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Walkley Award-winning journalist, Sharri Markson is the Investigations Editor at The Australian and host of prime-time show Sharri on Sky News Australia.

The origins of Covid-19 are shrouded in mystery. Scientists and government officials insisted, for a year and a half, that the virus had a natural origin, ridiculing anyone who dared contradict this view. Tech giants swept the internet, censoring and silencing debate in the most extreme fashion. Yet it is undeniable that a secretive facility in Wuhan was immersed in genetically manipulating bat-coronaviruses in perilous experiments. And as soon as the news of an outbreak in Wuhan leaked, the Chinese military took control and gagged all laboratory insiders.

Part-thriller, part-expose, What Really Happened in Wuhan is a ground-breaking investigation from leading journalist Sharri Markson into the origins of Covid-19, the cover-ups, the conspiracies and the classified research. It features never-before-seen primary documents exposing China's concealment of the virus, fresh interviews with whistleblower doctors in Wuhan and crucial eyewitness accounts that dismantle what we thought we knew about when the outbreak hit.

With unprecedented access to Washington insiders, Markson takes you inside the White House, with senior Trump lieutenants revealing first-hand accounts of fiery Oval Office clashes and new stories of compromised government advisors and censored scientists.

Bravely reported and chillingly laid out, Markson brings to light the stories of the pandemic from the people on the ground: the scientists and national security officials who raised uncomfortable truths and were labelled conspiracy theorists, until government agencies began to suspect they might have been right all along. These brave individuals persisted through bruising battles and played a crucial role in investigating the origins of Covid-19 to finally, in this book, bring us closer to the truth of what really happened in Wuhan.

The World Atlas of Coffee: From beans to brewing - coffees explored, explained and enjoyed

James Hoffmann

The worldwide bestseller - 1/4 million copies sold

'Written by a World Barista Champion and co-founder of the great Square Mile roasters in London, this had a lot to live up to and it certainly does. Highly recommended for anyone into their coffee and interested in finding out more about how it's grown, processed and roasted.' (Amazon customer)

'Whether you are an industry professional, a home enthusiast or anything in between, I truly believe this is a MUST read.' (Amazon customer)

'Informative, well-written and well presented. Coffee table and reference book - a winner' (Amazon customer)

'Very impressive. It's amazing how much territory is covered without overwhelming the reader. The abundant photos and images are absolutely coffee-table-worthy, but this book is so much more. I think it would be enjoyable for an obsessed coffee geek or someone who just enjoys their java.' (Amazon customer)

For everyone who wants to understand more about coffee and its wonderful nuances and possibilities, this is the book to have.

Coffee has never been better, or more interesting, than it is today. Coffee producers have access to more varieties and techniques than ever before and we, as consumers, can share in that expertise to make sure the coffee we drink is the best we can find. Where coffee comes from, how it was harvested, the roasting process and the water used to make the brew are just a few of the factors that influence the taste of what we drink. Champion barista and coffee expert James Hoffmann examines these key factors, looking at varieties of coffee, the influence of terroir, how it is harvested and processed, the roasting methods used, through to the way in which the beans are brewed.

Country by country - from Bolivia to Zambia - he then identifies key characteristics and the methods that determine the quality of that country's output. Along the way we learn about everything from the development of the espresso machine, to why strength guides on supermarket coffee are really not good news. This is the first book to chart the coffee production of over 35 countries, encompassing knowledge never previously published outside the coffee industry.

The Native Mexican Kitchen: A Journey into Cuisine, Culture, and Mezcal

Rachel Glueck

WINNER of the 2020 US Gourmand Award for Food Heritage!

A Deep Dive into the Complex and Vibrant Native Culture that is the Bedrock of Mexican Cuisine, with Over One Hundred Recipes, Including Moles, Pozoles, Chiles en Nogada, and More

Mexican cuisine is ubiquitous in the American dining scene, yet it remains far removed from its roots. The Native Mexican Kitchen is an homage to the indigenous peoples and their culinary and cultural traditions that create Mexican cuisine, elevating it beyond Americanized tacos and tequila.

With recipes by Mexican chef Noel Morales—born of Aztec and Omec blood, grandson to a mezcalero, and raised by native dancers—The Native Mexican Kitchen offers its readers the ability to recreate the flavors of centuries-old dishes in a modern kitchen. Morales shares well-known plates such as birria and barbacoa, and beloved market foods like tlayudas and tacos al pastor, as well as a few of his own vegetarian and seafood creations. Signature mezcal cocktails and decadent desserts adorn these pages, while the Medicinales section includes teas, tinctures, and baths of traditionally used herbs for a variety of ailments, such as colds, muscle tension, and infertility.

Author Rachel Glueck provides rare access and insight into a Mexico that few foreigners or nationals see today, leading you through indigenous festivals with masked dancers, bountiful market places, and sacred pilgrimage sites. Unwrap the philosophies and customs of Mexico’s native communities and discover the depth of this magical country and how you can welcome it into your own kitchen.
Personal stories of mezcaleros, traditional cooks, and native healers are accentuated by 130 stunning photographs and are woven through with mouth-watering recipes. With pages bursting with color, culture, and wisdom, you’ll discover a Mexico you never knew existed.

Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest

Doug Benoliel

CLICK HERE to download the section on foraging for field mustard with four sample recipes from Northwest Foraging

* Suitable for novice foragers and seasoned botanists alike
* More than 65 of the most common edible plants in the Pacific Northwest are thoroughly described
*Poisonous plants commonly encountered are also included

Originally published in 1974, Northwest Foraging quickly became a wild food classic. Now fully updated and expanded by the original author, this elegant new edition is sure to become a modern staple in backpacks, kitchens, and personal libraries.

A noted wild edibles authority, Doug Benoliel provides more than 65 thorough descriptions of the most common edible plants of the Pacific Northwest region, from asparagus to watercress, juneberries to cattails, and many, many more! He also includes a description of which poisonous "look-alike" plants to avoid -- a must-read for the foraging novice. Features include detailed illustrations of each plant, an illustrated guide to general plant identification principles, seasonality charts for prime harvesting, a selection of simple foraging recipes, and a glossary of botanical terms.

Beginning with his botany studies at the University of Washington, Doug Benoliel has been dedicated to native plants. He has owned a landscaping, design, and nursery business, and done his extensive work with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Doug lives on Lopez Island, Washington.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

Hunter S. Thompson

This cult classic of gonzo journalism is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken.

Now a major motion picture from Universal, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy

Nathaniel Philbrick

“Travels With George…is quintessential Philbrick — a lively, courageous, and masterful achievement.”—Boston Globe

Does George Washington still matter? Bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick argues for Washington's unique contribution to the forging of America by retracing his journey as a new president through all thirteen former colonies, which were now an unsure nation. Travels with George marks a new first-person voice for Philbrick, weaving history and personal reflection into a single narrative.

When George Washington became president in 1789, the United States of America was still a loose and quarrelsome confederation and a tentative political experiment. Washington undertook a tour of the ex-colonies to talk to ordinary citizens about his new government, and to imbue in them the idea of being one thing--Americans.

In the fall of 2018, Nathaniel Philbrick embarked on his own journey into what Washington called "the infant woody country" to see for himself what America had become in the 229 years since. Writing in a thoughtful first person about his own adventures with his wife Melissa and their dog Dora, Philbrick follows Washington's presidential excursions: from Mount Vernon to the new capital in New York; a month-long tour of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island; a venture onto Long Island and eventually across Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The narrative moves smoothly between the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries as we see the country through both Washington's and Philbrick's eyes.

Written at a moment when America's founding figures are under increasing scrutiny, Travels with George grapples bluntly and honestly with Washington's legacy as a man of the people, a reluctant president, and a plantation owner who held people in slavery. At historic houses and landmarks, Philbrick reports on the reinterpretations at work as he meets reenactors, tour guides, and other keepers of history's flame. He paints a picture of eighteenth century America as divided and fraught as it is today, and he comes to understand how Washington compelled, enticed, stood up to, and listened to the many different people he met along the way--and how his all-consuming belief in the Union helped to forge a nation.

The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones

Anthony Bourdain

New York Times Bestseller

The good, the bad, and the ugly, served up Bourdain-style.

Bestselling chef and Parts Unknown host Anthony Bourdain has never been one to pull punches. In The Nasty Bits, he serves up a well-seasoned hellbroth of candid, often outrageous stories from his worldwide misadventures. Whether scrounging for eel in the backstreets of Hanoi, revealing what you didn't want to know about the more unglamorous aspects of making television, calling for the head of raw food activist Woody Harrelson, or confessing to lobster-killing guilt, Bourdain is as entertaining as ever.

Bringing together the best of his previously uncollected nonfiction--and including new, never-before-published material--The Nasty Bits is a rude, funny, brutal and passionate stew for fans and the uninitiated alike.

Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest

Mark Turner

A must-have for naturalists and plant lovers in the Pacific Northwest

Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest is a comprehensive field guide to commonly found woody plants in the region. It features introductory chapters on the native landscape and plant entries that detail the family, scientific and common name, flowering seasons, and size. This must-have guide is for hikers, nature lovers, plant geeks, and anyone who wants to know more about the many plants of the Pacific Northwest.

Includes photographs and descriptions of 568 species of woody plants
Covers Oregon, Washington, northern California, and British Columbia
Introductory chapters discuss the ecoregions, habitats, and microhabitats of the Pacific Northwest
User-friendly organization by leaf type

North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail

Scott Jurek

From the author of the bestseller Eat and Run, a thrilling memoir about his grueling, exhilarating, and immensely inspiring 46-day run to break the speed record for the Appalachian Trail.

Scott Jurek is one of the world's best known and most beloved ultrarunners. Renowned for his remarkable endurance and speed, accomplished on a vegan diet, he's finished first in nearly all of ultrarunning's elite events over the course of his career. But after two decades of racing, training, speaking, and touring, Jurek felt an urgent need to discover something new about himself. He embarked on a wholly unique challenge, one that would force him to grow as a person and as an athlete: breaking the speed record for the Appalachian Trail.

North is the story of the 2,189-mile journey that nearly shattered him. When he set out in the spring of 2015, Jurek anticipated punishing terrain, forbidding weather, and inevitable injuries. He would have to run nearly 50 miles a day, every day, for almost seven weeks. He knew he would be pushing himself to the limit, that comfort and rest would be in short supply -- but he couldn't have imagined the physical and emotional toll the trip would exact, nor the rewards it would offer.

With his wife, Jenny, friends, and the kindness of strangers supporting him, Jurek ran, hiked, and stumbled his way north, one white blaze at a time. A stunning narrative of perseverance and personal transformation, North is a portrait of a man stripped bare on the most demanding and transcendent effort of his life. It will inspire runners and non-runners alike to keep striving for their personal best.

Under the Tuscan Sun: 20th-Anniversary Edition

Frances Mayes

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved memoir of self-discovery set against the spectacular Tuscan countryside that inspired the major motion picture starring Diane Lane—now in a twentieth-anniversary edition featuring a new afterword

“This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it’s so delicious, read it first yourself.”—USA Today

For more Frances Mayes, including a tour of her now iconic Cortona home, Bramasole, watch PBS’s Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special!

More than twenty years ago, Frances Mayes—widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer—introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys—whether that be flying to a foreign country in search of themselves, savoring one of the book’s dozens of delicious seasonal recipes, or simply being transported by Mayes’s signature evocative, sensory language. Now with a new afterword from Frances Mayes, the twentieth-anniversary edition of Under the Tuscan Sun revisits the book’s most popular characters.

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A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse: A Cookbook

Mimi Thorisson

With beguiling recipes and sumptuous photography, A Kitchen in France transports you to the French countryside and marks the debut of a captivating new voice in cooking.

"This is real food: delicious, honest recipes that celebrate the beauty of picking what is ripe and in season, and capture the essence of life in rural France."
—Alice Waters

When Mimi Thorisson and her family moved from Paris to a small town in out-of-the-way Médoc, she did not quite know what was in store for them. She found wonderful ingredients—from local farmers and the neighboring woods—and, most important, time to cook. Her cookbook chronicles the family’s seasonal meals and life in an old farmhouse, all photographed by her husband, Oddur. Mimi’s convivial recipes—such as Roast Chicken with Herbs and Crème Fraîche, Cèpe and Parsley Tartlets, Winter Vegetable Cocotte, Apple Tart with Orange Flower Water, and Salted Butter Crème Caramel—will bring the warmth of rural France into your home.

The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life

Chris Guillebeau

A remarkable guide to the quests that give our lives meaning—and how to find your own—from the New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup and 100 Side Hustles

“If you like complacency and mediocrity, do not read this book. It’s dangerously inspiring.”—A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All

When he set out to visit all of the planet’s countries by age thirty-five, compulsive goal-seeker Chris Guillebeau never imagined that his journey’s biggest revelation would be how many people like himself exist—each pursuing a challenging quest. These quests are as diverse as humanity itself, involving exploration, the pursuit of athletic or artistic excellence, or battling against injustice and poverty. Everywhere that Chris visited he found ordinary people working toward extraordinary goals, making daily down payments on their dreams. These “questers” included a suburban mom pursuing a wildly ambitious culinary project, a DJ producing the world’s largest symphony, a young widower completing the tasks his wife would never accomplish—and scores of others writing themselves into the record books.

The more Chris spoke with these strivers, the more he began to appreciate the direct link between questing and long-term happiness, and he was compelled to complete a comprehensive study of the phenomenon. In The Happiness of Pursuit, he draws on interviews with hundreds of questers, revealing their secret motivations, their selection criteria, the role played by friends and family, their tricks for solving logistics, and the importance of documentation. Equally fascinating is Chris’s examination of questing’s other side. What happens after the summit is climbed, the painting hung, the endurance record broken, the at-risk community saved?

A book that challenges each of us to take control—to make our lives be about something while at the same time remaining clear-eyed about the commitment—The Happiness of Pursuit will inspire readers of every age and aspiration. It’s a playbook for making your life count.

“The Happiness of Pursuit is smart, honest, and dangerous. Why dangerous? Because it is as practical as it is inspiring. You won’t just be daydreaming about your quest—you’ll be packing for it!”—Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, author of Daring Greatly

Mallmann on Fire: 100 Inspired Recipes to Grill Anytime, Anywhere

Francis Mallmann

Featured on the Netflix documentary series Chef’s Table

“Elemental, fundamental, and delicious” is how Anthony Bourdain describes the trailblazing live-fire cooking of Francis Mallmann. The New York Times called Mallmann’s first book, Seven Fires, “captivating” and “inspiring.” And now, in Mallmann on Fire, the passionate master of the Argentine grill takes us grilling in magical places—in winter’s snow, on mountaintops, on the beach, on the crowded streets of Manhattan, on a deserted island in Patagonia, in Paris, Brooklyn, Bolinas, Brazil—each locale inspiring new discoveries as revealed in 100 recipes for meals both intimate and outsized. We encounter legs of lamb and chicken hung from strings, coal-roasted delicata squash, roasted herbs, a parrillada of many fish, and all sorts of griddled and charred meats, vegetables, and fruits, plus rustic desserts cooked on the chapa and baked in wood-fired ovens. At every stop along the way there is something delicious to eat and a lesson to be learned about slowing down and enjoying the process, not just the result.

In Search of the Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker's Odyssey

Samuel Fromartz

"An invaluable guide for beginning bakers." –Sam Sifton, The New York Times

In 2009, journalist Samuel Fromartz was offered the assignment of a lifetime: to travel to France to work in a boulangerie. So began his quest to hone not just his homemade baguette—which later beat out professional bakeries to win the “Best Baguette of D.C.”—but his knowledge of bread, from seed to table.

For the next four years, Fromartz traveled across the United States and Europe, perfecting his sourdough in California, his whole grain rye in Berlin, and his country wheat in the South of France. Along the way, he met historians, millers, farmers, wheat geneticists, sourdough biochemists, and everyone in between, learning about the history of breadmaking, the science of fermentation, and more. The result is an informative yet personal account of bread and breadbaking, complete with detailed recipes, tips, and beautiful photographs.

Entertaining and inspiring, this book will be a touchstone for a new generation of bakers and a must-read for anyone who wants to take a deeper look at this deceptively ordinary, exceptionally delicious staple: handmade bread.

The Explorers: A Story of Fearless Outcasts, Blundering Geniuses, and Impossible Success

Martin Dugard

Learn to unlock your inner explorer in this riveting account of a great, forbidding adventure and “a fascinating examination of the seven key traits of history’s most famous explorers…[with] infusions of insight and enthusiasm” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

In 1856, two intrepid adventurers, Richard Frances Burton and John Hanning Speke, set off to unravel a geographical unknown: the location of the Nile River’s source. They traveled deep into an uncharted African wilderness together, arrived at two different solutions to the mystery, and parted ways as sworn enemies. The feud became an international sensation on their return to England, and a public debate was scheduled to decide whose theory was correct. What followed was a massive spectacle with an outcome no one could have foreseen.

In The Explorers, New York Times bestselling author Martin Dugard shares the rich saga of the Burton and Speke expedition and guides readers through the seven traits that history’s most legendary explorers called on to survive their impossible journeys. In doing so, Dugard demonstrates that these traits have a most practical application in everyday life. We see St. Brendan the Navigator, driven by hope, sail into the unknown, and the curiosity that inspired John Ledyard to attempt to walk around the globe, and the perseverance Howard Carter needed to discover Tutankhamen’s tomb. From these and other examples, Dugard extracts lessons for unlocking the explorer in us all.

Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America

John Waters

Carsick is the New York Times bestselling chronicle of a cross-country hitchhiking journey with America's most beloved weirdo

John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin mustache, and a cardboard sign that reads "I'm Not Psycho," he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and treacherous drivers. But who should we be more worried about, the delicate film director with genteel manners or the unsuspecting travelers transporting the Pope of Trash?

Before he leaves for this bizarre adventure, Waters fantasizes about the best and worst possible scenarios: a friendly drug dealer hands over piles of cash to finance films with no questions asked, a demolition-derby driver makes a filthy sexual request in the middle of a race, a gun-toting drunk terrorizes and holds him hostage, and a Kansas vice squad entraps and throws him in jail. So what really happens when this cult legend sticks out his thumb and faces the open road? His real-life rides include a gentle eighty-one-year-old farmer who is convinced Waters is a hobo, an indie band on tour, and the perverse filmmaker's unexpected hero: a young, sandy-haired Republican in a Corvette.

Laced with subversive humor and warm intelligence, Carsick is an unforgettable vacation with a wickedly funny companion—and a celebration of America's weird, astonishing, and generous citizenry.

Indonesia, Etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation

Elizabeth Pisani

"A spectacular achievement and one of the very best travel books I have read." —Simon Winchester, Wall Street Journal

Declaring independence in 1945, Indonesia said it would "work out the details of the transfer of power etc. as soon as possible." With over 300 ethnic groups spread across over 13,500 islands, the world’s fourth most populous nation has been working on that "etc." ever since. Author Elizabeth Pisani traveled 26,000 miles in search of the links that bind this disparate nation.

Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo

Tim Parks

“So inviting you might find yourself tempted to give the experience a whirl and ride the Italian trains yourself, book in hand.”—Liesl Schillinger, New York Times Book Review Tim Parks’s books on Italy have been hailed as "so vivid, so packed with delectable details, [they] serve as a more than decent substitute for the real thing" (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, in his first Italian travelogue in a decade, he delivers a charming and funny portrait of Italian ways by riding its trains from Verona to Milan, Rome to Palermo, and right down to the heel of Italy.

Parks begins as any traveler might: "A train is a train is a train, isn’t it?" But soon he turns his novelist’s eye to the details, and as he journeys through majestic Milano Centrale station or on the newest high-speed rail line, he delivers a uniquely insightful portrait of Italy. Through memorable encounters with ordinary Italians—conductors and ticket collectors, priests and prostitutes, scholars and lovers, gypsies and immigrants—Parks captures what makes Italian life distinctive: an obsession with speed but an acceptance of slower, older ways; a blind eye toward brutal architecture amid grand monuments; and an undying love of a good argument and the perfect cappuccino.

Italian Ways also explores how trains helped build Italy and how their development reflects Italians’ sense of themselves from Garibaldi to Mussolini to Berlusconi and beyond. Most of all, Italian Ways is an entertaining attempt to capture the essence of modern Italy. As Parks writes, "To see the country by train is to consider the crux of the essential Italian dilemma: Is Italy part of the modern world, or not?"

The Corsican Caper: A novel

Book 3

Here is Peter Mayle at his effervescent best—his master sleuth, Sam Levitt, eating, drinking, and romancing his way through the South of France even as he investigates a case of deadly intrigue among the Riviera’s jet set.

Billionaire Francis Reboul is taking in the view at his coastal estate, awaiting the arrival of vacationing friends Sam Levitt and Elena Morales, when he spies a massive yacht whose passengers seem a little too interested in his property. The yacht belongs to rapacious Russian tycoon Oleg Vronsky, who, for his own purposes, will stop at nothing to obtain Reboul’s villa. When Reboul refuses to sell, Vronsky’s methods quickly turn unsavory. Now it’s up to Sam—he’s saved Reboul’s neck before—to negotiate with an underworld of mercenaries and hit men, not to mention the Corsican mafia, to prevent his friend from becoming a victim of Vronsky’s “Russian diplomacy.”

The dire situation doesn’t stop Sam and Elena from attending glamorous fêtes where the wines and starlets alike sparkle, and enjoying sumptuous meals—from multicourse revelations to understated delights like the first asparagus of the season, on which one must make a wish. But as Sam’s sleuthing draws him closer to the truth of Vronsky’s schemes, he realizes Reboul might not be the only one unable to enjoy the good life for long.

Brimming with entertaining twists, sparkling scenery, and mouthwatering gustatory interludes as only Peter Mayle can write them, The Corsican Caper is a one-way ticket to pleasure, Provençal style.

This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.

Graduates in Wonderland: The International Misadventures of Two (Almost) Adults

Jessica Pan

Two best friends document their post-college lives in a hilarious, relatable, and powerfully honest epistolary memoir.

Fast friends since they met at Brown University during their freshman year, Jessica Pan and Rachel Kapelke-Dale vowed to keep in touch after their senior year through in-depth—and brutally honest—weekly e-mails. After graduation, Jess packs up everything she owns and moves to Beijing on a whim, while Rachel heads to New York to work for an art gallery and to figure out her love life. Each spends the next few years tumbling through adulthood and reinventing themselves in various countries, including France, China, and Australia. Through their messages from around the world, they swap tales of teaching classes of military men, running a magazine, and flirting in foreign languages, along with the hard stuff: from harrowing accidents to breakups and breakdowns.

Reminiscent of Sloan Crosley’s essays and Lena Dunham’s Girls, Graduates in Wonderland is an intimate, no-holds-barred portrait of two young women as they embark upon adulthood.

Europe

A Curious Guide to London

Simon Leyland

From petticoat duels and lucky cats to the Stiffs Express, Lord Nelson's spare nose, the Piccadilly earthquake and the Great Beer Flood of 1814, A Curious Guide to London takes you on a captivating, wildly entertaining tour of the city you think you know, unearthing the capital's secrets and commemorating its rich, colourful and unusual history.

Brimming with tales of London's forgotten past, its strangest traditions and its most eccentric inhabitants, this book celebrates the unique, the unusual and the unknown.

Perfect for tourists, day-trippers, commuters and the millions of people who call London home, this alternative guidebook will make you look at the city in a whole new light.

The Food Lover's Guide to Paris: The Best Restaurants, Bistros, Cafés, Markets, Bakeries, and More, Edition 5

Patricia Wells

The book that cracks the code, from the incomparable Patricia Wells. An acclaimed authority on French cuisine, Ms. Wells has spent more than 30 years in Paris, many as former restaurant critic for The International Herald Tribune. Now her revered Food Lover’s Guide to Paris is back in a completely revised, brand-new edition.

In 457 entries—345 new to this edition, plus 112 revisited and reviewed classics—The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris offers an elegantly written go-to guide to the very best restaurants, cafés, wine bars, and bistros in Paris, as well as where to find the flakiest croissants, earthiest charcuteries, sublimest cheese, most ethereal macarons, and impeccable outdoor markets. The genius of the book is Ms. Wells’s meritocratic spirit. Whether you’re looking for a before-you-die Michelin three-star experience (Guy Savoy, perhaps, or Restaurant Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée) or wanting to sample the new bistronomy (Bistrot Paul Bert, Le Comptoir du Relais) or craving something simple and perfect (L’As du Fallafel, or Breizh Café for crêpes), Patricia Wells tells you exactly where to go and why you should go there. You no longer have to rely on the iffy “reviews” of Yelp or Trip Advisor.

Included are 40 recipes from some of her favorite chefs and purveyors and, of course, all the practical information: addresses, websites, email, hours, closest métro stop, specialties, and more.

A Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected Romance

Marlena de Blasi

An American chef meets the love of her life among the beautiful canals and exquisite cuisine of Venice—“better than a romance novel, it’s the real thing” (New Orleans Times-Picayune).

Fernando first sees Marlena across the Piazza San Marco and falls in love from afar. When he sees her again in a Venice café a year later, he knows it’s fate. He knows little English; she, a divorced American chef traveling through Italy, speaks only food-based Italian. Marlena thought she was done with romantic love, incapable of intimacy. Yet within months of their first meeting, she quits her job, sells her house in St. Louis, kisses her two grown sons goodbye, and moves to Venice to marry “the stranger,” as she calls Fernando.

This deliciously satisfying memoir is filled with the foods and flavors of Italy and peppered with culinary observations and recipes. But the main course here is an enchanting true story about a woman who falls in love with both a man and a city, and finally finds the home she didn’t even know she was missing.

“An irresistible grown-up love story.” —USA Today

Bike Snob Abroad: Strange Customs, Incredible Fiets, and the Quest for Cycling Paradise

BikeSnobNYC

In his new book, BikeSnobNYC reaches the final frontier of cycling: riding with the family. As his choice to take to the road with his toddler son in tow is met with bewilderment and disapproval from onlookers and the occasional motorist, he ponders why it's such a taboo. And what does it really mean to be a bike-friendly country? Seeking answers, he heads from the U.S. to London, Amsterdam, Gothenburg, and San Vito dei Normanni in search of an alternative. With humorous anecdotes and his trademark biting wit and wisdom, BikeSnobNYC takes us on his most personal narrative journey yet, and ultimately shines a light on the growing pains that exist in any culture that asks smartphone-obsessed text-happy pedestrians, the two-wheeled, and the four-wheeled to share the road.

A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure

Marlena de Blasi

American chef and author of A Thousand Days in Venice moves to rural Tuscany, where she and her husband discover village secrets of food, life, and love.

Searching for the rhythms of country living, American chef Marlena de Blasi and her Venetian husband, Fernando, move to a barely renovated former stable in Tuscany. They dwell among two hundred villagers, ancient olive groves, and hot Etruscan springs. In this patch of earth where Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio collide, there is much to feed de Blasi’s two passions—food and love. In A Thousand Days in Tuscany, de Blasi brings us along as she and Fernando harvest grapes, gather chestnuts, forage for wild mushrooms, and climb trees in the cold of December to pick olives, one by one.

They befriend the mesmeric Barlozzo, a self-styled village chieftain whose stories lead de Blasi deeper into the soul of Tuscany. Together they visit sacred festivals and taste just-pressed olive oil, drizzled over roasted country bread. In a cauldron set over a wood fire, they braise beans in red wine, and a stew of wild boar simmers overnight in the ashes of their hearth. Barlozzo shares his knowledge of Italian farming traditions and ancient health potions, but he has secrets he doesn’t share, and one of them concerns the beautiful Floriana, whose illness teaches Marlena that happiness is truly a choice.

Like the pleasurable tastes and textures of a fine meal, A Thousand Days in Tuscany is as satisfying as it is enticing. The author’s own recipes are included.

Helsinki Drift

Douglas Burnet Smith

Actress Mae West once said "I’ve been things and seen places." Poet Douglas Burnet Smith might well be able to lay claim to the same boast. In his latest collection of verse he takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic journey through Amsterdam’s antique streets and canals, Tuscany’s sun-soaked landscapes, Paris’s Gallic gabble of monuments and madcaps, and the title poem’s Finnish auditory and aural delights. In one poem we play Scrabble with Dadaist Tristan Tzara. In another work, "Sophia," we encounter "the mangy wisdom of wild dogs on every street,/skulking, pawing rabid piles of garbage/choking gutters, begging at the front doors of restaurants/like reeducated ideologues." In still another verse the poet’s persona contemplates Italian artist Giotto in Colorado, citing "the copper hogbacks" in which "he sees layered/trecento shale-engraved depictions of Egypt and the Exodus." And everywhere his Muse takes him, Smith injects his stopovers with fresh perspectives, lending credence to seventeenth- century English essayist Sir Thomas Browne’s dictum: "Ready to be anything in the ecstasy of being ever."

The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain: A Discerning Traveller's Companion

David Kemp

Is a famous queen of Britain really bured beneath platform 10 at King’s Cross station in London?

What is the telephone number of the National Theatre?

what is the best place to eat in Worcester?

Where is the National Bagpipe Museum? (Hint: not in Scotland)

Was Pointius Pilate born in Pitlochry?

The answers to these questions and literally thousands more are to be found in David Kemp’s fascinating guidebook, The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain. Nowhere else will the discerning traveller find so much diverse and essential information about British culture gathered together in one volume. With the author as your witty and knowledgeable guide, take a tour through nearly fifty cities, from Penzance to Perth, from London to Cardiff and Belfast.

Each city section begins with a concise, readable history and a guided walk around the town, planned to take in as many of the significant local sights as can comfortably be included. Next are exhaustive listings, including telephone numbers and addresses, of everything a culturally curious visitor might want to seek out: theatre, art galleries, museums, antique markets, antiquarian and other bookstores, restaurants, lcoal fairs and festivals and more. Finally, under the headings of Artistic Associations and Ephemera, each section concludes with an entertaining collection of local lore, gossip, legend and anecdote.

Fifty Places to Ski and Snowboard Before You Die: Downhill Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations

Chris Santella

Fifty Places to Ski and Snowboard Before You Die—the 10th book in the popular Fifty Places series—takes readers to some of the world’s most inspiring skiing/snowboarding destinations: the Chugach Mountains (Alaska); Aspen, Crested Butte, and Steamboat Springs (Colorado); Tuckerman Ravine (New Hampshire); Rusutsu (Japan); Chamonix (France); Portillo (Chile); and Whistler Blackcomb (British Columbia). Based on interviews with leading experts, the book chronicles the rich history of these sports and the people who have mastered them, including Tommy Moe, Jonny Moseley, Billy Kidd, and Greg Harms. Above all, Santella provides readers with the gorgeous scenery, the glamorous ambiance, and the always thrilling experience of visiting mountains from the Alps to the Rockies, whether it’s après-ski in Cortina or helicopter rides into virgin Alaskan powder.

Praise for Fifty Places to Ski and Snowboard Before You Die

“Even the reader who gets no farther than the couch can feel transported to the snow-covered peaks, mogul fields, and sparkling expanses sculpted by the book’s avalanche of quirky nuggets, insider tips, and historical perspectives . . . After writing nine other Fifty Places guides, author Chris Santella has the drill down.” —Reuters.com

“Whether you’re an expert looking to hit the double diamond moguls or a beginner who wants a gentle slope just in case stopping is an issue, these spots have a little something for everyone.” —The Daily Beast

“For powderhounds, Fifty Places to Ski & Snowboard Before You Die by Chris Santella ($25) looks at snow sports destinations around the world.” —Associated Press

1,000 Places to See Before You Die: Revised Second Edition

Patricia Schultz

The world is calling. Time to answer.

The world’s wonders, continent by continent: A trek through Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. Sri Lanka’s Hill Country. A sunrise balloon safari over the Masai Mara. Canyon de Chelly. The sacred festivals of Bhutan. The Amalfi Coast. Sailing the Mekong River.

In all, 1,000 places guaranteed to give travelers the shivers: sacred ruins, coral reefs, hilltop villages, deserted beaches, wine trails, hidden islands, opera houses, wildlife preserves, castles, museums, and more. Each entry tells why it’s essential to visit and includes hotels, restaurants, and festivals to check out. Then come the completely updated nuts and bolts: websites, phone numbers, prices, best times to visit.

1,000 Places to See Before You Die is the world’s bestselling travel book and a #1 New York Times bestseller. 1,000 Places reinvented the idea of travel book as both wish list and practical guide. As Newsweek wrote, it “tells you what’s beautiful, what’s fun, and what’s just unforgettable—everywhere on earth.” Second edition includes 600 full-color photographs, over 200 entirely new entries. More suggestions for places to stay, restaurants to visit, festivals to check out. And along with starred restaurants and historic hotels, you'll also find moderately priced gems that don’t compromise on atmosphere or charm.

Forever Paris: 25 Walks in the Footsteps of Chanel, Hemingway, Picasso, and More

Christina Henry de Tessan

Take a stroll through Édith Piaf's Belleville, dine at Napoléon's favorite restaurant, and explore the late-night haunts of Ernest Hemingway, Josephine Baker, and Pablo Picasso. From the author of the best-selling City Walks: Paris deck, this lively collection of walking adventures follows in the footsteps of more than 25 of the city's iconic former residents. Throughout, Paris is seen from the intimate vantage point of those who loved it best, from the bars where authors penned classic works to the markets and patisseries where food lovers indulged. Including photos and full-color maps throughout, each walk in this book guides visitors and locals through the city that inspired some of the world's most famous artists, writers, chefs, musicians, politicians, and more.

Memoirs & Essays

Inspirational Adventures

Paris in Love: A Memoir

Eloisa James

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Wilde in Love, a joyful chronicle of a year in one of the most beautiful cities in the world: Paris.

“What a beautiful and delightful tasting menu of a book: the kids, the plump little dog, the Italian husband. Reading this memoir was like wandering through a Parisian patisserie in a dream. I absolutely loved it.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

When bestselling romance author Eloisa James took a sabbatical from her day job as a Shakespeare professor, she also took a leap that many people dream about: She sold her house and moved her family to Paris.

With no classes to teach, no committee meetings to attend, no lawn to mow or cars to park, Eloisa revels in the ordinary pleasures of life—discovering corner museums that tourists overlook, chronicling Frenchwomen’s sartorial triumphs, walking from one end of Paris to another. She copes with her Italian husband’s notions of quality time; her two hilarious children, ages eleven and fifteen, as they navigate schools—not to mention puberty—in a foreign language; and her mother-in-law Marina’s raised eyebrow in the kitchen (even as Marina overfeeds Milo, the family dog).

Paris in Love invites the reader into the life of a New York Times bestselling author and her spirited, enchanting family, framed by la ville de l’amour.

Praise for Paris in Love

“Exhilarating and enchanting . . . brims with a casual wisdom about life.”—Chicago Tribune

“In this delightful charm-bracelet of a memoir, [Eloisa James shares] her adventures as an American suddenly immersed in all things French—food, clothes, joie de vivre.”—People

“Enchanting . . . gives the reader a sense of being immersed along with James in Paris for a year . . . you see the rain, taste the food, observe the people.”—USA Today

“This delectable confection, which includes recipes, is more than a visit to a glorious city: it is also a tour of a family, a marriage, and a love that has no borders. Très magnifique!”—Library Journal (starred review)

“A charming, funny and poignant memoir . . . steeped in Paris and suffused with love.”—Star Tribune

“Charming . . . a romance—for a city, a life, a family, and love itself.”—The Huffington Post

Istanbul

Orhan Pamuk

A shimmering evocation, by turns intimate and panoramic, of one of the world’s great cities, by its foremost writer. Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul and still lives in the family apartment building where his mother first held him in her arms. His portrait of his city is thus also a self-portrait, refracted by memory and the melancholy–or hüzün– that all Istanbullus share: the sadness that comes of living amid the ruins of a lost empire.With cinematic fluidity, Pamuk moves from his glamorous, unhappy parents to the gorgeous, decrepit mansions overlooking the Bosphorus; from the dawning of his self-consciousness to the writers and painters–both Turkish and foreign–who would shape his consciousness of his city. Like Joyce’s Dublin and Borges’ Buenos Aires, Pamuk’s Istanbul is a triumphant encounter of place and sensibility, beautifully written and immensely moving.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Cheryl Strayed

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

One of the Best Books of the Year: NPR, The Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, St. Louis Dispatch

Into the Wild

Jon Krakauer

Krakauer’s page-turning bestseller explores a famed missing person mystery while unraveling the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men of a certain cast of mind; the complex, charged bond between fathers and sons.

"Terrifying... Eloquent... A heart-rending drama of human yearning." —New York Times

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How Christopher Johnson McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild.

Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandless's short life. Admitting an interst that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the drives and desires that propelled McCandless.

When McCandless's innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and is dismissed for his naiveté, pretensions, and hubris. He is said to have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edge. Krakauer brings McCandless's uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows, and the peril, adversity, and renunciation sought by this enigmatic young man are illuminated with a rare understanding--and not an ounce of sentimentality. Mesmerizing, heartbreaking, Into the Wild is a tour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauer's stoytelling blaze through every page.

Uganda Be Kidding Me

Chelsea Handler

In this uproarious collection of travel essays, Chelsea Handler sneaks her sharp wit through airport security and delivers her most absurd and hilarious stories ever.

On safari in Africa, it's anyone's guess as to what's more dangerous: the wildlife or Chelsea. But whether she's fumbling the seduction of a guide by not knowing where tigers live (Asia, duh) or wearing a bathrobe into the bush because her clothes stopped fitting seven margaritas ago, she's always game for the next misadventure.

The situation gets down and dirty as she defiles a kayak in the Bahamas, and outright sweaty as she escapes from a German hospital on crutches. When things get truly scary, like finding herself stuck next to a passenger with bad breath, she knows she can rely on her family to make matters even worse. Thank goodness she has the devoted Chunk by her side-except for the time she loses him in Telluride.

Complete with answers to the most frequently asked traveler's questions, hot travel trips, and travel etiquette, none of which should be believed, Uganda Be Kidding Me has Chelsea taking on the world, one laugh-out-loud incident at a time.

The Footloose American: Following the Hunter S. Thompson Trail Across South America

Brian Kevin

An adventure-filled and thought-provoking travelogue along Hunter S. Thompson's forgotten route through South America

In 1963, twenty-five-year-old Hunter S. Thompson completed a yearlong journey across South America, filing a series of dispatches for an upstart paper called the National Observer. It was here, on the front lines of the Cold War, that this then-unknown reporter began making a name for himself. The Hunter S. Thompson who would become America's iconic "gonzo journalist" was born in the streets of Rio, the mountains of Peru, and the black market outposts of Colombia.

In The Footloose American, Brian Kevin traverses the continent with Thompson's ghost as his guide, offering a ground-level exploration of twenty-first-century South American culture, politics, and ecology. By contrasting the author's own thrilling, transformative experiences along the Hunter S. Thompson Trail with those that Thompson describes in his letters and lost Observer stories, The Footloose American is at once a gripping personal journey and a thought-provoking study of culture and place.

A Tender Struggle: Story of a Marriage

Krista Bremer

A Western woman finds love and struggle with her Libyan husband in a memoir of marriage across a cultural divide: “A sweet and rewarding journey of a book” (Kirkus Reviews).

Fifteen years ago, Krista Bremer, a California-bred feminist, surfer, and aspiring journalist, met and fell in love with a man from a very different world. Ismail Suayah was sincere, passionate, kind, and one of eight siblings born in an impoverished fishing village in Libya. Raised a Muslim, Ismail’s faith informed his life.

When Krista and Ismail made the decision to become a family, she embarked on a journey she never could have imagined: a quest for spiritual and intellectual growth that would open her mind and, more important, her heart.

“A bold piece of writing (and thinking) by an incredibly brave woman.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love

“Utterly absorbing . . . A beautiful book.” —Cheryl Strayed, New York Times–bestselling author of Wild

A Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected Romance

Marlena de Blasi

The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure

Rachel Friedman

Rachel Friedman has always been the consummate good girl who does well in school and plays it safe, so the college grad surprises no one more than herself when, on a whim (and in an effort to escape impending life decisions), she buys a ticket to Ireland, a place she has never visited. There she forms an unlikely bond with a free-spirited Australian girl, a born adventurer who spurs Rachel on to a yearlong odyssey that takes her to three continents, fills her life with newfound friends, and gives birth to a previously unrealized passion for adventure.

As her journey takes her to Australia and South America, Rachel discovers and embraces her love of travel and unlocks more truths about herself than she ever realized she was seeking. Along the way, the erstwhile good girl finally learns to do something she’s never done before: simply live for the moment.

Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down

Rosecrans Baldwin

A fresh, exhilarating take on one of the world's most popular topics—Paris, the City of Light!—by an acclaimed novelist Rosecrans Baldwin

A self-described Francophile since the age of nine, Rosecrans Baldwin had always dreamed of living in France. So when an offer presented itself to work at a Parisian ad agency, he couldn't turn it down—even though he had no experience in advertising, and even though he hardly spoke French.

But the Paris that Rosecrans and his wife, Rachel, arrived in wasn't the romantic city he remembered, and over the next eighteen months, his dogged American optimism was put to the test: at work (where he wrote booklets on breastfeeding), at home (in the hub of a massive construction project), and at every confusing dinner party in between. A hilarious and refreshingly honest look at one of our most beloved cities, Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down is the story of a young man whose preconceptions are usurped by the oddities of a vigorous, nervy metropolis—which is just what he needs to fall in love with Paris a second time.

North America

The Hidden Mickeys of Disneyland

Bill Scollon

Walt Disney was fond of saying, "I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse." And so it is only appropriate that the mouse is incorporated into nearly every aspect of the Disney parks and resorts. In some cases, Mickey's presence is obvious—as in the Partners statue that stands in the center of the hub at the end of Main Street, U.S.A. But in other cases, Mickey's influence is a bit more hidden. . . . So what exactly is a Hidden Mickey? Quite simply, it's an artistic representation of Mickey that was intentionally placed amid the architecture and design of the parks and resorts. Oftentimes it's the familiar three-circle shape of his ears and head. Other times it might be a profile of his face or a full-body silhouette. Disneyland Guests with keen eyes can tell you that Mickey pops up all over the resort, often in the most unexpected places. With this resort wide scavenger hunt, you'll be guided toward each Hidden Mickey, first with a general hint—if you're up for a challenge—and then with a very specific clue. It's so much search-and-find fun, you might forget about your FastPass reservation for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette

Nathan W. Pyle

New York Times Bestseller

Living in New York City for five years as a transplant from Ohio, illustrator and T-shirt designer Nathan Pyle was fascinated by the unique habits and unspoken customs New Yorkers follow to make life bearable in a city with 8 million people (and seemingly twice the number of tourists). In NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette, Pyle reveals the secrets and unwritten rules for living in and visiting New York including the answers to such burning questions as, how do I hail a cab? What is a bodega? Which way is Uptown? Why are there so many doors in the sidewalk? How do I walk on an escalator? Do we need be touching right now? Where should I inhale or exhale while passing sidewalk garbage? How long should I honk my horn? If New York were a game show, how would I win? What happens when I stand in the bike lane? Who should get the empty subway seats? How do I stay safe during a trash tornado? Each tip is a little story illustrated in simple black and white drawings.

I Never Knew That About New York

Christopher Winn

A treasure trove of fascinating trivia about the city that never sleeps

Did you know:

   • Grand Central Terminal is the largest railway station in the world.
   • Columbus Circle is the point from which all official distances to and from New York are measured
   • When Queen Elizabeth II visited Trinity Church in 1976, she was presented with 279 peppercorns in back rent
   • Macy’s owns almost a full city block…but not the real estate its famous sign featuring its signature red bag is on.

Take a delightful journey from the bottom of the island of Manhattan to the top and discover extraordinary facts about New York along the way. You’ll find yourself saying, “I never knew that about New York!”

Back Lane Wineries of Napa, Second Edition

Tilar Mazzeo

This updated guide to the small and "secret" back-lane wineries and tasting rooms of Napa profiles over 70 hard-to-find, authentic boutique estates that feature world-class, artisanal wines revered by locals and critics.

Beyond the crowded tasting rooms of Napa’s popular wineries, there’s an authentic, welcoming side of the valley waiting to be explored: boutique estates run by passionate winemakers who handcraft world-class wines. Back Lane Wineries of Napa uncovers more than seventy of these gems that locals and critics revere but few visitors ever see. Updated with new wineries, restaurants, and local attractions; maps; full-color photographs; and tips on wine-tasting etiquette, wine shipping services, and itinerary planning, this guide will prepare oenophiles and beginning wine-lovers alike to live the good life—Napa style.

Back Lane Wineries of Sonoma, Second Edition

Tilar Mazzeo

This updated guide to the small and "secret" back-lane wineries and tasting rooms of Sonoma profiles over 70 hard-to-find, authentic boutique estates that feature world-class, artisanal wines revered by locals and critics.

Of the hordes of tourists who visit Sonoma each year, many are becoming frustrated by the crowded tasting rooms, lack of variety, and corporate atmostphere of the popular wineries. In Back Lane Wineries of Sonoma, author Tilar Mazzeo uncovers hidden gems of the valley: wineries growing grapes and crafting exceptional wines that often only have a local distribution and limited production. Amid these off-the-beaten-path wineries, many family-run by pioneers of sustainable and organic viticulture, is where oenophiles and beginning wine-lovers alike can relish in the laid-back atmosphere Sonoma has to offer. This pocket-sized travel guide is updated with new destinations, maps, and full-color photographs throughout, organized by area--including the charming Healdsburg, Dry Creek Valley, and Russian River Valley--and provides essentials like pricing and hours of operation. A resident of the valley, Mazzeo also adds insight on restaurants, attractions, and accommodations; wine-tasting etiquette; wine shipping services; and itinerary planning to ensure an unforgettable travel experience.

Hooked on Hiking: Northern California: 50 Hiking Adventures

Ann Marie Brown

Each of these decks is packed with 50 hiking adventures and comes equipped with a handy clip-on carabiner for bringing cards along wherever the trail leads.

Take a hike and discover Northern California's breathtaking parks, forests, and more. With detailed topographic maps and instructions for 50 easy to moderate hikes, just clip on a card using the handy carabiner for easy reference along the trail.
Hikes include:
Yosemite
Muir Woods
Redwoods National Park
Napa Valley

Hooked on Hiking: Southern California: 50 Hiking Adventures

Ann Marie Brown

Each of these decks is packed with 50 hiking adventures and comes equipped with a handy clip-on carabiner for bringing cards along wherever the trail leads.

Take a hike through Southern California's beautiful parks, forests, and more.
Hikes include:
Joshua Tree
Death Valley
Channel Islands National Park
Kings Canyon

Bay Bridge: History and Design of a New Icon

Donald MacDonald

An innovative landmark a quarter century in the making, the new eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge represents the latest spectacular chapter in the history of this storied structure. The new bridge's architect, Donald MacDonald, teams up with author Ira Nadel to create this illuminating book. With friendly text and charming illustrations, Bay Bridge reveals the design decisions that have shaped the evolution of the bridge over the last century—from the history of the original bridge, through the planning of the new span, to the construction of its signature 525-foot-high white tower. In the same elegant package as Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, this volume makes a lovely souvenir for San Francisco devotees, architecture buffs, and tourists.

Ghost Wave: The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth

Chris Dixon

Rising from the depths of the North Pacific lies a fabled island, now submerged just 15 feet below the surface of the ocean. Rumors and warnings about Cortes Bank abound, but among big wave surfers, this legendary rock is famous for one simple (and massive) reason: this is the home of the biggest rideable wave on the face of the earth. In this dramatic work of narrative non-fiction, journalist Chris Dixon unlocks the secrets of Cortes Bank and pulls readers into the harrowing world of big wave surfing and high seas adventure above the most enigmatic and dangerous rock in the sea. The true story of this Everest of the sea will thrill anyone with an abiding curiosity of and respect for mother ocean.

Budget Travel

Save on Grand & Glorious Getaways

Off Track Planet's Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke

Editors of Off Track Planet

Off Track Planet's Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke is a comprehensive, uncensored travel guide that gives you all the tools at your fingertips to reignite your sense of adventure and travel the world to over 100 destinations.

The editors of Off Track Planet specialize in inspiring the young, sexy masses to get off their asses and out into the world. Conquer the world's greatest mountains, oceans, and footpaths, let your passion for food take you across the globe, party like it's your job, and hook up with locals from here to Timbuktu.

In this guide you will:

Find exciting, sexy, and -- most importantly -- free shit to do in every corner of the world
Plan, pack, and get yourself halfway across the globe on a Cup-O-Noodles budget
Discover charity projects that let you extend your travel and help a worthy cause
And more!

365 Guide New York City: Drink. Eat. $ave. Every Day of the Year. A Guide to New York City Restaurant Deals and Bar Specials.

Monica DiNatale

2016 EDITION

You're in New York City. You're hungry. You're thirsty. You don't want to spend a fortune. Now what? 365 Guide New York City is only guide book full of the best restaurant deals and bar specials in New York City. Compiled by New York Food Host and Deals Expert, Monica DiNatale, you get the inside scoop on where to go at a fraction of the price. This is the only New York City guide that tells you where you can find: free, yes, FREE food specials throughout the city, $2-$3 drinks any day of the week, the best happy hours where you can nosh to your stomach's content and more deals than any other guide on the planet. From five-star restaurants to the best dive bars, savings guru Monica DiNatale has been featured on Good Day New York, PIX 11, WABC, WCBS, Crain's 5Boros and Metro NY. Whether you live here, hope to live here, or are visiting, if you want to know all about New York City's restaurants and bars-at a discount-then 365 Guide is the book for you! www.365guidenyc.com

The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia On A Budget

Rough Guides

The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget is the ultimate guide for budget-conscious independent travellers visiting this fascinating region. Updated by young, enthusiastic writers, the guide has detailed practical information that will help readers make the most of their time and money, whether it's taking a slow boat down the Mekong, or catching the "Jungle Railway" through Malaysia's interior. Our extensive coverage includes all of the most popular Southeast Asian destinations, alongside less "discovered" places, with information on getting off the beaten track - whether to hike through the rainforest, visit remote hill tribes or just find a quiet stretch of white sand. The itineraries provide a great starting point for travellers to the region, while the "Ideas" section focuses on some of the region's many highlights, illustrated by beautiful photographs. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget. Now available in PDF format.

Home Sweet Anywhere: How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World

Lynne Martin

"Nearly every page has some crack piece of travel wisdom ... an accessible, inspiring journey." —Kirkus

The Sell-Your-House, See-the-World Life!

Reunited after thirty-five years and wrestling a serious case of wanderlust, Lynne and Tim Martin decided to sell their house and possessions and live abroad full-time. They've never looked back. With just two suitcases, two computers, and each other, the Martins embark on a global adventure, taking readers from sky-high pyramids in Mexico to Turkish bazaars to learning the contact sport of Italian grocery shopping.

But even as they embrace their new home-free lifestyle, the Martins grapple with its challenges, including hilarious language barriers, finding financial stability, and missing the family they left behind. Together, they learn how to live a life—and love—without borders. Recently featured on NPR's Here and Now and in the New York Times, Home Sweet Anywhere is a road map for anyone who dreams of turning the idea of life abroad into a reality.

Cheap Bastard'sTM Guide to Boston: Secrets of Living the Good Life--For Free!, Edition 2

Kris Frieswick

Boston writer and humorist Kris Frieswick gives sound advice on how to live the good life in Beantown, for peanuts. Thrifty readers will discover where to have all kinds of fun, experience the city's culture, and fortify themselves with grub and brew, all for a pittance. Also includes tips on how to break into Boston's social network, a great source of free parties and events!

Cheap Bastard'sTM Guide to Washington, D.C.: Secrets of Living the Good Life--For Free!

Rob Grader

Living big—for less—in America's capital

Living big in America's capital takes just the sort of big bucks that fewer and fewer folks have at their disposal these days, right? Think again. Washington, D.C., is full of free and ridiculously cheap stuff—one just needs to know where to look. Leave it to “The Cheap Bastard” to uncover all the ins and outs and exclusive bargains to be had, and to set forth the real deal with wit and humor.

The Cheap Bastard's Guide to Washington, D.C. contains hundreds of ideas for living on the cheap without sacrificing necessities or luxuries. It shows:

• How to gain free entrance to plays, films, concerts, and museums
• Where to find free classes in anything from yoga to sailing
• Where to find half-price meals and free, filling, scrumptious food
• How to get a free haircut, color treatment, manicure, or low-cost massage
• When and where to find great furnishings in other people's trash

With The Cheap Bastard's Guide to Washington, D.C., anyone—from students and recent graduates to frugal businesspeople, not to mention the capital's millions of recession-weary annual visitors—can enjoy the good life . . . for less!

Cheap Bastard's® Guide to Houston: Secrets of Living the Good Life--For Less!

Kristin Finan

Live Large for Less! Think you have to earn big bucks to live big in Houston? Think again. Houston is full of free and ridiculously inexpensive stuff—you just need to know where to look. Leave it to “The Cheap Bastard” to uncover all the ins and outs and exclusive bargains to be had, and to tell you the real deal with wit and humor.
The Cheap Bastard’s® Guide to Houston shows you how to find free or low-cost:
• Entrance to plays, films, concerts, comedy clubs, and museums, as well as the zoo, pools, and other great places for family fun
• Classes of all sorts, including dancing, cooking, language, and yoga
• Food—from calamari to crepes, nachos to quesadillas, gumbo to goat cheese, and edamame to sushi
• Haircuts, manicures, or massages
With The Cheap Bastard’s® Guide to Houston, anyone can enjoy the good life!

Cheap Bastard's® Guide to Seattle: Secrets of Living the Good Life—for Less!, Edition 2

David Volk

Fully revised and updated, the second edition of Cheap Bastard's Guide to Seattle details endless free and inexpensive opportunities available in the Emerald City from theater, concerts, and museums to yoga classes, haircuts, and massages––for native and visiting cheapskates alike. Written in a fun, humorous tone, this unique guide offers sound advice on how to live the good life on the cheap!

Cheap Bastard'sTM Guide to Chicago: Secrets of Living the Good Life--For Free!, Edition 2

Nadia Oehlsen

Longtime Chicagoan Nadia Oehlsen reveals her secrets for living the good life cheaply in the Windy City, including how to enjoy free concerts, movies, comedy acts, and magic shows, where to get free food and wine (including Sunday brunch on the house), information on free days at museums and the Shedd Aquarium, the lowdown on Chicago's TV tapings and live shows, and much more.

Zen Travel

Mindful Journeys

A Window on Eternity: A Biologist's Walk Through Gorongosa National Park

Edward O., Wilson

The remarkable story of how one of the most biologically diverse habitats in the world was destroyed, restored, and continues to evolve—with stunning, full-color photographs by two of the world’s best wildlife photographers.

A Window on Eternity is a stunning book of splendid prose and gorgeous photography about one of the biologically richest places in Africa and perhaps in the world. Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique was nearly destroyed in a brutal civil war, then was reborn and is now evolv-ing back to its original state. Edward O. Wilson’s personal, luminous description of the wonders of Gorongosa is beautifully complemented by Piotr Naskrecki’s extraordinary photographs of the park’s exquisite natural beauty. A bonus DVD of Academy Award–winning director Jessica Yu’s documentary, The Guide, is also included with the book.

Wilson takes readers to the summit of Mount Gorongosa, sacred to the local people and the park’s vital watershed. From the forests of the mountain he brings us to the deep gorges on the edge of the Rift Valley, previously unexplored by biologists, to search for new species and assess their ancient origins. He describes amazing animal encounters from huge colonies of agricultural termites to specialized raider ants that feed on them to giant spiders, a battle between an eagle and a black mamba, “conversations” with traumatized elephants that survived the slaughter of the park’s large animals, and more. He pleads for Gorongosa—and other wild places—to be allowed to exist and evolve in its timeless way uninterrupted into the future.

As he examines the near destruction and rebirth of Gorongosa, Wilson analyzes the balance of nature, which, he observes, teeters on a razor’s edge. Loss of even a single species can have serious ramifications throughout an ecosystem, and yet we are carelessly destroying complex biodiverse ecosystems with unknown consequences. The wildlands in which these ecosystems flourish gave birth to humanity, and it is this natural world, still evolving, that may outlast us and become our legacy, our window on eternity.

Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life

Daniel Klein

Advice on achieving a fulfilling old age from one of the bestselling authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . .

After being advised by his dentist to get tooth implants, Daniel Klein decides to stick with his dentures and instead use the money to make a trip to the Greek island Hydra and discover the secrets of aging happily. Drawing on the inspiring lives of his Greek friends and philosophers ranging from Epicurus to Sartre, Klein uncovers the simple pleasures that are available late in life, as well as the refined pleasures that only a mature mind can fully appreciate.

A travel book, a witty and accessible meditation, and an optimistic guide to living well, Travels with Epicurus is a delightful jaunt to the Aegean and through the terrain of old age that only a free spirit like Klein could lead.

A Field Guide to Getting Lost

Rebecca Solnit

A stimulating exploration of wandering, being lost, and the uses of the unknown from the author of Recollections of My Nonexistence

Written as a series of autobiographical essays, A Field Guide to Getting Lost draws on emblematic moments and relationships in Rebecca Solnit's life to explore issues of uncertainty, trust, loss, memory, desire, and place. Solnit is interested in the stories we use to navigate our way through the world, and the places we traverse, from wilderness to cities, in finding ourselves, or losing ourselves. While deeply personal, her own stories link up to larger stories, from captivity narratives of early Americans to the use of the color blue in Renaissance painting, not to mention encounters with tortoises, monks, punk rockers, mountains, deserts, and the movie Vertigo. The result is a distinctive, stimulating voyage of discovery.

Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother and Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey, and France

Sue Monk Kidd

An introspective and beautiful dual memoir by the #1 New York Times bestselling novelist and her daughter. Look out for Ann Kidd Taylor's new novel, The Shark Club, which will be published in June 2017.

Sue Monk Kidd has touched millions of readers with her novels The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair and with her acclaimed nonfiction. In this intimate dual memoir, she and her daughter, Ann, offer distinct perspectives as a fifty-something and a twenty-something, each on a quest to redefine herself and to rediscover each other.

Between 1998 and 2000, Sue and Ann travel throughout Greece and France. Sue, coming to grips with aging, caught in a creative vacuum, longing to reconnect with her grown daughter, struggles to enlarge a vision of swarming bees into a novel. Ann, just graduated from college, heartbroken and benumbed by the classic question about what to do with her life, grapples with a painful depression. As this modern-day Demeter and Persephone chronicle the richly symbolic and personal meaning of an array of inspiring figures and sites, they also each give voice to that most protean of connections: the bond of mother and daughter.

A wise and involving book about feminine thresholds, spiritual growth, and renewal, Traveling with Pomegranates is both a revealing self-portrait by a beloved author and her daughter, a writer in the making, and a momentous story that will resonate with women everywhere.

Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape

Bill McKibben

"[McKibben is] a marvelous writer who has thought deeply about the environment, loves this part of the country, and knows how to be a first-class traveling companion."—Entertainment Weekly

In Wandering Home, one of his most personal books, Bill McKibben invites readers to join him on a hike from his current home in Vermont to his former home in the Adirondacks. Here he reveals that the motivation for his impassioned environmental activism is not high-minded or abstract, but as tangible as the lakes and forests he explored in his twenties, the same woods where he lives with his family today.

Over the course of his journey McKibben meets with old friends and kindred spirits, including activists, writers, organic farmers, a vintner, a beekeeper, and environmental studies students, all in touch with nature and committed to its preservation. For McKibben, there is no better place than these woods to work out a balance between the wild and the cultivated, the individual and the global community, and to discover the answers to the challenges facing our planet today.

Changing Paths: Travels and Meditations in Alaska's Arctic Wilderness

Bill Sherwonit

Changing Paths: Travels and Meditations in Alaska’s Arctic Wilderness is an autobiographical exploration of author Bill Sherwonit’s relationship with the Alaska wilderness. Written in three parts, it first describes Sherwonit’s introduction to the Brooks Range and his years as an exploration geologist. Taking a step back, the author then takes us into the past to explore his childhood roots in rural Connecticut and his recognition of wild nature as a refuge. He concludes with his emergence as a nature writer and wilderness advocate.

An engrossing, fascinating, and eye-opening tale of one man’s life and of wilderness conceptions, this vivid description of an area of Alaska that few people get to experience is authentic and enlightening. It is an extraordinary contribution to the literature of place from one of Alaska’s most accomplished nature writers.

Yoga Bitch: One Woman's Quest to Conquer Skepticism, Cynicism, and Cigarettes on the Path to Enlightenment

Suzanne Morrison

What happens when a coffee-drinking, cigarette-smoking, steak-eating twenty-five-year-old atheist decides it is time to get in touch with her spiritual side? Not what you’d expect . . .

When Suzanne Morrison decides to travel to Bali for a two-month yoga retreat, she wants nothing more than to be transformed from a twenty-five-year-old with a crippling fear of death into her enchanting yoga teacher, Indra—a woman who seems to have found it all: love, self, and God.

But things don’t go quite as expected. Once in Bali, she finds that her beloved yoga teacher and all of her yogamates wake up every morning to drink a large, steaming mug . . . of their own urine. Sugar is a mortal sin. Spirits inhabit kitchen appliances. And the more she tries to find her higher self, the more she faces her cynical, egomaniacal, cigarette-, wine-, and chocolate-craving lower self.

Yoga Bitch chronicles Suzanne’s hilarious adventures and misadventures as an aspiring yogi who might be just a bit too skeptical to drink the Kool-Aid. But along the way she discovers that no spiritual effort is wasted; even if her yoga retreat doesn’t turn her into the gorgeously calm, wise believer she hopes it will, it does plant seeds that continue to blossom in surprising ways over the next decade of her life.

A Fork In The Road: Tales of Food, Pleasure and Discovery On The Road

James Oseland

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher

A Fork in the Road: Tales of Food, Pleasure and Discovery on the Road

2014 James Beard Award Nominee and 2014 Society of Travel Writers Foundation Thomas Lowell Travel Journalism Bronze Award Winner for Travel Book

Join us at the table for this 34-course banquet of original stories from food-obsessed writers and chefs sharing their life-changing food experiences.

The dubious joy of a Twinkie, the hunger-sauced rhapsody of fish heads, the grand celebration of an Indian wedding feast; the things we eat and the people we eat with remain powerful signposts in our memories, long after the plates have been cleared. Tuck in, and bon appetit!

Featuring tales from: James Oseland, Frances Mayes, Giles Coren, Curtis Stone, Annabel Langbein, Neil Perry, Tamasin Day-Lewis, Jay Rayner, Madhur Jaffrey, Michael Pollan, Josh Ozersky, Marcus Samuelsson, Naomi Duguid, Jane and Michael Stern, Francine Prose, Ma Thanegi, Kaui Hart Hemmings, Rita Mae Brown, Monique Truong, Fuschia Dunlop, David Kamp, Mas Masumoto, Daniel Vaughn, Tom Carson, Andre Aciman, MJ Hyland, Alan Richman, Beth Kracklauer, Sigrid Nunez, Chang Rae Lee, Julia Reed, Gael Greene

About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, a suite of inspiring travel pictorials, literature, and references, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travelers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves.

Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World

Eric Weiner

Part travel memoir, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader across the globe to investigate not what happiness is, but WHERE it is.

Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Qatar, awash in petrodollars, find joy in all that cash? Is the King of Bhutan a visionary for his initiative to calculate Gross National Happiness? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy?

In a unique mix of travel, psychology, science and humor, Eric Weiner answers those questions and many others, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions.

The Caliph's House

Tahir Shah

In the tradition of A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, acclaimed English travel writer Tahir Shah shares a highly entertaining account of making an exotic dream come true. By turns hilarious and harrowing, here is the story of his family’s move from the gray skies of London to the sun-drenched city of Casablanca, where Islamic tradition and African folklore converge–and nothing is as easy as it seems….

Inspired by the Moroccan vacations of his childhood, Tahir Shah dreamed of making a home in that astonishing country. At age thirty-six he got his chance. Investing what money he and his wife, Rachana, had, Tahir packed up his growing family and bought Dar Khalifa, a crumbling ruin of a mansion by the sea in Casablanca that once belonged to the city’s caliph, or spiritual leader.

With its lush grounds, cool, secluded courtyards, and relaxed pace, life at Dar Khalifa seems sure to fulfill Tahir’s fantasy–until he discovers that in many ways he is farther from home than he imagined. For in Morocco an empty house is thought to attract jinns, invisible spirits unique to the Islamic world. The ardent belief in their presence greatly hampers sleep and renovation plans, but that is just the beginning. From elaborate exorcism rituals involving sacrificial goats to dealing with gangster neighbors intent on stealing their property, the Shahs must cope with a new culture and all that comes with it.

Endlessly enthralling, The Caliph’s House charts a year in the life of one family who takes a tremendous gamble. As we follow Tahir on his travels throughout the kingdom, from Tangier to Marrakech to the Sahara, we discover a world of fierce contrasts that any true adventurer would be thrilled to call home.

Asia

Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die: Biking Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations

Chris Santella

Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die is the ninth addition to the bestselling Fifty Places series by Chris Santella. Biking has grown increasingly popular in recent years, as both a leisure and an extreme exercise activity, and Santella covers trips for cyclists of every level. Fifty Places to Bike covers environments as varied as the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia, the Indochina Trail in Vietnam, and the urban jungle of New York City. With a healthy mix of international and national locations, the 50 chapters capture the breathtaking vistas cyclists will enjoy around the world. As always, the places are brought to life with more than 40 stunning color photographs.

Praise for Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die:

“OMG views, killer hills and open road—the routes in Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die (in bookstores this month) have everything a pedal pusher could ask for.” —Fitness magazine

“If you know someone who can't view a landscape without visualizing themselves traversing it on two wheels, Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die is a sound gift choice.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

“Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die gets adventurous cyclists going in the right direction.” —The Boston Globe

“50 chapters capture breathtaking cycling trails around the world.” —Metrosource magazine

Burma: Rivers of Flavor

Naomi Duguid

Winner, IACP Cookbook Award for Culinary Travel (2013)

Naomi Duguids heralded cookbooks have always transcended the category to become something larger and more important (Los Angeles Times). Each in its own way is a breakthrough book . . . a major contribution (The New York Times). And as Burma opens up after a half century of seclusion, who better than Duguidthe esteemed author ofHot Sour Salty Sweetto introduce the country and its food and flavors to the West.

Located at the crossroads between China, India, and the nations of Southeast Asia, Burma has long been a land that absorbed outside influences into its everyday life, from the Buddhist religion to foodstuffs like the potato. In the process, the people of the country now known as Myanmar have developed a rich, complex cuisine that mekes inventive use of easily available ingredients to create exciting flavor combinations.

Salads are one of the best entry points into the glories of this cuisine, with sparkling flavorscrispy fried shallots, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, a dash of garlic oil, a pinch of turmeric, some crunchy roast peanutsbalanced with a light hand. The salad tradition is flexible; Burmese cooks transform all kinds of foods into salads, from chicken and roasted eggplant to spinach and tomato.And the enticing Tea-Leaf Salad is a signature dish in central Burma and in the eastern hills that are home to the Shan people.

Mohinga, a delicious blend of rice noodles and fish broth, adds up to comfort food at its best. Wherever you go in Burma, you get a slightly different version because, as Duguid explains, each region layers its own touches into the dish.

Tasty sauces, chutneys, and relishesessential elements of Burmese cuisinewill become mainstays in your kitchen, as will a chicken roasted with potatoes, turmeric, and lemongrass; a seafood noodle stir-fry with shrimp and mussels; Shankhaut swei, an astonishing noodle dish made with pea tendrils and pork; a hearty chicken-rice soup seasoned with ginger and soy sauce; and a breathtakingly simple dessert composed of just sticky rice, coconut, and palm sugar.

Interspersed throughout the 125 recipes are intriguing tales from the authors many trips to this fascinating but little-known land. One such captivating essay shows how Burmese women adorn themselves withthanaka,a white paste used to protect and decorate the skin. Buddhism is a central fact of Burmese life: we meet barefoot monks on their morning quest for alms, as well as nuns with shaved heads; and Duguid takes us on tours of Shwedagon, the amazingly grand temple complex on a hill in Rangoon, the former capital. She takes boats up Burmas huge rivers, highways to places inaccessible by road; spends time in village markets and home kitchens; and takes us to the farthest reaches of the country, along the way introducing us to the fascinating people she encounters on her travels.

The best way to learn about an unfamiliar culture is through its food, and inBurma: Rivers of Flavor,readerswill be transfixed by the splendors of an ancient and wonderful country, untouched by the outside world for generations, whose simple recipes delight and satisfy and whose people are among the most gracious on earth.

Indochina Now and Then

George Fetherling

Follow George Fetherling as he travels through Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia looking for any remaining traces of the Indochina that was.

In Indochina Now and Then, George Fetherling recounts multiple journeys through Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, keeping an eye peeled and an ear cocked for whatever faint traces of French rule might remain. While doing so he searches diligently in village markets, curio shops, and rubbish bins, not to mention bookstalls along the Seine in Paris, for early picture postcards of Southeast Asia, the sort that native Frenchmen and Frenchwomen sent home to Europe.

The book is illustrated with 60 such images, most of them taken before the First World War. They evoke vanished ways of life in these exotic "lands of charm and cruelty" that have survived the wars and turmoil of the late 20th century to emerge, smiling enigmatically, as the friendly face of free-market socialism. In its prose and pictures, Indochina Now and Then is a travel narrative that will leave an indelible impression in the reader’s imagination.

1,000 Places to See Before You Die: Revised Second Edition

Patricia Schultz

Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China

Jeffrey Alford

The winner of the James Beard Foundation International Cookbook Award from the authors of Hot Sour Salty Sweet.

In the West, when we think about food in China, what usually comes to mind are the signature dishes of Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai. But beyond the urbanized eastern third of China lie the high open spaces and sacred places of Tibet, the Silk Road oases of Xinjiang, the steppelands of Inner Mongolia, and the steeply terraced hills of Yunnan and Guizhou. The peoples who live in these regions are culturally distinct, with their own history and their own unique culinary traditions. In Beyond the Great Wall, the inimitable duo of Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid—who first met as young travelers in Tibet—bring home the enticing flavors of this other China.

For more than twenty-five years, both separately and together, Duguid and Alford have journeyed all over the outlying regions of China, sampling local home cooking and street food, making friends and taking lustrous photographs. Beyond the Great Wall shares the experience in a rich mosaic of recipes—from Central Asian cumin-scented kebabs and flatbreads to Tibetan stews and Mongolian hot pots—photos, and stories. A must-have for every food lover, and an inspiration for cooks and armchair travelers alike.

Winner of the IACP Best International Cookbook Award

“A handsome and engaging collection suitable for travelers and cooks alike, this book will delight anyone with an interest in this part of the world.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Tells the story of China’s minorities through a gorgeous blend of photography, travelogues and recipes.” —NPR

Little Emperors: A Year with the Future of China

JoAnn Dionne

Short-listed for the 2009 City of Victoria Butler Book Prize

Much has been made about how the New China has become an economic juggernaut in today’s world while civil liberties and basic freedoms remain constricted. We know where the aging leadership has taken and is taking China, but what about the very young? What are they like?

When JoAnn Dionne arrived in Guangzho, she came prepared to live and teach elementary school in a Communist country. She expected to see soldiers in the streets, people in grey Mao suits, and lineups to buy toilet paper. Instead she found the world’s oldest country, throwing itself headlong into the future. She found traffic jams and 24/7 constructions, neon lights and smog, shopping malls and modern high-rises. And then she met the people who would live in that future – her students. Along with crisp insights into Chinese culture as seen through the eyes of a North American, Dionne provides a funny, often poignant glimpse of a nation undergoing rapid transformation.

Buttertea at Sunrise: A Year in the Bhutan Himalaya

Britta Das

Often seen as a magical paradise at the end of the world, Bhutan is inaccessible to most travellers. Set against the dramatic scenery of the Himalaya, this beguiling memoir recalls hardships and happiness in a land almost untouched by the West.

When Britta Das goes to work as a physiotherapist in a remote village hospital, her good intentions are put to the test amid monsoons, fleas, and startling conditions. But as she visits homes in the mountains and learns the mysteries of Tantric Buddhism, the country captivates her very soul. Gaining insights into the traditions of the mystical kingdom, Britta makes friends, falls in love, and battles illness.

Throughout it all, as she writes, she worries about the "destructive nearness of technology" and fears that Bhutan’s charm and innocence may soon be lost. Still, Bhutan has endured for centuries, and there is no denying that the country has transformed her life forever.

Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent

Jeffrey Alford

The award-winning authors take on Indian cuisine and more with “a breathtaking range of recipes . . . so fascinating it renders one virtually speechless” (Quill & Quire).

For this companion volume to the award-winning Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid travel west from Southeast Asia to that vast landmass the colonial British called the Indian Subcontinent. It includes not just India, but extends north to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal and as far south as Sri Lanka, the island nation so devastated by the recent tsunami. For people who love food and cooking, this vast region is a source of infinite variety and eye-opening flavors.

Home cooks discover the Tibetan-influenced food of Nepal, the Southeast Asian tastes of Sri Lanka, the central Asian grilled meats and clay-oven breads of the northwest frontier, the vegetarian cooking of the Hindus of southern India and of the Jain people of Gujarat. It was just twenty years ago that cooks began to understand the relationships between the multifaceted cuisines of the Mediterranean; now we can begin to do the same with the foods of the Subcontinent.

“Part travel essay, part recipe journal, and completely compelling.” —The Washington Post

“This is a comprehensive book filled with compelling writing—a worthy addition to the couple’s impressive body of work.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“At the heart of Mangoes & Curry Leaves is the personal memoir of Alford and Duguid—their story of the Great Subcontinent, told through images and tastes, that is as colorful as it is moving.” —The FoodWine

Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia

Jeffrey Alford

Luminous at dawn and dusk, the Mekong is a river road, a vibrant artery that defines a vast and fascinating region. Here, along the world's tenth largest river, which rises in Tibet and joins the sea in Vietnam, traditions mingle and exquisite food prevails.

Award-winning authors Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid followed the river south, as it flows through the mountain gorges of southern China, to Burma and into Laos and Thailand. For a while the right bank of the river is in Thailand, but then it becomes solely Lao on its way to Cambodia. Only after three thousand miles does it finally enter Vietnam and then the South China Sea.

It was during their travels that Alford and Duguid—who ate traditional foods in villages and small towns and learned techniques and ingredients from cooks and market vendors—came to realize that the local cuisines, like those of the Mediterranean, share a distinctive culinary approach: Each cuisine balances, with grace and style, the regional flavor quartet of hot, sour, salty, and sweet. This book, aptly titled, is the result of their journeys.

Like Alford and Duguid's two previous works, Flatbreads and Flavors ("a certifiable publishing event" —Vogue) and Seductions of Rice ("simply stunning"—The New York Times), this book is a glorious combination of travel and taste, presenting enticing recipes in "an odyssey rich in travel anecdote" (National Geographic Traveler).

The book's more than 175 recipes for spicy salsas, welcoming soups, grilled meat salads, and exotic desserts are accompanied by evocative stories about places and people. The recipes and stories are gorgeously illustrated throughout with more than 150 full-color food and travel photographs.

In each chapter, from Salsas to Street Foods, Noodles to Desserts, dishes from different cuisines within the region appear side by side: A hearty Lao chicken soup is next to a Vietnamese ginger-chicken soup; a Thai vegetable stir-fry comes after spicy stir-fried potatoes from southwest China.

The book invites a flexible approach to cooking and eating, for dishes from different places can be happily served and eaten together: Thai Grilled Chicken with Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce pairs beautifully with Vietnamese Green Papaya Salad and Lao sticky rice.

North Americans have come to love Southeast Asian food for its bright, fresh flavors. But beyond the dishes themselves, one of the most attractive aspects of Southeast Asian food is the life that surrounds it. In Southeast Asia, people eat for joy. The palate is wildly eclectic, proudly unrestrained. In Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, at last this great culinary region is celebrated with all the passion, color, and life that it deserves.