Fishing 1 by 1

posted by admin on Feb 28

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
In the late 1980s, at age 16, Gore dropped out of high school, took her GED, and bought a one-way ticket to Hong Kong. From there she made her way to China, finagled herself into the Beijing Language Institute, and began a three-year journey of self-discovery that took her to Tibet, Nepal, India, Amsterdam, England, and Italy (to name only a few of her ports of call). This astounding memoir describes her experiences, including stints as a language student, smuggler, pilgrim, squatter, and indie film actress. Along the way, more than one person, upon learning her age, declares, “Your mother is crazy.” Few would argue with that assessment, but whatever one may think of teaching self-reliance through benign neglect, it’s clear that Gore’s adventures make absorbing reading. She didn’t end up dead, a fact that will strike most readers as remarkable, but she did end up pregnant in Italy at age 19 by her lout of a boyfriend. Ever resilient, Gore used her experiences as a young mother to good advantage, founding the well-regarded and unapologetically political magazine Hip Mama. Beth Leistensnider
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Like Jack Kerouac’s intrepid little sister, Ariel Gore spins the spirited story of a vulnerable drifter who takes refuge in fate and the shadowy recesses of a string of glittering, broken relationships. With just a few pennies and her I Ching, a change of clothes and a one-way ticket to Hong Kong, a perceptive, searching sixteen-year-old Gore makes her way from the sterile suffocation of the Silicon Valley through the labyrinthine customs of Cold-War China, wanders through bustling, electric Kathmandu, and hunkers down in an icy London squat with a prostitute and a boyfriend on the dole. Yet it is in the calm, verdant landscape of rural Italy where, pregnant and penniless, nineteen-year-old Gore’s adventure truly begins. An illuminating glimpse into the boldly political Gore-creator of HipMama.com and Hip Mama magazine-this unflinching memoir offers a poignant exploration of the meaning of home and surveys the frontiers of both land and heart.

Order Atlas of the Human Heart: A Memoir: Ariel Gore form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 28

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Novelist Delbanco ( Sherbrookes ) offers a record of his sojourns in Provence in the past three decades, variously shared with a friend, a lover, his wife and, later, his wife and two daughters. Too scanty on evocative description to serve as a travelogue, and lacking a unifying organizational plan, the book suggests a diary directed to an indulgent friend. Dwelling in the land immortalized by the Impressionist painters, the author alludes to them frequently, and affects an impressionistic style in prose, but his bemused, wandering attention fails to strike fire from the idea. His eagerness to display the breadth of his cultural knowledge (including excessive French phrase-dropping) seems at odds with Delbanco’s apparent modesty about the loss of momentum his life has suffered in middle age. The self-portrait is neither attractive, full, nor particularly convincing, and portraits of Delbanco’s friends–with the exception of the late James Baldwin, revealed as richly human–are reduced in scale and scope by callow characterization.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
For over a century, Provence has been a magnet for artists and writers–e.g., Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, Maugham, and Lawrence. Delbanco, a successful novelist himself, explores the lure of the Provencal landscape in this graceful blend of travelogue and memoir. Delbanco’s account of his trip in 1987 with his wife and two daughters alternates with memories of earlier sojourns there: It was in Provence that he had his first serious love affair and wrote his first three novels. Throughout, Delbanco displays a keen eye and a facility for piquant observation. The proprietor of a bed-and-breakfast inn is described as “a redoubtable woman in blue who kept a Gauloise on her lower lip and an eye peeled for incompetence among the staff.” Written with style and grace and leavened with humor, this is an elegant depiction of the effect of time on character and place.
- Laurence Hull, Cannon Memorial Lib., Concord, N.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Order Running in Place: Scenes from the South of France: Nicholas Delbanco form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 27

Editorial Reviews

Review
An appealingly graceful, generous, and memorable travelogue. Schur opens herself to the mystery of others; her effort is amply rewarded. — The Literate Traveler/San Francisco Chronicle, Thursday, February 9, 2006

Schur’s fascinating account of life as an adventurous young traveler is recommended for all libraries with travel and women’s collections. — Library Journal, February 15, 2006

Places in Time introduces a host of colorful personalities as it affords rare glimpses into regions beyond which many dared to venture. Looking back at travel through the lens of time, Maxine Rose Schur, says, has provided the meaning that was missing when she was young. “When friends ask me why I waited so long to write about this trip, I answer, ‘Only now do I understand it.” Places in Time is about her understanding. It says something poetic and poignant not only about how the right travel haunts us forever, but how all of us travel in a world we are unwittingly changing.

Order Places in Time: Reflections on a Journey: Maxine Rose Schur form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 27

Editorial Reviews

Part travelogue, part contemplation, Finding Lily is a rich visual record in words and illustrated postcards (mailed by the author to himself along the way) describing the events and people who guide his journey through four continents and diverse cultures. Along the way the author draws life lessons from a Rastafarian tennis pro, a lesbian helicopter pilot stranded on a New Zealand beach, a Balinese Hindu priest and a Russian Afghanistan war vet turned LA cabbie. From grief to redemptive hope and joy, the narrative is at once humorous and deeply felt.

Order Finding Lily: A Memoir: Richards Clewes form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 27

Editorial Reviews

Susan Hanf was dumped by her boyfriend, clobbered by the flu, and fired from her job all in one week. When the phrase, “When life hands you lemons …” passed through her mind, she skipped right over making lemonade and planted a whole lemon orchard.

Susan sold her house, kissed her cat goodbye, and visited sixteen countries and the magnificent isles of Hawaii all in one year. Her unexpected and amazing journeys include floating amongst jellyfish and sharks in Palau, swimming with wild dolphins in New Zealand, and meditating with monks in South Korea.

My Lemon Orchard chronicles Susan’s personal growth as she strolls the streets of the world. Along the way, she shares international travel lessons, laugh-out-loud humor, and advice on how to handle “interesting” locals.

Come away with Susan on her journey to Vienna for Christmas, to Ireland for a kiss on the Blarney Stone, and to Turkey to snorkel with exotic sea creatures. You will adore her honesty and courage as she blazes her trail across the world. Who knows? Perhaps you too will be inspired to plant your own orchard!

About the Author
Susan Hanf is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Willamette University. She is currently writing a book about what it’s like to attend graduate school after the age of forty. Susan lives and writes in Portland, Oregon.

Order My Lemon Orchard: Chronicles of an amazing year of journeys: Susan Hanf form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 26

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Cissie Blumberg has this way…young at heart and full of Catskill tales–tall, long, short, square, hip…” — Evelyn Nieves, The New York Times, May 8, 1997

“I am pleased to know the Catskills hotels and towns will live on in this book.” — Sid Caesar

“This book is fascinating…not only historically accurate…but warm, touching and beautifully entertaining.” — Jackie Mason

With unfailing warmth and humor, Cissie Blumberg brings to life the struggles and achievements of two generations of Catskill Mountain hotelkeepers whose devotion to pleasing their city guests became legendary. Her book affords a chance to relieve the region’s heyday and to look behind the scenes at what made Sullivan and Ulster Counties the nation’s largest, most bustling resort area with over 500 hotels and countless bungalow colonies and camps.

Order Remember the Catskills: Tales by a Recovering Hotelkeeper: Esterita Blumberg form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 26

Editorial Reviews

Inspired by Penguin’s innovative Great Ideas series, our new Great Journeys series presents the most incredible tours, voyages, treks, expeditions, and travels ever written—from Isabella Bird’s exaltation in the dangers of grizzlies, rattlesnakes, and cowboys in the Rocky Mountains to Marco Polo’s mystified reports of a giant bird that eats elephants during his voyage along the coasts of India. Each beautifully packaged volume offers a way to see the world anew, to rediscover great civilizations and legends, vast deserts andunspoiled mountain ranges, unusual flora and strange new creatures, and much more.

About the Author
Olaudah Equiano (1745 - 1797) was a former slave who became an outspoken opponent of the slave trade.Vincent Carretta is Professor of English at the University of Maryland. He has edited other African narratives for Penguin Classics.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Order Sold as a Slave (Penguin Great Journeys): Olaudah Equiano form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 26

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. In this follow-up to Lionheart (2002), about his solo sail around the world as a teenager, Martin offers an account of a subsequent and more ill-fated voyage undertaken in a general quest for cool adventures. Setting out from Melbourne with a crew of four in a two-masted yacht, he gets a few glimpses of traditional culture in Australia and Indonesia, eats goat brains, parties heartily, and weathers various natural and human hazards. Everything unravels, however, after 10 months. His people skills aren’t up to keeping the crew together, and by the time he reaches Thailand, his dreams of finding a tropical paradise have gone sour. Part travelogue, but more teen confessional, this isn’t as compelling a picture of Southeast Asia as Greg Sheridan’s adult book Cities of the Hot Zone (2004), but its combination of vision, casually borne hardship, self-absorption, and frequent emotional rows with fellow travelers is bound to strike a chord among fans of outdoorsy reality shows. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“A vivid account of what happened . . . Jesse shares his raw emotions.” —Latitudes & Attitudes

Order Kijana: The Real Story: Jesse Martin form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 26

Editorial Reviews

In 1956, 22-year-old Frank Huffman embarks on a journey that will take him from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to the exotic Orient, and eventually around the world. In this fascinating tale of adventure, Huffman shares his experiences and emotions during two years as a French interpreter for a community development team on the Plain of Jars in Laos, Indochina.

At the end of his tour in Laos, he buys a motorcycle and sets out for Europe, with only a National Geographic map of Asia and the optimism of youth as his guide. He takes us along for the ride as he

• climbs the fabled Angkor Wat in Cambodia,
• cycles up the road to Mandalay in Burma,
• floats up the Chindwin River on a river boat,
• is chased by a motorcycle-hating cow near the Taj Mahal,
• participates in a mutiny on a ramshackle bus in the Pakistani desert,
• thumbs his way across Iran to Turkey, and
• carouses through Europe in a Simca with pilfered sleeping bags and C-rations.

Throughout this marathon, Huffman offers keen insights on the culture and society of Laos and the some 25 countries he passes through, and also provides trenchant commentary on subsequent events in those countries. Huffman’s self-deprecatory humor and his undisputed mastery of the English language make Monks and Motorcycles a delightful read.

About the Author
As a Professor of Linguistics and Asian Studies at Yale and Cornell (1967–85) and a U.S. Foreign Service Officer (1985–99), Franklin E. Huffman has lived and traveled in some 80 countries of the world. He and his wife Sanda, a professional interpreter, live in Washington, D.C.

Order Monks and Motorcycles: From Laos to London by the Seat of my Pants 1956-1958: Franklin E Huffman form Amazon.

posted by admin on Feb 25

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Possesses . . . the romantic charm of Robinson Crusoe.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Possesses . . . the romantic charm of Robinson Crusoe.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson — Review

Review
"Possesses . . . the romantic charm of Robinson Crusoe."
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Order Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea (Modern Library Classics): Richard Henry Dana Jr., Gary Kinder form Amazon.