posted by admin on Feb 27
Editorial Reviews
It has been five years since renowned travel writer Maria Coffey and her husband, photographer Dag Goering, embarked on a journey by wooden boat along Canada’s spectacular western shores. Leading the way were legendary boat-builders Allen and Sharie Farrell on their last voyage aboard China Cloud. This revised edition includes an afterword that continues the story of the Farrells and offers retrospective insight to this classic West Coast adventure.
About the Author
Maria Coffey and Dag Goering are an internationally renowned writer / photographer team and married couple who live on a small island off the West coast of Canada. They have recorded their real life adventures in six books which include: A Boat in Our Baggage, Three Moons in Vietnam, Jungle Islands, Visions of the Wild:A Voyage by Kayak Around Vancouver Island, and Sailing Back in Time.
Maria’s writing and Dag’s photography have been featured in numerous publications including National Geographic Adventure, The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, Action Asia, Outdoors Illustrated, and Sea Kayaker.
Maria and Dag run an adventure travel company, Hidden Places, through which they guide trips worldwide.
Order Sailing Back in Time: Maria Coffey, Dag Goering 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
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
From Publishers Weekly
“We were looking for a village so ordinary that it would bring us into contact with people remote from the cliches of Spain–flamenco, sangria and bullfights.” British journalist Lambert and his Canadian wife, Diane, find just the right place when they visit La Jara, an unassuming Spanish village inland from the Mediterranean shore of Costa Blanca. This lively memoir recounts their adventures finding their way among the local characters. Much of the book is taken up with anecdotes about how Lambert, Diane and their four-year-old son settle into their new home (a rundown house with a citrus grove and a garden), take on the construction of a timbered dining hall with a minstrel gallery and deal with a sly carpenter, a fey young gardener who argues with his employer about everything from fences to flowers, and a roofer who is afraid of heights. What sets this book apart from others of its genre is the author’s way of dealing with his new neighbors, all of whom seem to be related to one another and determined to intimidate him. Although Lambert wants to be accepted, he has a fierce temper, and he gives as good as he gets: he bests the “sewage specialist” who claims he can find a mysterious underground leak, assaults a policeman in the brothel where he and his wife unknowingly spend the night, calls the bluff of a mean debt collector who haunts one of the men working on his house and engineers a public showdown between two feuding ancients who claim to have fought on opposite sides in the Spanish Civil War. Some of Lambert’s tales seem a bit tall, but he tells them amusingly in this chronicle of a newcomer’s eventful year with the feisty residents of a very ordinary village in Spain. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
London-born Lambert has written more than two dozen novels, many in the crime and espionage genres, and has also authored five volumes of autobiography. His latest effort seeks to re-create events that took place more than 20 years ago when he first moved to Spain. It may just be this distance in time that accounts for the book’s lack of sparkle. Lambert’s imagery is awkward, as if memory doesn’t always serve and everything must then be embroidered with adjectives. When Lambert and his wife, vagabonds in search of the perfect place, choose a small town on Spain’s Costa Blanca, their commitment to a trial year begins. They are quickly “adopted” by Emilio, a local with fingers in every pie and relatives in every profession. A suitable house is purchased, their small son arrives from Canada, animals are acquired, the addition of a dining room begins, and a gardener is hired. Despite Lambert’s anecdotes, there’s an aloofness to his narrative; the people are mere sketches, and the author himself remains an enigma. Jacket copy compares him with Peter Mayle and Bill Bryson, but it’s unlikely many readers will agree. For larger travel collections only.
-Janet Ross, Sparks Branch Lib., NV
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Order Spanish Lessons: Beginning a New Life in Spain: Derek Lambert form Amazon.
posted by admin on Feb 25
Editorial Reviews
Pushed into action by Jane Pauley’s voice and a television image of a pack of cigarettes being handed through a hole in the Berlin Wall, author Jim Lukach set off for Eastern Europe. Lost Inside the Happy Noise is a collection of essays that capture the heady days of post-revolution in a small city in western Slovakia, days measured out in half-liter beer glasses and startling self-discovery. Holding a mirror to the past–wild boar hunting safaris, a Slovak television appearance, autograph sessions after teaching a successful English class–Lukach reflects on how something as simple as dancing the polka can reach far into the future and questions whether life could ever feel so full again.
In Lost Inside the Happy Noise, Lukach evokes with the realism of a dream the atmosphere of a time that passed too quickly by, days outside the norm spent tramping through Slovakia or watching his train leave seven times without boarding. But most of all, it is about the small moments teaching English and discoveries made in the most surprising places.
About the Author
Jim Lukach is a writer from Milltown, New Jersey. His work has appeared in New Jersey Monthly Magazine and The New York Times. When he isn’t writing and living in the past, he plays hockey with Team Scion.
www.jimlukach.com
Order Lost Inside the Happy Noise: Jim Lukach form Amazon.
posted by admin on Feb 25
Editorial Reviews
After leaving his job at the University of Swindon, Michael Sadler returns to France intent on wooing Lou Charpin, his belle française. Unsure of his credentials he decides to woo her family at the same time. He plays Scrabble with the feisty, chain-smoking grandmother; attempts to explain King Lear to an adolescent more intent on sowing birdseed in his window boxes; and survives a family Christmas that quickly becomes reminiscent of a Greek tragedy. The final challenge lies in luring Lou away from her more-than-friendly acquaintance, the plutocratic optician who is unappreciative of rivalry from the barbaric north. In the end, will the Lothario from London win the girl despite it all?
About the Author
Michael Sadler is a professor at the British Institute in Paris and the author of the Englishman series.
Order An Englishman Amoureux: Love in Deepest France (Englishman series): Michael Sadler form Amazon.
posted by admin on Feb 25
Editorial Reviews
Warm, engaging, and funny, this armchair travel guide follows two 30-something singles, Rachael and Julie, on a rowdy road trip in pursuit of happiness in a world dominated by couples. From bike excursions to impress a cute tour guide to adventures in a ginseng Korean bathhouse, this rollicking read offers a great view of life through the eyes of best friends enjoying laughter, scenery, and a little love along the way.
About the Author
Rachael Weiss is a freelance writer and actor. Julie Adams is a tour guide and world traveler.
Order Are We There Yet?: Rach and Jules Take to the Open Road: Rachael Weiss, Julie Adams form Amazon.
posted by admin on Feb 23
Editorial Reviews
Review
“…an adventurer who struggles to balance life’s demands while experiencing as much of the world as possible…” — Michael Wilson, friend, 15 February 2006
“…an adventurer who struggles to balance life’s demands while experiencing as much of the world as possible…” –Michael Wilson, friend, 15 February 2006
Catamount’s Quest is an autobiography about the life and times of Douglas Stream. Filled with travel/adventures stories from Europe and the United States, this fascinating book will inspire readers of all ages to experience more of their world. There is also a spiritual element interwoven into the story… how God has enabled me to overcome various shortcomings.
Order Catamount’s Quest … A Passion for Adventure: Douglas K. Stream form Amazon.
posted by admin on Feb 23
Editorial Reviews
Living on the Edge is filled with many exciting true life stories which are unbelievable but true. The adventures of a man who has lived life on the edge and takes you through his many adventures of danger and intrigue, passion and love, tragedy and humor. Once you start reading, you will not want to put this book down. Story after story, written for easy and enjoyable reading in the author’s own words.
From the Author
Allow me to Introduce myself……I am Peter Boseley, author of “Living On The Edge”. It all started in Southern England, August 2nd 1929, when I was born. All the story material is based on my life experiences and as God is my witness every word is true. Only the names are changed to protect myself. My life is unbelievable but true.
It has taken 393 pages to write all the exciting and adventrous experiences I have encountered before the age of 40. The book ends with a clif-hanger involving a tragic death of a loved one. The second book, which I am in the process of writing, covers my adventures throughout the Bahamas, West Indies, Costa Rica, Bay Island, Houduras, Mexico, the United States, including Hawaii, and Europe. It also takes in 6 years of my life in Northern Idaho, where I lived alone in the wilderness as a mountainman. Shortly after that, I lived with the natives of Fiji, in a remote village. It is my intention, in the near future to visit Papus New Guinnea to journey into the interior and heart of the country. During an experience while searching for artifacts in Costa Rica, I was told of a primative tribe of indians, scarcely seen by modern man. I also intend to go back there one day.
Order Living on the Edge: Peter W Boseley form Amazon.