Ken Haley

Europe was the first continent to win a name for itself, and is the smallest of them all. So it should be easy to comprehend and its people should share a common outlook, right? Wrong. In his second book, wheelchair traveller Ken Haley crosses the Continent the long way round - from Russia to Portugal via the Arctic - and finds that Europeans are an endangered species. At the stately pace of 2.4 km/h the author is not out to break too many speed records, and takes comfort in the self-delusion that the slower he goes, the more he sees. While searching for true Europeans, Haley is embroiled in adventures that range from sharing a house with bank robbers in Norway to taking on the house at Monte Carlo. He also turns detective and discovers unsettling truths about his own European family. From the Arctic in summer to the Mediterranean in winter, Haley is always pushing against the grain, but his reward lies in meeting some of the most distinctive, charming and outrageous characters imaginable. By turns funny, serious, whimsical and witty, Haley's account of the Europeans, a people who seem to think Europe is somewhere else, will lead you on a twelve-nation tour de force - covering 26,000 km by train, bus, plane and ship - into the heart of Europe.