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Armchair Travel February 2019
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| The Last Whalers: Three Years in the Far Pacific With a Courageous Tribe and a Vanishing... by Doug Bock ClarkWhat it is: An eye-opening, lyrical account of Doug Bock Clark's immersive visits over many years to a remote Indonesian island. There, many indigenous Lamaleran live as they have for centuries, but their traditional way of life is threatened as the modern world encroaches.
Want a taste? "As the six impromptu crews chased after the white spouts contrasting against the dark waves and stormy sky, they sang."
Did you know? Aboriginal subsistence hunts are allowed by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. |
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North on the wing : travels with the songbird migration of spring by Bruce McP BeehlerIn 2015, ornithologist Bruce M. Beehler set off on a solo four-month trek to track songbird migration and the northward progress of spring through America. Traveling via car, canoe, bike, and on foot, Beehler followed woodland warblers and other songbird species from the southern border of Texas, northward through the Mississippi drainage to its headwaters in Minnesota and onward to their nesting grounds in the woods of Ontario. Beehler describes both the epic migration of songbirds across the country and the gradual dawning of springtime through the U.S. heartland--the blossoming of wildflowers, the chorusing of frogs, the leafing out of forest canopies--and also tells the stories of the people and institutions dedicated to studying and conserving the critical habitats and processes of spring songbird migration. Inspired in part by Edwin Way Teale's book North with the Spring, this book--part travelogue, part field journal, and part environmental and cultural history--is a fascinating first-hand account of a once-in-a-lifetime journey.
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| Rediscovering Travel: A Guide for the Globally Curious by Seth KugelWhat it's about: Travel writer Seth Kugel encourages travelers to stop relying too heavily on technology and the travel industry and embrace discovery; he also shares amusing stories of memorable moments and misadventures of his own as well as offering budgeting tips, calculating travel risks, and exploring why we travel.
About the author: Kugel wrote The New York Times’ incredibly popular Frugal Traveler column for six years and now hosts two YouTube channels, Amigo Gringo and Globally Curious. |
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Focus on: Entertaining Essays
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| White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World by Geoff DyerWhat it is: an elegant small volume of travel essays that asks big questions, such as: Who are we? Why are we here? Why do we travel?
What happened: Seeking insight, author Geoff Dyer journeyed to disparate locales, including Beijing to visit the Forbidden City, Tahiti to learn about the French artist Gauguin, Norway for the Northern Lights, New Mexico to see the land art installation "The Lightning Field," and Los Angeles to visit philosopher Theodor Adorno's former home.
Don't miss: the final essay, which details a mild stroke suffered by the witty, insightful (and sometimes persnickety) Dyer. |
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| Uganda Be Kidding Me by Chelsea HandlerWhat it is: a collection of humorous essays by outspoken comedian and bestselling author Chelsea Handler, where she shares candid and sometimes ribald stories about her life, friends, flings, and travels (including to the Bahamas, Africa, Germany, and Switzerland).
Is it for you? Not everyone will like Handler's particular type of no-holds-barred humor, but those who do can mix a margarita and settle in.
Read this next: For another raucous look at traveling, try Chuck Thompson's Smile When You're Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer. |
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