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Recommendations based on Blue Highwaysby William Least Heat-Moon
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
by John Steinbeck
A road trip across America, exploring the culture and landscape of the country.
A quest across America, from the northernmost tip of Maine to California’s Monterey Peninsula To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the ... (Goodreads)
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson
A humorous account of a man's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, reflecting on the beauty and history of the American wilderness.
The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South , and stumble in ... (Wikipedia)
Desert Solitaire
by Edward Abbey
A personal account of a season spent as a park ranger in the American wilderness.
First published in 1968, Desert Solitaire is one of Edward Abbey’s most critically acclaimed works and marks his first foray into the world of nonfiction writing. Written while Abbey was working as a ... (Goodreads)
The Snow Leopard
by Peter Matthiessen
A spiritual journey to the Himalayas, seeking to observe a rare snow leopard.
When Matthiessen went to Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and, possibly, to glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard, he undertook his five-week trek as winter snows were sweeping into the ... (Goodreads)
John Adams
by David McCullough
Biography of the second President of the United States and his contributions to the founding of the nation.
The enthralling, often surprising story of John Adams, one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived. In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous ... (Goodreads)
The Year of Magical Thinking
by Joan Didion
A woman's reflections on life and death after the sudden loss of her husband.
'An act of consummate literary bravery, a writer known for her clarity allowing us to watch her mind as it becomes clouded with grief.' From one of America's iconic writers, a stunning book of ... (Goodreads)
Notes from a Small Island
by Bill Bryson
A humorous travelogue of Bryson's final tour of Britain before moving to the US. He reflects on the quirks and charms of British life.
"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it." After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson - bestselling author of ... (Goodreads)
The Elements of Style
by William Strunk Jr.
A practical guide to written English, providing guidance on grammar and style.
This style manual offers practical advice on improving writing skills. Throughout, the emphasis is on promoting a plain English style. This little book can help you communicate more effectively by ... (Goodreads)
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town
by Paul Theroux
An exploration of Africa, from the ancient wonders of the Nile to the modern marvels of the Cape.
In Dark Star Safari the wittily observant and endearingly irascible Paul Theroux takes readers the length of Africa by rattletrap bus, dugout canoe, cattle truck, armed convoy, ferry, and train. In ... (Goodreads)
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
by Dava Sobel
Story of a man's determination to solve the complex problem of determining longitude at sea.
Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day—and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their ... (Goodreads)
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
by Tony Horwitz
Investigative report into the legacy of the American Civil War and its lingering presence in modern culture.
When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But ... (Goodreads)
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson
A man's mission to build schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan to promote peace.
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard Anyone who despairs of the individual’s ... (Goodreads)
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
by Annie Dillard
A reflective journey through nature, exploring the mysteries of the natural world.
An exhilarating meditation on nature and its seasons—a personal narrative highlighting one year's exploration on foot in the author's own neighborhood in Tinker Creek, Virginia. In the summer, ... (Goodreads)
A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There
by Aldo Leopold
A reflection on nature, paying homage to the beauty of the Wisconsin countryside.
First published in 1949, A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land. Written ... (Goodreads)
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls
by David Sedaris
A collection of humorous essays and stories, exploring the absurdities of everyday life through the lens of the author's unique perspective.
A guy walks into a bar car and... From here the story could take many turns. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you ... (Goodreads)
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
by Peter Hessler
A memoir of a Peace Corps volunteer's two-year stay in a small Chinese town on the Yangtze River, exploring the culture and history of the region.
In the heart of China's Sichuan province lies the small city of Fuling. Surrounded by the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley, Fuling has long been a place of continuity, far from the bustling ... (Goodreads)
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barack Obama
A political memoir that explores Obama's vision for America and his hopes for the future of the country.
The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama's call for a new kind of politics—a politics that builds upon those shared understandings that pull us together as Americans. Lucid in his vision of America's ... (Goodreads)
The Great Railway Bazaar
by Paul Theroux
A travelogue of a four-month journey by train from London to Tokyo, exploring the cultures and people encountered along the way.
First published in 1975, Paul Theroux's strange, unique, and hugely entertaining railway odyssey has become a modern classic of travel literature. Here Theroux recounts his early adventures on an ... (Goodreads)
Flags of Our Fathers
by James D. Bradley
A tribute to the brave soldiers who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima during WWII.
In this unforgettable chronicle of perhaps the most famous moment in American military history, James Bradley has captured the glory, the triumph, the heartbreak, and the legacy of the six men who ... (Goodreads)
The Road from Coorain
by Jill Ker Conway
Autobiography of a young woman growing up in the Australian Outback.
Jill Ker Conway tells the story of her astonishing journey into adulthood—a journey that would ultimately span immense distances and encompass worlds, ideas, and ways of life that seem a century ... (Goodreads)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)
Ball Four
by Jim Bouton
A candid account of the life of a professional baseball player, exposing the realities of the sport.
Twentieth-anniversary edition of a baseball classic, with a new epilogue by Jim Bouton. When first published in 1970, Ball Four stunned the sports world. The commissioner, executives, and players ... (Goodreads)
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier
by Stephen E. Ambrose
Epic tale of exploration and adventure as Lewis and Clark traverse the American wilderness.
'This was much more than a bunch of guys out on an exploring and collecting expedition. This was a military expedition into hostile territory'. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his ... (Goodreads)
Chronicles: Volume One
by Bob Dylan
A memoir tracking Bob Dylan's musical journey from humble beginnings to iconic status.
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE The celebrated first memoir from arguably the most influential singer-songwriter in the country, Bob Dylan. “I’d come from a long ways off and had started a ... (Barnes & Noble)
Small Wonder
by Barbara Kingsolver
A family's journey of self-discovery as they struggle to redefine their lives and their relationships.
Sometimes grave, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately persuasive, Small Wonder is a hopeful examination of the people we seem to be, and what we might yet make of ourselves. In her new essay ... (Goodreads)
The Boys of Summer
by Roger Kahn
Exploring the lives of a legendary baseball team and the lasting impact of their championship season.
This is a book about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke ... (Goodreads)
Personal History
by Katharine Graham
A memoir recounting the life and career of a pioneering female journalist and business leader.
In lieu of an unrevealing Famous-People-I-Have-Known autobiography, the owner of the Washington Post has chosen to be remarkably candid about the insecurities prompted by remote parents and a ... (Goodreads)
A Walk Across America
by Peter Jenkins
A man's journey across the United States, encountering people and places along the way.
Twenty-five years ago, a disillusioned young man set out on a walk across America. This is the book he wrote about that journey – a classic account of the reawakening of his faith in himself and his ... (Goodreads)
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau
A reflective journey into nature, exploring the power of contemplation and simplicity.
Originally published in 1854, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and ... (Goodreads)
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
by Candice Millard
A daring expedition through the Amazon to uncover the secrets of an uncharted river.
At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous ... (Goodreads)
