To Dakar And Back

In this adventure motorsports memoir, the first Canadian motorcycle racer to complete the infamous Paris-Dakar Rally recounts his incredible journey. The Paris-Dakar Rally is is without question the most arduous and notorious off-road motorsports event on the planet. Since its inception in 1979, it has attracted more than three thousand adventurers from all walks of life. The men and women who have taken up the “Dakar challenge” have at least one thing in common: a desire to measure themselves against the desolate sands of the Sahara. In 2001, Canadian adventure racer Lawrence Hacking entered what would be the last rally on the iconic route from Paris to Dakar. In To Dakar and Back, Hacking, in collaboration with motorsport journalist Wil De Clercq, recounts the three weeks of blood, sweat, and tears that took him on that ten thousand kilometer journey in the heat of competition from the glitzy streets of the French capital through the hinterland of North Western Africa and the triumph of self-realization.

"I've realised that when things are really tough and there seems no hope for the future, it's sometimes just Chapter One of a really cool story, and the ending is entirely up to you."Joey Evans has always loved bikes, from his first second-hand Raleigh Strika at the age of six to the powerful off-road machines that became his passion later on in his life. His dream was one day to ride the most gruelling off-road race in the world, the 9000km Dakar Rally.In 2007 his dream was shattered when he broke his back in a racing accident. His spinal cord was crushed, leaving him paralysed from just below his chest. Doctors gave him a 10 per cent chance of ever walking again.Many would have given up and become resigned to life in a wheelchair, but not Joey Evans. Not only would he get back on his feet and walk, but he would also keep his Dakar dream alive. It was a long and painful road to recovery, involving years of intensive rehabilitation and training, but he had the love and support of both family and friends and an incredible amount of determination.Joey shares the many challenges he and his family faced, relating the setbacks, as well as successes, along the way to the Dakar start line. But the start line was only the first goa. His sights were set on reaching the finish line, which he did in 2017, the only South African to do so.From Para to Dakar is so much more than the story of one man reaching the Dakar finish line. It is a story of friendship and respect, compassion and kindness. It is about defying the odds to reach a dream, it is about grit, endurance and raw courage, and it is inspiring in its true heroism.

In 2004 Charley Boorman completed his astonishing round-the-world bike trip with his friend, Ewan McGregor. The journey left him exhausted, exhilarated and hungry for a new challenge. And what greater challenge than the Dakar rally? Beginning in Lisbon and ending in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, the rally covers 15,000 kilometres of treacherous terrain, and is widely regarded as the most dangerous race on earth. With his team-mates Simon Pavey and Matt Hall, Charley faced extreme temperatures, rode through shifting sands and stinging winds, and faced breakdowns miles from civilisation. Charley recounts his extraordinary adventures through Portugal, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea and Senegal. He also follows the stories of other riders - an eccentric, dedicated band of professionals and rookies who all dream of one thing: reaching the finishing line. Race to Dakar is the thrilling account of a race that has captured the imagination of millions.

First published in 2012. This book examines the evolution of motor sport from its creation in central Europe, throughout the rest of the continent and elsewhere, including in both North and South America. It was published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.

City Life from Jakarta to Dakar focuses on the politics incumbent to this process – an "anticipatory politics" – that encompasses a wide range of practices, calculations and economies. As such, the book is not a collection of case studies on a specific theme, not a review of developmental problems, nor does it marshal the focal cities as evidence of particular urban trends. Rather, it examines how possibilities, perhaps inherent in these cities all along, are materialized through the everyday projects of residents situated in the city and the larger world in very different ways.

An “entertaining and profoundly original” (San Francisco Chronicle) moving and hilarious tale of two friends who fly around the world trying to give away a lot of money and free themselves from a profound loss. • From the bestselling author of The Circle. “Nobody writes better than Dave Eggers about young men who aspire to be, at the same time, authentic and sincere.” —The New York Times Book Review "You Shall Know Our Velocity! is the work of a wildly talented writer.... Like Kerouac's book, Eggers's could inspire a generation as much as it documents it." —LA Weekly

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • Set in Senegal, this modern-day Oliver Twist is a meditation on the power of love and the strength that can emerge when we have no other choice but to survive. “I loved this book because it is a story about generations of parents and children saving one another with a love so powerful that it transcends distance, time, and reason.”—Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward Six-year-old Ibrahimah loves snatching pastries from his mother’s kitchen, harvesting string beans with his father, and searching for sea glass with his sisters. But when he is approached in his rural village one day by Marabout Ahmed, a seemingly kind stranger and highly regarded teacher, the tides of his life turn forever. Ibrahimah is sent to the capital city of Dakar to join his cousin Étienne in studying the Koran under Marabout Ahmed for a year, but instead of the days of learning that Ibrahimah’s parents imagine, the young boys, called Talibé, are forced to beg in the streets in order to line their teacher’s pockets. To make it back home, Étienne and Ibrahimah must help each other survive both the dangers posed by their Marabout, and the darker sides of Dakar: threats of black-market organ traders, rival packs of Talibé, and mounting student protest on the streets. Drawn from real incidents and transporting readers between rural and urban Senegal, No Heaven for Good Boys is a tale of hope, resilience, and the affirming power of love.

Soweto to Beirut follows a young South African Journalist on an emotional journey of self-discovery while covering conflict in Beirut, Lebanon (2006). The experience of war precipitates a deep loss of faith, triggering childhood memories of growing up in Soweto in the early 80s - with dramatic implications for relationships in her life. It's a fast-paced journey through time and place giving you the sensation of being nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Another perspective on how intergenerational trauma can wreak havoc in the personal and professional space.