Library Talk Examines ‘On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu’, Wednesday

Carolyn Rawles, the retired former director of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and an avid traveler, will review On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer by Rick Steves as part of the library’s Random Review series.

Set for noon, Wednesday, March 11, you can attend in-person at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library’s Main Meeting Room, which at 645 NW Monroe Ave. Click here to attend online.

The book and its author

Rick Steves needs no introduction. The Edmonds, Washington resident is the best-selling author of a travel guidebook series and hosts popular public television and public radio travel programs. His organization, Rick Steves’ Europe has about 100 employees. Annually, they organize small group tours that take over 30,000 travelers to Europe.

The Hippie Trail is his story of the first steps on that journey. The bulk of the book consists of Steves’ edited diary entries as he and his best friend made the trek on the well-trodden hitchhikers’ path from Istanbul to Kathmandu in 1978. It also has a newly written preface and postscript reflecting on how the journey through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal changed his life.

About the reviewer

Learning more about our world and the people who inhabit it has been one of Carolyn Rawles’ main interests since childhood, when her favorite book was a picture world atlas. She retired as the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library director in 2016 after going to one library or another nearly every day since she got her first job at age 17 in her hometown of Sacramento. She has spent her retirement visiting all seven continents and, she admits, “probably traveling too much.” When she’s home she enjoys spending time with friends and her pets, cooking, gardening, and of course, reading.

About Random Review

Random Review is a deep exploration of a selected book by a reviewer with expertise on the topic or theme of that book. Sometimes reviewers cover a classic, series, genre, or author, but usually they cover a specific title. Whether you have read the selection or not, you will love Random Review.

Random Review is co-sponsored by The Friends and Foundation of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. Reviews are held on the second Wednesday of the month from noon to 1 pm in the Main Meeting Room and are also livestreamed online.

Random Review events are open to the public and free of charge. Find out more and view the full schedule herehttps://cbcpubliclibrary.net/random-review/

For more information, please contact the library at 541-766-6793. Call 541-766-6928 to request accommodations.

Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com