A frank and funny account of an ill-prepared Himalayan expedition from one of the world's best-loved travel writers. Ranked 16th in the National Geographic Adventure magazine ranking for the Top 100 adventure books of all time.

Eric Newby escapes throug a hospital window to become a POW on the run in Italy in 1943. With the Nazis moving in from the north and no certain way back to England, his situation appear grim. But with the help of local farmers and villagers, who risk their livs to shelter him, he survives. Hiding in shepherd's huts and even a cave, he achieves three precious months of freedom - and meets the determined and courageous young woman who would become his...

In 1967 Eric and Wanda Newby fulfilled a long-cherished dream when they bought a run-down farmhouse in northeastern Tuscany, in the foothills of the Italian Alps. They were the first foreigners to live in the region. A Small Place in Italy describes how the house was restored with the help of their neighbors, a colorful cast of characters who quickly befriended the Newbys.