Travel Writing Memoirs

Following open heart surgery, poet and writer Peter Carpenter was given one instruction - 'Walk, if you want to stay on this planet'. And so when his hero and inspiration David Bowie died in 2016, he knew what he had to do. The man who was to so many a companion and guide had left no shrine, no focal point of understanding. To reconnect with Bowie, he would take a walk into the past, to the streets, towns and places where David Jones became something more.

From award-winning author Tom Bissell comes a riveting book that offers a fresh perspective on the Vietnam War: that of veterans' adult children. In 2003 Tom and his veteran father, John, traveled to Vietnam, reliving John's experiences in the war while familiarizing themselves with a new and peaceful country.

Early one May, Sam Neumann arrived in the breathtaking wilderness of Denali, Alaska with a smile on his face and adventure in his heart. But less than 24 hours later, both had evaporated as he stood behind the counter of a filthy gas station - his new place of employment - and tried to piece together what exactly had gone wrong.

Joan Didion has always kept notebooks: of overheard dialogue, observations, interviews, drafts of essays and articles. Here is one such draft that traces a road trip she took with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, in June 1970, through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. She interviews prominent local figures, describes motels, diners, a deserted reptile farm, a visit with Walker Percy, a ladies' brunch at the Mississippi Broadcasters' Convention.

In her late twenties, writer and naturalist Lucy Bryan found herself in between places. Her marriage to her first love had crumbled. Her beloved father had died of cancer. Doubt had supplanted the faith that had guided her since childhood. Uprooted and adrift, she turned to the natural world in search of meaning, connection, and a renewed sense of self.

This classic essay from Jon Krakauer is now available as an unabridged audiobook download. This essay is also included in the Classic Krakauer collection. From the best-selling author of Missoula and Into the Wild: a selection of the singular investigative journalism that made Krakauer famous, covering topics from avalanches on Mt. Everest to a volcano in Washington state; from a wilderness therapy program for teens to an extraordinary cave in New Mexico so unearthly that is used by NASA to better understand Mars.

In Polish: This is a story about the journey of two brothers who travelled through the largest river in the world on...bikes. But not ordinary bikes - they were "Amazonian” bikes. The story is as bodacious as the trip itself, which seemed like an unachievable madness, but turned out to be a great adventure and a valuable life lesson. For one of its heroes it was a dream come true, for another the last chance for salvation. The book is written by Piotr Chmieliński - the first person on Earth who sailed through the Amazon River in a kayak.

Ernest Hemingway, the Nobel Prize-winning author, was known as much for his prose as for his travels to exotic locales; his gusto and charm created excitement wherever he went. In Ernest's Way, we follow Cristen around the globe to the places he lived, wrote, fought, drank, fished, ran with the bulls, and held court with T.S. Elliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein and many other influential writers, artists, and intellectuals of the 20th century.

When Tim Bowden went back to Tasmania to explore his state of origin for the first time in many years, he was reminded of his adolescent assertion that "Tasmania is the testicle of Australia, suffusing the mainland with strength and vigour. What a pity there is only one of them".

Damian Le Bas grew up surrounded by Gypsy history. His great-grandmother would tell him stories of her childhood in the ancient Romani language: the places her family stopped and worked, the ways they lived, the superstitions and lore of their people. But his own experience of life on the road was limited to Ford Transit journeys from West Sussex to Hampshire to sell flowers. In a bid to better understand his Gypsy heritage, the history of Britain's Romanies and the rhythms of their life today, Damian sets out on a journey to discover the atchin tans, or stopping places.

Jim Payne follows the waterways of America, living a Tom Sawyer life in his 12-foot kayak, getting scared, soaked, and bailed out of trouble by Samaritans he discovers along the way. His escapades span the country, from the Hudson River to the Columbia, from the Mississippi to the Erie Canal. As Payne's adventures unfold, you never know what's around the next bend He's entrapped by security guards at Mount Vernon, loses his rudder off the Florida Keys, and sleeps in Franklin Roosevelt's bed.

Standing above the dramatic arches underpinning the Basilica of Assisi and carried away by the beauty of the moment, Joan and Roger were determined to move to Italy. It took time, effort, grit, money, heavy doses of humor, and even stronger servings of Italian pazienza; but in the end, move they did. Launching a new career hosting vacationers, they persevered, renovating Le Vigne; an old farmhouse. This is their story of good fortune, at times matched in equal measure with frustration.

Tom Patey, one of Scotland’s foremost climbers and mountaineers, was legendary for his pioneering ascents and boundless enthusiasm, and his carefree approach and ability to burn the candle at both ends. "A Short Walk With Whillans" was originally published in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in 1963.

After a lifetime in broadcasting, Greg Dobbs, a two-time National Emmy Award-winning journalist and former foreign correspondent for ABC News, shares the funny, funky, scary, stupid, dangerous, distasteful, unwise, and unbelievable behind-the-scenes stories (including those of his Emmy Award-winning broadcasts) that a journalist can encounter in his lifetime - adventures that are possibly even more interesting than the news being covered. Dobbs tells his stories with the humor, empathy, and enthusiasm that only someone who has covered news in more than 80 countries could muster.

Delve into the home of the world's most beloved bear! The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh explores the magical landscapes where Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their friends live and play. The Hundred Acre Wood - the setting for Winnie-the-Pooh's adventures - was inspired by Ashdown Forest, a wildlife haven that spans more than 6,000 acres in southeast England.

Midlife crisis, his life’s dreams at an early end, it was time to bust out and see the world. Nowick Gray sets out with backpack and drum to find out what he’s been missing. Tropical warmth, better health, inner peace… He scours Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Latin America for that perfect beach, a new tribe, a winter home. Will ayahuasca heal his woes, or an ayurvedic cleanse? Beset by desperate touts on an abandoned Bali shore, he knows he’s a dying breed: the last tourist. With this fourth book in the My Country series, Nowick’s travels extend across the globe, caught in ...

This is not a book about Iraq's history, nor an inventory of the many Middle Eastern wars that have spun out over the past twenty years, though both wars and history are part of its narrative, from the American invasion to the Arab Spring, ISIS and beyond. This is the story of a people who once lived under the rule of a megalomaniac leader who shaped the state in his own image. Then one day, after yet another war, a foreign army invaded, toppled the leader, destroyed the state, and proceeded to invent a new country.

When Joe Patterson was surprised with the gift of a white German Shepherd puppy named Griffin, he had no idea of the adventure that awaited them. Searching for answers in the painful memories of his family's past will lead them deep into the rugged winter landscape of South Dakota's Black Elk Wilderness, where together they will face danger, forge a timeless bond, and experience an epic story that will leave them forever changed.

A couple of quiet weeks sailing the River Severn was the intention. Somehow things got out of hand—a year later, I had reached Romania and was still going. Equipped with his cheerful optimism and a pith helmet, this Australian Odysseus in a dinghy travels from the borders of North Wales to the Black Sea—4,900 kilometres over salt and fresh water, under sail, at the oars, or at the end of a tow-rope—through 12 countries, 282 locks and numerous trials and adventures, including an encounter with Balkan pirates.

In Polish: Jacek Hugo-Bader once again embarks on a trip around Poland. He returns to matters, events, and places from 20-30 years ago. He meets with the people from the front pages of Gazeta Wyborcza: bandits, bums, converted, rednecks, and chosen - this is the face of modern Poland which is so easy to turn one's back to. The reporter discovers that his previous writings about these people were dwarfed by the stories which life wrote for them.