Dauntless Countries

Unlike other bookstores, the books were arranged into areas by continent and then grouped by country. Travel books found their place alongside the literature written by those who lived there. As a traveler, I’ve always believed that the facts of a country were best read along with its literary works while listening to its music in order to gain a more rooted understanding of the thinking and culture of a place. I like to consider how geography impacts culture. Maps with novels. History with poetry. Facts with fiction. Language guides with hiking trails.

I spent one sunny afternoon in Daunt Bookstore while visiting London. That is all I have. Those few hours.  I carry the memory with me and now I’m going to create something in its honor.

Walking into Daunt Bookstore on Marylebone in London for the first time knocked the breath out of me. I thought I must have dreamed it. Book spines peeked out in all colors, widths, and heights in tidy rows on dark oak shelves. The titles cajoled me to step closer and cull their bindings with careful plucking fingers. The breadth of story and idea contained within so many unassuming covers hovered together in silent and varied assent like a held breath of global thought and imagination across the ages. 

I’m going to mentally travel the 197 countries currently recognized in the world and share the facts and fiction of each land and its people. There will be references and links to travel articles, poetry, music, novels, historic sites, and features. Key findings that contribute to an understanding of the country and its people will be included or linked. 

Each of these virtual tomes will be tucked away on my website in volumes organized by continent and then country under the category Dauntless Countries. Dauntless because fearlessness and an unwillingness to give up or become tamed is a common characteristic in the history of the nations of the world. 

The task itself is daunting, but I know I will learn a great deal and I hope you will, too. 

Look for the first country next week. 

Which one do you think it will be?