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All Abroad: A Memoir of Travel and Obsession
By Geoffrey Weill. 2021
Yearning for an escape from a claustrophobic childhood, Geoffrey Weill became infatuated with travel. At twenty-three, the budding British connoisseur…
made his way across the Atlantic on an ocean liner. The year was 1973, and he was bound for New York to pursue a promising role as consultant-in-training at the headquarters of the world’s oldest travel agency, Thomas Cook. The idyllic trip was reminiscent of those from the early twentieth century but made distinctly modern by a nightly reminder—at the onboard dance club, one was sure to run into a sequin-clad David Bowie. All Abroad is the memoir of a man hungry for the logistics of travel: getting there, staying there, and feeling at home on any continent. Woven into his entertaining anecdotes is an informative account of a lost era in travel. As a witness to compelling and monumental changes in the industry, Weill offers a unique view into how our vacations have been shaped deeply by human trends, tragedies, and technologies. While some long for the grandeur of tourism from decades ago, Weill insists that travel—the conveyances and hotels that await journey’s end—remains as glamorous as ever.
Travel as a Political Act (Rick Steves)
By Rick Steves. 2018
Change the world one trip at a time. In this illuminating collection of stories and lessons from the road, acclaimed…
travel writer Rick Steves shares a powerful message that resonates now more than ever.With the world facing divisive and often frightening events, from Trump, Brexit, and Erdogan, to climate change, nativism, and populism, there's never been a more important time to travel.Rick believes the risks of travel are widely exaggerated, and that fear is for people who don't get out much. After years of living out of a suitcase, he still marvels at how different cultures find different truths to be self-evident. By sharing his experiences from Europe, Central America, Asia, and the Middle East, Rick shows how we can learn more about own country by viewing it from afar.With gripping stories from Rick's decades of exploration, this fully revised edition of Travel as a Political Act is an antidote to the current climate of xenophobia. When we travel thoughtfully, we bring back the most beautiful souvenir of all: a broader perspective on the world that we all call home.All royalties from the sale of Travel as a Political Act are donated to support the work of Bread for the World, a non-partisan organization working to end hunger at home and abroad.
The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers
By Eric Weiner. 2020
The New York Times bestselling author of The Geography of Bliss embarks on a rollicking intellectual journey, following in the…
footsteps of history&’s greatest thinkers and showing us how each—from Epicurus to Gandhi, Thoreau to Beauvoir—offers practical and spiritual lessons for today&’s unsettled times. We turn to philosophy for the same reasons we travel: to see the world from a different perspective, to unearth hidden beauty, and to find new ways of being. We want to learn how to embrace wonder. Face regrets. Sustain hope. Eric Weiner combines his twin passions for philosophy and global travel in a pilgrimage that uncovers surprising life lessons from great thinkers around the world, from Rousseau to Nietzsche, Confucius to Simone Weil. Traveling by train (the most thoughtful mode of transport), he journeys thousands of miles, making stops in Athens, Delhi, Wyoming, Coney Island, Frankfurt, and points in between to reconnect with philosophy&’s original purpose: teaching us how to lead wiser, more meaningful lives. From Socrates and ancient Athens to Simone de Beauvoir and twentieth-century Paris, Weiner&’s chosen philosophers and places provide important signposts as we navigate today&’s chaotic times. In The Socrates Express, Weiner invites us to voyage alongside him on his life-changing pursuit of wisdom and discovery as he attempts to find answers to our most vital questions.
We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year
By Charles Wheelan. 2021
Charlie Wheelan and his family do what others dream of: They take a year off to travel the world. This…
is their story. What would happen if you quit your life for a year? In a pre–COVID-19 world, the Wheelan family decided to find out; leaving behind work, school, and even the family dogs to travel the world on a modest budget. Equal parts "how-to" and "how-not-to"—and with an eye toward a world emerging from a pandemic—We Came, We Saw, We Left is the insightful and often hilarious account of one family’s gap-year experiment. Wheelan paints a picture of adventure and connectivity, juggling themes of local politics, global economics, and family dynamics while exploring answers to questions like: How do you sneak out of a Peruvian town that has been barricaded by the local army? And where can you get treatment for a flesh-eating bacteria your daughter picked up two continents ago? From Colombia to Cambodia, We Came, We Saw, We Left chronicles nine months across six continents with three teenagers. What could go wrong?
The Curse Of Oak Island
By Randall Sullivan. 2018
In 1795, a teenager discovered a mysterious circular depression in the ground on Oak Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada, and…
ignited rumors of buried treasure. Early excavators uncovered a clay-lined shaft containing layers of soil interspersed with wooden platforms, but when they reached a depth of ninety feet, water poured into the shaft and made further digging impossible. Since then the mystery of Oak Island's "Money Pit" has enthralled generations of treasure hunters, including a Boston insurance salesman whose obsession ruined him; young Franklin Delano Roosevelt; and film star Errol Flynn. Perplexing discoveries have ignited explorers' imaginations: a flat stone inscribed in code; a flood tunnel draining from a man-made beach; a torn scrap of parchment; stone markers forming a huge cross. Swaths of the island were bulldozed looking for answers; excavation attempts have claimed two lives. Theories abound as to what's hidden on Oak Island--pirates' treasure, Marie Antoinette's lost jewels, the Holy Grail, proof that Sir Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare's plays--yet to this day, the Money Pit remains an enigma. The Curse of Oak Island is a fascinating account of the strange, rich history of the island and the intrepid treasure hunters who have driven themselves to financial ruin, psychotic breakdowns, and even death in pursuit of answers. And as Michigan brothers Marty and Rick Lagina become the latest to attempt to solve the mystery, as documented on the History Channel's television show The Curse of Oak Island, Sullivan takes readers along to follow their quest firsthand.
Gone Viking: A Travel Saga
By Bill Arnott. 2020
Bill Arnott guides readers on an epic literary odyssey following history’s most feared and misunderstood voyageurs: the Vikings!To “go Viking”…
is to embark on an epic journey. For more than eight years, Bill Arnott journeyed throughout the northern hemisphere, discovering sites Scandinavian explorers raided, traded, and settled – finding Viking history in a wider swath of the planet than most anthropologists and historians ever imagined.With a small pack and weatherproof journal, Bill explores and writes with a journalist’s eye, songwriter’s prose, poet’s perspective, and a comedian’s take on everything else. Prepare yourself for an armchair adventure like no other!From Europe to Asia, the Mediterranean to the British Isles, through Scandinavia to Iceland, Greenland, and the New World, with further excursions around Thor Heyerdahl’s Pacific, Roald Amundsen’s Arctic, and Olaf Crowbone’s stormy North Atlantic, Bill takes readers on a mythic personal adventure in real time – a present-day Viking quest.
For the love of Europe: my favorite places, people, and stories
By Rick Steves. 2020
Rick Steves knows Europe inside and out, and has made a career of inspiring people to explore, connect, and step…
outside their comfort zones. With a brand-new, original introduction from Rick reflecting on his decades of travel, this book features 100 of the best stories published throughout his career
Vanishing America: In Pursuit of Our Elusive Landscapes (Travel Ser.)
By James Conaway. 2007
A mixture of travelogue and personal narrative, James Conaway's smart, informative essays offer an insightful depiction of his journeys between…
Washington, D.C., and Big Sur, California, as he tries to understand what has become of the places, people, and traditions that were once so precious but have now been irreparably changed. Incorporating the voices of cowboys, real estate agents, activists, and many others, he raises vital questions about the merits of sprawling development and the ever-increasing use of resources in the name of "progress." He urges us to consider the value of preservation in our growth-driven culture, as well as the ramifications of prosperity on the places important to our national identity.
Peaks on the Horizon: Two Journeys in Tibet
By Charlie Carroll. 2015
Charlie Carroll's obsession began with his chance discovery of Seven Years in Tibet in the "Adult Reading" section of his…
grade school library. The battered hardcover with faded gold lettering sparked a twenty-year obsession with Tibet, and after combing through every book, article, and documentary on the mysterious and controversial nation, Charlie finally decided it was time to stop reading other people's records and thoughts. A high school English teacher by then, he took a sabbatical and set out to experience the shrouded land for himself. Contending with Chinese bureaucracy, unforgiving terrain, and sickness-inducing altitude, Charlie sought entrance to twenty-first-century Tibet in all its heart-stopping beauty.The same year Charlie was browsing library shelves, Tibetan-born Lobsang was crossing the Himalayas on foot, enduring to flee the volatile region with his family at the young age of five. An exile in Nepal with an ear for languages, then a university student in India, he followed the love of his life back to their home country, only to be separated by China's harsh political backlash. In a teahouse at the border between China and Tibet, Lobsang met Charlie and recounted his extraordinary life story, exemplifying the hardship, resilience, and hope of modern Tibetan life.
The travels of a paleontologist and an artist as they drive across the American West in search of fossils. Throughout…
their journey, they encounter "paleonerds" like themselves, people dedicated to finding everything from suburban T. rexes to ancient fossilized forests.
Come Here Often?: 53 Writers Raise a Glass to Their Favorite Bar
By Ishmael Reed, Malachy Mccourt, Sean Manning, Duff Mckagan, Rosie Schaap. 2013
"A fascinating look into drinking culture around the world" - Condé Nast Traveler"An intoxicating tour" - Time Out New York"Well-curated…
collection of anecdotes, stories and sorrowful remembrances ...A delightful collection that will surely inspire many bar-hopping tours." - Kirkus Reviews"Perfect holiday gift book. . . Between the bars, locales, themes and the writers themselves, there is something here for pretty much everyone." - Forbes.com"This delightful collection of stories takes readers on a journey to cherished watering holes across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia." - Fodor's Travel 2014 Holiday Gift Guide"A reminder that no matter where you are in the world there is always a place nearby that feels like home." - The Paris Review"Like a good bar, the book's clientele of writers and the bars, dives, lounges, and hooch parlors they write about are a diverse, talkative, friendly, serious and funny bunch." - Seattle Magazine"Emotionally resonant, diving well beyond simple stories about watering holes" - Bustle"The handsomely designed, 352-page book covers everything from dives to 'upscale joints,' from Antarctica to Paris. It's often funny, occasionally touching and definitely succeeds in making you thirsty" - The Missoula Independent"In this collection of essays, writers including Joe Meno, Rosie Schaap, and Craig Finn pay tribute to the bars that have shaped them. It's an outstanding and talented group, and a subject that's close to the hearts of many literary types." - Vol. 1 BrooklynA neighborhood bar can become as comfortable as a second home or a memory best avoided-a wild evening half remembered and better forgotten. But what makes a particular bar special, better than the one just down the street? The answers vary considerably as writers share personal stories of drinking establishments both local and exotic. Come Here Often is an intoxicating world tour from Antarctica to New York City, Kiribati to Minnesota, to the places that have inspired-and distracted- some of our favorite contemporary writers over many years and many more drinks.Funny, smart, and poignant, this anthology is a rare opportunity to do some serious armchair drinking with Andrew W.K., Rosie Schaap, Jack Hitt, Jim Shepard, Alissa Nutting, Duff McKagan, Laura Lippman, Craig Finn, Darin Strauss, Elissa Schappell, and many more.Sean Manning is the author of The Things That Need Doing: A Memoir (Broadway, 2010) and editor of four critically acclaimed anthologies including Bound to Last: 30 Writers on Their Most Cherished Book. He has contributed to numerous publications and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Follow Sean on Twitter @talkingcovers.
Lean Out: A Meditation on the Madness of Modern Life
By Tara Henley. 2020
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER"Travel to the land of Couldn't Be More Timely."--Margaret Atwood on Lean Out, in the West End Phoenix"What…
begins as one woman's critique of our culture of overwork and productivity ultimately becomes an investigation into our most urgent problems: vast inequality, loneliness, economic precarity, and isolation from the natural world. Henley punctures the myths of the meritocracy in a way few writers have. This is an essential book for our time." --Mandy Len Catron, author of How to Fall in Love with AnyoneA deeply personal and informed reflection on the modern world--and why so many feel disillusioned by it.In 2016, journalist Tara Henley was at the top of her game working in Canadian media. She had traveled the world, from Soweto to Bangkok and Borneo to Brooklyn, interviewing authors and community leaders, politicians and Hollywood celebrities. But when she started getting chest pains at her desk in the newsroom, none of that seemed to matter.The health crisis--not cardiac, it turned out, but anxiety--forced her to step off the media treadmill and examine her life and the stressful twenty-first century world around her. Henley was not alone; North America was facing an epidemic of lifestyle-related health problems. And yet, the culture was continually celebrating the elite few who thrived in the always-on work world, those who perpetually leaned in. Henley realized that if we wanted innovative solutions to the wave of burnout and stress-related illness, it was time to talk to those who had leaned out. Part memoir, part travelogue, and part investigation, Lean Out tracks Henley's journey from the heart of the connected city to the fringe communities that surround it. From early retirement enthusiasts in urban British Columbia to moneyless men in rural Ireland, Henley uncovers a parallel track in which everyday citizens are quietly dropping out of the mainstream and reclaiming their lives from overwork. Underlying these disparate movements is a rejection of consumerism, a growing appetite for social contribution, and a quest for meaningful connection in this era of extreme isolation and loneliness. As she connects the dots between anxiety and overwork, Henley confronts the biggest issues of our time.
What I Saw in America: Large Print (Anthem Travel Classics Ser.)
By G. K. Chesterton. 2015
An enduring portrait of America's virtues and vices as seen by one of England's greatest thinkers After losing his brother…
in the Great War, a troubled and depressed G. K. Chesterton accepts an invitation to join a lecture tour that will take him across the United States for the first time. Part travelogue, part exploration of the American experiment, What I Saw in America begins with a man of letters trying to reconcile his faith with the atrocities and moral dilemmas of war and expands into an illuminating consideration of the limitations of capitalism, the concept of American exceptionalism, and the future of the democratic system. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
The Nature Instinct: Relearning Our Lost Intuition for the Inner Workings of the Natural World
By Tristan Gooley. 2018
The culmination of everything Tristan Gooley has written so far: How to take your knowledge about the outdoors—and make it…
second nature Readers of master outdoorsman Tristan Gooley have learned that the world is filled with clues to look for—we can use the Big Dipper to tell time, for example, and a budding flower to find south. But what about the innate survival instincts that told Gooley to move on one night, just as he was about to make camp? Everything looked perfect, but something felt wrong. When Gooley returned to his abandoned campsite to search for clues, there they were: All of the tree trunks were slightly bent. The ground had already shifted once in a storm—and could easily shift again, becoming treacherous in heavy rain.The Nature Instinct shows us how Gooley and other expert observers—from hunters in the English countryside to the Pygmy people in the Congo—have recovered and rekindled this lost “sixth sense;” a subconscious,deeper understanding of our surroundings. By training ourselves through slow, careful observation, we too can unlock this kind of intuition—for finding the forest’s edge when deep in the woods, or knowing when a wild animal might pose danger—without even having to stop to think about it.
How to Read Nature: Awaken Your Senses to the Outdoors You've Never Noticed
By Tristan Gooley. 2017
“Equal parts alfresco inspiration, interesting factoids, how-to instructions and self-help advice.”—The Wall Street Journal When most of us go for…
a walk, a single sense—sight—tends to dominate our experience. But when New York Times–bestselling author and expert navigator Tristan Gooley goes for a walk, he uses all five senses to “read” everything nature has to offer. A single lowly weed can serve as his compass, calendar, clock, and even pharmacist.In How to Read Nature, Gooley introduces readers to his world—where the sky, sea, and land teem with marvels. Plus, he shares 15 exercises to sharpen all of your senses. Soon you’ll be making your own discoveries, every time you step outside!
How to Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea
By Tristan Gooley. 2016
A New York Times Bestseller A Forbes Top 10 Conservation and Environment Book of 2016Read the sea like a Viking…
and interpret ponds like a Polynesian—with a little help from the “natural navigator”! In his eye-opening books The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs and The Natural Navigator, Tristan Gooley helped readers reconnect with nature by finding direction from the trees, stars, clouds, and more. Now, he turns his attention to our most abundant—yet perhaps least understood—resource. Distilled from his far-flung adventures—sailing solo across the Atlantic, navigating with Omani tribespeople, canoeing in Borneo, and walking in his own backyard—Gooley shares hundreds of techniques in How to Read Water. Readers will: Find north using puddlesForecast the weather from wavesDecode the colors of pondsSpot dangerous water in the darkDecipher wave patterns on beaches, and more!
Turn Every Walk into a Game of DetectionWhen writer and navigator Tristan Gooley journeys outside, he sees a natural world…
filled with clues. The roots of a tree indicate the sun’s direction; the Big Dipper tells the time; a passing butterfly hints at the weather; a sand dune reveals prevailing wind; the scent of cinnamon suggests altitude; a budding flower points south. To help you understand nature as he does, Gooley shares more than 850 tips for forecasting, tracking, and more, gathered from decades spent walking the landscape around his home and around the world. Whether you’re walking in the country or city, along a coastline, or by night, this is the ultimate resource on what the land, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, and clouds can reveal—if you only know how to look!
Along the Road: Notes and Essays of a Tourist (Paladin Bks.)
By Aldous Huxley. 1925
Witty and &“enchanting&” reflections on the experience of travel, with a focus on art, music, and literature, by the author…
of Brave New World (The Spectator). One of the most renowned and prolific writers of the twentieth century, Aldous Huxley produced not only dystopian fiction like Brave New World and philosophical memoirs like The Doors of Perception, but also insightful travel writing. Here, he discusses his visits to Italy, France, and other European destinations; reflects on cultural landmarks; and ruminates on the benefits and challenges of travel itself, offering a fascinating glimpse into the Europe of a century ago—and the mind of a remarkable author. &“As opposed to those who believe that the best picture is the most famous or expensive one, or the one that wins a prize, Huxley speaks for those prepared to spend contemplative time with works of art.&” —The Sydney Morning Herald
Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku
By Natalie Goldberg. 2020
One of the world&’s foremost writing teachers invites readers on a joyful journey into the reading and origins of haiku…
A haiku is three simple lines. But it is also, as Allen Ginsberg put it, three lines that &“make the mind leap.&” A good one, he said, lets the mind experience &“a small sensation of space which is nothing less than God.&” As many spiritual practices seek to do, the haiku&’s spare yet acute noticing of the immediate and often ordinary grounds the reader in the pure awareness of now. Natalie Goldberg is a delightfully companionable tour guide into this world. She highlights the history of the form, dating back to the seventeenth century; shows why masters such as Basho and Issa are so revered; discovers Chiyo-ni, an important woman haiku master; and provides insight into writing and reading haiku. A fellow seeker who travels to Japan to explore the birthplace of haiku, Goldberg revels in everything she encounters, including food and family, painting and fashion, frogs and ponds. She also experiences and allows readers to share in the spontaneous and profound moments of enlightenment and awakening that haiku promises.
A Remarkable Curiosity: Dispatches from a New York City Journalist's 1873 Railroad Trip across the American West
By Jerald T. Milanich. 2008
Collected in this volume for the first time are Cummings's portraits of a land and its assortment of characters unlike…
anything back East. Characters like Pedro Armijo, the New Mexican sheep tycoon who took Denver by storm, and more prominently the Mormon prophet Brigham Young and one of his wives, Ann Eliza Young, who was filing for divorce at the time of Cummings's arrival. Although today he is virtually unknown, during his lifetime Cummings was one of the most famous newspapermen in the United States, in part because of stories like these. Complete with a biographical sketch and historical introduction, A Remarkable Curiosity is an enjoyable read for anybody interested in the American West in the latter half of the nineteenth century.