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Showing 161 - 180 of 1443 items
By Michel Peissel. 1997
More than thirty years ago, Michael Peisel's classic, Mustang: A Lost Tibetan Kingdom, introduced the world to a region more…
isolated than the deepest Amazon. Against the odds--and in the tradition of the nineteenth-century explorers of whom he is a direct descendant--Peissel has combed Tibet for forty years and has come to know one of the last nomadic peoples on earth to live with what he calls a "Stone Age memory."In 1994, seizing the rarest of opportunities to journey deep into occupied Tibet, he accomplished what scores of Western explorers had tried and failed to do for more than a hundred years: He found the source of the Mekong River in the ice-strewn fields on the "roof of the world."This immensely readable account tells how a small group of modern adventurers made history not once, but twice, in the course of a single year: by accurately charting the origins of one of Asia's most majestic and storied waterways and by finding a living fossil, the Riwoche horse, a species unknown to contemporary zoology that may prove to be a missing link in equine evolution.The book's stage is forbidden Tibet--with its tragic politics, its natural wonder, and its fiercely independent nomadic tubes, who are known to the chinese as "the last barbarians."By Joseph A. Comm. 2010
Once described as "a place where God and man went fifty-fifty to produce perfection," Rock Springs Park remained a landmark…
along the Lincoln Highway in Chester until 1970. In its heyday, this panhandle playground captivated 20,000 visitors daily with attractions including the World's Greatest Scenic Railway, the Cyclone Roller Coaster, and a hand-carved 1927 Dentzel Carousel. Images of America: Rock Springs Park features over 200 rarely seen images and portrays the lifespan of the park from its history as Native American hunting grounds to its development as a local trolley park and full-fledged amusement park. The park hosted business and community picnic excursions and countless celebrity entertainers. Performer Bobby Vinton remembers the era of dances at the park as "a very romantic time . . . almost like something in the movies. There was the carousel, the guys in white shoes and girls that were all dressed up with their crinoline skirts."By Bob Santos, Gary Iwamoto. 2015
Seattle's Gang of Four changed the face of the city in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s by bringing four ethnic…
groups together in battle against city powerbrokers over development, poverty, fishing rights, and gentrification. The four leaders learned quickly that working together provided greater results than working apart. This is the story of a powerful political alliance and lifelong friendships forged through sit-ins, protest rallies, and other acts of civil disobedience. "We got very good at occupying buildings," remarked one of the Gang.Bob Santos and Gary Iwamoto recall how a Native American, Asian American, African American, and Mexican American came together to fight for their neighborhoods and their people.Bob Santos has spent most of his life in the International District of Seattle. He grew up in the N.P. Hotel with his widowed father, Sammy Santos, a professional prizefighter. He was hired in 1972 to lead the International District Improvement Association (Inter*Im). During his tenure at Inter*Im, Santos organized property owners, businesses, residents, and activists from the Asian American community to preserve the neighborhood and build new housing.Gary Iwamoto is a regular contributing writer for the International Examiner, an Asian Pacific Islander community newspaper. He has written several plays, notably Miss Minidoka 1943, which was produced by the Northwest Asian American Theater. He and Bob Santos also wrote Humbows, Not Hot Dogs in 2002.By Jim Futrell, Paul Nelson. 2013
Waldameer Park overlooks Lake Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania. This area has been a popular retreat for people since opening in…
1896. As one of the last surviving "trolley parks" in America, Waldameer Park has a story of growth and survival. Originally, the park's main attraction was its beach on the lake; it was a popular destination in Erie for people to go and escape the heat of summer. Over the years, Waldameer Park changed significantly. In the early 20th century, rides like Dip the Dips, Ravine Flyer, and Mill Run grew to be the main attractions at the park. Over the past three decades, Waldameer Park has grown into a modern amusement park, while maintaining its beloved nostalgic atmosphere. Today, visitors cool off in the Water World water park and enjoy thrill rides like the Comet, Steel Dragon, X-scream, and Ravine Flyer II.By Tim Hollis. 2009
For centuries, explorers and pioneers told of a place in Georgia where there was a gigantic mountain of solid granite…
resembling "a great gray egg lying half-buried on a vast plain." In time, Stone Mountain, 15 miles east of Atlanta, became a local landmark. In 1915, it was decided that the mountain's sheer north face would be a good spot to carve a lasting memorial to the lost cause of the Confederacy. This proved to be easier said than done. Before the project was completed, one of Georgia's top tourist attractions was established around Stone Mountain's base.By Steve Liebowitz. 2016
Atlantic City has worn the tag of "America's Playground" since its earliest days, so it is only natural that its…
biggest and most well-known icon, the Steel Pier, would be known as the "Showplace of the Nation." Over the course of 80 years, from 1898 to 1978, Steel Pier developed from a quiet, genteel amusement that featured light classical music and cakewalks to a vast entertainment complex that offered movies, big-name vaudeville acts, exhibits, big bands, rock bands, and the Water Circus with its famed diving horse. What makes this even more compelling is that one could spend the entire day on the pier and take all of this in for one small admission.By Scott E. Fowler. 2010
LeSourdsville Lake, also known as Americana Amusement Park by a generation of visitors, was a popular recreational park for many…
decades despite being located within 15 miles of Kings Island, one of the premier theme parks in the country. Emphasis on providing quality food and personalized catering enabled the park to host hundreds of annual company picnics, high school proms, and family reunions. The park's success was maintained by featuring such classic rides as the Electric Rainbow and the Whip and the Screechin' Eagle and Serpent roller coasters, while the Stardust Gardens provided quality entertainment ranging from the best of the big bands to the greatest music and television stars of the 1960s. Families visited "the Lake" as religiously as they drove the same route to work every day.By Gabriel Horn. 2003
Most lives are lived solely in the present. But some lives are also lived with a spiritual and historical connection…
to the past. These lives grant us a sense of hope for the future. Native Heart is the story of Gabriel Horn and his attempt to live a modern man's life that's true to the indigenous spirit of this land we call America. As a teacher in the American Indian Movement Survival Schools, and as a writer, activist, husband, and father, Horn presents a challenging and haunting perspective on our "new world" culture and values. Whether it's revealing a genocide Western historians choose to ignore, enabling Native American prisoners to pray with the pipe, or teaching his own Native children the lessons of nature and history, Horn stays true to his heart and to the vision that inspired his journey. His encounters with the "shadow people," his relationship to the Earth, and his quest for understanding and purpose within the "Great Holy Mystery" are retold in this intimate autobiographical novel.By Todd Balf. 2000
It was the ultimate whitewater adventure on the Mount Everest of rivers, and the biggest challenge of their lives....October 1998…
an American whitewater paddling team traveled deep into the Tsangpo Gorge in Tibet to run the Yarlung Tsangpo, known in paddling circles as the "Everest of rivers." On Day 12 of that trip, the team's ace paddler, one of four kayakers on the river, launched off an eight-foot waterfall and flipped. He and his overturned kayak spilled into the heart of the thunderous "freight training" river and were swept downstream, never to be seen again.The Last River: The Tragic Race for Shangri-la is a breathtaking account of this ill-fated expedition, a fascinating exploration of what propelled these kayakers to take on the seething big water and perilous Himalayan terrain of the deepest gorge on the planet. This was the magical Shangri-la of legend, a 140-mile-long canyon framed by 25,000-foot snowcapped peaks, a place of unimaginable beauty called Pemako in ancient Buddhist texts that was rumored to contain mammoth waterfalls. At the close of the twentieth century, an end-to-end descent of the gorge filled the imaginations of some of the best boaters in the world, who saw in the foam and fury of the Tsangpo's rapids the ultimate whitewater challenge. For Wick Walker and Tom McEwan, extreme whitewater pioneers, best friends, and trip leaders, the Tsangpo adventure with Doug Gordon, Olympic medal-winning paddler Jamie McEwan (Tom's brother), and Roger Zbel was the culmination of a twenty-five-year quest. Fueled by narratives of early explorers, Walker and McEwan kept their dream alive and waited until the Chinese government opened the gorge to Westerners. With financial backing from the National Geographic Society, the group was finally good to go in 1998. Swollen to three times the size they had expected because of record rains and heavy snowmelt, the Tsangpo lived up to its fearsome reputation. On numerous occasions the team questioned whether to continue, but chose to press forward. The Last River probes beyond the extreme sports clichés and looks at the complex personal and intellectual reasons for the seemingly irresistible draw of Tibet's Great River. For Walker, Gordon, Zbel, and the McEwans -- husbands, fathers, friends, and brothers -- the Tsangpo wasn't a run toward death but a celebration of life, adventure, and the thing that tied them to one another -- awe-inspiring rivers. The Last River is also a riveting journey to one of the world's wildest and most alluring places, a thrilling book that invites us into the Himalayas of Jon Krakauer's classic, Into Thin Air, but from a totally new perspective -- on a historic river so remote that only the most hardy and romantic souls attempt to unlock its mysteries. Visit www.randomhouse.com/features/lastriverFrom the Hardcover edition.By Scott Rutherford. 2013
Located near Charlotte, Carowinds has long been considered the "Thrill Capital of the Southeast!" The brainchild of Earl Patterson Hall,…
a self-made businessman and real estate developer, Carowinds is an exciting day for children and adults alike. Inspired by a trip to Disneyland in 1957, Hall envisioned an amusement park for the citizens of the Carolinas. In 1973, after four years of planning and construction, Carowinds opened to the public on a large site that straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border. Throughout the 1970s, visitors enjoyed rides such as the Witchdoctor and White Lightnin'. Currently, the park features rides, shows, and attractions for all, including Intimidator, the tallest and fastest coaster in the Southeast. Carowinds showcases the rich history of this Carolina amusement park celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013.By Laura J. Hoffman. 2014
Coney Island is famous for so much more than just hot dogs and wild rides. At the turn of the…
20th century, it was known as the "Playground of the World." In the beginning, this upscale resort area catered to the rich. Between 1897 and 1904, three lavish amusements parks opened in Coney Island. By 1920, the subway extended to Stillwell Avenue, which made Coney Island more accessible for everyone. The abundant history is remarkable, and its peaks and valleys closely resemble one of its most famous icons, the roller coaster. Coney Island hit its apex between 1910 and 1930. Afterwards, it suffered through the Great Depression, went into major decline after World War II, and hit bottom in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, there has been a profound revitalization effort to bring the area back to its glory days. Despite the major setback caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the spirit of Coney Island is alive and well.By Brad Olsen, Bruce Northam. 1999
These short travel essays from around the globe get to the heart of what the words travel and adventure really…
mean. In Search of Adventure explores the good, the bad, and the ugly of what traveling the world has to offer. The "Trampled Underfoot" section features tales of woe on the road--the worst of the worst, or making the best of the worst. In "Global Issues & Viewpoints," authors explore the changing world, oppressive governments, and the homogenizing of world cultures. From warm and inviting to raw and shocking, these nonfiction travel pieces present disparate viewpoints on the diverse world in which we live and leave no emotion untouched.By Joshua Slocum. 1956
"One of the most readable books in the whole library of adventure." -- Sports Illustrated. Classic of sea adventure conveys…
all the excitement of being the first man to sail around the world, alone, in small boat. Pirates, perils, witty observations, stories. 67 illustrations. "A literary gem, adroitly and engagingly written." -- National Fisherman.Heroism and horror abound in these true stories of 16 great explorers who journeyed to the Arctic and Antarctic regions,…
two exquisite and unique ice wildernesses. Recounted are the exciting North Pole adventures of Erik the Red in 982 and the elusive searches for the "Northwest Passage" and "Farthest North" of Henry Hudson, Fridtjof Nansen, Fredrick Cook, and Robert Peary. Coverage of the South Pole begins with Captain Cook in 1772; continues through the era of land grabbing and the race to reach the Pole with James Clark Ross, Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott, and Ernest Shackleton; and ends with an examination of the scientists at work there today. Astounding photographs and journal entries, sidebars on the Inuit and polar animals, and engaging activities bring the harrowing expeditions to life. Activities include making a Viking compass, building a model igloo, making a cross staff to measure latitude, creating a barometer, making pemmican, and writing a newspaper like William Parry's "Winter Chronicle." The North and South Poles become exciting routes to learning about science, geography, and history.By Matt Gross. 2013
While writing his celebrated Frugal Traveler column for the New York Times, Matt Gross began to feel hemmed in by…
its focus on what he thought of as "traveling on the cheap at all costs." When his editor offered him the opportunity to do something less structured, the Getting Lost series was born, and Gross began a more immersive form of travel that allowed him to "lose his way all over the globe"--from developing-world megalopolises to venerable European capitals, from American sprawl to Asian archipelagos. And that's what the never-before-published material in The Turk Who Loved Apples is all about: breaking free of the constraints of modern travel and letting the place itself guide you. It's a variety of travel you'll love to experience vicariously through Matt Gross--and maybe even be inspired to try for yourself.By Levison Wood. 2016
Following his trek along the length of the Nile River, explorer Levison Wood takes on his greatest challenge yet-navigating the…
treacherous foothills of the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range. Praised by Bear Grylls, Levison Wood has been called "the toughest man on TV" (The Times UK). Now, following in the footsteps of the great explorers, Levison recounts the beauty and danger he found along the Silk Road route of Afghanistan, the Line of Control between Pakistan and India, the disputed territories of Kashmir and the earth-quake ravaged lands of Nepal. Over the course of six months, Wood and his trusted guides trek 1,700 gruelling miles across the roof of the world. Packed with action and emotion, Walking the Himalayas is the story of one intrepid man's travels in a world poised on the edge of tremendous change.By James Bartleman. 2016
2016 Speaker's Book Award — Shortlisted A look back over Bartleman’s seventy years, from his childhood of poverty to becoming…
the Queen’s representative in Ontario. James Bartleman, Ontario’s first Native lieutenant governor, looks back over seventy years to his childhood and youth to describe how learning to read at any early age led him to dream dreams, empowering him to serve his country as an ambassador. In time, Bartleman’s exciting and fulfilling career as a Canadian diplomat took him to a dozen countries around the world, from Bangladesh to Cuba, and from Australia to South Africa. After a vicious beating in a hotel room robbery in South Africa, however, he was forced to come to terms with a deepening depression. In the end, Bartleman found new meaning in life when he became the Queen’s representative in Ontario and mobilized the public to support his initiatives championing books and education for Native children. Seasons of Hope is the extraordinary story of an extraordinary man, and of his constant journey to hope.By Ty Herndon, Stephen W. Phillips. 2016
By the late 1960s, the Ryman Auditorium--the fifth home of the Grand Ole Opry--was a deteriorating firetrap in a seedy…
part of Nashville, yet it still attracted thousands of people each weekend to the "show that made country music famous." In an effort to develop an attraction that could sustain a larger Opry all week long, Opryland was born. Opryland USA operated from May 27, 1972, until December 31, 1997, attracting millions of visitors each year and giving many celebrities their first taste of show business. The park consisted of nine areas, dozens of rides, and Broadway-caliber shows featuring live bands and orchestras. As the "Home of American Music," Opryland USA still lives on in the hearts and minds of those who visited its wooded trails, lazy streams, exciting attractions, and toe-tapping performances.By Joel Pfister. 2009
Honored in his own time as one of the most prominent Indian public intellectuals, Henry Roe Cloud (c. 1884-1950) fought…
to open higher education to Indians. Joel Pfister's extensive archival research establishes the historical significance of key chapters in the Winnebago's remarkable life. Roe Cloud was the first Indian to receive undergraduate and graduate degrees from Yale University, where he was elected to the prestigious and intellectual Elihu Club. Pfister compares Roe Cloud's experience to that of other "college Indians" and also to African Americans such as W. E. B. Du Bois. Roe Cloud helped launch the Society of American Indians, graduated from Auburn seminary, founded a preparatory school for Indians, and served as the first Indian superintendent of the Haskell Institute (forerunner of Haskell Indian Nations University). He also worked under John Collier at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where he was a catalyst for the Indian New Deal. Roe Cloud's white-collar activism was entwined with the Progressive Era formation of an Indian professional and managerial class, a Native "talented tenth," whose members strategically used their contingent entry into arenas of white social, intellectual, and political power on behalf of Indians without such access. His Yale training provided a cross-cultural education in class-structured emotions and individuality. While at Yale, Roe Cloud was informally adopted by a white missionary couple. Through them he was schooled in upper-middle-class sentimentality and incentives. He also learned how interracial romance could jeopardize Indian acceptance into their class. Roe Cloud expanded the range of what modern Indians could aspire to and achieve.