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Armchair Travel February 2018
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| The Epic City: The World on the Streets of Calcutta by Kushanava ChoudhuryWhat it's about: After graduating from Princeton, Kushanava Choudhury left his immigrant parents in New Jersey and returned to Calcutta, India, where'd he spent a portion of his youth, to work at the Statesman newspaper and explore the teeming, complex city.
For fans of: Eloquently combining travelogue, memoir, and history, The Epic City will be appreciated by fans of Suketu Mehta's Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. |
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Timeless Journeys : Travels to the World's Legendary Places
by Ford Cochran
What it's about: From Machu Picchu to the Pyramids of Giza and beyond, this travel-lover's delight takes readers on a breathtaking visual journey to the world's most historic wonderlands. Pack your bags for an extraordinary adventure with National Geographic to more than 50 places that have captivated our imaginations for centuries.
What you'll find inside: Vintage photographs from the National Geographic archives, full-spread features highlighting lesser-known hidden sites (such as Pompeii's better-preserved sister city Herculaneum), and practical travel tips to help readers get started planning their own legendary journey.
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| Following Fifi: My Adventures Among Wild Chimpanzees by John Crocker; foreword by Jane GoodallFeaturing: fascinating wild chimpanzees; primatologist Jane Goodall (who's justifiably famous for studying them in Gombe forest in Tanzania); and author John Crocker (who, as a premed student, spent eight months working with Goodall, observing mother chimpanzees).
What it's about: Not only does Crocker describe his 1973 visit, but also a return trip with his teenage son years later. Crocker also explains how his field work helped make him a better father and physician.
Look for: Those interested in Goodall will be interested in the recent National Geographic documentary, Jane. |
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Through Darkness to Light : Photographs Along the Underground Railroad
by Jeanine Michna-Bales
What it's about: They left in the middle of the night—often carrying little more than the knowledge to follow the North Star. Between 1830 and the end of the Civil War in 1865, an estimated one hundred thousand slaves became passengers on the Underground Railroad, a journey of untold hardship, in search of freedom.
What you'll find inside: a series of photographs that follow the route of the Underground Railroad, tracing a path from Louisiana to the Canadian border to imagine what the journey may have looked like from the perspective of a freedom seeker.
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France is a Feast : The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child
by Alex Prud'homme
What it's about: Through intimate and compelling photographs taken by her husband Paul Child, a gifted photographer, France is a Feast documents how Julia Child first discovered French cooking and the French way of life.
From Library Journal: "Fans of Julia Child will certainly enjoy this intimate view of the French Chef and her earliest years in the kitchen. Photographers may appreciate Paul Child's work as it captures midcentury France with charming simplicity." —Shannon Marie Robinson, Drexel Univ. Libs., Philadelphia
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Being Ts'elxwéyeqw : First Peoples' Voices and History from the Chilliwack-fraser Valley, British Columbia
by Tselxwéyeqw Tribe
What it's about: The Chilliwack region gets its name from the Ts’elxwéyeqw tribe, and this volume delves into what this name means—and also what it means to be Ts’elxwéyeqw. Being Ts’elxwéyeqw portrays the people, artifacts and landscapes that are central to the Ts’elxwéyeqw people, and represents a rich oral record of an aboriginal heritage that has been kept alive—even through adversity—for thousands of years.
What you'll find inside: With over seven hundred historic and current photos and maps, this book amalgamates a variety of voices and personal histories from elders, while providing background into eighty-five place names within the region.
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Among the Living and the Dead : A Tale of Exile and Homecoming on the War Roads of Europe
by Inara Verzemnieks
What it's about: Journeying back to the remote Latvian village where her family broke apart, the author comes to know her grandmother's sister, Ausma, and the trauma of her exile to Siberia under Stalin, while reconstructing her grandmother Livija's survival through her years as a refugee.
For fans of: family histories following multiple generations through war and upheaval.
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| A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill BrysonWhat it's about: American travel writer Bill Bryson, who'd been living in England for years, set out to hike the Appalachian Trail with an old friend. The two out-of-shape 40-somethings thought they'd walk the entire 2,100 miles to Maine before winter -- but reality soon hit. Nature descriptions and a history of the storied trail combine with the pair's amusing experiences and their encounters with other hikers.
The movie: In 2015, Robert Redford and Nick Nolte dramatized the duo's nature adventure on the big screen. |
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| Out of Africa by Isak DinesenWhat it's about: When Kenya was known as British East Africa, Dane Karen Blixen (whose pseudonym was Isak Dinesen) lived and worked on a family coffee plantation located at the foot of the Ngong Hills. Her classic memoir lyrically captures her time there from 1913-1931, describing the alluring landscape, the local people, the deaths of close friends, and the eventual failure of the farm.
The movie: The award-winning 1985 film adaptation of Out of Africa, which also drew from other Dinesen writings, focused on Blixen's romance with a British aristocrat and starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. |
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| Into the Wild by Jon KrakauerWhat it's about: Bestselling author Jon Krakauer pieces together the dramatic -- and tragic -- story of Chris McCandless, an intelligent young man who embarked on a solo journey into the wilds of Alaska with no map and virtually no supplies.
The movie: Originally published in 1996, Into the Wild was adapted as a film in 2007 by Sean Penn and starred Emile Hirsch; Chris' sister, Carine McCandless, consulted on the movie and later wrote a book, The Wild Truth, about her and her brother's abusive childhood. |
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| Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy by Frances MayesWhat it's about: First published in 1986, this delightful book chronicles poet Frances Mayes' purchase of a Tuscan villa in need of refurbishing. Relating experiences from her new Italian life, Mayes describes spending time with her neighbors, dealing with repairs, and dining on delicious foods (recipes are included!).
The movie: The 2003 Under the Tuscan Sun movie is quite different from the book but features luminous scenery and a compelling Diane Lane as Mayes. |
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