Back Of Beyond, The

Travelling is something most of us do perfectly well. It often involves a stroll in the park or sojourn in the sun. Dominic Ryan, for reasons unfamiliar with common sense, is more likely to find himself facing down charging hippos on the Zambezi or tracking angry Namibian cheetahs in a vintage aeroplane. There is little in the way of logic in his backpack as he tumbles into a war zone in Ukraine or tries to save a Malaysian rainforest by chasing bats. Is The Back of Beyond a memoir, travelogue or cry for help? It’s all of the above and by turns fascinating and funny, thrilling and thoughtful. As a wise genie probably once said, wandering and wondering are the same worthy pursuit: it’s just one has an ‘ah!’ and the other an ‘oh!’. If you dare venture to The Back of Beyond, gird your khaki-clad loins for an abundance of both . . . and even the occasional ‘ooh’!