Books by David Downie

Part adventure story, part cultural history, this ';enjoyably offbeat travelogue' explores the phenomenon of the spiritual pilgrimage (Booklist).Driven by curiosity, wanderlust, and health crises, David Downie and his wife set out from Paris to walk across France to the Pyrenees. Starting on the Rue Saint-Jacques, then trekking 750 miles south to Roncesvalles, Spain, their eccentric route takes 72 days on Roman roads and pilgrimage pathsa 1,100-year-old network of trails leading to the sanctuary of Saint James the Greater. It is best known as El Camino de Santiago de Compostela';The Way' for short.The object of any pilgrimage is an inward journey manifested in a long, reflective walk. For Downie, the inward journey met the outer one: a combination of self-discovery and physical regeneration. More than 200,000 pilgrims take the highly commercialized Spanish route annually, but few cross France. Downie had a goal: to go from Paris to the Pyrenees on age-old trails, making the pilgrimage in his own maverick way.

An accessible introduction to climate change that outlines key scientific, economic, and political issues, reviews how the global community has addressed the issue to date, and discusses the options being explored for further action.