Gavin Francis has written an exquisite book on a human structure we usually take for granted. This is a fascinating and delightful read
- ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH,
Informative, imaginative and <i>hugely</i> enjoyable. Who knew? A bridge can take you anywhere!
- SARA WHEELER,
It's rare and interesting to see bridges explored both as metaphors and as structures. <i>The Bridge Between Worlds</i> is a valuable reminder that the physical environment we build has immense social and cultural consequences
- SARAH MOSS,
Francis writes with energy, flair and empathy: <i>The Bridge Between Worlds</i> opens a marvellously rich seam of inquiry, striking many urgent and timely reverberations
- MARINA WARNER,
Francis is a thoughtful and engaging writer . . . there is a lightness of touch to Francis's prose that is a delight to read
- DOUG JOHNSTONE, * Big Issue *
<i>The Bridge Between Worlds</i> is a delight - a memoir of restlessness. Across five decades, Gavin Francis takes us to lands known and unknown, making us wonder on the very links that bind us as beings
- JAMES CANTON,
[A] meditative travelogue . . . there is elegance in Francis's book
- ERICA WAGNER, * Financial Times *
Wonderful in the truest sense of the word. Thought-provoking and beautifully written. I'm full of admiration for his ability to seamlessly blend travelogue and memoir with a compassionate analysis of human endeavour and behaviour
- MARISA HAETZMAN,
<b>Praise for Gavin Francis: </b>Gavin Francis is a wonderful writer - thoughtful, engaging, immensely knowledgeable and supremely human
- BILL BRYSON,
Thought-provoking and elegant
- HILARY MANTEL,
In a world preoccupied by borders, bridges celebrate the possibility of connection
Dr Gavin Francis crosses bridges both actual and metaphorical on a journey through six continents, twenty countries and four decades of travel, exploring answers to questions of peace and conflict, connection and community.
From Rome's Ponte Sant'Angelo to Brooklyn, Victoria Falls to London, Singapore to Siberia, Francis's tour of bridges around the world demonstrates what the building of bridges has meant to our civilisation, how crossings can enrich our lives, and the price we pay when we tear them down.
INTRODUCED BY RAJA SHEHADEH
In a world preoccupied by borders, bridges celebrate the possibility of connection
Dr Gavin Francis crosses bridges (both actual and metaphorical) on a journey through more than twenty countries, across four decades of travel, asking what changes in our societies when we build ways to connect with each other.
From Rome's Ponte Sant'Angelo to Brooklyn, Victoria Falls to London, Singapore to Siberia, Francis's tour of bridges around the world demonstrates what the building of bridges has meant to our civilisation, how crossings can enrich our lives, and the price we pay when we tear them down.
'A valuable reminder that the physical environment we build has immense social and cultural consequences'
SARAH MOSS
'Irresistibly engaging'
SCOTSMAN
'Informative, imaginative and hugely enjoyable'
SARA WHEELER
'From the perspective of a Palestinian ... Francis's book on connections between people and countries offers hope'
RAJAH SHEHADEH