WWW.JAMESDORSEY.COM
James Michael Dorsey is an explorer, award winning author, photographer, and lecturer
who has traveled extensively in 48 countries. His main pursuit of the last 15 years has been visiting remote cultures, mostly in Asia and Africa.
His articles for mainstream publication strive to enlighten and entertain travelers about remote places they have never been while his literary endeavors are personal narratives about unique journeys and the people encountered along the way.
He is a retired fellow of the Explorers Club and a member emeritus of the Adventurers Club. He is a former contributing editor at Transitions Abroad and a travel consultant to Brown&Hudson of London. James is a throwback to a bygone era of exploration and his stories and photos take the reader along with him.
ph: (310 836-4439
alt: (310) 739=9853
whalekee
33 stories from the worlds most remote places.
Now available as a paperback and E-book, from Lulu.com. or contact me directly for a copy.
Words of Praise from three best selling authors for "Vanishing Tales from Ancient Trails"
From Dick Russell, Author of "Eye of the Whale; Epic Passage from Baja to Siberia."
James Dorsey is no ordinary travel writer/photographer. In this remarkable book, ranging from Southeast Asia to West Africa, he takes us inside tribal cultures that many readers will be surprised to learn still exist. The author's sincere fascination with remote lands and the ancient practices of their inhabitants often makes him as much participant as observer. That a 21st-century man could yet invoke the spirit of a Stanley or a Shackleton makes "Vanishing Tales from Ancient Trails" all the more a must-read.
James Dorsey’s collection of travel essays is more than a collection of small untold stories from around the world. With sincerity and humility, Jim takes us to places we will probably never visit and introduces us to people and situations we will likely never know. Thanks to his sensitivity and appreciation for his subjects and his clarity of style, we feel intimately connected to the personal dramas and moments captured in these pages.
Sometimes uplifting, sometimes disturbing, rarely have I moved so effortlessly through a book. As with the author, we may not find the kind of overarching meaning and understanding sought in youthful wanderings, yet in lesser but still important ways we are led to contemplate and, above all, to care… to care about what’s being lost forever from the world, and to question our own beliefs, prejudices, and comfort zones.
The author reports on his rickshaw ride around Chau Doc, the northernmost outpost in Vietnam before the Cambodian border, a former United States Special Forces base…
Our ride lasts about an hour and it has taken us into areas I would not choose to go on my own, yet while on this rickshaw I have felt not only safe, but happy. I have completely left the modern world behind and become the pure traveler, welcomed into stranger’s lives because that is the code of the road. If I ever was an enemy, I have now become a friend. We pass each other in the twilight, leaving only the briefest of memories, yet connected by that thread forever….
Upon reading these chapters, especially the one documenting the horrors of Cambodia, a part of me gave thanks for the security and privileges I have enjoyed, but at a deeper level I felt invited, indeed inspired, to reach out, to risk, to step across the divide and make the connections Mr. Dorsey has revealed.
The great age of travel and exploration of our shrinking globe may be over, but the adventure of learning and caring about our fellow travelers still awaits.
From Diane Haithman, Former L.A. Times Staff Writer and author of "Dark Lady of Hollywood"
What I like best about James Dorsey's stories is that he tells you not only where he travels but why. He has a remarkable ability to coax hidden truths from strangers, to absorb and reflect world cultures without judgment. This remarkable collection of essays allows a reader to share both the external and internal journey of a true adventurer.
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ph: (310 836-4439
alt: (310) 739=9853
whalekee