Dreaming of Jupiter

Ted Simon was raised in London, studied chemical engineering but went to Paris where he fell into journalism. He has ridden twice around the world on a motorcycle, and published five books on travel and other matters. He now lives in northern California. He has one son.

'Gloriously luminescent, but always self-deprecating. Simon's physical powers are diminishing, but his writing just gets better. The wonderful portraits of the people he encounters, often redolent of Bruce Chatwin, are sometimes so enticing that, were this a movie, you'd swear they were a plant for later on' OBSERVER
'A trip of dreams - and Ted Simon has done it twice . . . a terrific read' RTE GUIDE
'He was on the road for three years, and his new book, Dreaming of Jupiter, is a compelling account of the adventures en route, including breaking a leg in the middle of a vast plain in Ethiopia; a reunion with a camel rider he'd met 25 years before in Egypt; and crossing India and Thailand with Malu, 62, a former girlfriend, riding pillion' SAGA MAGAZINE
'A sharply-written read of incisive observations . . . this book is as much about where the boundaries of age and ambitions collide as it is about the 48 countries Simon travelled through' IRISH TIMES
'His prose is crisp and his thumbnail portraits vivid' SUNDAY BUSINESS POST
'For anyone who still dreams of zooming across continents, sleeping under stars, discovering beautiful empty beaches and being warmly welcomed by local tribes' TIMES
'His encounters are evocatively observed, frequently poignant and occasionally very funny' TLS
'Simon's immaculate, knowing and unabashedly humble prose makes me wish I was a better writer, so much so that this book has barely left my side in the past few days. It is, by turns, sad, funny and immensely uplifting' TELEGRAPH