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  Travels Through American History...

  Charles W. Mitchell, Elizabeth...

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  This regional travel guide seeks out “engaging reenactments and the best exhibits, where remarkable artifacts and excellent displays bring history alive.” —Kathryn Schneider Smith, author of Washington at Home: An Illustrated History of Neighborhoods in the Nation’s Capital 
   
  Few regions of the United States boast as many historically significant sites as the mid-Atlantic. Travels through American History in the Mid-Atlantic brings to life sixteen easily accessible historical destinations, and additional side trips, in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C., the Potomac Valley, and Virginia. 
   
  Charles W. Mitchell walked these sites, interviewed historians and rangers, and read the letters and diaries of the men and women who witnessed—and at times made—history. He reveals in vivid prose the ways in which war, terrain, weather, and illness have shaped the American narrative. Each attraction, reenactment, and interactive exhibit in the book is described through the lens of the American experience, beginning in the colonial and revolutionary eras, continuing through the War of 1812, and ending with the Civil War. Mitchell contrasts the ornate decor of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, for example, with the passionate debates that led to the Declaration of Independence, and the tranquil beauty of today’s Harpers Ferry with the trauma its citizens endured during the Civil War, when the town fell six times to opposing forces. 
   
  Excerpts from eyewitness accounts further humanize key moments in the national story. Hand-drawn maps evoke the historical era by depicting the natural features that so often affected the course of events. This engaging blend of history and travel is ideal for visiting tourists, area residents seeking weekend diversions, history buffs, and armchair travelers.

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  The Buddha Sat Right Here - A...

  Dena Moes

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  Dena was a busy midwife trapped on the hamster wheel of working motherhood. Adam was an eccentric Buddhist yogi passing as a hard-working dad. Bella was fourteen and wanted to be normal. Sophia was up for anything that involved skipping school. Together, they shouldered backpacks, walked away from their California life of all-night births, carpool schedules, and Cal Skate, and criss-crossed India and Nepal for eight months—a journey that led them to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the tree where the Buddha sat, and the arms of Amma the Divine Mother. 
  From the banks of the Ganges to the Himalayan roof of the world, this enthralling memoir is an unforgettable odyssey, a moving meditation on modern family life, and a spiritual quest, written with humor and honesty—and filled with love and awe.

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  Scottish Island Bagging - The...

  Helen Webster, Paul Webster

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  Scottish Island Bagging by Helen and Paul Webster, founders of Walkhighlands, is a guide to the magical islands of Scotland.
  Focusing on the ninety-nine islands that have regular trips or means of access for visitors, plus fifty-five other islands which have no regular transport but are still of significant size or interest, the authors have described the best ways to experience each one. Of the islands featured, many are household names – Skye, Lewis, Bute – while some, such as the isolated St Kilda archipelago and the remote Sula Sgeir, will be unknown to all but a hardcore few.
  When it comes to things to see and do, the islands of Scotland have it all. Wildlife enthusiasts can watch out for otters, orcas and basking sharks, while birdwatchers in particular are spoilt: look out for the rare corncrake on Islay, sea eagles on Mull, or sight puffins, gannets, storm petrels and many other seabirds on any number of islands – although beware the divebombing bonxies.
  Foodies can sample Arran or Westray cheese, the many islands' world-renowned seafood or learn about the whisky making process and sample a wee dram on a distillery tour.
  
  While the human history may not stretch back in time as far as the geology of these ancient lands, it is rich and varied: visit the 5,000-year-old Neolithic village of Skara Brae on Orkney, or Mackinnon's Cave on Mull, following in the footsteps of Samuel Johnson and James Boswell. You can even stay in the house on Jura where George Orwell wrote
  Nineteen Eighty-Four.
  
  
  Hillwalkers can bag a Munro, walk the wild clifftops or take in the sights, or you could just escape from it all on one of the dozens of beautiful and deserted beaches – before joining the locals for a ceilidh into the wee hours.
  
  
  Well served by ferries and other transport links, getting around is easy. You could even take the world's shortest scheduled flight. In Scottish Island Bagging, let Helen and Paul Webster be your guides to these enchanting isles.

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  Islands of Scotland

  Pat Morgan

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  The isles of Scotland, each one its own little world with its own distinct nature, form one of the world's most magical attractions.
  There are, all told, more than 790 offshore islands scattered round the 6,000 miles of Scotland's coastline. They range from the sizeable, such as Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, to tiny outcrops of rock that barely seem worthy of the name of island. Most readers will be familiar with the names of the four main groups: Orkney, Shetland, the Inner Hebrides and the Outer Hebrides as well as the smaller groups of islands in the Firth of Forth, on Scotland's east coast, in the Solway Firth to the south-west and in the Firth of Clyde in the west.
  Also featured in this new gift book are islands normally off the beaten track such as Benbecula, Colonsay, Eriskay, Great Cumbrae and Jura.

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  Rhode Island's Haunted Ramtail...

  Thomas D'Agostino, Arlene Nicholson

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  Officially listed as haunted by the Rhode Island Census, this dilapidated Foster factory gives up its secrets to New England’s resident ghost experts.   On May 19, 1822, Peleg Walker was found dead inside Foster’s Ramtail Factory. Almost ten years earlier, he and four other family members had made the fateful decision to start a business. Legend has it that when relations soured over arguments about money, the partnership ended, with Peleg hanging from the very bell rope he rang each morning to signal the change in shift. Whether he took his own life or was murdered remains a mystery. Recognized as a haunted site since 1885, the factory now lies in ruins. Yet Peleg still keeps vigil over its remains, sounding his night watchman’s bell and drifting with his candle lantern in hand. Authors Tom D’Agostino and Arlene Nicholson share over two decades of research into the mysterious history of Rhode Island’s haunted factory.   Includes photos!   “Over the past twenty-five years, D’Agostino has explored scores of sites and produced several books on his adventures, including Haunted Rhode Island. When snooping for spooks, he and his wife, Arlene, carry a briefcase of high-tech gadgetry to document his findings.” —Rhode Island Monthly

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  The Amazing Story of the Man Who...

  Per J Andersson

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  The story begins in a public square in New Delhi. On a cold December evening a young European woman of noble descent appears before an Indian street artist known locally as PK and asks him to paint her portrait — it is an encounter that will change their lives irrevocably.PK was not born in the city. He grew up in a small remote village on the edge of the jungle in East India, and his childhood as an untouchable was one of crushing hardship. He was forced to sit outside the classroom during school, would watch classmates wash themselves if they came into contact with him, and had stones thrown at him when he approached the village temple. According to the priests, PK dirtied everything that was pure and holy. But had PK not been an untouchable, his life would have turned out very differently.This is the remarkable true story of how love and courage led PK to overcome extreme poverty, caste prejudice and adversity — as well as a 7,000-mile adventure-filled journey across continents and cultures — to be with the woman he loved.

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