrical description . . .’ Sunday Telegraph ‘This is a beautifully written, amusing and educational tome . . . The author succeeds in really bringing the characters and events to life by visiting scenes of British aviation history, creating a real feeling for the people behind the events and doing it all in a way that you don’t need an anorak and binoculars to appreciate.’ Flyer magazine ‘One of my favourite non-fiction books of the year . . . ’ Ham & High and the Wood & Vale

The Story of the Men Who Built Britain's First Flying Machines

The Balloon Factory

Where the Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder

On 20th May the Indian summer monsoon will begin to envelop the country in two great wet arms, one coming from the east, the other from the west. They are united over central India around 10th July, a date that can be calculated within seven or eight days. Alexander Frater aims to follow the monsoon, staying sometimes behind it, sometimes in front of it, and everywhere watching the impact of this extraordinary phenomenon. During the anxious period of waiting, the weather forecaster is king, consulted by pie-crested cockatoos, and a joyful period ensues: there is a period of promiscuity, and scandals proliferate. Frater's journey takes him to Bangkok and the cowboy town on the Thai-Malaysian border to Rangoon and Akyab in Burma (where the front funnels up between the mountains and the sea). His fascinating narrative reveals the exotic, often startling, discoveries of an ambitious and irresistibly romantic adventurer.

Alexander Frater

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