When I landed in Prague on June 18, 2014 and hit the road blogging, I didn’t know – at least not for sure – that the trip would turn into a book. Yet that “World of Yesterday—Today” tour was what started me on the long road to publication. The goal of that journey was to see how the countries of the former Habsburg Monarchy recalled the events of a century before. That nostalgic view also leaned heavily on Jewish-Austrian writer Stefan Zweig’s memoir, The World of Yesterday, hence the name of the tour.
When I got home, I had intended to weave vignettes from that journey into a broader memoir, an Austro-Hungarian Rhapsody (now a work-in-progress). I ended up honing the stories from the 2014 trip into Travels with Ferdinand. When it was ready, I entered a couple of contests, then in January 2020 I got a call that I had won the Panther Creek Nonfiction Book Award from Hidden River Press. COVID delayed publication, but a patient and long-suffering attitude has finally borne fruit!
I will begin a series of blog posts on the trip, with pics and recollections mostly NOT found in the book, beginning June 18.
For readers not familiar with this whole project, here is a summary:
Travels with Ferdinand and Friends: A Centennial Journey Through Austria-Hungary
The narrative begins at Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s castle outside Prague and winds through Slovakia, Hungary, and Croatia to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina for the 100th anniversary of the assassination that sparked World War I. The culinary and musical exploration of former Habsburg lands continues up the Dalmatian Coast, to the Italian city of Trieste, and on to Vienna, Slovakia and Prague. It includes visits with choirs in Slovakia that the author sang in during his six years living there, as well as spontaneous restaurant performances with musicians in Dubrovnik and Prague.
The work entertains while providing an experiential guide to the history and geography of Central Europe and its culture: music, cuisine, language, and literature. It reflects on the causes of the Great War from the standpoints of various nationalities (and their prejudices), as well as changes in the European political landscape from the end of WWI, through WWII and the socialist era, and down to the present day. Set against the broader European backdrop of Putin’s 2014 Crimea annexation, Travels with Ferdinand provides vital context for understanding Ukraine’s western neighbors, the current state of the EU, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
You can purchase your copy at Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
Penguin Bookshop of Pittsburgh also sells it online. It is available on the local authors' shelf at The Book Bin of Onley, Virginia, my hometown bookstore.
When I got home, I had intended to weave vignettes from that journey into a broader memoir, an Austro-Hungarian Rhapsody (now a work-in-progress). I ended up honing the stories from the 2014 trip into Travels with Ferdinand. When it was ready, I entered a couple of contests, then in January 2020 I got a call that I had won the Panther Creek Nonfiction Book Award from Hidden River Press. COVID delayed publication, but a patient and long-suffering attitude has finally borne fruit!
I will begin a series of blog posts on the trip, with pics and recollections mostly NOT found in the book, beginning June 18.
For readers not familiar with this whole project, here is a summary:
Travels with Ferdinand and Friends: A Centennial Journey Through Austria-Hungary
The narrative begins at Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s castle outside Prague and winds through Slovakia, Hungary, and Croatia to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina for the 100th anniversary of the assassination that sparked World War I. The culinary and musical exploration of former Habsburg lands continues up the Dalmatian Coast, to the Italian city of Trieste, and on to Vienna, Slovakia and Prague. It includes visits with choirs in Slovakia that the author sang in during his six years living there, as well as spontaneous restaurant performances with musicians in Dubrovnik and Prague.
The work entertains while providing an experiential guide to the history and geography of Central Europe and its culture: music, cuisine, language, and literature. It reflects on the causes of the Great War from the standpoints of various nationalities (and their prejudices), as well as changes in the European political landscape from the end of WWI, through WWII and the socialist era, and down to the present day. Set against the broader European backdrop of Putin’s 2014 Crimea annexation, Travels with Ferdinand provides vital context for understanding Ukraine’s western neighbors, the current state of the EU, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
You can purchase your copy at Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
Penguin Bookshop of Pittsburgh also sells it online. It is available on the local authors' shelf at The Book Bin of Onley, Virginia, my hometown bookstore.
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