Elliptical and alive, this is a brilliant travel book

It is hard to pin down what makes In Patagonia so unique, but, in the end, it is Chatwin’s brilliant personality that makes it what it is… His form of travel was not about getting from A to B. It was about internal landscapes.

The chameleon traveller…who wrote books in a genre of their own, and whose life was his own subtlest creation… a complex, flamboyantly gifted and rather tragic figure

Persuasive and sobering . . . a page-turner unlikely to be found poolside.

A project [Hickman] pursues intelligently and thoroughly . . . Other writers might have contented themselves with aloof tut-tutting. What makes The Final Call absorbing as well as persuasive is that Hickman illuminatingly talks to people ranging from fishermen and bar girls to developers and activists.

Hickman has hit on an important subject and it deserves to be taken seriously.

We have got to find a way to shift to a slow-travel culture. Our very survival as a species could well hinge on it. I very much hope this important book helps to awaken people, and make them want to join the debate.

Dazzling. There is nothing else quite like it and yet it addresses such an important aspect of our lives today.

Timely and well-researched . . . this book makes for uncomfortable, yet necessary, reading for anyone who enjoys travel.

An elegantly written, well-researched, investigative travelogue that provides a valuable eye-witness account of the way holidays can impact - positively and negatively - on their destinations: environmentally, socially and economically . . . it arms the reader with a greater understanding of how to make more informed choices about where and how to holiday.

Despite the polemic, there is plenty of interest here, not least in [the book's] accessible description of how the travel industry works and the structures in place around the globe . . . Hickman acknowledges the increasing acceptance of environmental standards . . . But the argument he presents is a stark one - travel is damaging the world, and if we don't act soon, it may be too late. Sobering stuff.

A major new exposé . . . This is not yet another doomsday read about the perils of flying, or debating the pros and cons of carbon off-setting, it's an honest account of the huge impact we have on the destinations we frequent . . . Rather than throwing reams of statistics at us, Hickman paints a more graphic picture of the impact our travelling makes by telling the story through the eyes of locals he meets on his way round the globe. His discoveries of what lies behind the glossy veneer of a resort hotel make for sober reading.

A fascinating and harrowing read. I doubt anyone has spelt out the inherent dangers of tourism so clearly before. The publication of this could well prove to be a 'tipping point'.

Leo Hickman's enthralling book should be read by politicians, students and, most of all, by every would-be tourist.

This is a really excellent critique of the travel industry . . . If you are interested in the tourist industry this book is highly recommended, being easy to read, while being very thorough and searching in the questions it asks.

Excellent and thoroughly compelling . . . The Final Call deserves to be read by those of us lucky enough to be able to fly on a regular basis . . . Hickman's book is a sobering, thoughtful and intelligent reminder that it is a privilege we need to be forcefully reminded not to take for granted.

Thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Well written and engaging without being too gloomy and prescriptive, this book makes for uncomfortable, yet necessary, reading for anyone who enjoys travel.

This much appreciated book should be a must-read for everyone who likes to travel, and should be translated into the languages of the world's tourism champions. It should also be a must-read for politicians and decision makers in development agencies to finally understand that tourism has lost the 'virginity' of a harmless leisure sector to develop into a dangerous global driving force which needs to be regulated and restricted.