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Armchair Travel February 2023 |
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| Polar Exposure: An All-Women's Expedition to the North Pole by Felicity Aston with contributions from members of the Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole ExpeditionHands up! British polar explorer Felicity Aston put out a call for women who'd like to go on a polar ski expedition and received hundreds of replies. She chose ten, many with little experience.
What happened: The team, made up of women from Europe and the Middle East, trained for two years before setting out.
Read it for: adventure, a variety of viewpoints, and vibrant color photos. |
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| Waypoints: My Scottish Journey by Sam HeughanWhat it is: a memoir and travelogue by Scottish actor Sam Heughan, star of the TV series Outlander, who walked the West Highland Way, pondering his childhood, his life as an actor, whiskey, and more.
About the route: At nearly 100 miles, the lovely Scottish path, which is part of the International Appalachian Trail, runs from just past Glasgow to Fort William in the Highlands, passing Ben Nevis along the way.
Read this next: Clanlands by the author and his Outlander costar Graham McTavish, Robert Macfarlane's The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, or Rory Stewart's The Marches. |
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| Complete National Parks of the United States: 400+ Parks, Monuments, Battlefields... by Mel WhiteWhat it is: the browsable latest edition of a popular National Geographic Society book that presents an updated overview of all 400+ of the United States national parks, monuments, battlefields, seashores, trails, and historic sites.
Don't miss: the stunning color photos, the fascinating facts and history, helpful maps, and information about recreation areas, hiking, and camping. |
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Tutankhamun's trumpet : ancient Egypt in 100 objects from the boy king's tomb
by Toby Wilkinson
"Marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's spectacular tomb, its incredible treasures are revealed as never before. In 1922, after fifteen years of searching, archaeologists finally discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun. There, buried alongside the king's mummy, they found more than 5,000 unique objects, each with a story to tell about ancient life. Tutankhamun's spectacular gold mask is justifiably famous, but the rest of the treasures remain largely unknown. In this rich and beautifully illustrated work of history, renowned Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson examines a civilization through the lens of the objects it most prized, from the precious (a ceremonial sickle, an ostrich-feather fan, a gold-decorated chariot) to the everyday (shaving equipment, a first-aid kit, loaves of bread). And perhaps most poignant of all the objects in the tomb is one that conjures up a lost world of human experience: Tutankhamun's silver trumpet. Wilkinson tells the stories of 100 such artifacts, creating an indelible portrait not just of Tutankhamun, but of the history, culture, and people of Ancient Egypt"
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Books You Might Have Missed
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| The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas ContrerasHow it began: After an injury caused a brief bout of amnesia when she was 23, author Ingrid Rojas Contreras learned that her mother had suffered the same ailment in childhood, spurring her ability to see ghosts.
What happened: Rojas Contreras and her mother returned to their native Colombia to disinter the remains of Rojas Contreras' grandfather, a curandero whose gifts they both now shared and who was appearing to them in dreams.
Awards buzz: This "compulsively readable" (Booklist) blend of memoir, travelogue, and Colombian history was a National Book Award finalist and made numerous Best of 2022 lists. |
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| Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle by Jody RosenWhat it is: a wide-ranging combination of history, reportage, memoir, and travelogue (locales include Bangladesh, New York, England, and more), and a fascinating exploration of the humble bicycle, from its 1817 invention to its modern renaissance as an eco-friendly way to get around.
Did you know? "Around the world, more people travel by bicycle than by any other form of transportation."
Reviewers say: a "wildly eclectic cornucopia" (Booklist); "excellent...calls to mind Bill Bryson, John McPhee, Rebecca Solnit" (The New York Times Book Review). |
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Into the great emptiness : peril and survival on the Greenland ice cap
by David Roberts
"The riveting story of one of the greatest but least-known sagas in the history of exploration from David Roberts, the "dean of adventure writing." By 1930, no place in the world was less well explored than Greenland. The native Inuit had occupied the relatively accessible west coast for centuries. The east coast, however, was another story. In August 1930, Henry George Watkins (nicknamed Gino), a 23-year-old explorer, led thirteen scientists and explorers on an ambitious journey to the east coast of Greenland and its vast and forbidding interior. Their mission: chart and survey the region and establish a permanent meteorological base 8,000 feet high on the ice cap. That plan turned into an epic survival ordeal when August Courtauld, manning the station solo through the winter, became entombed by drifting snow. David Roberts, "veteran mountain climber and chronicler of adventures" (Washington Post), draws on firsthand accounts and rich archival materials to tell the story of this daring expedition and ofthe ingenious young explorer at its helm"
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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