Eric Newby Dies

Via Gadling, we were sad to hear that Eric Newby, one of the world's best travel writers, had died Friday evening. He was 86.

For those of us with strong ties to Tuscany's Lunigiana region, the news is especially sad. Newby wrote of his experiences as a prisoner of war in the Lunigiana in "Love and War in the Apennines" (check prices) later made into a popular film. The work highlighted the strong will of the resistance in a region ravaged by Nazi revenge.

Newby returned after the war to purchase a house near Fosdinovo (See pictures of Fosdinovo and its castle), later writing about the experience in "A Small Place in Italy" (check prices).

Eric Newby and his fine travel writing will be missed.