Step By Step: The perfect gift for the adventurer in your life

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To those who are familiar with his work - this book is every bit as good as his documentaries. I highly recommend it. Like all the best travellers, Reeve carries out his investigations with infectious relish, and in the realisation that trying to understand the country you’re in is not just fascinating, but also hugely enjoyable’ Daily Telegraph Terrorism aside, most of us know and love Reeve for his travel. We know how he mixes facts, culture and personal experience out on the road and onto our TVs. Reading about his work into investigative journalism, and especially terrorism, is certainly not the picture I had in mind for the chap I’d seen on TV. Seeing how other people live first-hand is a window into their lives. You can see how culture is formed and how it is lived. You may not agree with some cultures. But walking the streets you can at least understand how it came to be.

So when I found out that he had written a book about his journeys, I had to buy it on the day it was published and managed to finish reading it over a weekend. In my head it was Simon’s voice reading his own book to me. It’s been a while since I’ve finished a book in such a short time. If you like his programmes, you will like this book. The book explains Simon’s childhood and his years of growing up. It really helps you understand how he has become who he is and why he is so good at what he does. I was fearing for his life when he was visiting a Honduras prison but, after reading about all the other people he’s met and things he’s been through, that prison visit must have been pretty mild in comparison. Simon Reeve, a man whose very name is a guarantee of interesting television. Outstanding. * Observer * It makes me hope that Sage Adventures blog can be everything I hope it to be. That it can inspire people to make life their own. It can inspire you to find your own adventures and journeys. It can inspire you to make sure you are everything you hope to be in life. I learned so much from this wonderful book. Simon Reeves takes us to some very challenging places both in his childhood, adolescence and in his career as a rookie documentary maker in ‘The Four Stans’ Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan. And on to ‘unrecognised’ countries in a series called ‘Places That Don’t’ Exist’, Somaliland, Transnistria and Artsakh; obscure, forgotten but dangerous, unstable but with a population deserving of attention Elulooline külg oli nii ja naa. Ehk natuke paljusõnaline ja tarbetutesse kordustesse laskuv, sest sõnumi "kuidas pätipoisist kasvas inimene" oleks saanud kontsentreeritumalt edasi anda. Minu antipaatiat suurendas kahtlemata ka see metslase moodi ebainimlik lõhkumine, rüüstamine, hävitamine, millega ta nooruses tegeles. Ma mõtlen, mis küll peab sellise inimese peas toimuma, et ta läheb selliseid tegusid korda saatma? Mul hakkas ühel hetkel koguni tema keskmisest veidi keevaverelisemast isast kahju, sest no mida sa kahe sellise huligaaniga teed. Kui ma lugesin tema purjus/pilves peaga klassiekskursioonidest, või siis juba vanema noormehena sõpradega nädalalõpureisidest Euroopas, meenusid mulle oma reisidel nähtud briti poissmeestekambad ja...In Journeys to Impossible Places, best-selling author and presenter Simon Reeve reveals the inside story of his most astonishing adventures and experiences, around the planet and close to home. Simon shares what his unique experiences and encounters have taught him, and the deeper lessons he draws from joy and raw grief in his personal life, from desperate struggles with his own fertility and head health, from wise friends, fatherhood, inspiring villagers, brave fighters, his beloved dogs, and a thoughtful Indian sadhu. He was working as a freelance writer and author when an acquaintance who worked for the BBC suggested that Reeve audition for a role of documentary presenter,. He went to their head office for an interview....and thus began his television career.....which has been such a success. The book ends with marvellous descriptions of some of his early documentaries. Not only are the countries he visits fascinating, but he also has so much respect for the people he encounters - and I find that most inspiring. But it also made me think how different Reeve’s life could have been. The same for many other young boys and girls. Many of them, in this country or another, don’t get the chance to get out of the rut they find themselves in. Many young children leave school with little education and fall into bad places. It saddens me that someone like Reeve, with this curious mind, never got nurtured in school. It was only on landing a job as a journalist that his true skills — including grit and determination — had a chance to fully form and shine. Large parts of the book explain how he and his tiny team put these travel adventures together - far from the notion of a big-budget crew that I envisioned and it also explains that the authenticity of his series is genuine and not an accident. Everything is very personal and Simon himself.

My goodness, it is brilliant. Searingly honest, warm, bursting with humanity. Such brave and inspiring writing.' Kate Humble Then two things happened that had a massive effect on his life - to the extent his life was completely turned around. What better way to broaden the mind than through travel. Bringing history to life has a way of making it far more engaging than sitting reading it in a textbook. Doing your research is important don’t get me wrong. Doing it first allows you to truly appreciate the places you see. A critical part of what makes this book, and Reeve’s writing, so enjoyable, is his honesty. In particular, this shines through when he talks about the extremely rough teenage years he endured. Candidly, he describes how he found himself in the wrong circles and his behaviour escalated from dodging fares on the bus, to breaking bottles, and to blowing things up. What comes immediately apparent reading this is how difficult he finds it reflecting on this period of his life and how quite ashamed he is about it all.

Customer reviews

It is an account of his mind's journey to inner peace - and it is wonderfully life-affirming -- Max Pemberton * Daily Mail * After this the book takes a turn. He spends a lot of time going over a couple of his first TV documentaries, ‘Meet the Stans’ and ‘Places that Don’t Exist’. All very interesting indeed. He goes over his ‘Equator’ journey. That is where it ends even though he has done a lot more travel docs.