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In the land of giants : hunting monsters in the Hindu Kush
by Gabi Martinez ; translated by Daniel Hahn
High up in the Hindu Kush, a charismatic young Spaniard, Jordi Magraner, made his home, mastering the local languages and customs before meeting his death there in the most mysterious way. Gabi Martinez sets off in Jordi's footsteps to the land of the giants in order to try to solve the riddle of this murder, and of Jordi's life.
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Tragic Shores
by Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook has always been drawn to dark places, for the powerful emotions they evoke and for what we can learn from them. These lessons are often unexpected and sometimes profoundly intimate, but they are never straightforward. With his wife and daughter, Cook travels across the globe in search of darkness - from Lourdes to Ghana, from San Francisco to Verdun, from the monumental, mechanised horror of Auschwitz to the intimate personal grief of a shrine to dead infants in Kamukura, Japan. Along the way he reflects on what these sites may teach us, not only about human history, but about our own personal histories.
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Songlines and Faultlines
by Glenn Morrison
Visitors to the Red centre come looking for the real Australia, but find a place both beautiful and disturbing. There is wilderness, desire and an Aboriginal philosophy of home. But there is also the confusing countenance of the Australian frontier, a meeting place between black and white, ancient and modern. Songlines and fault Lines explores the Red Centre through the eyes of those who have walked it, in six remarkable stories that have shaped out nation. It follows Aboriginal Dreamtime Ancestors along a songline, trudges with John McDouall Stuart as he crosses the continent, and walks the Finke River in the footsteps of anthropologist T.G.H. Strehlow.
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Jungle of stone : the extraordinary journey of John L Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, and the discovery of the lost civilization of the Maya.
by William Carlsen
In 1839, when John Lloyd Stephens, a dashing U.S. special ambassador to Central America, and Frederick Catherwood, an acclaimed British architect and draftsman, set out into the unexplored jungles of the Yucatan, Charles Darwin was aboard the H.M.S. Beagle, the Bible was the basic template of history, and most people believed the world was less than 6,000 years old. Deep in the jungles, they stumbled upon the wondrous ruins of the Mayan civilization -- an astonishing find that would change western understanding of human history. William Carlsen uncovers the rich history of the ruins as he follows Stephens and Catherwood's journey through present day Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
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The Girl Who Climbed Everest is the inspiring story of how an ordinary girl from Toowoomba in country Queensland has worked towards achieving her dream of climbing the world's highest peak. Through passion, determination, and immense hard work, and with the unwavering support of her dad, Alyssa plans to become the youngest non-Sherpa female in the world and the youngest female Australian ever to make it. She shares the extraordinary thrills and heart-breaking disappointments on the road to reaching her goal, and explains how she finds the courage and motivation to keep going in the face of overwhelming danger and adversity.
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| On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta by Jen Lin-LiuWhere did noodles originate and how did they spread? (Contrary to popular belief, Marco Polo had nothing to do with it.) In this "footloose, spontaneous, and appetite-whetting journal of culinary adventure" (Kirkus Reviews), Jen Lin-Liu, a recently married Chinese-American cooking instructor based in Beijing, travels the famed Silk Road in search of answers. Sampling regional dishes in the homes of generous local women in China, Tibet, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Italy, and other locations, she savors the food and companionship and muses on noodles, love, and what being a wife means to her and to her hosts. Pasta-loving travelers will likely find this scrumptious book, which includes some recipes, mouthwatering. |
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| Driving Hungry: A Delicious Journey, from Buenos Aires to New York to Berlin by Layne MoslerLayne Mosler takes the idea of catching a cab to dinner to a charming new level. After a disappointing evening in Buenos Aires, she hailed a cab and asked the driver to take her to his favorite restaurant ...where she had one of the best steaks of her life. Building on this idea, she began asking cabbies everywhere where they liked to eat. Moving to New York City, she attended taxi school and began driving a cab herself. Heading to Berlin, she continued to drive and eat -- and eventually met the cabdriver of her dreams. Not just for foodies and fans of Mosler's Taxi Gourmet blog, this honest and lively literary ride around three vibrant cities will appeal to readers who've wondered what the taxi-driving life is like. |
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| The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest... by Michael PaternitiHaving once worked at Michigan's famous Zingerman's Delicatessen, Michael Paterniti never forgot a certain cave-aged sheep's milk cheese. Eventually, he traveled to Guzmán, a rural Spanish village, where he discovered that the amazing cheese said to be "made with love" was no longer being made. Charismatic, larger-than-life farmer/cheesemaker Ambrosio Molinos de las Hera tells him he was betrayed by his partner, ruining the business. Paterniti quickly becomes enmeshed in Ambrosio's world, visiting often in order to savor his stories and dig deeper; Paterniti even moves to Spain with his wife and kids for a time. Chock full of footnotes and digressive passages, this leisurely yet tasty tale will especially please those who enjoy the journey as much as the destination. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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