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Armchair Travel August 2019
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| The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution by Peter HesslerWhat it is: a keenly observed look at Egypt during and after the Arab Spring through the lens of both the past and the present featuring can't-miss interactions with a wide variety of people, including a thoughtful garbage collector and a gay translator.
About the author: Between 2011-2016, The New Yorker journalist Peter Hessler lived in Egypt with his wife and young twin daughters and learned Egyptian Arabic. Hessler has also lived in China and written several acclaimed books about the country, including River Town. |
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| The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China by Frank LangfittWhat it's about: Wanting to provide people a private, casual place to talk, NPR China correspondent Frank Langfitt (a former Philly cab driver) offered free rides to anyone willing to chat.
Did it work? Definitely. All sorts of interesting people opened up about their lives, hopes, and views of their rapidly changing country.
Read this next: For another delightful taxi-centric travel tale, try Layne Mosler's Driving Hungry, which details her experiences asking cab drivers around the globe where she should eat. |
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In love with the world : a monk's journey through the bardos of living and dying
by Yongey Mingyur
What it is: After leaving his monastery in India to spend four years on a wandering retreat, a Buddhist master who nearly died from food poisoning shares the lessons he learned from his near-death experience.
Reviewers say: Readers seeking a deep exploration of Buddhist philosophy will be richly rewarded by Rinpoche's thought-provoking and ultimately inspiring story.
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Ten years a nomad : a traveler's journey home
by Matt Kepnes
What it is: The best-selling author of How to Travel the World on $50 a Day presents a part memoir, part philosophical travel manifesto that shares stories from his adventures abroad while exploring the nomadic experiences of wanderlust
Reviewers say: With hard-won experience, wide-open eyes, and the spirit of a dedicated wanderer, Kepnes encourages his readers to find their own adventures, and his story provides a road map for anyone opting to follow their dreams, wherever they may lead.
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Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
by Donnie Eichar
What it's about: Using personal journals and government documents, Donnie Eichar retraced the steps of nine college-age Russian hikers in the Ural Mountains in an attempt to explain their mysterious 1959 deaths.
Clues: a tent was cut open, there were high levels of radiation, some hikers were found shoeless in the snow, and one was missing her tongue.
Is it for you? Yes, if you like compelling adventure stories and books that alternate chapters between the past and the present.
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| Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon KrakauerWhat it's about: Researching the commercialization of Mt. Everest in 1996, Jon Krakauer set out with a guide and other groups to trek to the summit. When a snowstorm hit, several people died, including two of the best mountaineers in the world.
What it is: a harrowing and evocative firsthand account of the events.
Read this next: The Climb, by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt, which offers a competing viewpoint of the tragedy; or the soon-to-be-released essay collection Classic Krakauer, out in October. |
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| Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert KursonStarring: dedicated treasure hunters John Mattera and John Chatterton as well as legendary technology-averse hunter Tracy Bowden.
What happens: Author Robert Kurson (whose Shadow Divers also features Chatterton) compellingly traces the men's high-stakes quest to find the Golden Fleece, a sunken ship that once belonged to notorious English sea captain-turned-pirate Joseph Bannister.
For fans of: Stephan Talty's Empire of Blue Water, pirates, nautical history, and swashbuckling tales of derring-do. |
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| In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton SidesWhat it's about: the ill-fated 1879 expedition of the USS Jeannette, led by U.S. naval officer and explorer George Washington De Long, who was looking for a passage to the North Pole via the Bering Strait.
What's inside: a dramatic account -- informed by letters, diaries, expedition records, and news reports -- of what happened when the ship became trapped in pack ice for two years.
Read this next: Paul Watson's Ice Ghosts, which details the history of and contemporary search for shipwrecks from an 1845 Arctic expedition. |
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