{"product_id":"down-old-roads","title":"Down Old Roads","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"This is the E8,\" my father said. \"It runs from London to Moscow.\"For a million years people have been travelling throughout Europe, from the mysterious homo antecessor who left his footprints on the coast of England to travellers on the motorways of today. Under every footstep lies an older one, under every paved road a donkey trail or wagon rut, under every footpath the prints of a hunter or his prey.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd yet the long, nation-spanning roads of Europe don't hold a special place in the imaginations and identities of its residents. No classic songs have been written about the E8, the way Americans have written about Route 66. Are Europeans too attached to their own home patch? Or have they too often seen armies marching towards them along those roads?Eager to answer that question, Mathijs Deen goes in search of the warriors, refugees, bandits, pilgrims, fortune-seekers, conquerors and racers who advanced into history along the roads of Europe.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mathijs Deen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55814729662849,"sku":null,"price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0429\/8116\/3166\/files\/9781529438796.jpg?v=1781791385","url":"https:\/\/bookshop.wigtownbookfestival.com\/products\/down-old-roads","provider":"Wigtown Festival Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}