| The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-Mile Horseback Journey Into the Old West by Will GrantHi-yo, Chicken Fry and Badger! Away! With his two delightful horses, cowboy and journalist Will Grant left St. Joseph, Missouri, in 2019, heading for Sacramento, California. He followed the 1860s path that the Pony Express riders took and explored what the route is like today.
Reviewers say: "a paean to the horse and the American West, both of which Grant writes about with beauty and precision" (Washington Post).
Read this next: For more evocative equine travelogues, pick up Elizabeth Letts' The Ride of Her Life or Rinker Buck's The Oregon Trail. |
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The Everglades: River of Grass
by Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Before 1947, when Marjory Stoneman Douglas named the Everglades a "river of grass," most people considered the area a vast and worthless swamp. She brought the world's attention to the need to preserve the Everglades as the unique and magnificent place that it is. In the afterword, Michael Grunwald tells us what has happened to the Everglades in the more than seventy years since this book was first published. Grunwald points out that in 1947 the government was in the midst of establishing The Everglades National Park and turning loose the Army Corps of Engineere to control floods-both of which seemed like saviors for the Glades. But neither turned out to be the answer. Working from the research he did for his book The swamp, Grunwald offers an account of what went wrong and the many attempts to fix it and calls us to renew our commitment to the Everglades.
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Project 562 : Changing the Way We See Native America
by Matika Wilbur
In this visually stunning celebration of contemporary Native American life and cultures, a critically acclaimed social documentarian and photographer presents compelling personal narratives of Native people and the issues they face that will inspire, educate and truly change the way we see Native America.
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Focus on: Traveling Celebrities
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| From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi LockeWhat it is: a poignant, heartfelt memoir by actress Tembi Locke, who fell in love with Saro, an Italian professional chef.
What happened: Saro's family wasn't sure about him marrying a Black American, but as he battled and then succumbed to cancer, Tembi grew closer to them, later spending summers in Sicily with the couple's adopted daughter.
Media buzz: An eight-part Netflix series starring Zoe Saldaña came out last year. Locke and her sister, bestselling crime writer Attica Locke, created, wrote, and produced the show. |
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| Greenlights by Matthew McConaugheyAlright, Alright, Alright: Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey serves up a candid, conversational memoir.
Why you might like it: While full of stories, advice, and insights, Greenlights is also something of a travelogue, chronicling growing up in Texas, a school year in Australia, life in Hollywood, a trip down the Amazon, visiting Africa, a road trip across America, and more.
Reviewers say: "both calming and laugh, laugh, laugh-out-loud funny" (Washington Post); "entertaining and full of good lessons" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice MillardDid you know? In addition to being a war hero and president of the U.S., Teddy Roosevelt was an explorer who co-led a 1913-14 expedition to map a nearly 1,000-mile tributary of the Amazon.
What happened: After losing the election that would have made him president for the third time, Teddy set out with his son Kermit and Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon on a trip full of trials and danger.
Read this next: If you like this "marvelously atmospheric" (Booklist) account, try Larry Rohter's biography of Rondon, Into the Amazon. |
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| Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant... by Nick OffermanWhat it is: actor Nick Offerman's memoir covering three trips he took and his thoughts on nature, history, politics, and more.
The trips: a hiking trip to Glacier National Park with two friends, musician Jeff Tweedy and novelist George Saunders; an extended visit to England, where he spent time with farmer and writer James Rebanks; and in 2020, as the pandemic was starting, a road trip around part of the U.S. in an Airstream trailer with his wife, actress Megan Mullally.
Reviewers say: "At once a travelogue, a manifesto, and a rousing call to get outside" (Esquire). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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