"...here are natural wondersthe dazzling glowworm caves in New Zealand, or a baobob tree in South Africa that's so large it has a pub inside where 15 people can drink comfortably. Architectural marvels, including the M.C. Escher-like stepwells in India. Mind-boggling events, like the Baby Jumping Festival in Spain, where men dressed as devils literally vault over rows of squirming infants. Not to mention the Great Stalacpipe Organ in Virginia, Turkmenistan's...

Dickey, piqued by a house hunt in LA that revealed derelict foreclosures and "zombie houses", embarks on a journey across the continental United States to decode and unpack the American history repressed in our most famous haunted places. With boundless curiosity, Dickey conjures the dead by focusing on questions of the living--how do we deal with stories about ghosts, and how do we inhabit and move through spaces that have been deemed haunted? Paying...

Traces the effort of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke to discover the source of the Nile River, analyzing seven character traits shared by forefront explorers and how their examples can be applied to modern problems.

"In the classic literary tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Geoff Dyer, a rich and exquisitely written account of travels in six deserts on five continents that evoke the timeless allure of these remote and forbidding places. One-sixth of the earth's surface is classified as desert. Restless, unhappy in love, and intrigued by the Desert Fathers who forged Christian monasticism in the Egyptian desert, Will Atkins decided to travel in six of the world's...

"From the Sierras to the Adirondacks and the Everglades, from remote wildernesses to public campgrounds and RV meccas, Dan White travels across America, searching through its history and landscapes to tell the story of how camping took hold of the national imagination and evolved alongside a changing country. Whether he has sought out the quietest place in the continental United States, gone on safari in California, or joined a girls-only adventure...

"A lightbeat, epic account of how the 20-something author brought her giant English Mastiff to her first tiny New York apartment after college, while navigating boyfriends, first jobs, her mother's illness and a bucket list that involves her dog's participation, "--NoveList. "Lauren Fern Watt moved to New York City after graduating from college, and she took her enormous 160-pound mastiff, Gizelle, along for the ride. It wasn't easy, but Lauren managed...

"An acclaimed travel writer examines the connection between surroundings and innovative ideas, profiling examples in such regions as early-twentieth-century Vienna, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, and Silicon Valley."--Publisher

"Delving into the heart and soul of more than 225 cities around the globe, The World's Best Cities is a glossy, glorious tribute to cosmopolitan life. In photos and words, this irresistible volume showcases long-established great cities like Paris, Rome,New York, London, and Tokyo, as well as exciting up-and-comers, including Denver, Asheville, Oslo, and Abu Dhabi. As readable as it is beautiful, this expansive travel guide offers a playful, informative...

Explores the landscape of the author's home on the borderland between England and Scotland--known as the Marches--and the history, people, and conflicts that have shaped it. In The Places in Between, Rory Stewart walked some of the most dangerous borderlands in the world. Now he travels with his 89-year-old father--a comical, wily courageous, and infuriating former British intelligence officer--along the border they call home. On Stewart's 400-mile...

"The natural and human history of the Galapagos Islands-beloved vacation spot, fiery volcanic chain, and one of the critical sites in the history of science. The Galapagos were once known to the sailors and pirates who encountered them as Las Encantadas-- the enchanted islands-- home to exotic creatures and dramatic volcanic scenery. In The Galapagos, science writer Henry Nicholls offers a lively natural and human history of the archipelago, charting...