Upchurch
resident David Wood has recently had his latest book ‘An Englishman in
Colombia’ published as a paperback and kindle version for the UK and US markets
by Matador publishing company. The book is about 140 pages long with 16 glossy
colour photos.
The idea of
having a book published came after he put a shortened version on his own
website two years ago and this attracted over 12,000 hits in one year after
very little advertising. This will be his first book for the national and
international markets. His previous two books about the history of the village
of Upchurch, ‘Memories of Upchurch’ and Rainham Cricket Club, ‘150 not out, The
Complete History of Rainham Cricket Club’ were aimed at the local market.
Murder,
cocaine, street muggings, bomb explosions and aggressive Amazonian Indians
combined with exotic beach resorts and colourful characters make the book an
interesting and adventurous look at the most dangerous country in Latin America
during the late 1980s and 1990s.
Starting as
an action packed vacation for Upchurch residents David Wood and Nigel Barling
in the Caribbean resort of Santa Marta and a fascinating adventure in the
Amazon, the author returns to Colombia for a ten year work experience. He
portrays the capital Bogota as a mixture of colourful street people, beggars
and a vibrant culture as he meets a vast range of characters. He also outlines
the problems experienced in the city caused by the great contrast of wealth and
poverty and the influence of the cocaine business with detailed personal
accounts of incidents such as street muggings, a bomb explosion in central
Bogota and the blowing up of an Avianca aircraft by the drug cartels which resulted in the
death of his business partner.
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David Wood. |
Travelling
to different locations in the country, David Wood gives a clear description of
life in places like the Sierra Nevada Mountains where he treks and climbs to
the Lost City of the Tairona Indians and experiences the culture of the Indian
tribes who reside there, the culture they maintain and the problems they face.
He also considers the history and culture of cities like Cartagena with its
colonial and colourful heritage and San Augustin with its ancient stone
figures.
Overall,
the book portrays Colombia as a land of great contrasts with beautiful
locations and lively culture contrasted with excessive violence, poverty and
crime which makes the book an interesting and shocking account of one of Latin
America’s most alluring countries.
‘An
Englishman in Colombia’ is available online at different sites with the
cheapest being www.troubador.co.uk (book shop) for the hard
copy and kindle version. It’s also available at www. Amazon.com, Ebay, The
Telegraph and at various high street bookstores priced £6-99 for the paperback
and £3-99 for the kindle version.
David Wood
is now working on his first novel which is set against a background of
abduction and jihadism in Kashmir and he is being advised by established author
Margaret James who has had 16 novels published for the UK market. At present
David Wood teaches English as an Overseas Language at King Saud University in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and spends the summer months in Upchurch.
David Wood.
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