REDMOND O'HANLON
NYS Writers Institute, February 17, 2006
4:15 p.m. Reading | Assembly Hall, Campus Center
PROFILE
Redmond O'Hanlon, former natural history editor for the London "Times Literary Supplement," is the author of several bestselling masterpieces of modern adventure-travel literature. O'Hanlon often draws comparisons with "Heart of Darkness" author Joseph Conrad, on the one hand, and Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson on the other. His books feature risky, off-the-beaten-path expeditions, fascinating pieces of natural and cultural lore, and laugh-out-loud funny tales of travel mishaps.
[O'Hanlon is] "probably the finest writer of travel books in the English language, and certainly the most daring." - Bestselling author Bill Bryson
"Among contemporary travel writers, he has the best nose for the globe's precious few remaining blank spots . . . ." - "Washington Post"
O'Hanlon's newest book is "Trawler" (2005), a first-hand account of time aboard a deep-sea commercial fishing trawler, which embarks from the northern tip of Scotland in the highest seas in the dead of winter. As the volunteer assistant of the onboard marine biologist, O'Hanlon treats the reader to rich insights and hilarious anecdotes about bizarre deep sea organisms, the perilous lives of fishermen, northern gales, seasickness, and the psychotic effects of prolonged sleep deprivation.
"Although "Trawler" is ostensibly an adventure book, it is also one of the most thrilling and inspiring books about science that I've ever read." - Bruce Barcott, "New York Times"
"A frenzied depiction of an alien, intensely hazardous way of life, 'Trawler' is both edifying and hugely entertaining. O'Hanlon's is a magnificently original voice: manic, scholarly, funny, sumptuously descriptive, and more than slightly deranged." - Bestselling author Jon Krakauer
O'Hanlon's other travel books include "Into the Heart of Borneo" (1984); "In Trouble Again: Journeys Between the Orinoco and the Amazon" (1988), one of "National Geographic's 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time"; and "No Mercy: A Journey to the Heart of the Congo" (1996), a "New York Times" Notable Book of 1997.
O'Hanlon is also the author of the academic work, "Joseph Conrad and Charles Darwin: The Influence of Scientific Thought on Conrad's Fiction" (1984).
Like many explorers before him, O'Hanlon is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, as well as a member of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Additional Links:
Writers Online Magazine Article
For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.
