Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle
By Ian Middleton 

A Book Designed for Fun and Charity
An Honest, Funny Look at Ireland

     Not that anyone cares, but I'm putting all travel section editors on notice: I hate travel books. I prefer serendipity when I travel, and I truly don't give a darn about the five-star hotels. The only people you meet there are other travelers.

     So, that may be an exaggeration, but my point here is that Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle by Ian Middleton is a book even travelers (and book lovers) like me can adore.

     It is just plain funny. And perspicacious. And it will do the world some good-literally. More about that in a minute.

     This is a book about, well, you know, the adventures the author had hotfooting it around Ireland. Now the author plans to do it again for charity. He will walk 300 miles across Ireland to aid asthma research come May. Part of the proceeds from this book go directly to charity, and the rest of the profits will fund this second walk-sort of charity and profits in motion like a giant snowball (I hope) rolling down a hill and collecting more good, pristine stuff as it rolls!

     And more "good stuff" could include another book. For Mr. Middleton, who lives in Maine, is quite an interesting writer. His writing reflects his breadth of travel and his experience in the UK; not that they are connected or anything, but he also has a rather salty vocabulary. He has an uncanny knack for spotting the way the universe provides coincidences and for characterization. Emerald Isle introduces us to more interesting characters that the average novel.

     This is also inspirational. No, not that kind. It will be an inspiration to English speakers with a tad of Irish running in their veins to visit the green islands. They can go the way Ian did, or they can get themselves one of those how-to books that list prices and locations if they prefer. It's really not what you read about Ireland that's important. It's how well what you're reading works at getting you there!