Travel Literature

Parking the Moose: One American's Epic Quest to Uncover His Incredible Canadian Roots (Hardcover)

By Dave Hill

$24.00

ISBN: 9780385690041

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Published: Doubleday Canada - October 8th, 2019

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Hill is a hoot as he traces his marginal Canadian heritage in a series of North of the Border jaunts. There's loads of Canadian characters, cold Canadian weather, Canadian souvenirs, Canadian heavy metal, and that tasty Canadian delicacy: poutine. ~ Reviewed by Mike Hare

Lost Japan: Last Glimpse of Beautiful Japan (Paperback)

By Alex Kerr

$18.95

ISBN: 9780141979748

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Published: Penguin UK - June 1st, 2016

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This is absolutely a masterpiece. Alex Kerr is considered one of the premier Japanologists in the world today and it is easy to see why. Kerr frames each chapter around an important part of his life in Japan, and then expands to include history, cultural studies, and personal reflections of each subject. While lifting up and celebrating the myriad treasures of Japanese history, Kerr is not shy about lamenting the loss of the important cultural artifacts that is currently happening in the modern world. Lost Japan provides a deeper look at Japanese life than most American books cover, forsaking the oft-discussed big cities and salary-man culture in reverence of a more traditional, mindful way of living that is quickly evaporating. A must-read. ~ Reviewed by Chris Linendoll

A Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony (Revised and Expanded with New Topics) (Paperback)

By Hector Garcia

$18.99

ISBN: 9784805313916

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Published: Tuttle Publishing - June 25th, 2019

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A fun and casual look at the modern "geek culture" of Japan. Featuring plenty of photos, and easy to read passages, this is accessible to everyone who has ever wanted to visit. Every facet of geekdom is celebrated here, along with tips for travelers hoping to experience these wonders on their own. A perfect companion to more traditional travel guides. ~ Reviewed by Chris Linendoll

A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith (Hardcover)

By Timothy Egan

$28.00

ISBN: 9780735225237

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Published: Viking - October 15th, 2019

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Just as every wine has its own story, Timothy Egan realizes near the end of his historical travel log, A Pilgrimage to Eternity, every body has a tale to tell. Crossing Chaucer with Bunyan, Egan sojourns in search of those tales, progressing along the Via Francigena, from Canterbury to Rome, a spiritual journey along which he hears narratives on and about the men who have ruled Christian Europe for centuries, and the women whose ministrations have uplifted hearts with their faith. Yet even as the tales diminish his own religious beliefs, Egan remains hopeful the entire path that he will gain audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City, whose namesake saint's only performed miracles were acts of compassion and love, faith by which Egan is touched to the very soul of Christian lore. ~ Reviewed by Ray Marsocci

Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide (Hardcover)

By Tony Horwitz

$30.00

ISBN: 9781101980286

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Published: Penguin Press - May 14th, 2019

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Tony Horwitz, in his now final book, Spying on the South, follows the same routes Frederick Law Olmsted took in touring the U.S. South in the 1850s, using as often as he can the same modes of transportation, including floating on a coal barge through West Virginia near the sojourn's outset and on mule-back into the south Texas desert heat, at its end. Both Olmsted, young and idealistic, on assignment for the still-fledgling New York Times, and Horwitz, researching again the same southern landscape where he has previously witnessed and reported on the Confederacy's lingering political pall, live to see their words come to light, Olmsted's culminated in the U.S. Civil War, Horwitz's in rampant unrest and antipathy, which has seared into the support for and election of Donald Trump as president, making Spying on the South an imperative read for all, but especially for anyone who fears history's repeating. ~ Reviewed by Ray Marsocci

Blue Highways: A Journey into America (Paperback)

By William Least Heat-Moon, Bill McKibben (Foreword by)

$17.99

ISBN: 9780316353298

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Published: Back Bay Books - October 19th, 1999

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After losing his job and separating from his wife, Heat-Moon departs on an extended, meditative road trip around the United States in a van he’s named Ghost Dancing, an allusion to his Osage ancestry. Equipped with a bunk, a camping stove, and copies of Leaves of Grass and Black Elk Speaks, he vows to avoid cities and the traffic-jammed interstates, taking only backroads—the rural “blue highways” marked in his trusty Rand McNally. Memorable small town conversations and cultural histories pepper his journey. A deliberate, reflective travelogue. ~ Reviewed by Joe Michon-Huneau