The ultimate inside story of the Katrina tragedy—from the cofounder of the LSU Hurricane CenterAfter warning for years about the looming threat of catastrophic flooding in New Orleans, Ivor van Heerden was one of the highest-profile media experts during the Katrina disaster. Over the following eighteen months, he was even more prominent as he challenged the official version of those events and campaigned for an engineering plan that would protect all of southeaster...

The Romans ruled Britannia for more than 350 years, leaving an indelible mark on our landscape. Town and countryside were transformed by innovations in comfort and culture ‒ albeit shot through with a uniquely British twist ‒ glimpses of which can still be seen at numerous splendid sites and museums in England, Wales and Scotland. Roman Britain and Where to Find It provides the history of the best Roman villas, forts, walls and bathhouses, as well as the hidden gems which the uninitiated m...

"Engagingly curious open-mindedness . . . an amiable deadpan worthy of Richard Ford." --Pico Iyer, Timein this offbeat and original road book, cultural observer Mike Bryan takes issue with the traditional idea that the "real" America is to be found somewhere on our scenic backroads. He argues instead that it is right out in the open on the interstates, and he travels the big highways of the Southwest to prove the point.Bryan engages motel operators, state troopers, and trav...

There aren't many Americans who didn't feel a lump in their throat watching Cal Ripken, Jr. take a historic jog around the bases on the evening of September 6, 1995—the night he smashed **Lou Gehrig'**s record number of 2,130 consecutively played games. But, as "the hardest working man in baseball" will tell you, he was just doing his job. And now he tells you just how he does it, why he does it, and how it makes him feel.With the candor and grace that have endeare...

**NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower—and a Texas native—takes us on a journey through the most controversial state in America. • “Beautifully written…. Essential reading [for] anyone who wants to understand how one state changed the trajectory of the country.” —NPRThe inspiration for the HBO Original documentary trilogy God Save Texas streaming on Max**Texas is a red state, but the cities ar...

Reflections on America and the American experience as he has lived and observed it by the bestselling author of The Greatest Generation, whose iconic career in journalism has spanned more than fifty yearsFrom his parents’ life in the Thirties, on to his boyhood along the Missouri River and on the prairies of South Dakota in the Forties, into his early journalism career in the Fifties and the tumultuous Sixties, up to the present, this personal story is a r...

The #1 New York Times–bestselling humorist's tribute to car travel is "a ride worth taking, even for readers who don't know an oil pan from a frying pan" ( The Washington Times).From a veteran of both Car and Driver and National Lampoon magazines, this hilarious book chronicles the golden age of the automobile in America—and takes us on a whirlwind tour of the world's most scenic and bumpiest roads in trouble-laden cross-country...

Over 200 true stories of boneheadedness and buffoonery from the New York Times-bestselling author of Stupid History!Former Saturday Night Live writer Leland Gregory has shown us gray matter-challenged examples in everything from the criminal world to the hallowed halls of government. This time, though, everyone, everywhere is fair game if they've exhibited outrageously stupid behavior. Consider:* The forgetful fireman who left coo...

The New York Times calls him “the funniest man in America,” and his legions of fans agree, laughing and snorting as they put his books on bestseller lists nationwide.In Boogers Are My Beat, Dave gives us the real scoop on:• The scientific search for the world’s funniest joke (you can bet it includes the word “weasel”)• RV camping in the Wal-Mart parking lot• Outwitting “smart” kitchen appliances and service contracts• Elections in Flori...

**From Pulitzer Prize finalist and National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author of Newjack, a passage through an America lived wild and off the grid, where along with independence and stunning views come fierce winds, neighbors with criminal pasts, and minimal government and medical services.“In these dispatches, [Conover] invites readers to ride shotgun along an unraveling edge of the American West, where sepia-toned myths about making a fresh start collide with mode...

Visit www.burningrainbowfarm.comOn a mission to build a peaceful, pot-friendly Shangri-La, Tom Crosslin and his lover Rollie Rohm founded Rainbow Farm, a well-appointed campground and concert venue tucked away in rural Southwest Michigan. The farm quickly became the center of marijuana and environmental activism in Michigan, drawing thousands of blue-collar libertarians and hippie liberals, evangelicals and militiamen to its annual hemp festivals. People came from all over the count...

Harley-Davidson bikers • Grand Canyon river rats • Mormon archaeologists • Spelling bee prodigies • For more than fifteen years, the bestselling, award-winning author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers has traveled widely across the continent exploring the America that lurks just behind the scrim of our mainstream culture.This sparkling mosaic of our country, in all its wild and poignant charm, “may be the best road trip you’ll ever t...