[Gocamino] A Traveler's Highway to Heaven

[Grant Spangler]

For years, there has been a single book illuminating the art, architecture, history and culture along the Camino Frances. The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook by David Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson stood for years as the sole beacon but now we can add a second. Meet William Bonville and his latest work, A Traveler's Highway to Heaven: Exploring the History and Culture of Northern Spain.

William and I had pinged a few emails back and forth until we finally spoke this past Saturday. His work is a shot in the arm for the Camimophiles everywhere. He brings us an interpretive monologue of the art, architecture, history and culture along the Way of Saint James. Not a tour guide, but a thinking man’s impressions of the scene that lies before you. It also includes a number of landmarks just a few kilometers off the main Path. At 400 pages, it’s not exactly light, but the type is large enough to read inside a dimly lit church. On my first Camino I had decided to not take the Gitlitz and Davis book because of the weight. Then, leaving El Burgo Ranero there it was, waiting for me on a park bench. “That’s my book!”, I exclaimed, and schlepped it the rest of the Way to Santiago. Two things which made that a richer Road experience were the cultural guidebook and my conversations with the locals. This book is in that same league, and yes I would carry it in spite of it’s weight.

We have an introductory piece from the book available for preview at:
http://elcaminosantiago.com/PDF/A_Travelers_Highway_to_Heaven_Intro.pdf

The book is now listed on our Camino Books page as well:
http://groups.msn.com/ElCaminoSantiago/caminobooks.msnw

Buen Camino,

Grant

Grant Spangler
GASpangler at hotmail.com
http://groups.msn.com/ElCaminoSantiago
http://community.webshots.com/user/ElCaminoSantiago