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Tortillas to Totems : Reviews
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It's not often when we ask a magazine to review one of my books that they set two reviewers to the task. MAG's 'The Road' magazine have done just that, and as they are the first reviews to be published, and we are so pleased with them, we decided to post them pretty much in full...
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'When the call went out for someone to review a 300 page book in a week, I offered to try even though my hectic personal, MAG and work lives leave me few minutes... Imagine my dismay when the 297 page 'Tortillas to Totems' by Sam Manicom with Birgit Schuenemann, neither of whom I had heard of, landed with me.
Another Over Landers travels book at that, not my favourite type. I definitely thought this was going to be a chore. However, much to my surprise I found myself instantly swept up in the travels of a couple who were not doing this as famous people out to add to their collection of 'things we've done, aren't we great - more money in the bank', but as a couple of normal people who wanted to experience the world with a realistic budget and on ordinary motorbikes with the sort of personal modifications any of us could do if we set our minds to it.
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Their tale dipped in and out of their travels from Central America to Alaska, and gripped me from the start. It was written in an easy to read form that got across the whole experience. Sam managed to finely balance the tales of sadness and joy, with history, geography, personal thoughts and reminiscing comparisons of the previous years on the road. It told tales of the kind of friendships that are forged, the troubles at some of the borders, and includes some useful travel tips for anyone who decides to take time out of their lives to discover, by bike, the wide world that exists out there. At the same time it reminds the reader that even when you think you have an open mind you may still have to fight off your own preconceptions. He paints in the mind, vivid pictures of the places travelled...
This book was not a chore to read, far from it. I enjoyed it from start to finish and would heartily recommend it. It has also left me with a desire to track down the other books he has written about his travels across Africa as a rooky rider, and then his continued journeys.'
'The Road' magazine (MAG)
'I thoroughly enjoyed 'Tortillas to Totems', which I found very well written, which made it easy reading. I enjoyed the descriptions of some of the views and the areas travelled through. It is not the first overlander book I have read and it is interesting to read of the joys and trials and tribulations some people suffer to make a dream come true.
The book is all about fulfilling a dream, and sometimes how hard that is, but how very worthwhile. It does inspire you to consider the dreams you have and if you could possibly fulfill them.
There are several places that make you smile and a couple that make you laugh out loud. The descriptions of the people and friends met will resonate with any biker that has had himself/herself or machine come unstuck whilst in the middle of nowhere. For Sam and Birgit this was anywhere in Mexico, the USA and Canada.
There is quite a lot of historic detail about some of the places and the countries traveled through. I learnt a lot I didn't now about some countries I had very wrong conceptions of. A lot of Sam's thinking about how insular some peoples are were interesting, and in places very thought provoking. I agreed with most of his thoughts and musings.
This is not a book just for overlanders to read. I would recommend it to anyone as a holiday read and I will be reading the others he has written.'
'The Road' - Di Pugsley (MAG)
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