Other books that might interest you

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  WALKING EUROPE'S EDGE -...

  Stephen Powell

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  Portugal is both a celebrated and an unknown land. Millions come to enjoy its beaches and the fashionable coastal cities of Lisbon and Porto. In this sense it looms large in the minds of many. But its out-of-the-way places, its turbulent history and contemporary challenges are little-known outside of the country's boundaries. 
  From autumn 2018 to spring 2019, British journalist Stephen Powell traveled the length of Portugal, following a zigzag path of nearly 1,500 kilometers on foot. Away from the mass tourism, he wanted to form his own unhurried impressions of this very distinctive country. 
  He discovered a very mixed reality. The dark side was the blight of rural exodus that is emptying so many villages. But he also found a profoundly generous, warm-hearted people with time to converse - a gift that is not found everywhere. 
  "Stephen Powell's beautifully written account of his life-changing walk through Portugal enriches the reader with his insights and impressions of the country's history, culture, scenery and spirit. For me, the book was a fascinating journey of discovery through Portugal's lesser-known provinces..." 
  Valerie Poore, memoir author

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  The Wari Empire - Pre-Incan...

  Rolf Hedger

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  The Wari Empire emerged as one of the most influential pre-Incan civilizations in the Andean region, setting the foundation for future Andean states, including the Inca. Its origins can be traced back to the highlands of present-day Peru, where early societies laid the groundwork for its rise. The unique combination of environmental adaptation, cultural influences, and political innovation allowed the Wari to establish a powerful state that would dominate much of the central Andes for centuries. 
  Before the Wari civilization took shape, the Andean region was home to various cultures that contributed to its development. Among these, the Chavín culture, which thrived from around 900 to 200 BCE, played a crucial role in spreading religious and artistic traditions that later influenced Wari art and iconography. The Nazca civilization, known for its intricate geoglyphs and advanced irrigation techniques, also left an imprint on Wari agricultural and engineering practices. However, it was the lesser-known Huarpa culture of the Ayacucho Valley that provided the most direct influence on early Wari society. The Huarpa people developed small-scale irrigation systems, terraced farming, and distinct ceramic styles, all of which became defining features of Wari civilization. 
  Sometime between 500 and 600 CE, the Wari began to expand beyond their heartland in the Ayacucho region. This expansion was driven by both environmental necessity and strategic ambition. The high-altitude valleys of the central Andes provided fertile land for agriculture, but they were also subject to fluctuating climatic conditions. To mitigate these challenges, Wari elites developed large-scale irrigation systems and storage facilities, ensuring food security for growing populations. This ability to manage resources effectively gave them an advantage over neighboring groups, allowing them to assert dominance through both diplomacy and military conquest.

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  Water Borne - A 1200-Mile...

  Dan Rubinstein

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  In June 2023, writer Dan Rubinstein lashed camping gear to his stand-up paddleboard and embarked on an improbable solo voyage from Ottawa to Montreal, New York City, Toronto, and back to Ottawa along the rivers, lakes, and canals of a landlocked region. Over 1,200 miles and 10 weeks, he explored the healing potential of “blue space” — the aquatic equivalent of green space — and sought out others drawn to their local waters.
  		 
  But the farther Rubinstein paddled, the more he realized that being in, on, or around water does more than boost our mental and physical health and prompt stewardship toward the natural world. He discovered that blue spaces are also a way to connect with the kaleidoscopic cross-section of people he met and the diverse geographies and communities he passed through.
  		 
  Weaving together research, interviews, and an unmacho, malodorous, anticolonial adventure tale, Water Borne shows us that we don’t need an epic journey to find solutions to so many modern challenges. Repair and renewal may be close at hand: just add water.

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  Stars Staterooms and Stowaways -...

  Gary Glading

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  Gary Glading's fascinating career on luxury cruise chips has seen him circumnavigate the globe several times. Over the years he has entertained passengers, interviewed celebrities and tended stray and sick animals at ports around the world. His extraordinary adventures include quelling a passenger mutiny, surviving a hurricane in the Atlantic, spending Christmas with a Hollywood legend and being marooned on a tropical island. Stars, Staterooms and Stowaways is a collection of amusing and sometimes moving anecdotes that offer an irresistible glimpse into the world of cruising before and after 9/11.

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  Wild Atlantic Women - Walking...

  Gráinne Lyons

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  At a crossroads in her life, Gráinne Lyons set out to travel Ireland's west coast on foot. She set a simple intention: to walk in the footsteps of eleven pioneering Irish women deeply rooted in this coastal landscape and explore their lives and work along the way. As a Londoner born to Irish parents, she also sought answers in her own identity.
  
  
  As Gráinne heads north from Cape Clear Island where her great-grandmother was a lacemaker, she considers Ellen Hutchins, Maude Delap, Edna O'Brien, Granuaile and Queen Maeve among others from her unique perspective. Their homes – in places that are famously wild and remote – are transformed into sites of hope, purpose, opportunity and inspiration. Walking through this history, her journey reveals unexpected insight into emigrant identity, travelling alone, femininity and the trappings of an 'ideal' life. 
  
  
  Against the backdrop and power of this great ocean, Wild Atlantic Women will inspire the twenty-first-century reader and walker to keep going, regardless of the path.

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  Traveling Without Moving -...

  Taiyon J. Coleman

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  Amid the White smiles of Minnesota Nice and the Minnesota Paradox—the insidious racism of an ostensibly inclusive place to live—what do you do? If you're Taiyon J. Coleman, you write. 
   
   
   
  In Traveling without Moving, Coleman shares intimate essays from her life: her childhood in Chicago—growing up in poverty with four siblings and a single mother—and the empowering decision to leave her first marriage. She writes about being the only Black student in a prestigious and predominantly White creative writing program, about institutional racism and implicit bias in writing instruction, about the violent legacies of racism in the US housing market, about the maternal health disparities seen across the country and their implication in her own miscarriage. She explores what it means to write her story and that of her family—an act at once a responsibility and a privilege—bringing forth the inherent contradictions between American ideals and Black reality. 
   
   
   
  Using a powerful blend of perspectives that move between a first-person lens of lived experience and a wider-ranging critique of US culture, policy, and academia, Coleman's writing evinces how a Black woman in America is always on the run, always Harriet Tubman, traveling with her babies in tow, seeking safety, desperate to survive, thrive, and finally find freedom.

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