"The Last Ride of the Pony Express boldly illuminates both our mythic fascination with the Pony Express, and how its spirit continues to this day. The Pony Express was a fast-horse frontier mail service that spanned the American West— the high, dry, and undeniably lonesome part of North America. While in operation during the 1860s, it carried letter mail on a blistering ten-day schedule between Missouri and San Francisco, running through a vast...

"The riveting tale of two pioneering botanists and their historic boat trip down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon. In the summer of 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter set off to run the Colorado River, accompanied by an ambitiousand entrepreneurial expedition leader, a zoologist, and two amateur boatmen. With its churning waters and treacherous boulders, the Colorado was famed as the most dangerous river in the world. Journalists...

"A mother-daughter adventure around the world in pursuit of self-discovery, a family reckoning, and Asian American defiance"-- Provided by publisher. "A dazzling mother-daughter adventure around the world in pursuit of self-discovery, a family reckoning, and Asian American defiance. In Chinese, the closest expression to oh my god is wo de ma ya. It’s an interjection, a polite expletive, something to say when you’re out of words. Translated literally,...

A poignant and transporting cross-cultural love story set against the lush backdrop of the Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest hour.It was love at first sight when Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saros traditional Sicilian family did not approve of him marrying a black American woman, an actress no less. However,...

The true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing 1914 exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth, a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron. After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights...

"A memoir of the author's journey through his homeland in search of the truth about his uncle, who disappeared during the Nigerian Civil War"-- Provided by publisher. "A deeply moving, lyrical journey through the author’s homeland of Nigeria, in search of the truth about his disappeared uncle and the history of a war that shaped him, his family, and a nation In inimitable, rhythmic prose, the author and winner of the prestigious Windham-Campbell...

"A rip-roaring tour of the cosmos with the Bad Astronomer, bringing you up close and personal with the universe like never before. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel the universe? How would Saturn’s rings look from a spaceship sailing just above them? If you were falling into a black hole, what’s the last thing you’d see before getting spaghettified? While traveling in person to most of these amazing worlds...

"The conception and building of the Appalachian Trail is a story of unforgettable characters who explored it, defined it, and captured national attention by hiking it. From Grandma Gatewood—a mother of eleven who thru-hiked in canvas sneakers and a drawstring duffle—to Bill Bryson, author of the best-selling A Walk in the Woods, the AT has seized the American imagination like no other hiking path. The 2,000-mile-long hike from Georgia to Maine...

An exploration of the role of trails in shaping culture, order, and history draws on the author's travels and findings in myriad disciplines while considering examples ranging from ant trails and continental hiking paths to interstate highways and the Internet.

"As thrilling as any tale from the heroic age of exploration. ... Bound’s account is a triumph. The storytelling is piano-wire taut, the writing saturated with polar moodiness." ― Sunday Times The extraordinary story of how the Endurance, Ernest Shackleton's legendary lost ship, was found in the most hostile sea on Earth, told by the expedition's Director of Exploration. On November 21, 1914, after sailing more than ten thousand miles from Norway...