The Overland Guide-book

James BarberProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.4

Word count: 369K words
Chapters: 37

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Overland Guide-book by active 1837-1839 James BarberAuthor: Barber, James, active 1837-1839,Language: English, Class: G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation, Release Date: May 20, 2014

Editor's review

This is an overland travel guide from the first half of the nineteenth century. Its author, James Barber, long engaged in travel practice, and the book preserves original records of routes, lodging, tolls, and scenery along the way, making it primary material for the study of modern transport history, colonial travel, and geographical knowledge. Its value lies not in literary quality but in the truth of detail: how mileage was calculated, how luggage was carried, how borders were crossed—all written concretely and verifiably. For today's readers it is more a window onto the daily life of nineteenth-century travelers, suitable as supplementary reading in historical geography and travel literature. Read it as historical material, alongside maps and background sources, and much meaning beyond the guidebook format emerges. The electronic edition, prepared by Project Gutenberg, is convenient for searching and citation, but note the limited perspective imposed by the original's era.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying modern transport history, travel history, and geography
Enthusiasts interested in nineteenth-century travel literature and guidebook conventions
Those needing primary English historical sources for papers or writing
Readers who enjoy slowly reading old documents alongside maps

Not a good fit for

General readers wanting only light travel stories with strong plot
Readers who struggle with English and will not use reference tools
Travelers expecting modern practical travel information

Reading tips

Read the contents and preface first to grasp the route framework, then closely read chapters matching your chosen map.
Keep a notebook of mileage, costs, and place names for cross-comparison with contemporary sources.
Look up unfamiliar place names or old units as you go and annotate them to avoid misreading.
Read selectively as historical material; skimming by research theme is more effective than page-by-page reading.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable as a modern travel guide?

No. It records overland travel conditions in the first half of the nineteenth century; routes, lodging, and transport have long since changed. It can only be read as historical material and cannot be used to plan today's journeys.

How difficult is the original English text?

The original is nineteenth-century English, with somewhat old-fashioned syntax and vocabulary, and place names and units of measure require checking; readers with some English foundation who are willing to use reference tools will find it easier to enter.

What conveniences does the Gutenberg edition offer?

The electronic text facilitates full-text search, copying for citation, and reading alongside maps, making it suitable for excerpting historical material; however, the layout is plain and there are no modern annotations, so readers must supplement background themselves.

Comments

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About the author

James Barber Author

James Barber was an English author of the late 1830s whose exact life and nationality are now difficult to trace; public information is very limited, and only surviving bibliographic records allow a rough outline of his profile. He was active around 1837 to 1839, and the library currently holds only one work by him, The Overland Guide-book. Judging from its title and subject, the book belongs to the travel-guide genre, aimed at readers making long overland journeys or migrations, and probably covering routes, itineraries and practical information along the way, reflecting the transport conditions and travel needs of the period. Such guides combine practical use with documentary value for the study of nineteenth-century travel writing and guidebooks. Because sources are scarce, Barber's full life, other writings and later reputation cannot be established and await further research.