Two Americans walk Japans Kiso Road, the mountainous section of one of the ancient highways that once connected Kyoto and Tokyo. Going from traditional inn to traditional inn, they follow the road through rain and cold, attend a fiery religious ceremony, eat a lot of rice and fish, and discover at a pilgrims pace the beauty and graciousness of rural Japan.

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...

From Booklist's Starred Review: "[Swick] keenly and empathically observes the world, bringing both a relatably human approach and learned appreciation for the art of travel and of life."Working as a feature writer in 1976, Thomas Swick falls in love with a visiting Polish student named Hania and soon moves with her to Warsaw. The next decade sees Thomas living in Poland, Greece, and Philadelphia. He declines an invitation t...

Pre:Fab! is a memoir which tells the story of Colin Hanton’s formative years up to and including his career with John Lennon’s Quarry Men. Colin Hanton related his memories over a period of two years to Colin Hall and as a team they worked together to piece together Colin Hanton’s fascinating story. As such it is an insight not only into Colin and John’s early musical adventures but a vivid social history of war-time and post war Liverpool/ Britain. Colin was a Quarry Man when both Paul Mc...

A comprehensive collection of fun facts about the origins of pretty much everything, from windows to washing machines to websites.This fact-packed collection recounts the origins, invention, and discovery of just about everything, from the big bang to driverless cars. With sections covering topics such as the arts, sports, weapons, buildings, medicine, food, and many more, you can find out intriguing answers to questions like:What material was the first c...

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...

The victory of Richard Nixon in the US presidential election of 1968 swung on an “October Surprise”— a treasonous plot engineered by key figures in the Republican Party to keep the South Vietnamese government away from peace talks in Paris, costing thousands of American lives.There is growing evidence that the CIA was deeply involved in illegal domestic operations targeting Daniel Ellsberg, and in the Watergate break-ins during Nixon’s 1972 campaign, which ultimately led to his dow...

Discover what it was like to be amidst the action as a military photographer during the Vietnam War.Shooting Vietnam takes you there as you read the firsthand accounts and view the hundreds of photographs by men who lived the war through the lens of a camera. From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, they documented everything from the horror of combat to the people and culture of a land they suddenly found themselves immersed in. Some juggled cameras with we...

Have you read everything George R.R. Martin has every written? Do you know what in Game of Thrones is based in real history?A young pretender raises an army to take the throne. Learning of his father’s death, the adolescent, dashing and charismatic and descended from the old kings of the North, vows to avenge him. He is supported in this war by his mother, who has spirited away her two younger sons to safety. Against them is the queen, passionate, proud, a...

For so many people, reading isn't just a hobby or a way to pass the time--it's a lifestyle. Our books shape us, define us, enchant us, and even sometimes infuriate us. Our books are a part of who we are as people, and we can't imagine life without them.I'd Rather Be Reading is the perfect literary companion for everyone who feels that way. In this collection of charming and relatable reflections on the reading life, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads readers to re...

Make time to slow down, breathe, be awake, be aware, and appreciate.Natural Meditation offers easy-to-follow meditation cues for meditating in natural settings or meditating on natural images or objects. Sidebars throughout the book provide suggestions on how to incorporate nature into your mindfulness practice. The short entries allow readers to open to a page during lunch break, at home in the evening, or on the weekend for a short "retreat," setting off...

An unprecedented narrative of the relationship that swung the Civil War.When Pickett charged at Gettysburg, it was the all-Irish Pennsylvania 69th who held fast while the surrounding regiments broke and ran. And it was Abraham Lincoln who, a year earlier at Malvern Hill, picked up a corner of one of the Irish colors, kissed it, and said, “God bless the Irish flag.”Lincoln and the Irish untangles one of the most fascinating subtexts of the Civil War...