John Gardiner has enjoyed a lifetime of travel and adventure. He has worked as a journalist and media adviser for more than 40 years, now dabbling as an author and screen writer. His book A Hitchhiker’s Triptych sets out the genesis of his wandering life. It explores in detail six months of hitchhiking through England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland during the early years of the 1970s. That journey set the scene for more than five decades of adventure across the globe. John’s life has been shaped by the journey he so brilliantly, and simply, outlines in his first major work, A Hitchhiker’s Triptych. It is a book that will appeal to all ages. To everyone with a yearning for adventure, an open mind, and a desire to learn. John, as well as being a writer, has been a committed surfer all his life. He currently lives in the pretty seaside village of Pottsville, in northern New South Wales, in Australia. He tells us he will never lose his love of the ocean. “Life is special. I am surrounded by love. Yet that insistent urge to explore is strong within. All travellers will know what I’m talking about. Even now, the call of the road remains ever so strong.”
John Gardiner worked as a journalist and media advisor for more than 40 years. He has travelled extensively across the world throughout his life. His book A Hitchhiker’s Triptych covers six months of his first journey into England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland during the turbulent days of the early 1970s. It was the time of the Troubles in Ireland. The Arabs also were holding the West to ransom with oil embargoes. John wanders head-on into these and other major world issues during his hitchhiking adventures.
His book is a superb exploration of life on the road during the 1970s. How easy it was to hitchhike in those days. Stick out a thumb and land a ride. A Hitchhiker’s Triptych is intriguing. It explores a wanderer’s life during far simpler times. Decades before the internet and instant news feeds. This is a journey pre-digital. A step back in time where adventure is achieved simply by standing beside a highway and sticking out a thumb. Wonders and wisdom found over that next hill.
Most know the story of Australia’s First Fleet. But who were those convicts, sailors, marines and administrators who travelled to Botany Bay in 1787? And who orchestrated this ambitious expedition? In his meticulously researched new book, John Gardiner pulls back the curtain on the world from which the First Fleet emerged.
Delving into English newspapers, official reports, and government documents from the era, Gardiner vividly captures the squalor of London’s slums, the rotting hulks on the Thames where prisoners languished, and the hardscrabble lives of those who would people New South Wales. We meet real-life figures like Prime Minister William Pitt, Home Secretary Lord Sydney, and the Fleet’s commander, Captain Arthur Phillip. And we discover a society rife with corruption, violence, and despair.
Before the First Fleet to Australia paints an unflinching portrait of late 18th century England in all its vulgarity and cruelty. Gardiner’s fearless account confronts historical truths often glossed over about the First Fleet’s origins. Was this ragged band of convicts a collection of pathetic vagabonds or part of a strategically calculated colonial enterprise? Readers can decide for themselves in this absorbing and revelatory narrative history.
I am thrilled to announce that my book, A Hitchhiker's Triptych, has been featured in The Ipswich Tribune! The article shared the journey of discovery that inspired my book and also touched on the cen ........
A growing number of bookstores and libraries in Australia, across the United Kingdom, and Ireland are now stocking and displaying John Gardiner's book A Hitchhiker's Triptych.The book is a memoir of a ........
A Hitchhiker’s Triptych maintains a strong presence online and in the news.Google A Hitchhiker's Triptych to see its penetration into bookstores and into countries around the world.Extraordinary, cons ........
A Hitchhiker's Triptych will be sold and promoted across America by the Target chain. There are more than 1900 Target stores across the USofA. The retail chain features in all 50 American States. ........
A Hitchhiker's Triptych continues to sell well.Google a Hitchhiker's Triptych to see the penetration the book is achieving into stores across the UK, across Europe, indeed right across the world.The s ........
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