The only state once recognized by the U.S.gov-ernment as an independent country.Texas is still more a nation than a state in many ways.It's larg-er than several European nations combined,with an amaxingly varied landscape and population. Since the fall of the Alamo,the Lone Star State has been the site of historic collisions:between the Old South and the New West,be-tween the Anglo culture of North America and the Hispanic culture of Latin America,between persistent small-town values and the glittering internationalism of Houston and Dallas.Yet its citizens are all Texans first,united by a storied past of epic battles,rangers and rustlers,cattle barons,wildcatters,and wheeler-dealers. The Texas Myth also embraces legendary sports teams and the fans that cheer them on; a down-home cuisine featuring Tex-Mex,chili,and rancn-style barbecue; and colorful politics across the spectrum,including outspoken liberals like Lyndon Johnson and former governor Ann Richards.Oil and cattle wealth built a legacy of ach

illinois,that long slice of the heartland stretching fro lake michigan fto kentucky,may be the most american place of all.its great patriot,abraham lincoln,and its great athlete,michael jordan,stand for what s best about our country. the prairie state has some of the midwest s richest farmlnd,and,by geographic luck,illinors also has the vital metropolis of chicago.the windy city took in the continent s resources and shipped them far and wide ,becoming the nation s railroad hub and later its crossroade of the air.after the dev-astating 1871fire,visionary planners and architects like daniel burnham and louis sullivan designed boulevards,gracious parks,and beaux arts buildings thet make this one of the most livable of cities. both chicago and downstate illinois have grow them,like john dere s plow; the prairie style homes of frank lloyd wright;mail-order merchandising from sears and wards;an ener-getic,all-american literture from carl sandburg,nelson algren,gwendolyn brooks,and saul bellow;and the soulf

Moon Spotlight Wisconsin’s Door County is a 95-pagecompact guide covering Sturgeon Bay, Lakeside, Bayside, WashingtonIsland and Rock Island. Author Thomas Huhti offers seasoned adviceon must-see attractions, and he includes maps with sightseeinghighlights so you can make the most of your time.. This lightweightguide is packed with recommendations on sights, entertainment,shopping, recreation, accommodations, food, and transportation.Helpful maps make navigating this popular vacation getawayuncomplicated and enjoyable.

Marco Polo thought Sri Lanka was the finest island of its size in all the world - and we agree. Explore the majestic ancient cities of . Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya. Stretch out on secluded palm-fringed beaches. Follow the glowing strings of lights on the pilgrim trail up Adam's Peak. Ride through hillside tea plantations in a rattling train. This guide gives you the inside information on Sri Lanka's richest experiences. GET THE LOWDOWN - our dedicated Snapshot, Culture and History chapters are your ticket to understanding local life . GO ON SAFARI - get up close to Sri Lanka's birds, elephants and leopards: our detailed national parks information shows you how DON'T JUST LIE THERE - we tempt you off the beach with Sri Lanka's best diving, hiking and surfing . KNOW YOUR KITUL FROM YOUR KIRI BATH - our Food & Drink chapter will help you gobble your way through the island's celebrated cuisine . FIND YOUR WAY - easy-to-read maps show you where to go .

In 1977, Laura Bell, at loose ends after graduating fromcollege, leaves her family home in Kentucky for a wild andunexpected adventure: herding sheep in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin.Inexorably drawn to this life of solitude and physical toil, ayoung woman in a man’s world, she is perhaps the strangest memberof this beguiling community of drunks and eccentrics. So begins herunabating search for a place to belong and for the raw materialswith which to create a home and family of her own. Yet only throughtime and distance does she acquire the wisdom that allows her tosee the love she lived through and sometimes left behind. By turns cattle rancher, forest ranger, outfitter, masseuse, wifeand mother, Bell vividly recounts her struggle to find solid earthin which to put down roots. Brimming with careful insight andwritten in a spare, radiant prose, her story is a heart-wrenchingode to the rough, enormous beauty of the Western landscape and thepeculiar sweetness of hard labor, to finding oneself even i

“oklahoma,where the wind comes sweepin down the plain!”who doesn t know the stirring lyrics to the most famous of all state songs?rodgers &hammerstein s musical captures the rambunctious frontier spirit of this state-an even more captivating place in reality. in oklahoma,the american west and the american dream come together-sometimes in one person,like will rogers,the part-cheokeejournalist and vaudevillian who became the nation s best-loved humorist.woody guthrie,our lureate of folk song,also springs from oklahoma soil,as do journalist bill moyers and apache sculptor allan houser,whose work graces the white house lawn.oklahoma helped to create the cowboy icon:on the legendary chisholm trail,in touring wild west shows ,and in the movies ,with actors roy rogers and gene auty.amerca s oil boom began her,and “black gold”built the art deco skylines of tulsa and okla-homa city.hardy survivors of the dust bowl era,oklahomans planned and built the “mother road,”route 66,and afine collection of museu

Best-selling Tolkien expert Brian Sibley (The Lord of theRings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy and The Lord of the RingsOfficial Movie Guide) presents a slipcased collection of fourfull-color, large-format maps of Tolkien's imaginary realmillustrated by John Howe, a conceptual designer for the blockbusterfilms directed by Peter Jackson. The set includes a hardcover bookdescribing in detail the importance and evolution of geographywithin Tolkien's epic fiction and four color maps presented withminimal folds, including two (Beleriand and Numenor) never beforepublished in this country.

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes,beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that youarrive at your destination aware of basic manners, commoncourtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell youwhat to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport withyour hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear ofembarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliarsituations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful businessrelationships. Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture andsociety of a particular country. It will help you to turn yourvisit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable andenriching experience. Contents include

Rick Steves’ Pocket guidebooks truly are a “tour guide in yourpocket.” Each colorful, compact 280-page book includes Rick’sadvice for prioritizing your time, whether you're spending 1 or 7days in a city. Everything a busy traveler needs is easy to access:a neighborhood overview, city walks and tours, sights, handy foodand accommodations charts, an appendix packed with information ontrip planning and practicalities, and a fold-out city map.Includedin Rick Steves' Pocket London—Sights: the National PortraitGallery, Courtauld Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Victoria andAlbert Museum, and the Bankside WalkWalks and Tours: theWestminster Walk, Westminster Abbey Tour, National Gallery Tour,West End Walk, British Museum Tour, British Library Tour, The CityWalk, St. Paul’s Cathedral Tour, and Tower of London Tour

Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Brysondecided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walkingthe 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia toMaine. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests andsparkling lakes--and to a writer with the comic genius of BillBryson, it also provides endless opportunities to witness themajestic silliness of his fellow human beings. For a start there'sthe gloriously out-of-shape Stephen Katz, a buddy from Iowa alongfor the walk. Despite Katz's overwhelming desire to find cozyrestaurants, he and Bryson eventually settle into their stride, andwhile on the trail they meet a bizarre assortment of hilariouscharacters. But A Walk in the Woods is more than just alaugh-out-loud hike. Bryson's acute eye is a wise witness to thisbeautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinatinghistory, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America'slast great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, and a celebration, A Wal

Inspired by an actual letter in the John F. Kennedy Librarywritten by Jackie and revealing her job offer from the newly formedCIA Young Jacqueline Bouvier's first CIA assignment was supposed tobe simple: Meet with a high-ranking Russian while he's in Paris andhelp him defect. But when the Comrade ends up dead, and Jackie-inher black satin peep-toe stiletto heels-barely escapes his killer,it's time to get some assistance. Enter Jacques Rivage, a Frenchphotographer and freelance CIA agent who seems too brash andcarefree to grapple with spies, though he's all too able to makeJackie's heart skip a beat. Together the two infiltrate 1951 high society in the City ofLights, rubbing shoulders with the likes of the Duchess of Windsor,Audrey Hepburn, and Evelyn Waugh. Jackie, no longer a pampereddebutante, draws on her quick intelligence, equestrian skills, andeven her Chanel No. 5 atomizer as a weapon to stay alive in theshadowy world of international intrigue-and to keep her date with acertain up-an

This stunning volume was the gift book of the year when it firstpublished, and the images that grace its pages remain iconic. Fromthe famous Afghan girl whose haunting green eyes stare out from thebook’s cover, and her poignant story that captured the world’sinterest, to award-winning photography culled from the Society’svast archives, The Photographs offers readers an inside look atNational Geographic and a sharp-eyed view of the world. The bookshowcases the skill and imagination of such notable Geographicphotographers as David Doubilet, William Albert Allard, Sam Abell,Jim Stanfield, Jodi Cobb, Jim Brandenburg, David Alan Harvey, andmany more. They share their techniques, as well as personal andcolorful anecdotes about individual images and their adventures inthe field—sometimes humorous, sometimes terrifying, always vividlycompelling. Author Leah Bendavid-Val writes about thephotographers’ achievements from technical, journalistic, andartistic perspectives. Five chapters cover core Nationa

Experience a place the way the locals do. Enjoy the best it has to offer. Frommer's. The best trips start here. ·Detailed coverage of the United States' best attractions, hotels, restaurants, and outdoor experiences. ·Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not. ·Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip whatever your budget. ·Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions

In the entire universe, there seems to be one constant that most everyone shares: the notion of beauty. This fact is not scientific, it is not logical, and the value of this knowledge is hard to assess. But the certainty is absolute as every one of us looks into a meadow of waving flowers, gazes at the surf and the sea, or looks deep into the night sky at the stars and beyond. God's Art explores the grace, the texture and the colors of this beautiful universe, and asks a lot of questions along the way: Why isn't the universe gray instead of such a rich incredible range of colors; Why is there so much variety in all things from snowflakes to galaxies; Why are we blessed with an appreciation for all this wonder if it does not contribute to our survival? Questions are more fun than answers, and a well-phrased quandary will keep us occupied longer than a stark fact. This is a beautifully illustrated book of questions.

Discover Amsterdam Delve into the life of a great artist at the Van GoghMuseum Find the perfect brown café, secret hang-outs of Dutch drinkersfor centuries Find out how to skip the queues at the city's topattractions Spice up your visit at one of Amsterdam's Indonesianrestaurants In This Guide: Three authors, over 700 recommendations, five neighborhoodswalks, three bike tours Color Architecture chapter on the city's buildings, old andnew Comprehensive Day Trips chapter includes Leiden, Utrecht andHaarlem

Experience the best of Hungary with Lonely Planet's 6thedition. Discover the quiet beauty and fascinating culture of thischarming country - relax in Art Nouveau splendour at a thermalbath, treat your palate to the excellent local wines or watchhistory unfold as you drift down the Danube. Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to theheart of every destination they visit. This fully updated editionis packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed togive you the information you need to make the most of yourtrip. In This Guide: Essential color section illustrating Hungary'shighlights Unique interviews with a potter, Klezmer band and a cyclingspecialist Activities chapter includes horse riding, hiking, caving andmore

Paul Theroux celebrates fifty years of wandering the globe bycollecting the best writing on travel from the books that shapedhim, as a reader and a traveler. Part philosophical guide, partmiscellany, part reminiscence, The Tao of Travel enumerates “TheContents of Some Travelers’ Bags” and exposes “Writers Who Wroteabout Places They Never Visited”; tracks extreme journeys in“Travel as an Ordeal” and highlights some of “Travelers’ FavoritePlaces.” Excerpts from the best of Theroux’s own work areinterspersed with selections from travelers both familiar andunexpected: Vladimir Nabokov J.R.R. Tolkien Samuel Johnson Eudora Welty Evelyn Waugh Isak Dinesen Charles Dickens James Baldwin Henry David Thoreau Pico Iyer Mark Twain Anton Chekhov Bruce Chatwin John McPhee Freya Stark Peter Matthiessen Graham Greene Ernest Hemingway The Tao of Travel is a unique tribute to the pleasures and painsof travel in its golden age.

In 1912, six months after Robert Falcon Scott and four of hismen came to grief in Antarctica, a thirty-two-year-old Russiannavigator named Valerian Albanov embarked on an expedition thatwould prove even more disastrous. In search of new Arctic huntinggrounds, Albanov's ship, the Saint Anna, was frozen fast in thepack ice of the treacherous Kara Sea-a misfortune grievouslycompounded by an incompetent commander, the absence of crucialnautical charts, insufficient fuel, and inadequate provisions thatleft the crew weak and debilitated by scurvy. For nearly a year and a half, the twenty-five men and onewoman aboard the Saint Anna endured terrible hardships and dangeras the icebound ship drifted helplessly north. Convinced that theSaint Anna would never free herself from the ice, Albanov andthirteen crewmen left the ship in January 1914, hauling makeshiftsledges and kayaks behind them across the frozen sea, hoping toreach the distant coast of Franz Josef Land. With only a shockinglyinaccurate map to g

From the author of A Venetian Affair and Lucia comes acharming odyssey in the path of the mysterious Zen brothers, whoexplored parts of the New World a century before Columbus, andbecame both a source of scandal and a cause célèbre amonggeographers in the following centuries. This delightful journey begins with Andrea di Robilant’sserendipitous discovery of a travel narrative published in Venicein 1558 by the Renaissance statesman Nicolò Zen: the text and itsfascinating nautical map re-created the travels of two of theauthor’s ancestors, brothers who explored the North Atlantic in the1380s and 1390s. Di Robilant set out to discover why later, in thenineteenth century, the Zens’ account came under attack as one ofthe greatest frauds in geographical history. Was their map—and eventheir journey—partially or perhaps entirely faked? In Irresistible North the author follows the Zens’ route from theFaeroes to Shetland to Iceland and Greenland, greeted by characterswho help unravel t

From Fouad Ajami, an acclaimed author and chronicler of Arabpolitics, comes a compelling account of how a generation of Arabintellectuals tried to introduce cultural renewals in theirhomelands through the forces of modernity and secularism.Ultimately, they came to face disappointment, exile, and, onoccasion, death. Brilliantly weaving together the strands of atumultuous century in Arab political thought, history, and poetry,Ajami takes us from the ruins of Beirut's once glitteringmetropolis to the land of Egypt, where struggle rages between amodernist impulse and an Islamist insurgency, from Nasser'span-Arab nationalist ambitions to the emergence of an uneasy PaxAmericana in Arab lands, from the triumphalism of the Gulf War tothe continuing anguished debate over the Israeli-Palestinian peaceaccords. For anyone who seeks to understand the Middle East, here isan insider's unflinching analysis of the collision betweenintellectual life and political realities in the Arab worldtoday.

With infomation on… ·Where to dine in the various theater areas with details on ambience,menus,and prices. ·Before-and after-theater menus that provide an opportunity to sample the artistry of some of the best chefs in the city at a fraction of the usual noted. ·The best places to stay whether you prefer a world class hotel with every amenity,a homey B&B,a loft apartment,or a chic boutique hotel.And how to never,ever,pay a hotel's qublished rack rate. ·Getting theater tickets in advance,on arrival,or half price on the day of performance;obtaining ·Whether your budget is great or small,if you feel the best complement to a stimulating evening of theater is dining well,this book is for you. 作者简介: ONE AND OFF BROAOWAY is a guide to Manhattan's vibrant world of thater and the many unique neighborhoods where the theaters that contribute so much artistic energy to the city can be found.Not just for visitors,it will also point the native New Yorker to some of the best resta

Roads to Santiago is an evocative travelogue through thesights, sounds, and smells of a little known Spain-itsarchitecture, art, history, landscapes, villages, and people. Andas much as it is the story of his travels, it is an elegant anddetailed chronicle of Cees Nooteboom's thirty-five-year love affairwith his adopted second country. He presents a world not visible tothe casual tourist, by invoking the great spirits of Spain'spast-El Cid, Cervantes, Alfonso the Chaste and Alfonso the Wise,the ill-fated Hapsburgs, and Velzquez. Be it a discussion of histrip to the magnificent Prado Museum or his visit to the shrine ofthe Black Madonna of Guadalupe, Nooteboom writes with the depth andintelligence of an historian, the bravado of an adventurer, and thepassion of a poet. Reminiscent of Robert Hughes's Barcelona, Roadsto Santiago is the consummate portrait of Spain for allreaders.