Investigating Who Really Pays For Our Holidays

The Final Call

A brilliant critique of the travel industry - compelling and essential reading for all holiday-makers at home and abroad.

Excellent. One of the clearest and most sobering analyses I've ever seen of the environmental, social, and economic damage done by tourism...This is a necessary book.

Well written, entertaining and hugely important.

Hickman is very persuasive and travels with heart and brain fully engaged to reveal the environmental havoc wreaked by the exponential growth in international travel.

Persuasive and sobering . . . a page-turner unlikely to be found poolside.

A project [Hickman] pursues intelligently and thoroughly . . . Other writers might have contented themselves with aloof tut-tutting. What makes The Final Call absorbing as well as persuasive is that Hickman illuminatingly talks to people ranging from fishermen and bar girls to developers and activists.

Hickman has hit on an important subject and it deserves to be taken seriously.

We have got to find a way to shift to a slow-travel culture. Our very survival as a species could well hinge on it. I very much hope this important book helps to awaken people, and make them want to join the debate.

Dazzling. There is nothing else quite like it and yet it addresses such an important aspect of our lives today.

Chris Stewart, author of DRIVING OVER LEMONS

Timely and well-researched . . . this book makes for uncomfortable, yet necessary, reading for anyone who enjoys travel.

An elegantly written, well-researched, investigative travelogue that provides a valuable eye-witness account of the way holidays can impact - positively and negatively - on their destinations: environmentally, socially and economically . . . it arms the reader with a greater understanding of how to make more informed choices about where and how to holiday.

Despite the polemic, there is plenty of interest here, not least in [the book's] accessible description of how the travel industry works and the structures in place around the globe . . . Hickman acknowledges the increasing acceptance of environmental standards . . . But the argument he presents is a stark one - travel is damaging the world, and if we don't act soon, it may be too late. Sobering stuff.

A major new exposé . . . This is not yet another doomsday read about the perils of flying, or debating the pros and cons of carbon off-setting, it's an honest account of the huge impact we have on the destinations we frequent . . . Rather than throwing reams of statistics at us, Hickman paints a more graphic picture of the impact our travelling makes by telling the story through the eyes of locals he meets on his way round the globe. His discoveries of what lies behind the glossy veneer of a resort hotel make for sober reading.

A fascinating and harrowing read. I doubt anyone has spelt out the inherent dangers of tourism so clearly before. The publication of this could well prove to be a 'tipping point'.

Leo Hickman's enthralling book should be read by politicians, students and, most of all, by every would-be tourist.

This is a really excellent critique of the travel industry . . . If you are interested in the tourist industry this book is highly recommended, being easy to read, while being very thorough and searching in the questions it asks.

Excellent and thoroughly compelling . . . The Final Call deserves to be read by those of us lucky enough to be able to fly on a regular basis . . . Hickman's book is a sobering, thoughtful and intelligent reminder that it is a privilege we need to be forcefully reminded not to take for granted.

Well written and engaging without being too gloomy and prescriptive, this book makes for uncomfortable, yet necessary, reading for anyone who enjoys travel.

This much appreciated book should be a must-read for everyone who likes to travel, and should be translated into the languages of the world's tourism champions. It should also be a must-read for politicians and decision makers in development agencies to finally understand that tourism has lost the 'virginity' of a harmless leisure sector to develop into a dangerous global driving force which needs to be regulated and restricted.

Leo Hickman is a journalist and editor at the Guardian, and writes a weekly column on ethical living. He is also the author of A Life Stripped Bare: my year trying to live ethically and How to Buy, and editor of A Good Life: The Guide to Ethical Living. Leo lives in Cornwall with his wife Jane, and their three children.

No industry in the world employs more people or is the world's largest foreign currency earner than tourism. Long billed as the cleanest industry for developing countries to invest in, tourism seems to offer everyone involved a positive experience. 
This is the official line, anyway. In truth, the reality is much more complex . For The Final Call Hickman travels the world on a range of holidays and finds that behind the sunny facade of pools, smiling locals, sightseeing trips and exquisite cuisine is an ugly reality and it is spreading unchecked to all corners of the globe. But none of us are going to stop holidaying and at the heart of this is a heartfelt attempt to discover the best way to holiday wherever you are.

My Year Trying To Live Ethically

A Life Stripped Bare

Mass-market edition of the successful trade paperback; given a new look and including new material and Leo's DIY ethical audit for readers to try.

Not a preachy guide but the diary of a struggle - through the myriad uses of bicarbonate of soda; instructions for assembling a wormery and a visit from three ethical auditors... There are plenty of facts and a selection of helpful letters - like the inspiring one from a woman who crochets her own dishcloths...

The tone is just right for this book's target market...there is much that is inspiring here...

Refreshing and funny, this book overflows with ideas for a more sustainable everyday life

A Life Stripped Bare is both funny and inspirational...Leo proves that living ethically isn't the preserve of the eco-warriors but of the typical man in the street. So take some action now!

Very entertaining...full of useful new things to fret about.

In this witty account of his year, Hickman discusses matters that are of importance to us all...

This is the book you need to kick-start a green and guilt-free lifestyle.

His account of the year is very entertaining.

Leo Hickman is a journalist, editor and consumer expert at the Guardian. He is the author of How to Buy and A Good Life: The Guide to Ethical Living . He is married to Jane, and has a two young children.

How often in life does convenience triumph over 'doing the right thing? And what is 'ethical living' anyway? When it comes down to it, most people fight shy of giving up their cars, or their toxic household products, their cheap washing machines, or dodgy, unethical bank accounts in order to make the world a better place. So Leo Hickman, resident consumer expert of the Guardian, decided to give it a try. Over the course of a year, he and his family set out to discover whether it was possible to live a 'normal life' - job, mortgage, kids, holidays - while at the same time making each daily choice or decision an 'ethical' one - for the family, their neighbours and the environment. This the story of that year, is a record of an extraordinary transformation. Amid the pitfalls and confusion, Leo's account is funny, inspirational and a mine of information for the curious.

Leo Hickman

A Book About Climate Change

From what makes Earth so special, to how scientists know for sure our climate is changing, why it's a big deal for everyone and what we can all do right now to make a difference, green expert Leo Hickman is ready to answer all your questions. 
 
Will Jellyfish Rule the World? breaks down the causes and effects of climate change in a fresh, fun and easy-to-follow format. Packed with practical everyday things we can all do right now to make a difference, Will Jellyfish Rule the World? is a comprehensive, easy-to-use eco-handbook for budding classroom environmentalists everywhere.

Leo Hickman

Books by Leo Hickman

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