MovieChat Forums > Long Way Round (2004) Discussion > Read the book 2 see what really happened...

Read the book 2 see what really happened!

posted 20 years ago by warnerclassic
38 replies | jump to latest

I just got through reading Ewan and Charlie's Long Way Round book. When you read each of their accounts of their trip you realise that a lot more fighting went on than you see from the tv programme. I loved the series, but if you read the book Ewan and Charlie were clashing in the early days of the trip big time, with Ewan sick of the jokes that Charlie would play and Charlie thinking that Ewan was over sensitive. Charlie also complains of Ewans dark moods that he said "would bring down everyone around him".And poor Claudio, their camera man, also gets abused verbally all the time, as Ewan put it, made to be the scapegoat. There seemed to be a lot more uglyness behind the scenes than they let on in the tv series, and I think they should have shown these arguments (or commented on them)to give a more realistic account of their trip.

Warner Classic

I am not a number, I am a free man.

[–] TwoThousandOneMark 14 years ago

I picked up both Round & Down books, have begun reading LW Round. Found the vids on youtube & have begun reading chapters followed up with video footage! Glorious :D

I do think some ppl are taking this venture way too serious, they're just 2 guys with time to spare & wtf let's do it lol
I commend them for not just riding around the developed world, tropical islands, etc which WOULD be a bit of an eye roll- these beauts rode f'ing bee lined straight through Russia & former Soviet states on motorcycles- that's boss I don't care who you are.
The UNICEF hospital in Kiev was devestating- see all the time on tv animals & environs under pressure from global events, but it's the children of Chernobyl. The real deal, not the ghetto not the slums not the suburbs- THE hotspot of generational concern on the human planet.

I'd give my left arm to have been able to conquer the journey they took- essentially astronauts/explorers on a damn entire planet!! That's insane.

Choose life ;)

[–] !!!deleted!!! (36957384) 11 years ago

I'm a bit more cynical than most. Why did they add the bits about fighting? Well, to up the interest so people would buy their book. Who knows how accurate it was. And frankly, boohoo to Ewan missing his family. He's a 40 year old man who wasn't gone THAT long (3 1/2 mos) from his family. There are lots of exchange students (kids) who don't know anyone and are gone from their families for a lot longer.

Plus, there was a huge support team that was there for them whenever they really needed help. They probably intervened far more than we know.

[–] Darknessviking 11 years ago

1. to the person who was offended about the bush-comment.
well..a couple of years later,we all know how the world looked when bush stepped down from the office. anyway..

2. about the arguing on the trip:

i agree with the person who said that it was to sell more books,
the tv show was so that everyone could see it,kids,families etc.and the actors obviously want to be seen in a good light,especially ewan.
the book - is written so that people will buy it out of interest,and just like all those rockstar biographies which empazises on drugs and partying etc,
the book focus on the arguing so that people will read it.
who knows what is true or not,i think some of the stuff in the tv show is obviously staged.
like when a bike breaks down,and OOOH suddenly two local mechanics show up.
or when you see them falling off the bike multiple times in a swamp,but just to the right you see strong ground. why didnt they drive there? which of course they did,but they staged stuff for the show.
also they were sponsored by bmw,so they show their bikes in extreme conditions.

all in all a fun show if you want to see alot of new places of the world