Other books that might interest you

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  The Colour of the Sky After Rain

  Tessa Keswick

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  An extraordinary memoir of one woman's experiences in China.Tessa Keswick first travelled to China in 1982 and immediately fell in love with its history, culture and landscape.Over the next thirty years, she travelled extensively in China, visiting its temples and landmarks, the sites of its most famous battles, and the birthplaces of its best-known poets and philosophers. She also witnessed China's transformation, as hundreds of millions were lifted out of poverty and the country emerged as an economic superpower in waiting.Keswick's observations of life in China are perceptive and full of insight. Her narrative is rich in microhistories of people encountered and places visited. By presenting a colourfully woven tapestry of contrasting experiences and localities, she allows the reader to glimpse the sheer diversity of China and its vast population.A multi-textured and revealing survey of the world's largest country, as seen through one woman's eyes, The Colour of the Sky After Rain offers a compelling portrait of China in an age of radical change, and charts the key staging posts in its recent, remarkable history.'Tessa Keswick provides joyous insights into her life with husband Sir Henry Keswick' Sunday Times.2020 Head of Zeus

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  The Poetry of Strangers - What I...

  Brian Sonia-Wallace

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  It might surprise you who’s a fan of poetry — when it meets them where they are. 
  Before he became an award-winning writer and poet, Brian Sonia-Wallace set up a typewriter on the street with a sign that said “Poetry Store” and discovered something surprising: all over America, people want poems. An amateur busker at first, Brian asked countless strangers, “What do you need a poem about?” To his surprise, passersby opened up to share their deepest yearnings, loves, and heartbreaks. Hundreds of them. Then thousands. Around the nation, Brian’s poetry crusade drew countless converts from all walks of life. 
  In The Poetry of Strangers, Brian tells the story of his cross-country journey in a series of heartfelt and insightful essays. From Minnesota to Tennessee, California to North Dakota, Brian discovered that people aren’t so afraid of poetry when it’s telling their stories. In “dying” towns flourish vibrant artistic spirits and fascinating American characters who often pass under the radar, from the Mall of America’s mall walkers to retirees on Amtrak to self-proclaimed witches in Salem. 
  In a time of unprecedented loneliness and isolation, Brian’s journey shows how art can be a vital bridge to community in surprising places. Conventional wisdom says Americans don’t want to talk to each other, but according to this poet-for-hire, everyone is just dying to be heard. 
  Thought-provoking, moving, and eye-opening, The Poetry of Strangers is an unforgettable portrait of America told through the hidden longings of one person at a time, by one of our most important voices today. The fault lines and conflicts which divide us fall away when we remember to look, in every stranger, for poetry. 

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  On the Plain of Snakes

  Paul Theroux

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  The master of contemporary travel writing, Paul Theroux, immerses himself in the beautiful and troubled heart of modern Mexico. Nogales is a border town caught between Mexico and the United States of America. A forty-foot steel fence runs through its centre, separating the prosperous US side from the impoverished Mexican side. It is a fascinating site of tension, now more than ever, as the town fills with hopeful border crossers and the deportees who have been caught and brought back. And it is here that Paul Theroux will begin his journey into the culturally rich but troubled heart of modern Mexico. Moving through the deserts just south of the Arizona border, Theroux finds a place brimming with charm, yet visibly marked by both the US border patrol looming to the north and mounting discord from within. Attending local language and culinary schools, driving through the country and meeting its people, Paul Theroux gets under the skin of Mexico. From the writer praised for his 'curiosity and affection for humanity in all its forms' (New York Times Book Review), On The Plain of Snakes is an urgent and mesmerising exploration of a region in conflict.

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  3000 Miles in the Great Smokies

  William A. Hart

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  A hiking memoir by “a man whose soul is held in thrall by remote places in the Smokies where . . . rising trout and fog-laden valleys rule supreme” (Jim Casada, The Literature of Hiking in the Smokies).   Bill Hart has hiked, camped and fished in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than forty years. In over three thousand miles of walking, he has recorded experiences and impressions that will delight readers of all ages. Whether exploring some of the most remote sections of the Smokies, angling for trout, meeting mountain folk, or marveling at the flora and fauna around him, Bill has a gift for heartfelt storytelling and a wealth of knowledge to share about the park. Join him for an unforgettable journey through a beloved national treasure.   Includes photos   “[A] collection of essays and journal entries of over 40 years of hiking, camping and exploring in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.” —Go Knoxville   “A compilation of thoughts and reminiscences of his wonderful days and nights there.” —Smoky Scout’s Hiking Adventures

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  The White Rock - An Exploration...

  Hugh Thomson

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  An explorer searches the Peruvian Andes for a lost ruin in “a gem of a book [that] transcends the travel writing genre” with fascinating Inca history (Los Angeles Times). 
   
  A New York Times Notable Book 
   
  With the backdrop of the ever-intriguing Andes mountains, Hugh Thomson explores the intoxicating history of the Inca people and their heartland. The author, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and explorer, expertly weaves accounts of his own discoveries and brushes with danger with the history of those who preceded him—including the explorer Hiram Bingham, who discovered Machu Picchu; the twentieth century South American photographer, Martín Chambi; the poet Pablo Neruda; and the Spanish conquistadores who destroyed the Inca civilization—and the eccentric characters he meets on his travels. 
   
  Following in the footsteps of the explorers Gene Savoy and Hiram Bingham, Thomson set off into the jungle to find the lost city of Llactapat. This is the story of his journey to discover it via the interconnecting paths the Incas laid across the Andes.

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  London

  Stephen Halliday

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  Strange laws, heroic deeds, surprising revelations, and quirky stories that have shaped the unique history of Britain’s capital.   London’s long history is extraordinarily rich—and whether your interest is political, social, architectural, or historical, you’ll find a variety of topics in this alternative guide to London.   Learn about: · Roman ruins · Notorious crimes · Hidden tube stations · The famous London smog · Cockney rhyming slang and much more

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