Now in its third edition, Hiking the Big South Fork is packed with up-to-date information on the trails of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Tennessee and Kentucky. The book combines numerous details about the natural history of the area with fascinating tidbits of folklore and legend to provide an interpretive guide to the trails. The authors have walked, measured, and rated every hiking trail, and, for this edition, they include information about trails in the adjo...

Exploration of the early American West, beginning with Lewis and Clark’s transcontinental trek at the behest of President Thomas Jefferson, was not accomplished by standing armies, the era’s new steam train technology, or by way of land grabs. These came later, but not until pathways known only to a few of the land’s indigenous people were discovered, carved out, and charted in an area stretching from the eastern Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and the present-day borders of Mexico a...

Outbreaks of disease, much like wars, inevitably produce a series of public figures who serve as emblematic heroes or villains of the era and event, and in the case of Mary Mallon, now known around the world as “Typhoid Mary,” only a few deaths and a relatively small group of infections actually occurred before she was arrested. That her small but deadly outbreak incited such a firestorm among New York’s health agencies was certainly driven by the fact that the “ghetto disease” had suddenl...

The plague, for all its horrors, became a known quantity that moved through a predictable progression, so by the 15th century, citizens learned to go on with their lives resigned to the fact that these curses seemed inescapable. However, in the mid-15th century, a new “febrile” disease of an entirely unknown cause struck again in Britain in a series of erratically paced and lethal outbreaks between 1485 and 1551. Confined almost entirely to England, the new and unfamiliar wave of illness p...

There were many great cities in the ancient Near East that influenced the course of history. Babylon and Jerusalem are two of the better known, but Nineveh, Damascus, Ur, Uruk, Memphis, Thebes, and Sidon were just a few of the great cities where science and literature were created, theologies proposed, and empires born. There are numerous reasons why these cities became prominent, many of which were related to the fortuitous circumstances of environment and politics, but for every one of t...

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon is written by Eli Boschetto. A hiker, writer, and photographer, Eli reveled in going deep for Oregon! Since 2011, he has been the editor of Washington Trails magazine, which he manages from his home in Portland, Oregon. Eli is also a regional correspondent for Backpacker magazine.The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) meanders from the California-Mexico border north to the border of Washington and Canada. It’s...

Here are 19 backroads drives around Lake Michigan, showing you the grand lake as never before in this richly illustrated exploration of the Great Lake’s history, culture, ecology, and natural beauty. The big blue inland sea--the only Great Lake entirely within U.S. borders--appears here in all its natural diversity. These day trips take you to the ancient forests and vast sand dunes of Michigan and Wisconsin and on beautiful backroads in Illinois and Indiana. Lake Michigan Backroads conduc...

This informative guide to the parks of Oregon and Washington is a must for both visitors and residents who want to enjoy the wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities in these states. Follow in the footsteps of Lewis & Clark and early Native Americans as the numerous parks, forests and historic sites are explored in detail. This guide will help you find the perfect place for a weekend getaway, an active family outing, whale watching, a quiet wilderness retreat. Nature trails, scenic dr...

This updated 2nd edition of the popular Backroads of Minnesota (2002) comes in a new portable size, making it easy to tote in your car and head out to a new destination in beautiful Minnesota. Have you driven on the Gunflint and Arrowhead trails? Have you circled the whole of Mille Lacs? Have you gone birding on the western prairies, or wound around the bluffs of the Mississippi River from Red Wing to the Iowa border? Have you experienced the forgotten corners of the Twin Cities m...

First-person accounts and gorgeous landscape photos paired with practical information and tips to help travelers make the most of their journeys through more than 40 national parks.National parks are America’s most-beloved treasures. The editors of Reader’s Digest magazine reveal first-person accounts and gorgeous landscape photos paired with practical information and tips to help travelers make the most of their journeys through these unique areas.

This decisive guide to day hikes in the Twin Cities' area just got better. Within the seven county "metro" area that encompasses the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul lies a network of hundreds of miles of trails. 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Minneapolis and St. Paul by Tom Watson showcases the region's main attractions and personality. Some of these trails are broad, paved corridors through multi-use parks generously developed to provide a myr...

50 Hikes in the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests is a guidebook highlighting the adventurous hiking trails within these state forests, ultimately promoting the conservation of these wondrous regional landscapes.50 Hikes in the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests provides hikers the chance to explore and experience the ever-changing environments of these forests through the studied eyes of the Sierra Club. This updated edition contains current t...