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Tales from the Sharp End: A Portrait of Chile
Tales from the Sharp A Portrait of Chile is based on fifteen years of Natascha Scott-Stokes living and exploring the country of Chile. The book offers a vivid tapestry of stories ranging from history and culture to flora and fauna, woven into the author’s own tales of adventure and heartbreak.
Chile is 4,300 kilometers long but a mere 350 kilometers at its widest, lined by the Andes to the east and the Pacific to the west. Traveling along the Pan-American Highway takes you to both the driest desert on earth and impenetrable cloud forests barring the way to Patagonian ice fields. Here is the true magnet of this jagged knife-edge of a the unique landscape born of its geography and the gorgeous plant and animal life there. Few things are more thrilling than climbing the coastal mountains to see both the Andes and the ocean at the same time, or to set eyes on the mighty River Baker churning through southern Patagonia.
Natascha Scott-Stokes offers both a love letter to Chile and a heartfelt lament for a country living at the sharp end of human folly and climate change.
Chile is 4,300 kilometers long but a mere 350 kilometers at its widest, lined by the Andes to the east and the Pacific to the west. Traveling along the Pan-American Highway takes you to both the driest desert on earth and impenetrable cloud forests barring the way to Patagonian ice fields. Here is the true magnet of this jagged knife-edge of a the unique landscape born of its geography and the gorgeous plant and animal life there. Few things are more thrilling than climbing the coastal mountains to see both the Andes and the ocean at the same time, or to set eyes on the mighty River Baker churning through southern Patagonia.
Natascha Scott-Stokes offers both a love letter to Chile and a heartfelt lament for a country living at the sharp end of human folly and climate change.
256 pages, Paperback
Published September 15, 2024
5 people want to read
About the author
Natascha Scott-Stokes
9 books2 followersNatascha Scott-Stokes is the author of Tales from the Sharp End: A Portrait of Chile published by the University of New Mexico Press in 2024, and has been a renowned independent traveler and author for over three decades. She established herself as a pioneering traveler in 1989, when she became the first woman to travel the length of the Amazon River alone, from its Marañon headwaters in the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic off Brazil. Her book about that journey is titled An Amazon and a Donkey.
Soon afterwards, she based herself in Guatemala, where she not only met the Quebecois father of her two sons, but also co-authored two guide books and published Chickenbus Journey: False Paradise in Guatemala.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, she was inspired to take a journey into history by bicycle, following an ancient trade route for amber through the newly accessible countries of Eastern Europe. The book about that journey is titled The Amber Trail.
Natascha Scott-Stokes emigrated from England to Chile in 2006, but her family’s connection with the country goes right back to the 19th century, when her great-great-grandfather arrived in Valparaíso in 1873, with a contract to install the first submarine telecommunications cable between Peru and Chile.
The author has a Masters in Latin American history and archaeology from London University and is a member of various professional associations, including US-based Biographers International; the Chilean Translators’ Association; and the Society of Authors in the UK. She has four travel books and a biography to her name and has also co-authored a number of travel guides. The biography is of the pioneering butterfly collector and extraordinary traveler Margaret Fountaine, entitled Wild & Fearless: The Life of Margaret Fountaine.
Soon afterwards, she based herself in Guatemala, where she not only met the Quebecois father of her two sons, but also co-authored two guide books and published Chickenbus Journey: False Paradise in Guatemala.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, she was inspired to take a journey into history by bicycle, following an ancient trade route for amber through the newly accessible countries of Eastern Europe. The book about that journey is titled The Amber Trail.
Natascha Scott-Stokes emigrated from England to Chile in 2006, but her family’s connection with the country goes right back to the 19th century, when her great-great-grandfather arrived in Valparaíso in 1873, with a contract to install the first submarine telecommunications cable between Peru and Chile.
The author has a Masters in Latin American history and archaeology from London University and is a member of various professional associations, including US-based Biographers International; the Chilean Translators’ Association; and the Society of Authors in the UK. She has four travel books and a biography to her name and has also co-authored a number of travel guides. The biography is of the pioneering butterfly collector and extraordinary traveler Margaret Fountaine, entitled Wild & Fearless: The Life of Margaret Fountaine.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 21, 2025
Having virtually no knowledge of Chile, I found the informative narrative and scope of digestible content in this book intriguing and absorbing.
The authors’ candid accounts of her experiences in Chile are fascinating; from the perspective of a mother with two son’s, an historian; a political observer; supporter of indigenous people and nature lover to name a few subjects that you’ll read about. I warmed to the local characters and landscapes featured in the book.
I felt the stories are told by someone that has embraced all that Chile has offered her, hard times and all. Highly recommend
The authors’ candid accounts of her experiences in Chile are fascinating; from the perspective of a mother with two son’s, an historian; a political observer; supporter of indigenous people and nature lover to name a few subjects that you’ll read about. I warmed to the local characters and landscapes featured in the book.
I felt the stories are told by someone that has embraced all that Chile has offered her, hard times and all. Highly recommend
September 14, 2025
A very well researched and fascinating portrait of a beautiful and beleaguered country interwoven with the author's own compelling personal story. Vivid descriptions of this land of contrasts and extremes come with perspicacious analysis of its political struggles and upheavals, all from her unique and always entertaining viewpoint. This book is difficult to put down and leaves you wanting more from this outstanding author.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews