Award Winner: 2018 Best Book Awards Travel: Guides & Essays
This book will entice you with hundreds of ways to unlock the secrets of Venice, one of the most impenetrable cities in the world. While everyone else is standing around staring, you will wander away from the crowds; take a selfie with a gargoyle; sip a Spritz while standing outside a bar; fill your bottle with water from a campo well; try baccalà; learn to make glass; venture into the Catacombs of San Zaccaria; ride the red escalator to the top of Tedeschi's for the best Grand Canal view ever; eat the local food; get high with your camera; visit an ancient monastery; visit the rainbow-colored island of Burano; learn to make perfume; climb the spiral Bovolo tower; see an Opera; ride a Gondola in Cannaregio; hold hands on the sunset waterfront of Dorsudoro. Above all, you will get lost in this wondrous labyrinth city, and come out only when it is time to go home. Fall in love with this ancient wonder that still exists in our modern world. This book is overloaded with fun new ways to travel back in time to the medieval days of "La Serenissima," the beautiful Venice.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Travel: Guides & Essays
Amsterdam Exposed tells the true one-of-a-kind story of an innocent exchange student who moves to Amsterdam hoping to write a book about the red light district and everything that follows. It's an American abroad story, and also a love story; it's an uplifting tragedy, full of humor from beginning to end; it's an Amsterdam survival guide; a sympathetic look at a societal problem; a little piece of policy; a sweet farewell to a world just about gone; and, ultimately, as close as you can come to a free trip to Amsterdam without leaving your couch. In sum, Amsterdam Exposed takes readers deep into the district on a journey never before possible, forever reshaping their understanding of one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, and the women who work there. If you've ever spent time in Amsterdam, or dreamed of doing so, this book's for you.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Travel: Guides & Essays
Portuguese country-style home cooking and Michelin-rated restaurants receive equal treatment in this newest addition to the Eat Smart series of culinary travel guidebooks. A huge variety of seafood, rice, and spices from around the world acknowledge Portugal's history as a seafaring nation. Hundreds of different breads and cakes also underscore local traditions. Eat Smart in Portugal connects menus and markets to geography, history, and regional pride.
Authentic Portuguese dining ranges from the famed bacalhau salt cod that locals cook in 365 different ways to Lisbon chef José Avillez's mergulho do mar (a dip in the sea), poached sea bass with bivalves and marine plants. Other culinary stars are smoky grilled sardines; flavorful chouriço sausage in the prized soup caldo verde; custard tarts called pastéis de nata; port wines from the Douro river valley; and queijo da Serra, a creamy ewe's-milk cheese from the high plateaus of the Serra da Estrela.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Travel: Guides & Essays
Her grand adventure turned into a nightmare. After skiing 200 miles along California's John Muir Trail, Jean faces death from a mountaineering accident on Mount Whitney. Broken and bleeding on the highest peak in the continental United States, she vows to realize her greatest dreams if she lives until morning. Her escape from the Sierra Nevada Mountains turns into a five-day ordeal for survival. Jean's recovery is equally daunting. Her journey spans three decades and takes her from the depths of despair and chronic pain to the heights of the Himalayas. When the specter of Mount Whitney continues to shatter her world, Jean befriends Tibetan lamas. Their ancient wisdom guides her on a path beyond her wildest dreams.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Travel: Guides & Essays
"The best travel writers are cool-headed, reliable reporters who offer us rare glimpses into foreign lands. Through such stories, we experience the writer's transformation from outsider to insider, and witness a blossoming love affair with the people, the land, the history. Weiss invites us into Moldova, the poorest country in Europe ... and teaches us the importance of immersing oneself in another culture, reminding us that sometimes to find ourselves, we must risk getting lost."—Angela Morales, author of 'The Girls In My Town'
"Like many Peace Corps volunteers, A. A. Weiss was sent to serve in a country that did not exist when he was born. Moldova? Part of the magic of the volunteer experience is a place you've never thought about becomes your entire world for two long years. Weiss writes beautifully, and brings the post-Soviet society to life, with humor, keen observation, and compassion."—Peter Hessler, author of 'River Town' and 'Oracle Bones'
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Travel: Guides & Essays
She Can Find Her Way: Women Travelers at Their Best is an anthology of 24 women writers who tell their stories of running into troubles, challenges, or disasters when they travel solo. Each tells us what she experienced in terms of fear, and how she devised her own way out. An inspiring and exciting collection, its format is 5 small volumes housed in a purpose-made box. Each volume contains 3-5 stories, and is designed to fit into a purse, backpack, briefcase, or overnight bag. Every volume is self-contained, a perfect travel companion.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Travel: Guides & Essays
A gripping conclusion to a grand adventure that took Lois and Günter Hofmann over 34,000 miles around the world on a 43-foot catamaran. Filled with dangers, exotic cultures, and unexpected delights, this book completes the trilogy that begins with Maiden Voyage and continues with Sailing the South Pacific. Through breathtaking photographs and riveting stories, Hofmann shares the thrills and challenges of sailing as well as those moments of bliss - so exquisitely serene that they seem otherworldly. The Long Way Back appeals to adventurers and armchair sailors alike. The reader sets sail along with Lois and Gunter up the coast of Australia, through Indonesia, and on to Southeast Asia, across the Indian Ocean, through Pirate Alley and the Red Sea, and finally across the Mediterranean and back to France where their circumnavigation began. The oversized paperback book, ideal for a coffee table, contains 316 photos, maps, and illustrations and 456 pages. As is the case with her other books, geography buffs will enjoy the magazine-style Did You Know sidebars to outline the geography, history, and cultures from each of the countries visited by the Hofmanns (19 Did You Know columns in total). Hofmann's husband, Günter, also contributes to the book trilogy throughhis Messing with Boats column.
