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  Border Odyssey - Travels along...

  Charles D. Thompson

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  This blend of travelogue and reportage from the US-Mexico border is “an exploration of 2,000 miles of fraught, rugged and deeply contested territory” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).   In a quest to capture a real-life, close-up view of the land where so many have been kicked, cussed, spit on, arrested, detained, trafficked, or killed—and the subject that has been debated for decades by politicians and commentators—Charles D. Thompson records his journey from Boca Chica to Tijuana, and his conversations with everyone from border officials to migrant workers to local residents. Along the journey, five centuries of cultural history (indigenous, French, Spanish, Mexican, African American, colonist, and US), wars, and legislation unfold.   Among the terrain traversed: walls and more walls, unexpected roadblocks, and patrol officers; a golf course (you could drive a ball across the border); a Civil War battlefield (you could camp there); the southernmost plantation in the US; a hand-drawn ferry, a road-runner tracked desert and a breathtaking national park; barbed wire, bridges, and a trucking-trade thoroughfare; ghosts with guns; obscured, unmarked, and unpaved roads; a Catholic priest and his dogs, artwork, icons, and political cartoons; a sheriff and a chain-smoking mayor; a Tex-Mex eatery empty of customers and a B&B shuttering its doors; murder-laden newspaper headlines at breakfast; the kindness of the border-crossing underground; and too many elderly, impoverished, ex-U.S. farmworkers, braceros, who lined up to have Thompson take their photograph.   “A firsthand look at how modern U.S. border policy has affected the people in the region, from migrant workers to indigenous people to border patrol agents to residents of economically stagnant towns just north of the boundary. The result is a travel memoir with a conscience, an extension of Thompson’s ongoing work to humanize the hotly debated region.” —The News & Observer

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  Literary Philadelphia - A...

  Thom Nickels

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  “Peppered with many . . . unexpected literary treasures . . . A wonderful introduction to/overview of [Philadelphia’s] abundant literary heritage” (Philly.com).   Since Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin put type to printing press, Philadelphia has been a haven and an inspiration for writers. Local essayist Agnes Repplier once shared a glass of whiskey with Walt Whitman, who frequently strolled Market Street. Gothic writers like Edgar Allan Poe and George Lippard plumbed the city’s dark streets for material. In the twentieth century, Northern Liberties native John McIntyre found a backdrop for his gritty noir in the working-class neighborhoods, while novelist Pearl S. Buck discovered a creative sanctuary in Center City. From Quaker novelist Charles Brockden Brown to 1973 US poet laureate Daniel Hoffman, author Thom Nickels explores Philadelphia’s literary landscape.   Includes photos

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  Even More Ketchup than Salsa -...

  Joe Cawley

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  A must-read reality check for anybody who has ever pondered making a new life abroad 
  "Pure enjoyment!" 
  "Another corker from Mr Cawley" 
  "Couldn't put it down. Made me happy, made me sad, made me happy some more. Really, really good book. Can't wait for the next installment!" 
  "Funny, emotional and identifiable, loved every minute..." 
  The first six months of running the Smugglers Tavern had been a baptism of fire. The subsequent years were about as much fun as bobbing for apples in a vat of acid. 
  Having swapped the tin roof of a cold British fish market for the sunny skies of Tenerife, one of Spain's holiday islands, Joe and Joy succeeded in thwarting the first wave of attacks from bungling bureaucrats, bewildered holidaymakers and their own spectacular ineptitude. 
  What they didn’t realise was that their enemies were regrouping. Not only that, but those enemies had made camp a lot closer to home, enemies that would make their encounters with exploding gas bottles, East European squatters and big-time Charlies seem like chapters from a children's picture book. 
  Dreams are shattered, relationships left in tatters and sanity is tested in this prize-winning travel and humour memoir in this revelation about what it's really like when you try to make a better life for yourself overseas.Recent reviews..."Beautifully observed, laugh-out-loud funny in parts and heartbreakingly emotional in others. If you've ever lived abroad, particularly in Spain, this book has something in it for you.""Hilarious all the way through and tinged with the slightest of sadness in parts.""The humour reminds me a lot of Deric Longden's equally poignant books and plays, especially the bits about Joe's gran and Buster the cat. Would make a great film.""Loved this book! Laughed and cried... Honest and compelling read."

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  The Whispering Land

  Gerald Durrell

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  Naturalist Gerald Durrell recalls his expedition to South America to find exotic animals in this follow-up to A Zoo in My Luggage. After bringing multiple species of African animals back to the Channel Island of Jersey to populate their new zoo, British naturalist Gerald Durrell and his wife followed their passion for wildlife preservation on a journey to South America. With a team of helpers, they spent eight months on safari searching for exotic specimens.   Through windswept Patagonian shores and tropical forests in the Argentine, from ocelots to penguins, fur seals to parrots to pumas, the author who inspired the public television drama The Durrells in Corfu captures the landscape and its inhabitants with his signature charm and humor. Filled with adventure, exploration, and the spirit of conservation, The Whispering Land is a memoir that animal lovers of all ages will enjoy.  This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.  

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  Birds of Belize

  H. Lee Jones

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  “Fills a major gap in the bird identification literature . . . A must for birders planning a trip to this friendly patch of Central America.” —The Curious Naturalist   With nearly six hundred identified species of birds—and an average of five “new” species discovered annually—Belize is becoming a birding hotspot for amateur and professional birders from around the globe. Thousands of birders visit the country each year to enjoy Belize’s amazing abundance and variety of both temperate and tropical birds in natural habitats that remain largely unspoiled. But until now, despite the growing need for an authoritative identification guide, birders have had to rely on regional field guides that offer only limited information on Belizean birds.  Birds of Belize provides the first complete guide to the identification of all currently known species—574 in all. The birds are grouped by families, with an introduction to each family that highlights its uniquely identifying characteristics and behaviors. The species accounts include all the details necessary for field identification: scientific and common names, size, plumage features, thorough voice descriptions, habitat, distribution, and status in Belize. Full color, expertly drawn illustrations by noted bird artist Dana Gardner present male and female, juvenile and adult, and basic and alternate plumages to aid visual identification throughout the year, while 234 range maps show the birds’ distribution and seasonality in Belize. A comprehensive bibliography completes the volume.  “A first-class book that will enable users to identify any bird they encounter in Belize.” —Victor Emanuel, President, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours

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  Idle Days in Patagonia

  William Henry Hudson

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  Hudson traveled to Patagonia to study the birds, but shortly upon arrival accidentally shot himself in the knee, requiring a lengthy period of idleness to recover, hence the title of the book. It's not just a work of ornithology, but a personal memoir of the people and natural history of Patagonia. - Summary by Kevin Davidson

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