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Armchair Travel April 2020
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| The Adventurer's Son: A Memoir by Roman DialWhat happened: When 27-year-old Cody Dial didn't return home from a solo trip hiking in Costa Rica's Corcovado National Park in 2014, his dad, Alaskan adventurer and biology professor Roman Dial, went to look for him.
Why you should read it: This captivating, fast-paced story provides a poignant look at the choices we make, father-and-son relationships, and dealing with loss.
For fans of: Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild; Carl Hoffman's The Last Wild Men of Borneo. |
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| The Impossible First: From Fire to Ice -- Crossing Antarctica Alone by Colin O'BradyWhat happened: American adventurer Colin O'Brady, who suffered severe burns to his legs years ago, set out to cross the Antarctic alone and unassisted for the first time on record, just as a British man was attempting the same thing.
What you should know: O'Brady's path was on a marked ice road for the last third of the trip and many members of the polar exploration community, including Jon Krakauer, say that doesn't qualify as unassisted; O'Brady acknowledges his route, but stands by his claim.
Read this next: David Grann's The White Darkness, which details Henry Worsely's 2015 attempt to walk across Antarctica alone. |
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| Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy TaylorWhat happened: When Candacy Taylor learned about the Green Book -- a travel guide for African Americans published from the 1930s-1960s that listed safe places to eat and stay -- she sought more details, eventually driving nearly 40,000 miles across the modern U.S. to see what's changed.
Don't miss: both new and old photographs; vintage advertisements.
Read this next: Gretchen Sorin's recent book Driving While Black, which also explores the history of African Americans and road trips but without the travelogue aspect. |
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| Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth RushWhat it is: An evocative, award-winning exploration of the effects of rising coastal waters that's supported by smart, detailed reporting and moving interviews with scientists and locals.
Locations include: Rhode Island, Maine, New York, Florida, Louisiana, California, and Oregon.
Reviewers say: "Rush captures nature with precise words that almost amount to poetry" (The New York Times); "this book deserves to be read by all" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island by Earl SwiftWhat it's about: For months, author Earl Swift visited Virginia's small Tangier Island, located in the Chesapeake Bay and home to a close-knit crabbing community of about 500 people.
Why you should read it: In lyrical prose, Swift presents a fascinating history of the island while describing the devastating effects of rising sea levels on the islanders’ already endangered way of life.
Want a taste? "Here live people so isolated for so long that they have their own style of speech, a singsong brogue of old words and phrases." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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