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Armchair Travel October 2019
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| Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver by Jill Heinerth eAudiobook on RBDigital
What it's about: Professional cave diver Jill Heinerth describes overcoming her fears and exploring underwater areas from Florida to the Antarctic as well as discussing scientific and historical discoveries.
Did you know? "Cave diving is so risky that even the most casual enthusiasts can't get life insurance at any price."
Why you might like it: Into the Planet is a thrilling combination of adventure and science as well as the inspiring memoir of a trailblazing woman working in a male-dominated profession. |
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| Escalante's Dream: On the Trail of the Spanish Discovery of the Southwest by David Roberts eAudiobook on Hoopla
July 1776: Led by two Franciscan priests, the 12-man Domínguez-Escalante expedition set out for Monterey and traveled 1,700 miles across what is now New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona.
September 2017: Accompanied by his wife of nearly five decades, mountaineer and author David Roberts, weak from cancer treatment, retraced the Franciscans' little-remembered journey over the course of six weeks, contemplating the expedition's historical importance and poignantly examining his own life.
Autumn 2019: As of this writing, Roberts is still traveling and just completed a trip to Quebec City. |
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Travels and Identities : Elizabeth and Adam Shortt in Europe, 1911 by Peter E. Paul Dembski eBook on Hoopla What it's about: Elizabeth Smith Shortt was one of the first three women to obtain a medical degree in Canada, and her husband, Adam Shortt, enjoyed a successful career as a professor of politics and economics at Queen's University in Kingston. In 1908 Adam Shortt relocated his family to Ottawa to take up a commission to oversee civil service reform under Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier. There he convinced his superiors that an onsite investigation of four European countries would expedite his effort to improve Canada's bureaucracy, and in June 1911 he and Elizabeth embarked on their trip. This book chronicles their Atlantic crossing and extended visit to England, as well as trips to Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Shortts were generally pleased with England and its values, but Elizabeth was sharply critical of the behaviour of British nurses. Her diaries and letters, here reprinted, critiqued the lands and peoples she visited in Europe. Why you might like it: Peter E. Paul Dembski's introduction paints a picture of a couple who lived as moderate liberals with occasional conservative or radical views, and who blended science and an adherence to Protestant Christianity into their thinking. Their travel experiences, during a period of building political upheaval, provide a valuable snapshot of pre–First World War European society and culture.
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| Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller eBook on OverDrive
What it's about: In this evocative sequel to Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, author Alexandra Fuller focuses on her parents, covering the deaths of three of their children, her mother's childhood in Kenya, her mother's mental illness, and more.
Why you might like it: Fuller movingly evokes the hardships of living in the beautiful and wild African countryside as well as her parents' personal flaws, including their racism.
Reviewers say: "beautifully wrought" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Under the Same Sky: From Starvation in North Korea to Salvation in America by Joseph Kim with Stephan Talty eBook on Hoopla
What it's about: Joseph Kim's family, like many others in North Korea, was devastated by the 1990s famine: his father died, his mother sold his sister...and he became a starving street child, who did what he had to do to survive before escaping to China and eventually the United States.
Read it for: the searing, matter-of-fact look at life in an authoritarian country.
Who it's for: readers moved by the depictions of North Korean life found in Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy, Suki Kim's Without You, There Is No Us, and Blaine Harden's Escape from Camp 14. |
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| Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy by Frances Mayes Print: 945.5 MAYES
What 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 Italian life, Mayes describes spending time with her neighbors, dealing with repairs, and dining on delicious foods (recipes included).
The movie: The 2003 Under the Tuscan Sun film is quite different from the book but features luminous scenery and a compelling Diane Lane as Mayes. |
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