This account of a sled dog race colder and more dangerous than the Iditarod is "the best book on the Far North since Barry Lopez's Arctic Dreams" ( Los Angeles Times).In the tradition of Into the Wild, John Balzar's Yukon Alone is a story of daring and determination in one of nature's harshest, loneliest, and most beautiful places.The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race is among the most challenging and dangerous organized sporting event...

John All has survived encounters with black mamba snakes, run-ins with wild jungle animals, and a brush with death in an icy tomb. No one knows the outer limits of our changing planet quite like him.In May 2014, the mountaineer and scientist John All plunged into a crevasse in the Himalayas, a fall that all but killed him. He recorded a series of dramatic videos as he struggled to climb seven stories back up to the surface with a severely dislocated shoulder, inter...

This "engrossing, well-paced" history reveals how England's first colony in the New World was forgotten—and rediscovered three centuries later ( New Yorker ).England's first attempt at colonizing the New World was not at Roanoke or Jamestown, but on a small, mostly frozen island in the Canadian Arctic. Queen Elizabeth I called that place Meta Incognita, the Unknown Shore. Backed by Elizabeth and her key advisors, the erstw...

What happens when a woman and her husband move their family from New Hampshire to Alaska to train a team of purebred Siberian Huskies for the world's toughest dogsled race, the Yukon Quest? They endure thousands of miles of lonely training in the Yukon trying to avoid thin ice, wolves, and rogue moose; they put up with the amused skepticism of Alaskan locals; and they pit themselves against the ultimate, fickle adversary--nature. RUNNING NORTH is the true story of how Ann Cook, her husband...

One hundred years ago, a young doctor from Cleveland by the name of Robert Newcomb, travelled north to a place called Temagami. It was as far north as one could travel by any modern means. Beautiful beyond any simple expletive, the Temagami wilderness was a land rich in timber, clear-water lakes, fast flowing rivers, mystery and adventure. Newcomb befriended the local Aboriginals -- the Deep Water People -- and quickly discovered the best way to explore was by canoe. Bewitched by the spiri...

"The ultimate literary bucket list. . . . 948 pages later, you still want more!" —The Washington PostCelebrate the thrill of discovering new titles in an extraordinary book that's as compulsively readable, entertaining, surprising, and enlightening as the one,zero-plus titles it recommends.Covering fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children's books, history, and more, one,zero Books to Read Bef...

A wide-ranging and dramatic account of the Antonine plague, the mysterious disease that struck the Roman Empire at its pinnacleIn the middle of the second century AD, Rome was at its prosperous and powerful apex. The emperor Marcus Aurelius reigned over a vast territory that stretched from Britain to Egypt. The Roman-made peace, or Pax Romana, seemed to be permanent. Then, apparently out of nowhere, a sudden sickness struck the legions and laid waste to ci...

"A tremendous work of non-fiction" about the network that hid the "Angel of Death," the Nazi doctor who escaped justice for more than three decades ( Forbes).In 1985, six-year old Betina Anton watched Brazilian authorities apprehend her kindergarten teacher for allegedly using documents to bury in secrecy the remains of Josef Mengele, known worldwide for cruel human experiments and for sending thousands to the Auschwitz gas chambers. Decades later, as an ex...

The king killed the love of her life—and she's going to make him pay.Step into this epic revenge tale a la The Count of Monte Cristo**, based on the true story of France's most notorious lady pirate. By the author of** The Empress**—as seen on Netflix.**It's 1343 and Jeanne de Clisson is out for revenge.At forty-three, her perfect life—a loving husband, three young childre...

What can we learn about the evolution of jaws from a pair of scissors? How does the flight of a tennis ball help explain how fish overcome drag? What do a spacesuit and a chicken egg have in common? Highlighting the fascinating twists and turns of evolution across more than 540 million years, paleobiologist Matthew Bonnan uses everyday objects to explain the emergence and adaptation of the vertebrate skeleton. What can camera lenses tell us about the eyes of marine reptiles? How does under...

EDWARD J. SMITH was the celebrated captain who went down with his ship.THOMAS ANDREWS was the great and selfless hero who died saving women and children.BRUCE ISMAY was the selfish coward who caused the ship to sink.When disaster struck on the night of 14 April 1912, the lives of everyone aboard the Titanic were changed forever. Lives were lost, heroes were made – and villains were cast.The Triu...

National Book Award Finalist: The "impressive" conclusion to the "magisterial trilogy on the mythology of violence in American history" ( Film Quarterly)."The myth of the Western frontier—which assumes that whites' conquest of Native Americans and the taming of the wilderness were preordained means to a progressive, civilized society—is embedded in our national psyche. U.S. troops called Vietnam 'Indian country.' President John Kennedy invoked 'New Frontier...