Armchair Travel February 2020 Recent Releases Wild Life: Dispatches From a Childhood of Baboons and Button-Downs by Keena Roberts What it's about: Keena Robert's funny, tender coming-of-age story vividly details life in two different worlds: wildlife research camps in Kenya and Botswana, where her primatologist parents worked part of the year, and an elite prep school in Philadelphia, where Keena struggled to fit in. Chapters include: The First Three Times I Almost Died; High School Water Hole; There Are No Doctors Here; Goodbye, Narnia. For fans of: the delightful Cathedral of the Wild by Boyd Varty, who grew up on a South African game preserve; Alexandra Fuller's moving Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood. Wherever you go : how mindful travel can transform your life and the world by Daniel Houghton What it's about: A lifelong traveler and former CEO of Lonely Planet explores how to incorporate mindfulness and green practices into world travels, respecting other cultures and living in the moment rather than for the perfect social media photo. Why you should read it: Wherever You Go inspire you to roam beyond your comfort zone. Get out there and adventure! Did you know? Daniel Houghton became the CEO of Lonely Planet at the age of 24! Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia with Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Other Geniuses of the... by Sara Wheeler What it is: an informative, lighthearted, and personal look at both contemporary Russia and some of the country's most famous writers. What happened: Veteran British travel writer Sara Wheeler spent two years traveling in Russia, skipping hotels for homestays, learning the language and cooking traditions, and focusing on the country's Golden Age writers, like Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Dostoyevsky.  Read this next: Ian Frazier's Travels in Siberia, Elif Batuman's The Possessed, or Rachel Polonsky Molotov's Magic Lantern. That wild country : an epic journey through the past, present, and future of America's public lands by Mark Kenyon What it's about: A popular podcaster, outdoorsman and nationally published writer describes the history of America’s public land system and the arguing over the years about whether to develop the valuable resources they house or conserve them. Part travelogue and part historical examination, That Wild Country invites readers on an intimate tour of the wondrous wild and public places that are a uniquely profound and endangered part of the American landscape. Book Buzz: "...Mark weaves his own adventures and connections to public land into the history on how we were gifted this great legacy. Read this book, be inspired, and become engaged.” —Land Tawney, president and CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Books You May Have Missed Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide by Tony Horwitz What it's about: Going from West Virginia to Texas via car, barge, mule, and more, Confederates in the Attic author Tony Horwitz traveled through a sharply divided U.S. in 2016 to retrace the eye-opening 1850s journey of reporter (and future landscape architect) Frederick Law Olmstead. About the author: A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Horwitz died in 2019 at the age of 60. He is survived by two sons and his wife, novelist Geraldine Brooks, who won a Pulitzer Prize herself in 2006 for March. Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country by Pam Houston What it is: an evocative, lyrical essay collection that discusses life at a 120-acre Colorado Rockies homestead as well as the author's abusive childhood, self discovery, and many travels.  Reviewers say: "Always impressive, Houston is in striking form here" (Booklist); "profound and inspiring" (Kirkus Reviews). For fans of: Cheryl Strayed's Wild, Terry Tempest Williams’ The Hour of Land, or Dean Kuipers' The Deer Camp. On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey by Paul Theroux What happened: Erudite 70-something travel writer Paul Theroux drove the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border alone, crossing over the border multiple times; he also visited Mexico City, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and other areas. Why you should read it: Theroux saw the border situation up close, met locals, witnessed the monarch butterfly migration, visited historic locations, taught writing, and learned about drug cartels and corruption. Read this next: Richard Grant's God's Middle Finger, about his trip through the Sierra Madres; or, for a penetrating look at both U.S. borders, try Stephanie Elizondo Griest's All the Agents and Saints.  An Arabian Journey: One Man's Quest Through the Heart of the Middle East by Levison Wood What happened: From September 2017 through early 2018, Levison Wood circumnavigated the Arabian Peninsula, visiting 13 Middle Eastern countries, including Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, meeting fascinating people, visiting war zones, and celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem. For fans of: insightful, clear-eyed looks at complex places; old-fashioned adventurers.  About the author: Explorer Levison Wood is a former British Army officer and an award-winning TV presenter and bestselling travel writer. Contact your librarian for more great books!