The Olive Tree
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Narrated by:
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Carol Drinkwater
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By:
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Carol Drinkwater
About this listen
Troubled by challenges her own South of France farm is experiencing - attack by a virulent pest, the premature ripening of the trees' fruits - Carol realises new approaches to farming are becoming essential. Traditional customs have been set aside while the use of excessive chemicals is putting the harvests of her crops (and others) at risk. Changing patterns within the world's climate demand urgent action.
Carol's quest takes her south through Spain - now the home of more olive trees than anywhere else on earth - Morocco, Algeria and Italy before she finally returns to her farm. As a woman travelling alone, she is frequently vulnerable and never more so than in Algeria where, on her arrival, terrorist bombs are exploding, devastating the capital. Determined not to give up, Carol accepts the support of a network of beekeepers who guide her across troubled territories.
Through her travels and vivid, sometimes unlikely encounters, Carol confronts some of the critical issues of our time - land-care and the harsh realities of diminishing water reserves - and ends her momentous journey in the company of olive growers whose vision for the future is remarkable and ingenious.
©2009 Carol Drinkwater (P)2009 WF Howes LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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By: Peter Mayle
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Finding George Orwell in Burma
- By: Emma Larkin
- Narrated by: Emily Durante
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Over the years the American writer Emma Larkin has spent traveling in Burma, she has come to know all too well the many ways this police state can be described as "Orwellian". The life of the mind exists in a state of siege in Burma, and it long has. The connection between George Orwell and Burma is not simply metaphorical, of course; Orwell's mother was born in Burma, and he was shaped by his experiences there as a young man working for the British Imperial Police.
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Orwell's Horrors Brought to Life
- By Roger on 09-21-10
By: Emma Larkin
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House of Stone
- A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East
- By: Anthony Shadid
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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When Anthony Shadid—one of four New York Times reporters captured in Libya as the region erupted—was freed, he went home, not to Boston, Beirut, or Oklahoma, where he was raised by his Lebanese American family, but to an ancient estate built by his great-grandfather, a place filled with memories of a lost era when the Middle East was a world of grace, grandeur, and unexpected departures.
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Bit depressing
- By Astrid Dahl on 03-17-12
By: Anthony Shadid
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Around the World in 50 Years
- My Adventure to Every Country on Earth
- By: Albert Podell
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the inspiring story of an ordinary guy who achieved two great goals that others had told him were impossible. First, he set a record for the longest automobile journey ever made around the world, during the course of which he blasted his way out of minefields, survived a breakdown atop the Peak of Death, came within seconds of being lynched in Pakistan, and lost three of the five men who started with him - two to disease, one to the Vietcong.
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Fantastic Adventure
- By CJ on 09-12-18
By: Albert Podell
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One Year Off
- Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children
- By: David Cohen
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In One Year Off, you can join the family on a trek up a Costa Rican volcano, cruise the canals of Burgundy by houseboat, and ride ferries through the Greek Islands. Later, as the Cohens wander further off the tourist trail, you can drive through the villages of Rajasthan, traverse the vast Australian Nullarbor, and discover the charms of Cambodia's Angkor Wat and the hidden shangri-las of northern Laos.
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fun filled travellog
- By tarun on 07-22-19
By: David Cohen
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Walking the Kiso Road
- A Modern-Day Exploration of Old Japan
- By: William Scott Wilson
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Take a trip to old Japan with William Scott Wilson as he travels the ancient Kiso Road, a legendary route that remains much the same today as it was hundreds of years ago. The Kisoji, which runs through the Kiso Valley in the Japanese Alps, has been in use since at least 701 CE. In the 17th century, it was the route that the daimyo (warlords) used for their biennial trips - along with their samurai and porters - to the new capital of Edo (now Tokyo).
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Definitely recommended
- By John S. on 06-28-16
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Life and Death in the Andes
- On the Trail of Bandits, Heroes, and Revolutionaries
- By: Kim MacQuarrie
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The Andes Mountains are the world's longest mountain chain, linking most of the countries in South America. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and author Kim MacQuarrie takes us on a historical journey through this unique region, bringing fresh insight and contemporary connections to such fabled characters as Charles Darwin, Pablo Escobar, Che Guevara, and many others.
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Another Great by Kim MacQuarrie
- By Than on 03-25-24
By: Kim MacQuarrie
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Getting Stoned with the Savages
- A Trip through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
- By: J. Maarten Troost
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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After two grueling years on the island of Tarawa, Troost was in no hurry to return to the South Pacific until he began to feel remarkably out of place in modern America. He knew it was time to set off again for parts unknown. Here he tells the story of his time on Vanuatu, a cluster of islands where he struggles against typhoons, earthquakes, and giant centipedes but finds himself swept up in the laid-back, clothing-optional lifestyle of the islanders.
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My new favorite author!
- By L. Worthington on 08-28-07
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The Marches
- A Borderland Journey Between England and Scotland
- By: Rory Stewart
- Narrated by: Rory Stewart
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Ten years after the walk across Central Asia and Afghanistan that he memorialized in The Places in Between, Rory Stewart set out on a new journey, traversing a thousand miles between England and Scotland. Stewart was raised along the border of the two countries, the frontier taking on poignant significance in his understanding of what it means to be both Scottish and English, of his relationship with his father, who's lived on this land his whole life, and of his ties to the rich history and culture of the region.
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Uneven and unexpected, still worth it.
- By Nassir on 04-29-17
By: Rory Stewart
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Turn Right at Machu Picchu
- Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time
- By: Mark Adams
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Writer for the New York Times and GQ, Mark Adams is also the acclaimed author of Mr. America. In this fascinating travelogue, Adams follows in the controversial footsteps of Hiram Bingham III, who’s been both lionized and vilified for his discovery of the famed Lost City in 1911—but which reputation is justified?
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Spellbounding, exceptional vocals
- By KLewis on 09-19-15
By: Mark Adams
What listeners say about The Olive Tree
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Andy
- 01-10-10
tough to follow and listen to
This book seems to be more of a memoir than a story about olive trees. Drinkwater weaves in so much flotsam that its tough to follow the story. Moreover, while I love her English accent, her narration is so high energy, that it is difficult to listen to.
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