National Network for Equitable Library Service

In this extraordinary book, an acclaimed young war reporter chronicles a dangerous journey on the smuggler's road to Europe, accompanying his friend, an Afghan refugee, in search of a better future. In 2016, a young Afghan driver and translator named Omar makes the heart-wrenching choice to flee his war-torn country, saying goodbye to Laila, the love of his life, without knowing when they might be reunited again. He is one of millions of refugees who leave their homes that year. Matthieu Aikins, a journalist living in Kabul, decides to follow his friend.

Mythic creatures, natural wonders, and the mysterious human impulse to collect are on beguiling display in this poetic tribute to the museums of an otherworldly island nation. Iceland is home to only 330,000 people (roughly the population of Lexington, Kentucky) but more than 265 museums and public collections--nearly one for every ten people.

In this tribute to the Sierra Nevada mountains, the author explores what makes this span of mountains one of the most compelling places on Earth and shares his own personal experiences to inspire other travel readers to prepare for a life-changing adventure.

A biography of six writers on food and wine whose lives and careers intersected in mid-twentieth-century FranceDuring les trente glorieuses--a thirty-year boom period in France between the end of World War II and the 1974 oil crisis--Paris was not only the world's most delicious, stylish, and exciting tourist destination; it was also the world capital of gastronomic genius and innovation.

A celebrated travel writer tells the story of the tiny, fascinating island of Pitcairn, home of precisely 49 people, all descendants of the original founders of the island, the famous mutineers who were the basis for the novels and movie, The Mutiny On the Bounty. The public has been fascinated by Pitcairn since tales of it first started spreading in the early 1900s. But beyond the fictional Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy, there's never been a true deep dive, with full, unencumbered access. Until now.

The harrowing story of one of the great feats of exploration of all time and its complicated legacy--from the New York Times bestselling author of River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic. For millennia the location of the Nile River's headwaters was shrouded in mystery. In the 19th century, there was a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe -- and extend their colonial empires.

This is not a cookbook. This is something more: a travelogue, a patient investigation of Italy's cuisine, a loving profile of the everyday heroes who bring Italy to the table. Pasta, Pane, Vino is the latest edition of the genre-bending Roads & Kingdoms style pioneered under Anthony Bourdain's imprint in Rice, Noodle, Fish and Grape, Olive, Pig.

A field scientist and conservationist tracks the elusive Blakiston's Fish Owl in the forbidding reaches of eastern Russia When he was just a fledgling birdwatcher, Jonathan C. Slaght had a chance encounter with one of the most mysterious birds on Earth. Bigger than any owl he knew, it looked like a small bear with decorative feathers. He snapped a quick photo and shared it with experts. Soon he was on a five-year journey, searching for this enormous, enigmatic creature in the lush, remote forests of eastern Russia. That first sighting set his calling as a scientist.

Full of lighthearted humor, sumptuous food, the wisdom of an Italian mother-in-law, and all the atmosphere of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, this warm and witty memoir follows American-born Katherine Wilson on her adventures abroad. Thanks to a surprising romance-and a spirited woman who teaches her to laugh, to seize joy, and to love-a three-month rite of passage in Naples turns into a permanent embrace of this boisterous city on the Mediterranean. When I saw the sea at Gaeta, I knew that Naples was near and I was coming home.

The beloved author Peter Mayle, champion of all things Provence, here in a final volume of all new writing, offers vivid recollections from his twenty-five years in the South of France--lessons learned, culinary delights enjoyed, and changes observed. Twenty-five years ago, Peter Mayle and his wife, Jennie, were rained out of a planned two weeks on the Cô̂te d'Azur. In search of sunlight, they set off for Aix-en-Provence; enchanted by the world and life they found there, they soon decided to uproot their lives in England and settle in Provence. They have never looked back.