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Chicago is a tale of two cities, headlines declare. This narrative has been gaining steam alongside reports of growing economic divisions and diverging outlooks on the future of the city. Yet to keen observers of the Second City, this is nothing new. Those who truly know Chicago know that for decades-even centuries-the city has been defined by duality, possibly since the Great Fire scorched a visible line between the rubble and the saved. For writers...
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Thirty-five years ago, when "searching for America" was not yet the cliche it has since become, Steinbeck hit the highways with his French poodle, Charley. In a custom-built camper he named Rosinante after Don Quixote's steed, the two traveled the country--10,000 miles and 34 states. Their varied experiences comprise several slices of small-town, back-roads Americana. Steinbeck laments the rise of plastic-covered everything, the vacuousness of "sad...
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"Based on a series of letters Mark Twain wrote from Europe for San Francisco and New York newspapers as a roving correspondent, The Innocents Abroad (1869) is a caricature of the sentimental travel books popular in the mid-nineteenth century. Mark Twain's fresh and humorous perspective on hallowed European landmarks lacked reverence for the past, and was as mocking about American manners (including his own) as it was about European attitudes. Twain...
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Stretching from Georgia to Maine, the Appalachian Trail offers some of America's most breathtaking scenery. It also offers an irresistible, amusingly ill-conceived adventure to Bryson & his out-of-shape walking companion, Stephen Katz. Mile by arduous mile, these unlikely pioneers walk the Appalachian Trail, along the way surviving the threat of bear attacks, cravings for hot showers & cream sodas, the loss of key provisions, & everything else this...
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The novel, published in 1974, uses a long motorcycle trip to frame a prolonged exploration of the world of ideas, about life and how best to live it. It references perspectives from Western and Eastern Civilizations as it explores the central question of the how to pursue technology so that human life is enriched rather than degraded. Narrated in the first person, it incorporates a parallel presentation of trip details and an ongoing retrospective...
6) On the road
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Behind us lay the whole of America and everything Dean and I had previously known about life, and life on the road. We had finally found the magic land at the end of the road and we never dreamed the extent of the magic. Sal Paradise, a young innocent, joins the slightly crazed Dean Moriarty on a breathless, exuberant ride back and forth across the United States. Their hedonistic search for release or fulfilment through drink, sex, drugs and jazz...
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At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State -- and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little...
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Colin O'Brady's awe-inspiring memoir spans his triumphant recovery from a tragic accident to his gripping 932-mile solo crossing of Antarctica. Prior to December 2018, no individual had ever crossed the landmass of Antarctica alone, without support and completely human powered. Yet, Colin O'Brady was determined to do just that, even if, ten years earlier, there was doubt that he'd ever walk again normally. From the depths of a tragic accident, he...
9) Bhutan
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"Bhutan is a ruggedly mountainous country known for its cliff-side monasteries and snowcapped peaks. Colorful prayer flags wind their way through breezy gorges. The magical and mystical personality of Bhutan can be felt from the highest mountaintops to the deepest valleys, and down every ancient alleyway in between. This title explores the traditional culture, diverse wildlife, ancient arts, and newest developments inside the kingdom of Bhutan. Informative...
10) Eritrea
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"Eritrea lies along the coast of the Red Sea in northeastern Africa. Its people are resilient and determined. When the border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia ended in 2018, hope surged for a better future for the country. The country still has significant obstacles to overcome, including religious persecution and strict censorship, but Eritreans will keep fighting for a brighter tomorrow. This installment explores these aspects, as well as other...
11) Australia
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"Australia is filled with beautiful landscapes and friendly people. How does the natural world affect life there? How has life changed in Australia from its earliest days to today? Readers find the answers to these questions and many more about life "down under" as they explore the history, environment, and culture of this popular part of the world. The detailed main text features up-to-date facts about life in Australia, presented alongside fun fact...
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When a Minnesotan moves to Paris, what could possibly go wrong? The answer: everything. While battling bureaucracy, dodging riots, scampering through catacombs, and foiling murder plots, prize-winning humorist Scott Dominic Carpenter takes on the City of Light. In eighteen hilarious accounts, he lifts the curtain on what makes the French French-and Midwesterners Midwestern.
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"Nineteen-year-old Sydney has the perfect summer mapped out. She's spending the next four and a half weeks traveling through Europe with her childhood best friend Leela. Their plans include Eiffel Tower selfies, eating cocco gelato, and making out with hot strangers. Her plans do not include Leela's cheating ex-boyfriend showing up on the flight to London, falling for the cheating ex-boyfriend's hot friend, monitoring her mother's spiraling mental...
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Labeled "dyslexic and profoundly learning disabled with attention and behavior problems, " Jonathan Mooney was a short bus rider--a derogatory term used for kids in special education and a distinction that told the world he wasn't "normal." Along with other kids with special challenges, he grew up hearing himself denigrated daily. Ultimately, Mooney surprised skeptics by graduating with honors from Brown University. But he could never escape his past,...
16) The snow leopard
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"In 1973, Peter Matthiessen and field biologist George Schaller traveled high into the remote mountains of Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and possibly glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard. Matthiessen, a student of Zen Buddhism, was also on a spiritual quest{8212} to find the Lama of Shey at the ancient shrine on Crystal Mountain. As the climb proceeds, Matthiessen charts his inner path as well as his outer one, with a deepening Buddhist...
17) Grayson
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Part mystery, part magical tale, this is the story of a miraculous ocean encounter that happened to the adventurer, swimmer, and bestselling author when she was seventeen and in training for a big swim.
It was the dark of early morning; Lynne was in 55-degree water as smooth as black ice, two hundred yards offshore, outside the wave break. She was swimming her last half-mile back to the pier before heading home for breakfast when she...
It was the dark of early morning; Lynne was in 55-degree water as smooth as black ice, two hundred yards offshore, outside the wave break. She was swimming her last half-mile back to the pier before heading home for breakfast when she...
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Capturing the harsh realities of life in modern-day Afghanistan and plight of Afghan women, the Norwegian journalist provides a portrait of a committed Muslim man, a bookseller, and his family living in post-Taliban Kabul, Afghanistan. Reader's Guide included.
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"I did have a murderous trip down South, but it was mighty interesting." In October 1913, Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on a tour of South America. The thrill-seeking adventurer had no idea that he would soon receive an offer he couldn't refuse: the chance to lead an expedition deep into the Amazon jungle to chart an unmapped river with his son Kermit and renowned Brazilian explorer Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon. Death on...
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"Born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and an American father in 1997, Christine Mari Inzer spent her early years in Japan and relocated to the United States in 2003. The summer before she turned sixteen, she returned to Tokyo, making a solo journey to get reacquainted with her birthplace. Through illustrations, photos, and musings, Inzer documented her journey. In Diary of a Tokyo Teen, Inzer explores the cutting-edge fashions of Tokyo's trendy Harajuku...