“Beautifully written and refreshingly original . . . makes us see [Paris] in a different light.”—San Francisco Chronicle Book ReviewSwapping his native San Francisco for the City of Light, travel writer David Downie arrived in Paris in 1986 on a one-way ticket, his head full of romantic notions. Curiosity and the legs of a cross-country runner propelled him daily from an unheated, seventh-floor walk-up garret near the Champs-Elysées to the old Mon...

"Skillfully combines culinary history with reports from . . . the city's most tasteful arrondissements. . . . [blends] the past with the present in gorgeous style" — The New York TimesIn his trademark witty and informative style, David Downie embarks on a quest to discover "What is it about the history of Paris that has made it a food lover's paradise?" Long before Marie Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake!" (actually, it was brioche), the Romans of Paris d...

"A top-notch walking tour of Paris . . . Readers visiting the city are advised to take it with them to discover countless new experiences." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)A unique combination of memoir, history, and travelogue, this is author David Downie's irreverent quest to uncover why Paris is the world's most romantic city, and has been for over 150 years.Abounding in secluded, atmospheric parks, art...

Part adventure story, part cultural history, this “enjoyably offbeat travelogue” explores the phenomenon of the spiritual pilgrimage (Booklist).Driven by curiosity, wanderlust, and health crises, Downie and his wife walk across Paris on the old pilgrimage route Rue Saint-Jacques then trek about 750 miles south to Roncesvalles, Spain. The eccentric route would take 72 days on Roman roads and The Way of Saint James, the 1,100-year-old pilgrimage network leading to th...

Driven by curiosity, wanderlust, and health crises, David Downie and his wife set out from Paris to walk across France to the Pyrenees. Starting on the Rue Saint-Jacques then trekking 750 miles south to Roncesvalles, Spain, their eccentric route takes 72 days on Roman roads and pilgrimage paths—an 1,100-year-old network of trails leading to the sanctuary of Saint James the Greater. It is best known as El Camino de Santiago de Compostela—"The Way" for short. The object of any pilgrimage is ...

Swapping his native San Francisco for the City of Light, travel writer David Downie arrived in Paris in 1986 on a one-way ticket, his head full of romantic notions. Curiosity and the legs of a cross-country runner propelled him daily from an unheated, seventh-floor walk-up garret near the Champs-├ëlys├®es to the old Montmartre haunts of the doomed painter Modigliani, the tombs of P├¿re-Lachaise cemetery, the luxuriant alleys of the Luxembourg Gardens, and the aristocratic ├Äle Saint-Louis ...

A haunting and luminous novelthat explores the dark secrets lurking beneath the stunning natural beauty of a dying timber town.A mysterious beachcomber appears one day on the coastal bluffs near Carverville, whose best days are long behind it. Who is he, and why has he returned after nearly forty years?Carverville’s prodigal son, James, serendipitously finds work at the Eden Seaside Resort & Cottages, a gentrified motel, but soon finds his homecoming taking...

A mysterious beachcomber appears one day on the coastal bluffs near the small town of Carverville, a place whose best days are long behind it. Who is he, and why has he returned after nearly forty years? Carverville’s prodigal son, James, serendipitously finds work at a gentrified motel, but his homecoming soon takes a sinister turn when he and a local teenager make a gruesome discovery on the beach. It forces him to reckon with the ghosts of his past—and the dangers of the present. Rumors...

Rome is the most beloved city in Italy, if not the world. Rich in culture, art, and charm, the Eternal City is also home to some of the most delicious and accessible cooking in all of Italy. Influenced by both the earthy peasant fare of the surrounding hillsides and the fish from the nearby Mediterranean, Roman food makes the most of local ingredients and simple, age-old techniques. Yet while Italian cookbooks abound, no American book has focused on Romes unique and varied fare. In this be...

Global Environmental Politics has provided an accurate, up-to-date, and unbiased understanding of the world’s most pressing environmental issues for more than thirty years. This ninth edition continues this practice by covering critical new developments in global environmental politics and policymaking.Updated case studies on key issues such as climate change, endangered species, ozone depletion, land degradation and desertification, marine biodiversity in areas beyond nat...

Essays by Thomas Frank, Clay Shirky, David Simon, and others: "Anyone concerned about the state of journalism should read this book." — Library JournalThe sudden meltdown of the news media has sparked one of the liveliest debates in recent memory, with an outpouring of opinion and analysis crackling across journals, the blogosphere, and academic publications. Yet, until now, we have lacked a comprehensive and accessible introduction to this new and shiftin...

Described by Le Monde as "the richest view of Balzac's time seen from the table," Paris à Table: 1846 is an essential text in the history of gastronomy, along with Brillat-Savarin's The Physiology of Taste and Dumas's Dictionary of Cuisine. Its author, Eugène Briffault, was well-known in his day as a theater critic and chronicler of contemporary Paris, but also as a bon-vivant, celebrated for his ability to quaff a bell jar full of champagne in a single ...