Wax & Gold: Journeys in Ethiopia & Other Roads Less Travelled (‘M’ Publishing House, Ltd., 2021)

By Sam McManus

Genre: Non-Fiction

Via: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

A collection of first-person stories detailing “off-the-beaten-path” adventures in Ethiopa, Japan, Bolivia, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Mongolia, Lebanon, Oman, and Costa Rica.

Wax and Gold isn’t your average travel guide. If you’re looking for lists of “must see” sights at specific destinations, where to stay or shop or eat, this isn’t it. It’s seventeen chapters covers 2005 to 2019.

The title comes from a form of Ethiopian poetry. “Wax and gold” is “meticulously comprised with a focus on the duality of its meanings. The surface meaning, the wax must be stripped away to reveal the hidden core of gold underneath.” The author explains description of how wax must be stripped away to reveal the gold underneath.

In similar fashion, the author describes how “the allure of Ethiopia” encouraged him to look deeper within himself. Indeed, Wax and Gold combines colorful, detailed chronicles of the people, places, destinations, and cultures the author discovered in his many travels with a more subtle discoveries gained during his inner journey.

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