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Armchair Travel December 2017
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To the New Owners: A Martha's Vineyard Memoir
by Madeleine Blais
In To the New Owners, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Madeleine Blais paints a wistful, wonderful portrait of summer vacations on Martha's Vineyard. Though Blais wasn't born to privilege, her husband was -- his father was U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's attorney general -- and it was his family's old-school vacation house (no climate control, no TV, no internet!) that the family gathered at for decades, before the beloved home was sold in 2014. Weaving memories of her visits with excerpts from the house's guest book, newspaper articles, etc., Blais highlights the quirky charm and natural beauty of the island. Celebrity watchers take note: famous faces appear, including Philip Caputo, Katherine Graham, and Carly Simon.
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Ghost empire : a journey to the legendary Constantinople
by Richard Fidler
Ghost Empire is a rare treasure--an utterly captivating blend of the historical and the contemporary, narrated by a master storyteller. The story is a revelation: a beautifully written ode to a lost civilization combined with a warmly observed father-son adventure far from home. In 2014, Richard Fidler and his son Joe made a journey to Istanbul. Fired by Richard's passion for the rich history of the dazzling Byzantine Empire--centered around the legendary Constantinople--we are swept into some of the most extraordinary tales in history. The clash of civilizations, the fall of empires, the rise of Christianity, revenge, lust, murder. Turbulent stories from the past are brought vividly to life at the same time as a father navigates the unfolding changes in his relationship with his son.
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| L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home by David LebovitzIf you enjoy amusing stories about people buying homes in awesome places, L'Appart is for you. Love food? Even better! In his latest book, American expat chef and baker David Lebovitz chronicles his adventures buying and renovating a Paris apartment. Recipes, red tape horror stories, and renovation nightmares are all included, as are details about French idiosyncrasies, Parisian markets, adjusting to life abroad, and so much more. |
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| Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah StryckerNoah Strycker had a big 2015 goal: to travel the globe seeing as many bird species as possible (preferably over 5,000, which would break a world record). His delightful Birding without Borders chronicles his travels to over 40 countries on all seven continents, his encounters with interesting local birders and fellow travelers, how he came to love birds as a child, and the history and future of birding. This accessible book isn't just for the bird-obsessed, but for all fans of detail-rich, enlightening, and amusing journeys. |
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All monsters must die : an excursion to North Korea
by Magnus Bärtås
A finalist for the prestigious August Prize, All Monsters Must Die is the story of North Korea, past and present, offering a rare and fascinating window into the most isolated country in the world. In 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is founded by General Kim Il-sung. In 1978, North Korea celebrates the 30th anniversary of its founding, and Kim Jong-il, who at the time is the head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, orders the kidnapping of the greatest South Korean movie star, the actress Madame Choi, and her ex-husband, the famous film director Shin Sang-ok. In 2008, North Korea celebrates its 60th anniversary, and authors Magnus Bärtås and Fredrik Ekman take a bizarre, heavily guided tour to the world's most isolated country. Bärtås and Ekman weave together these three stories to create a mosaic of North Korea, past and present: from the Japanese occupation to the demarcation of the border at the 38th parallel and the Korean War, the development of North Korean Juche ideology, the establishment of the Kim dynasty's cult of personality, and the aggressive manufacturing of political propaganda, which motivated the kidnapping of South Korea's most famous film couple.
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The invitation-only zone : the true story of North Koreas abduction project
by Robert S. Boynton
Throughout the late 1970s and early '80s, dozens of Japanese citizens were abducted from coastal Japanese towns by North Korean commandos. In what proved to be part of a global project, North Korea attempted to reeducate the abductees and train them to spy on the state's behalf. When the project faltered, the abductees were hidden in a series of guarded communities known as "Invitation-Only Zones"--the fiction being that these were exclusive enclaves, not prisons. In 2002, Kim Jong Il admitted to kidnapping thirteen Japanese citizens and returned five of them (the other eight, he said, had died). From the moment that Robert S. Boynton first saw a photograph of these men and women, he became obsessed with the window their story provided into the vexed politics of Northeast Asia. In The Invitation-Only Zone, he untangles the logic behind the kidnappings and shows why some Japanese citizens described them as "their 9/11." He tells the story of how dozens were abducted and reeducated; how they married and had children; and how they lived anonymously as North Korean citizens. He speaks with nationalists, diplomats, abductees, and even crab fishermen, unearthing the bizarre North Korean propaganda tactics and the peculiar cultural interests of both counties. A deeply reported, thoroughly researched treatise on the power struggle of one of the most important areas in the global economy, Boynton's keen investigation is riveting and revelatory.
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| The Girl With Seven Names: Escape from North Korea by Hyeonseo Lee with David JohnBorn in North Korea near the border with China, Hyeonseo Lee had a relatively happy childhood (her family had enough money for food and some extras), but things changed when her father died. When she first secretly crossed the border at 17, she planned to return to her family -- however, when that proved impossible, she lived in China for years, taking new names for safety reasons, before finally making it to South Korea at 28. Later, she helped her family escape...but they faced many barriers. The presenter of a popular TED talk, Lee offers extraordinary insight into both North Korea and China in her compelling book. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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