Slavný americký cestovatel, dobrodruh, publicista a spisovatel Richard Halliburton (1900-1939) se svým osobitým vtipem a originalitou provází čtenáře přes oceány a kontinenty na místa nejznámějších historických událostí a rekonstruuje činy, které vstoupily do dějin. Z legendární americké pevnosti Fort Jefferson v Mexickém zálivu míří přes ostrovy Karibského moře na Santiago de Cuba, dějiště nejzhoubnější bitvy španělsko-americké války, zastavuje se na Haiti u historie černošského krále Christopha, navštěvuje Kolumbův hrob v Santu Domingu a pátrá po skutečném místě Kolumbova přistání. Cestuje do Turecka, Řecka, Palestiny a Etiopie. Navštěvuje normálním lidem nepřístupná místa, jako jsou kláštery na poloostrově Athos, ostrov malomocných ve Středozemním moři, zakázaná místa muslimů... A v závěru podniká, podobně jako Hannibal, na hřbetě slona cestu přes Alpy ze Švýcarska do Itálie. o Překlad cestopisu, který spatřil světlo světa v roce 1939 a od té doby rozhodně neztratil nic ze své literární svěžesti, jistě potěší nejen cestovatele a dobrodruhy, ale také milovníky historie. (Založil/a: Elrond)

Richard Halliburton was an adventure journalist/traveler in the 1930s. He wrote a good tale, and was paid to travel and write. A dream job! He was lost at sea in 1939 trying to sail a Chinese Junk from Hong Kong to San Francisco for the World Exposition. This book was published in 1935.

In the early 1930s he traveled to Russia, Crete, Athos, Arabia, Ethiopia, Italy and more, meeting some of the most prominent leaders of those countries at that time, with photographs. That was a turning point year in the modern history of those countries, and for that alone, it is worth the read.

Interesting for the history and the times he was writing in, and his perception of history. Apparently, he read a lot, as many books are mentioned which sparked his curiosity about this or that historical event. I had to look a lot of stuff up to get the truth of the story. He was an incurable romantic with a Puckish sense of humor, so one couldn't be sure about what he was reporting, but it was a fun read. Occasionally his prejudice, arrogance and gall would raise their ugly heads and make it off-putting to our modern lights. Still, pretty incredible when you realize he met the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, the last king of Ethiopia, the archaeologist who unearthed the Minoan civilization, Citizen Krupskaya-the wife of Lenin, and many other notable persons. ( )

So sad that "Seven League Boots" is the last book by Richard Halliburton I hadn't read. I've mostly enjoyed the stories of his stunts and travels and "Seven League Boots" showed more maturity than his other works... it's a shame he died so young.

I particularly like Halliburton when he is traveling Europe & North America, as his attitude toward people of color is pretty grating. What was fascinating in this book was his interview with Ermakov, one of the men who slaughtered Tsar Nicholas II and his family -- he was apparently the first non-Russian to hear the story from Ermakov's lips and most details have been backed up as true.

Other stories focus on Fort Jefferson, a Haitian fort, the ruins of the castle where Salome had her famous dance, a leper colony in Greece and of course, a final stunt -- traipsing across the Alps on the back of an elephant, a la Hannibal.

This book is really Halliburton at his best. ( )