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Armchair Travel April 2023 |
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| The Edge of the Plain: How Borders Make and Break Our World by James CrawfordWhat it is: a fascinating, wide-ranging work of travelogue, history, and reportage that thoughtfully examines borders, past and present.
Locations include: the Austrian-Italian Alps, the West Bank, Hadrian's Wall, the Sonoran Desert, the Spanish City of Melilla in North Africa.
For fans of: evocative books about border areas, like Colin Thubron's The Amur River, Kapka Kassabova's Border, and Rory Stewart's The Marches. Available on Hoopla |
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| On Freedom Road: Bicycle Explorations and Reckonings on the Underground Railroad by David GoodrichWhat it's about: In this blend of history and travelogue, author David Goodrich describes cycling nearly 3,000 miles over three trips retracing enslaved people's paths to freedom and visiting museums, libraries, and other locales.
Trips included: the route Harriet Tubman may have taken from Maryland into Canada that passed through New York City; a journey from Jackson, Mississippi to Lake Erie; and a ride from New Orleans through the Mississippi Delta.
Read this next: Clint Smith's How the Word Is Passed. Available on Hoopla |
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| Driving the Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance by Alvin HallWhat happened: Alvin Hall, an author and media personality who grew up in Florida, took two road trips inspired by the Green Book, a mid-20th century annual travel guide, and he spoke with Black American motorists who had used it to travel safely.
Reviewers say: "an illuminating history...inspires and educates" (Publishers Weekly).
Read this next: For more on the Green Book, try Candacy Taylor's Overground Railroad or Gretchen Sorin's Driving While Black. Available on cloudLibrary |
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| Magdalena: River of Dreams: A Story of Colombia by Wade DavisWhat happened: Long fascinated with Colombia, anthropologist Wade Davis explored the 1,000-mile Rio Magdalena, which runs the length of the country, making five visits over several years.
Read it for: well-researched historical details, evocative descriptions, and the respectful treatment of Indigenous peoples.
Reviewers say: "An elegant narrative masterfully combining fine reporting and a moving personal journey" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Riverman: An American Odyssey by Ben McGrathWho it's about: charismatic adventurer Dick Conant, who spent decades canoeing rivers and other waters alone before he disappeared while on a 2014 trip.
Read it for: an engaging mix of biography, travelogue, and mystery penned by The New Yorker staff writer Ben McGrath, who had a chance encounter with Conant shortly before he went missing.
For fans of: Into the Wild by John Krakauer. |
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| River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice MillardWhat it is: a well-researched, fascinating look at an 1850s expedition seeking the source of the Nile River by two strong-willed British explorers and their local (formerly enslaved) guide, set against the backdrop of colonial exploitation of Africa.
Read this next: For modern travelers' tales along the river, try Levison Wood's Walking the Nile, Dan Morrison's The Black Nile, or Rosemary Mahoney's Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff. Also available on Libby and cloudLibrary |
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| The Amur River: Between Russia and China by Colin ThubronWhat it is: a lyrical travelogue by acclaimed British writer Colin Thubron, who, at age 80, took an adventurous trip via horse, boat, train, and car, following the remote Amur River from Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.
What happened: Though he faced injuries and suspicious officials, he followed the nearly 3,000-mile river, which forms the border between Russia and China, and visited with Russian, Chinese, and Mongolian people.
Read this next: Thubron's compelling In Siberia or Erika Fatland's The Border, who describes her visits to all 14 countries that neighbor Russia. Also available on Hoopla |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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