Dina Bennett’s on the road again—and she can’t stop! Having completed the 7,800-mile Peking to Paris Classic Car Challenge while braving carsickness and patching rocky marital relations, she’s once more in over her head, enduring 100,000 miles of road trips through the world’s out-of-the-way places.Drawn to strange foods and intriguing views into the kaleidoscope of local life, and with a knack for getting into—and out of—awkward situations, Dina gives you the world in all its glor...

In May 2007, leaving China’s Great Wall is Car 84, one of 128 antique autos racing in the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge. It’s guided by one Dina Bennett, the world’s least likely navigator: a daydreamer prone to carsickness, riddled with self-doubt, and married to a thrill-seeking perfectionist who is half-human, half-racecar. What could possibly go wrong?Funny, self-deprecating, and marred by only a few acts of great fortitude, Peking to Paris is first and foremost a vo...

The Op, a nameless and methodical investigator, is renowned for his unflinching demeanor, sharp instincts, and willingness to bend the rules to uncover the truth. As he navigates a world of corruption, betrayal, and violence, he faces adversaries ranging from ruthless gangsters to elusive criminals, all while dealing with his own moral ambiguities and the harsh realities of his job. Hammett’s hallmark style — spare, direct, and filled with atmospheric tension — makes The Continental Op a s...

Roberta Gately is a nurse and humanitarian aid worker who has served in war zones ranging from Africa to Afghanistan aiding refugees. Just the word refugee sparks conversation and fuel emotion. There are more than 22 million refugees worldwide and another 65 million who have been forcibly displaced. But who are these people? Images filter into our consciousness via dramatic photographs—but these photos only offer a glimpse into their stories. Footprints in the Dust aims to share the real s...

A "delicious" (Dorie Greenspan), "genial" (Kirkus Reviews), "very cool book about the intersections of food and history" (Michael Pollan)—as featured in the New York Times**"The complex political, historical, religious and social factors that shaped some of [France's] . . . most iconic dishes and culinary products are explored in a way that will make you rethink every sprinkling of fleur de sel."—The New York T...

An unforgettable portrait of individuals who hope, struggle, and grow along a single street cutting through the heart of Shanghai, from one of the most acclaimed broadcast journalists reporting on China.Modern Shanghai: a global city in the midst of a renaissance, where dreamers arrive each day to partake in a mad torrent of capital, ideas, and opportunity. Marketplace’s Rob Schmitz is one of them. He immerses himself in his neighborhood, forging deep rela...

The Joys of Travel: And Stories that Illuminate Them is a collection of Thomas Swick’s personal essays on what he has identified as the seven joys of travel”: anticipation, movement, break from routine, novelty, discovery, emotional connection and heightened appreciation of home.The Joys of Travel awakens readers to pleasures that, as travelers, they may be taking for granted. It also shows non-travelers what they’ve been missing. It offers tips on how people can...

For pure pleasure, few experiences are as satisfying as a chance to explore the world's great culinary traditions and landmarks—and here, in the latest title of our popular series of illustrated travel gift books, you'll find a fabulous itinerary of foods, dishes, markets, and restaurants worth traveling far and wide to savor. On the menu is the best of the best from all over the globe: Tokyo's freshest sushi; the spiciest Creole favorites in New Orleans; the finest vintages of the great F...

An Angle on the World is a brilliant tribute to Bill Barich's extraordinary range as a writer. Gathering together more than thirty years of work, this book addresses such diverse subjects as a murder trial in the Caribbean, a visit to a juju doctor in Nigeria, and the author's youthful escapades in Italy and the Haight-Ashbury. As the New York Times put it, "An easy, fluid stylist, Barich writes entertainingly about anything."As a staff writer at the New Yorke...

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING. ONE OF *BOOKLIST'*S TOP TEN RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY BOOKS. ONE OF BOOKLIST'S TOP TEN DIVERSE NONFICTION BOOKS. Honorable Mention in the San Francisco Book Festival Awards, Spiritual CategoryA 2019 United Methodist Women Reading Program SelectionThis enthralling story of the making of an American is a timely meditation on being Muslim in America today. Threading My Prayer Rug is...

We all want to be happy but what is happiness? Haim Shapira navigates the terrain of happiness, exploring and contemplating an eclectic range of theories and insights into the conflicts we face on our journey to creating our own happiness.What is your happiest moment? How can you know it? Do we waste time or does time waste us? Are questions about meaning truly meaningful? What’s really important? Drawing on literary and philosophical sources ranging from Alice in Wonderland and Th...

An unconventional parlor maid upends the lives of an aristocratic family in prewar EnglandCluny Brown refuses to know her place in society. Last week, she took herself to tea at the Ritz. Then she spent almost an entire day in bed eating oranges. So, to teach her discipline, her uncle, a plumber who has raised the orphaned girl since she was a baby, sends her into service as a parlor maid at one of England's stately manor houses.At Friars Carmel in Devonshir...