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Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
By Isabella Lucy Bird. 2000
In 1878, a decade after Japan was launched into the world of modern nations by the Meiji restoration of 1868,…
Isabella Lucy Bird set off alone to explore the interior.Ninety years ago Japan was still a mysterious country to Westerners. Miss Bird must have presented a fearsome sight to Japanese villagers when she came into view clad in American mountain dress and Wellington boots. However the country people liked her. She took off her boots before entering houses, she was of small stature, of quiet voice, and courteous! Many of the Japanese she met had never seen a European before. They were convinced all Westerners were uncouth barbarians.The Japan Isabella Bird describes is not the sentimental world of a Madame Butterfly, festooned with cherry blossoms. She describes real people in back country districts. Peasant life in Japan had never been easy but in early Meiji Japan, when the country was in a state of cultural shock following the opening of its doors to Western civilization, the drain of wealth from rural Japan to all-important Tokyo was particularly hard on the rural population. In this classic Japanese travelogue we see a side of Japan that is little known today.A Woman in the Polar Night
By Christiane Ritter. 2010
In this extraordinary adventure, a reluctant visitor to the Arctic thrives in the awesome and unforgiving landscape.In 1933, Christiane Ritter,…
a painter from Austria, travelled to Spitsbergen, an Arctic island north of Norway, to be with her husband. He had been taking part in a scientific expedition and stayed on to hunt and fish. "Leave everything as it is and follow me to the Arctic," he wrote to his wife; but for Christiane, "as for all central Europeans, the Arctic was just another word for freezing and forsaken solitude. I did not follow at once." Eventually she gave in, lured by his compelling stories about the remarkable wildlife and alluring light shows. She says: "They told of journeys by water and over ice, of the animals and the fascination of the wilderness, of the strange light over the landscape, of the strange illumination of one's own self in the remoteness of the polar night. In his descriptions there was practically never any mention of cold or darkness, of storms or hardships."What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim
By Jane Christmas. 2007
To celebrate her 50th birthday and face the challenges of mid-life, Jane Christmas joins 14 women to hike the Camino…
de Santiago de Compostela. Despite a psychic's warning of catfights, death, and a sexy, fair-haired man, Christmas soldiers on. After a week of squabbles, the group splinters and the real adventure begins. In vivid, witty style, she recounts her battles with loneliness, hallucinations of being joined by Steve Martin, as well as picturesque villages and even the fair-haired man. What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim is one trip neither the author nor the reader will forget.The Disunited States
By Vladimir Pozner, Alison Strayer. 2009
Influential French novelist, screenwriter, pioneer in literary genre and Oscar nominee Vladimir Pozner came to the United States in the…
1930s. He found the nation and its people in a state of profound material and spiritual crisis, and took it upon himself to chronicle the life of the worker, the striker, the politician, the starlet, the gangster, the everyman; to document the bitter, violent racism tearing our society asunder, the overwhelming despair permeating everyday life, and the unyielding human struggle against all that. Pozner writes about America and Americans with the searing criticism and deep compassion of an outsider who loves the country and its people far too much to render anything less than a brutally honest portrayal. Recalling Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Pozner shatters the rules of reportage to create a complete enduring and profound portrait. From the Trade Paperback edition.ep compassion of an outsider who loved the country and its people far too much to render anything less than a brutally honest portrayal. Recalling Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, he shatters the rules of reportage to create a complete portrait of America, enduring and profound.From the Trade Paperback edition.At Home in Japan
By Rebecca Otowa. 2010
At Home in Japan tells the true story of a foreign woman who has been, for 30 years, the housewife,…
custodian and chatelaine of a 350-year-old farmhouse in rural Japan. This astonishing book traces a circular path, from the basic physical details of life in the house and village, through relationships with family, neighbors and the natural and supernatural entities with whom the family shares the house. Rebecca Otowa then focuses on her inner life, touching on some of the pivotal memories of her time in Japan, the lessons inperception that Japan has taught her and, finally, the ways in which she has been changed by living in Japan.An insightful and compelling read, At Home in Japan is a beautifully written and illustrated reminiscence of a simple life made extraordinary.Zoroaster's Children
By Marius Kociejowski. 2015
Bringing together the best of Marius Kociejowski's travel writing, Zoroaster's Children snags on the borderline between dream and meaning, offering…
unusual glimpses of some of the places, exotic or otherwise, the author has been. Attracted to society's outcasts--as it is these, he argues, which point towards an underground of conformity that will not contain them--Kociejowksi offers in these essays glimpses of locales as diverse and seemingly divergent as Prague, Tunisia, Moscow, Aleppo and Toronto, among others. By turns empathetic and virtuosic, and always on the lookout for the deeper meaning seeded inside language, the essays in Zoroaster's Children evince the deep absorption in a people and a place which are the hallmark of all great travel writers.Paddling North
By Audrey Sutherland, Yoshiko Yamamoto. 1952
In a tale remarkable for its quiet confidence and acute natural observation, the author of Paddling Hawaii begins with her…
decision, at age 60, to undertake a solo, summer-long voyage along the southeast coast of Alaska in an inflatable kayak. Paddling North is a compilation of Sutherland's first two (of over 20) such annual trips and her day-by-day travels through the Inside Passage from Ketchikan to Skagway. With illustrations and the author's recipes.Venice Is a Fish
By Tiziano Scarpa. 2009
One of Italy s brightest literary lights reinvents travel writing with a seductive intoxicating celebration of the magical saltwater…
city Venice is a fish writes Tiziano Scarpa It s like a vast sole stretched out against the deep How did this marvelous beast make its way up the Adriatic and fetch up here of all places Paying homage to his native city in a lyrical and evocative style he guides readers down tiny alleys over bridges and through squares daring us to lose ourselves forget the guidebooks and experience Venice as Venetians do Venice Is a Fish provides no hotel ratings or museum hours Instead in a delightful initiation Scarpa tells us how to balance while standing on a gondola where lovers will find the best secret hiding places the finer points of etiquette and navigation during an agua alta and how best to defend ourselves from the pitiless beauty of one of the world s most stimulating cities Open Venice Is a Fish and Scarpa s magnificent images secret history and hidden lore unfold like a treasure map of the sensesChicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul: Stories of Adventure, Inspiration and Insight to Celebrate the Spirit of Travel
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Steve Zikman. 2012
Whether your idea of travel at its finest is trekking through Europe with a backpack, a map and a foreign-language…
dictionary; road-tripping across America in a fully loaded RV; or cruising the Caribbean aboard a luxury liner, Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul celebrates the people you'll meet, the lands you'll discover and the lessons you'll learn. Like traveling itself, the stories in this book will take you on a journey of adventure, insight, and discovery. Through the real-life experiences of others, you'll see that regardless of the destination, it is the journey that provides the fondest memories. You'll be inspired by these treasured tales of fellow travelers who formed lasting friendships, fell in love, challenged themselves, and cherished the hospitality of others. These stories show that when traveling--as in life--sometimes it's the unplanned adventures that provide us with the most opportunities for growth; that a twist in the road or a change in our itinerary teaches us not to fear the unknown, but to welcome and savor its surprises. With chapters including Living Your Dream, Getting There, Our Common Bond, Making a Difference, On Healing, On Love, A Matter of Perspective, The Kindness of Strangers, and Wisdom Along the Way, this book will guide you to where you want to go and celebrate the places you've already been. Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul will rekindle the spirit of every traveler, offer a deeper connection to people across the globe and provide you with a richer appreciation of the journey.Japanese Portraits
By Donald Richie. 2006
The private collections of longtime Japan resident Donald Richie capture the personalities of certain Japanese people--some famous, some unknown--with insight…
and humor. Richie, who considers himself a foreigner despite living in Japan for over 53 years, is a keen observer of human nature. In Japanese Portraits, he provides an elegant and perceptive vision of Japan through precise, intimate portraits of ordinary and extraordinary Japanese people. Portraits include such notable Japanese as acclaimed filmmakers Akira Kurowasa and Yasujiro Ozu, famed novelist Yukio Mishima, and celebrated actor Toshiro Mifune.In Search of the Perfect Loaf
By Samuel Fromartz. 2014
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST FOOD BOOKS OF 2014 BY THE ATLANTIC AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC"If you love great bread, you…
will love this book! From Paris, to Berlin, to Marienthal, Kansas, we follow Sam on his quest as he shares his love for bread and the 'baking secrets' he learned along the way."-Daniel Leader, founder of Bread Alone Bakery and author of Bread Alone "This fascinating, beautifully written memoir reveals Sam Fromartz as that rare breed of cook: craftsman, historian and scientist all in one."-Alice Waters, chef/owner of Chez Panisse and author of The Art of Simple FoodIn 2009, journalist Samuel Fromartz was offered the assignment of a lifetime: to travel to France to work in a boulangerie. So began his quest to hone not just his homemade baguette--which later beat out professional bakeries to win the "Best Baguette of D.C."--but his knowledge of bread, from seed to table.For the next four years, Fromartz traveled across the United States and Europe, perfecting his sourdough in California, his whole grain rye in Berlin, and his country wheat in the South of France. Along the way, he met historians, millers, farmers, wheat geneticists, sourdough biochemists, and everyone in between, learning about the history of breadmaking, the science of fermentation, and more. The result is an informative yet personal account of bread and breadbaking, complete with detailed recipes, tips, and beautiful photographs.Entertaining and inspiring, this book will be a touchstone for a new generation of bakers and a must-read for anyone who wants to take a deeper look at this deceptively ordinary, exceptionally delicious staple: handmade bread.Getting to Grey Owl
By Kurt Caswell. 2015
Writer, teacher, and adventurer Kurt Caswell has spent his adult life canoeing, hiking, and pedaling his way toward a deeper…
understanding of our vast and varied world. Getting to Grey Owl: A Man's Journey across Four Continents chronicles over twenty years of Caswell's travels as he buys a rug in Morocco, rides a riverboat in China, attends a bullfight in Spain, climbs four mountains in the United Kingdom, and backpacks a challenging route through Iceland's wild Hornstrandir Peninsula. Writing in the tradition of such visionary nomads as Hermann Hesse, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bruce Chatwin, Paul Theroux, Pico Iyer, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Wordsworth, Caswell travels through wild and urban landscapes, as well as philosophical and ideological vistas, championing the pleasures of a wandering life. Far from the trappings of the everyday, he explores a range of ideas: the meaning of roads and pathways, the story of Cain and Abel, nomadic life and the evolution of the human animal, the role of agriculture in the making of the modern world, and the fragility of love.Neither Here Nor There
By Bill Bryson. 1992
In the early seventies, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe--in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. He was accompanied by an…
unforgettable sidekick named Stephen Katz (who will be gloriously familiar to readers of Bryson's A Walk in the Woods). Twenty years later, he decided to retrace his journey. The result is the affectionate and riotously funny Neither Here Nor There. A New York Times BestsellerChicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Steve Zikman. 2012
Whether your idea of travel at its finest is trekking through Europe with a backpack, a map and a foreign-language…
dictionary; road-tripping across America in a fully loaded RV; or cruising the Caribbean aboard a luxury liner, Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul celebrates the people you'll meet, the lands you'll discover and the lessons you'll learn. Like traveling itself, the stories in this book will take you on a journey of adventure, insight, and discovery. Through the real-life experiences of others, you'll see that regardless of the destination, it is the journey that provides the fondest memories. You'll be inspired by these treasured tales of fellow travelers who formed lasting friendships, fell in love, challenged themselves, and cherished the hospitality of others. These stories show that when traveling--as in life--sometimes it's the unplanned adventures that provide us with the most opportunities for growth; that a twist in the road or a change in our itinerary teaches us not to fear the unknown, but to welcome and savor its surprises. With chapters including Living Your Dream, Getting There, Our Common Bond, Making a Difference, On Healing, On Love, A Matter of Perspective, The Kindness of Strangers, and Wisdom Along the Way, this book will guide you to where you want to go and celebrate the places you've already been. Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul will rekindle the spirit of every traveler, offer a deeper connection to people across the globe and provide you with a richer appreciation of the journey.Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Raymond Aaron, Janet Matthews. 2012
Wearing poppies on your lapel during the month of November. Enjoying local fiddlers playing music on Cape Breton Island. Cheering…
your favorite team on during Hockey Night. Swatting mosquitoes in Muskoka on the first long weekend in May. Driving the Trans-Canada Highway. Questioning why the ABC song ends in "z" and not "zed." All these things are distinctly Canadian and now there's another one more: Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul. Written by fellow Canadians from Cape Breton Island to Prince Edward Island, from Montreal to Vancouver, this book reveals the people, the history and the special moments that give Canada such a distinctive charm and character. With chapters including: On Being Canadian, Living Your Dream, Overcoming Obstacles, On Love, On Kindness, and Making a Difference, these stories weave a rich tapestry of life from the people who call Canada home. Notable stories include: hockey player Paul Henderson's "Goal of the Century," Chief Dan George's recounting of his great land, Marilyn Bell DiLascio's historic 1954 Lake Ontario swim, cartoonist Lynn Johnston's delightful story of an encounter with Wayne Gretzky, and journalist Sally Armstrong's details of Princess Diana's first trip to Canada. Like hearing a heartfelt version of "O, Canada!" this book will instill renewed pride and patriotism in a well-deserving country and its people.That's Not English
By Lynne Truss, Erin Moore. 2015
An expat's witty and insightful exploration of English and American cultural differences through the lens of language that will leave…
readers gobsmackedIn That's Not English, the seemingly superficial differences between British and American English open the door to a deeper exploration of a historic and fascinating cultural divide. In each of the thirty chapters, Erin Moore explains a different word we use that says more about us than we think. For example, "Quite" exposes the tension between English reserve and American enthusiasm; in "Moreish," she addresses our snacking habits. In "Partner," she examines marriage equality; in "Pull," the theme is dating and sex; "Cheers" is about drinking; and "Knackered" covers how we raise our kids. The result is a cultural history in miniature and an expatriate's survival guide. American by birth, Moore is a former book editor who specialized in spotting British books--including Eats, Shoots & Leaves--for the US market. She's spent the last seven years living in England with her Anglo American husband and a small daughter with an English accent. That's Not English is the perfect companion for modern Anglophiles and the ten million British and American travelers who visit one another's countries each year.Against Venice
By John Howe, Regis Debray. 2002
Numerous writers have made declarations of love to cities, but Against Venice speaks not of love, but of dislike. It…
is a counterblast to intellectuals who regard Venice as the city where existentialism should be experienced, at parties in the palazzi of friends. Debray criticises this world in a refreshingly irreverent way, luring the traveller back to this seductive city.Meet Me in Atlantis
By Mark Adams. 2015
The New York Times bestselling author of Turn Right at Machu Picchu sets out to uncover the truth behind the…
legendary lost city of Atlantis.A few years ago, Mark Adams made a strange discovery: Everything we know about the lost city of Atlantis comes from the work of one man, the Greek philosopher Plato. Then he made a second, stranger discovery: Amateur explorers are still actively searching for this sunken city all around the world, based entirely on the clues Plato left behind.Exposed to the Atlantis obsession, Adams decides to track down these people and determine why they believe it's possible to find the world's most famous lost city and whether any of their theories could prove or disprove its existence. He visits scientists who use cutting-edge technology to find legendary civilizations once thought to be fictional. He examines the numerical and musical codes hidden in Plato's writings, and with the help of some charismatic sleuths traces their roots back to Pythagoras, the sixth-century BC mathematician. He learns how ancient societies transmitted accounts of cataclysmic events--and how one might dig out the "kernel of truth" in Plato's original tale.Meet Me in Atlantis is Adams's enthralling account of his quest to solve one of history's greatest mysteries; a travelogue that takes readers to fascinating locations to meet irresistible characters; and a deep, often humorous look at the human longing to rediscover a lost world.The Best Women's Travel Writing, Volume 10
By Lavinia Spalding. 2014
Since publishing the original edition of A Woman's World in 1995, Travelers' Tales has been the recognized national leader in…
women's travel literature, and with the launch of the annual series The Best Travel Writing in 2004, the obvious next step was an annual collection of the best women's travel writing of the year. This title is the tenth in that series -- The Best Women's Travel Writing -- presenting stimulating, inspiring, and uplifting adventures from women who have traveled to the ends of the earth to discover new places, peoples, and facets of themselves. The common threads connecting these stories are a female perspective and fresh, compelling storytelling to make the reader laugh, weep, wish she were there, or be glad she wasn't. The points of view and perspectives are global, and the themes are as eclectic as in all of our books, including stories that encompass spiritual growth, hilarity and misadventure, high adventure, romance, solo journeys, stories of service to humanity, family travel, and encounters with exotic cuisine.Bangkok Babylon
By Jerry Hopkins. 2009
In the colorful tradition of Orwell and Hemingway, Maugham and Theroux, Jerry Hopkins recalls his first decade as a Bangkok…
expatriate by profiling twenty-five of the city's most unforgettable characters.Among them are the man thought to be the model for Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, an advertising executive who photographs Thai bargirls for Playboy, an Oscar-winning screenwriter who moved there to die, a Catholic priest who has lived and worked in the Bangkok slums for 35 years, a circus dwarf turned computer programmer turned restaurateur, three Vietnam war helicopter pilots who opened a go-go bar, a pianist at one of the world's best hotels who ended up on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, a gem dealer who smuggles antiquities from Burma and Cambodia, a detective who tracks runaways who fake their deaths, and a documentary filmmaker who lives with elephants.All of them "escaped" to Thailand to re-invent themselves and live out their fantasies in one of the world's most notorious cities..