Arm Chair Travel

An exploration of the human desire to travel presents a series of essays on airports, museums, landscapes, holiday romances, and hotel mini-bars, offering suggestions on how to render travel more fulfilling.

Drink the Bitter Root is an international story about the ethical and environmental footprint world nations are leaving in Africa in their determined efforts to destabilize and loot the continent. In the spirit of Robert Kaplan and Samantha Power, Gary Geddes sets out in search of justice, healing and reconciliation. He begins his journey at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, then travels to Rwanda, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Somaliland, crossing Lake Victoria and the Great Rift Valley, where human life began. Geddes's quest takes the form of an intimate personal travelogue. Although he confronts the dark realities of abduction, rape, mutilation and murder, drawing on painful encounters, interviews and adventures that occur along the way, Geddes also brings back amazing stories of survival and unexpected moments of grace. His poet's eye and self-deprecating humor draw us ever more deeply into the lives of some amazing Africans, while never forgetting the complicity we all feel in the face of tragic events unfolding there. In the words of author and Africanist Ian Smillie, Drink the Bitter Root is not only poignant, literate and funny, but also "a deeply textured journey without maps into the unexplored rifts of sub-Saharan Africa, the human experience, and the psyche. It's also the masterful handling of a full palette."

In Incidence of Travel, archaeologist Jerry Moore draws on his personal experiences and historical and archaeological studies throughout South America to explore and understand the ways traditional peoples created cultural landscapes in the region. Using new narrative structures, Moore introduces readers to numerous archaeological sites and remains, describing what it is like to be in the field and sparking further reflection on what these places might have been like in the past. From the snow-capped mountains of Colombia to the arid deserts of Peru and Chile, ancient peoples of South America built cities, formed earthen mounds, created rock art, and measured the cosmos--literally inscribing their presence and passage throughout the continent. Including experiences ranging from the terrifying to the amusing, Moore's travels intersect with the material traces of traditional cultures. He refers to this intersection as "the incidence of travel." Braiding the tales of his own journeys with explanations of the places he visits through archaeological, anthropological, and historical contexts, Moore conveys the marvelous and intriguing complexities of prehistoric and historic peoples of South America and the ways they marked their presence on the land. Combining travel narrative and archaeology in a series of essays--accounts of discoveries, mishaps of travel, and encounters with modern people living in ancient places--Incidence of Travel will engage any general reader, student, or scholar with interest in archaeology, anthropology, Latin American history, or storytelling.

"The best of National Geographic Adventure Magazine."
Contents: Reporting from the edge. The lion in winter / Sebastian Junger -- Dangerous medicine / Tom Clynes -- Land of the lost / Laurance Gonzales -- Finding Everett Ruess / David Roberts -- Off the face of the earth / Peter Lane Taylor -- The legend of Heavy D & the Boys / Robert Young Pelton -- Sexy beasts. Among the man-eaters / Philip Caputo -- Stomping grounds / Paul Kvitna -- The whale warriors / Peter Heller -- Places of darkness / Kira Salak -- Emperors at the end of the earth / Peter Matthiessen -- Personal journeys. Coming of age at Band-i-Amir / Scott Anderson -- Prisoner of Hill 52 / Philip Caputo -- Colter's way / Sebastian Junger -- River jumps over the mountain / David Quammen -- Hell and Back / Kira Salak -- Storming the Islands of Fire and Ice / John Bowermaster -- The Moonbow Chronicles / Tim Cahill -- The outer limits. The vanishing breed / Gretel Ehrlich -- The lure of impossible places / Tim Cahill -- Out of thin air / David Roberts -- Thirteen ways of looking at a void / Michael Frankel -- Being the boatman / Charlie Graber -- The last Cairn / Chip Brown -- The man who walked through time / Michael Shnayerson.

In a book that has been called "a love song to nature," the author documents the latest decade of his explorations of the Baja peninsula and the Sea of Cortez. While much of the book narrates his experience as a writing professor taking undergraduates on sea kayak expeditions to the Isla Espiritu Santo archipelago each year during spring break, the book also reflects on experiences with a condor restoration project in the Sierra San Pedro Martir, and an altogether different teaching experience based in a field station on Bahia de los Angeles. While the author's intent is to evoke Baja ecologies in fresh ways, the reader comes to realize that he's also describing how education can become a transformational experience. A retired scuba instructor who turned to academics and went on to receive his college's highest teaching award, Dr. Farnsworth believes that education should be a lifelong adventure, and that explorations of the natural world should be animated by reverence and delight.

Compiled from the favorite trips of National Geographic's legendary travel writers, this fully updated, 10th anniversary edition of Journeys of a Lifetimespans the globe to highlight the best of the world's most celebrated and lesser-known sojourns. Offering a diverse array of possibilities, every continent and possible form of transport is covered, illustrated with glorious color photographs. With 16 new pages; new destinations like Cartegena, Colombia; and updated information throughout, this timely new edition is the perfect resource for travelers who crave adventurous trips--from trekking the heights of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to mountain biking in Transylvania--and those searching for more specific experiences (the world's top small cruises, hot new museums around the world, secrets for following in the footsteps of film and TV heroes, and more). Each chapter features stunning photography, full-color maps, and practical tips, including how to get there, when to visit, and how to make the most of your journey. Informative and inspiring, this luxurious volume is a lifelong resource that readers will treasure for years to come.