Eric Newby; writer melded humor, adventure of travel

October 26, 2006|Associated Press

LONDON -- British writer Eric Newby, author of the travel classic "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush," died Friday near Guildford, in southern England, of natural causes, his daughter Sonia Ashmore said. He was 86.

Born and raised in London, Mr. Newby gave up a job in advertising in 1938 to sail on a Finnish grain ship to Australia and back.

He later recounted the voyage in "The Last Grain Race."

He served with the elite Special Boat Section during World War II. Captured during an operation off the Italian coast in 1942, he spent three years in a prisoner of war camp.

He managed to escape, and before being recaptured met and fell in love with a young Italian-Slovenian woman, Wanda Skof, whom he married in 1946.

After the war, Mr. Newby worked in the fashion business before setting out, with almost no mountaineering training, to climb Afghanistan's Mir Samir.

The journey, alternately funny and thrilling, is recounted in "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" (1958), a book that has remained in print and on bookstore shelves for nearly half a century.

Mr. Newby served as travel editor of The Observer newspaper between 1964 and 1973 and continued to travel, frequently accompanied by his wife.

His travel books include "Slowly Down the Ganges"; "Round Ireland in Low Gear"; "Love And War In The Apennines," about his wartime experience; and "On The Shores Of The Mediterranean."

In a statement, Mr. Newby's family said he was "a man with enormous energy, warmth, and curiosity."

"His writing was entertaining, but he took it very seriously. He did a great deal of research and always kept notes," the statement said.

Mr. Newby leaves his wife, his daughter, and a son.

Funeral details were not available.