Greetings from

by Campbell Jefferys

This collection of travel stories has been gathered over twenty years of travel and writing. They cover many places and themes, but all circle around the idea of being a stranger in a strange land. As a sample, the stories involve playing street basketball in New York, going underground in Berlin, pushing a boat in Indonesia, chasing ghosts in Vienna, and going back in time on Lanzarote.
Shortlisted in the travel categories of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Independent Press Award.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

250 pages, Paperback

Published March 13, 2017

About the author

It started in the hills near Perth, where he was brought rather quietly and with little fanfare into the world. The farming area tucked in the south-west corner of Western Australia became forever his reference point, but even then the world seemed broad and large, with the fields of wheat stretching to the horizon. But the whole world could not simply have been a field of wheat. There had to be more. So, a foray in the big city, slaving through low-paid jobs, struggling and then succeeding, briefly, to make a sporting career in basketball, until succumbing reluctantly to academia. The history graduate, bored and restless, heads off to see the world. He lands a part-time job with a daily paper in a small Canadian town, convinces major newspapers he's a player on the freelance travel writing scene and manages to sell a few articles. Travels some more, hitchhiking across America. Tries to write novels but no one is interested; not even him. Works on travel guide books, lands in Europe, settles in Germany, does the required tenure teaching English, and keeps trying to write a good book. Moves to Berlin and finally a story emerges that makes all the words fall into place. 'The Bicycle Teacher' was published in January 2006. His follow up novel 'Hunter' came out in early 2009. Campbell is also the author of 'A Lord's Revenge', a novella for English language learners published by Compact Verlag while his articles have graced the pages of newspapers and magazines across the globe. In May 2009, 'Hunter' won the general fiction category of the 2009 Indie Book Awards (www.indiebookawards.com) and finished runner-up in the overall fiction category. 'True Blue Tucker' won the bronze at the 2012 IPPYs in the Australia/NZ section.

Reviews

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings)]

Won in the Goodreads Giveaways

[Toast · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a good little collection of travel writing. Not your usual travel writing stuff either, its a bit more budget, conversational and the joy of travelling than Big Name does ........ Also its funny. There's stuff about writing about travel, updating travel guides etc. There's stuff that's quirky, that's advice and that's profound (see the piece on Birkenau). Its good stuff.
Toast

[Paul Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many people can't give 5/5 or 10/10 for anything because of the notion that nothing can be that good. I'm often like this for most things, but not for me this time. Jefferys' book 'Greetings From' is 5-star in my opinion.

It is a very well crafted piece of writing. He cleverly mixes his writing styles to add to the tone of each chapter. Full of wit, experience, and brutal honesty, Jefferys makes you want to pack your jeans and a toothbrush and jump on the next plane to anywhere.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Greetings from” which I won through Goodreads Giveaways charts the inimitable and often exciting adventures of Campbell Jeffreys as he traveled the world over a period of two decades. Filled with humor, anecdotes and interesting insights this is a treasure trove of memories and encounters which include a “brutal, scrappy and disorganized” pickup game of basketball in Washington Square, NYC; the enchantment of lost love in Verona with its striking colors, empty balconies and sad statue of Juliet; chasing down impressions of a musical boy-genius from Vienna to Salzburg; touring a cheese factory in Parma, Italy and exploring the tragic historical underground in Berlin.

With a flowing natural style the author catches your interest and never lets go until the end of the book. I enjoyed “Greetings from” and intend to pass it on to friends and fellow travelers who I know will appreciate Campbell Jeffreys’ guidance in exploring strange new lands.

[Cheryl Dietr · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a professional travel writer, I can tell you that this book is different than your usual travel piece. It's a travel log with scrap, grit and insight which makes you turn your head in order to find an unattended Harley so you can hit the open road. If variety is the spice of life then this book is a chili pepper from somewhere in small desert town in New Mexico. So pull back the curtain, peer through the dusty window and venture into places you will probably never visit but you are glad this author did.

* I received this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. Thanks Goodreads an Campbell Jeffery for an interesting read.*

[Suzanne Sotzing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book which reads sometimes like a travel guide and others like condensed tales of travel. These short stories are filled with adventures and silly happenings but are also complete with practical information for those of us who would like to journey off the beaten path. I found myself wanting to Google every single location mentioned to further immerse myself in the adventure. Campbell Jeffries would make one hell of a professional travel guru or companion! (Notice I didn't write travel GUIDE.)

[Racine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Stuart Hargreaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

somehow my review is under the comments below

[Vari Lemur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn‘t really know what to make of it. Some stories interesting, some bland.