About:
Evil on the Roof of the World: A Cycling Trip that Ended in Terror by William Elliott Hazelgrove is a short biography/travelogue of Lauren Geoghagen and Jay Austin’s biking around the world trip. The two Georgetown graduates were murdered in the mountains of Tajikistan by ISIS terrorists, along with other bikers.
- 248 pages
- Publisher : Bloomsbury Academic
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 979-8881800383
My rating for Evil on the Roof of the World – 4
Buy Evil on the Roof of the World from Amazon.com*
More Books by William Elliott Hazelgrove*
Thoughts:
I found this book interesting and moving, Lauren and Jay’s journey is certainly book-worthy. Their short lives should be remembered by more than just family and friends.
I have backpacked before in countries I’ve never been to, but I always knew where I was going to stay at night and the dangers I might encounter. I can’t imagine biking hundreds of thousands of miles and not knowing where you’re going to sleep or even having a plan for emergencies. Like Jay, I believed that good people were around and I was sure I’d find someone who would help if I’m in trouble. The difference was that I didn’t count on Internet service to find a couchsurfing host on short notice.
Evil on the Roof of the World by William Elliott Hazelgrove leads up to the day of the terror attack by writing about Lauren and Jay’s trip, their hopes, dreams and ambitions. He makes them human instead of victims, people instead of botched bodies. He goes through their blogs, interviews family, friends, and even people they met along the way.
The author doesn’t sugarcoat their struggles, physical, mental, or emotional. This once in a lifetime trip, even just reading about it, seemed unnecessarily difficult, frustrating and disappointing.
Along the way, he writes about other travelers who encountered dangers during their trip. From Thomas Stevens cycled around the world from 1884 to 1886 (and wrote a best-seller on his trip) on a larger-wheeled bike, to Cheryl Strayed who wrote a best-selling memoir, Wild, of her trip (which was later made into a movie). I guess these side stories were meant to show us that Lauren and Jay’s difficulties were not unique and were an interesting read but didn’t add anything to the story itself.
Mr. Hazelgrove doesn’t sugarcoat their murder either. That chapter dealing with it is brutal and honest in horrific and upsetting details. But it would be an injustice for the victims to gloss over it or make it palatable.
Towards the end, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this book is written as a response to the thousands of Internet trolls who filled the reports of their murder with vitriol. Trolls aside, this book keeps alive the memory of those murdered in a brutal terror attack.
Buy Evil on the Roof of the World from Amazon.com*
More Books by William Elliott Hazelgrove*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
