Adventure! Travel! Take a journey with the authors of some amazing journeys. Whether older classics or newer titles, a well-written travel experience is a transporting adventure that is perfect for summer reading. Here are some great titles from the nonfiction shelves of SPL!
An Arabian Journey: One Man’s Quest Through the Heart of the Middle East Levison Wood
915.3 WOO 2019
Following in the footsteps of great explorers such as Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, Wood brings us along on his complex adventure: a circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula as he completes a 5,000-mile trek through the most contested region on the planet. An epic tour through the land at the root of all civilization.
Explore Everything: Place-Hacking the City Bradley L. Garrett 910.4 GAR 2013
Has every inch of the world been explored? Perhaps it is the everyday places – the cities we live in – that need to be rediscovered. The author has evaded urban security in numerous cities to experience the city in new ways – he calls it “place hacking” – a new look at closed, secret, hidden and forgotten urban spaces. Intriguing and with lots of photos!
Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson 914.1 BRY 2001
Bill Bryson never disappoints! The author of A Walk in the Woods and In a Sunburned Country takes us on an irreverent and hilarious journey through the island nation he called home for two decades.
The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot Robert Macfarlane 914.2 MAC 2012
The author sets off from his Cambridge home to follow the ancient tracks, holloways, drove roads and sea paths that form part of a vast network of routes that crisscross the British landscape. An immersive exploration of the ghosts and voices that haunt old paths.
The River Queen: A Memoir Mary Morris 917.7 MOR 2007
In the middle of her life, Morris went home, to the heart of the country and the Mississippi River. Her adventure traveling by houseboat transformed her life.
Sicilian Odyssey Francine Prose 914.5 PRO 2003
The noted author brings the singular island of Sicily to life as she explores its tangled past and colorful present. Through anecdotes and engrossing historical references she evokes the powerful spell that Sicily has cast for centuries.
The Snow Leopard Peter Matthiessen 915.496 M433
Truly a classic! In 1973, the author and biologist George Schaller traveled, as the winter snows were seeping into the high passes of the remote mountains of Nepal, to study the Himalayan blue sheep and possibly glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard. Matthiessen, a student of Zen Buddhism, was also on a spiritual quest to find the Lama of Shey at the ancient shrine on Crystal Mountain.
The Traveling Feast: On the Road and at the Table with My Heroes Rick Bass 818 BAS 2018
Rick Bass strikes out on a journey with the aim of making a memorable meal for each of his literary mentors and to express his gratitude for the way they have shaped his writing and his life. A wonderful journey!
Walking the Nile Levison Wood 916.2 WOO 2015
Starting in November 2013 in a forest in Rwanda, Wood set forth on foot, aiming to become the first person to walk the entire length of the fabled Nile River. He followed the Nile for nine months, over 4000 miles and through six nations, to the Mediterranean coast.