The Girl Who Climbed Everest: Lessons Learned Facing Up to the World's Toughest Mmountains


Bonita Norris - 2017
    Once an anxious teenager with an eating disorder it was the discovery of a passion for climbing that inspired Bonita to change her life. Drawing on her experiences to capture the agonies - both mental and physical - and joys of her incredible feats Bonita also imparts the lessons learned encouraging you to harness greater self-belief.Savage Mountain is an honest exploration of everything Bonita has learned from climbing. Life lessons about ambition, values, risk, happiness, the courage to fail, and what's ultimately important. An indispensable and important book for anyone who has ever doubted their potential or put limits on themselves - whatever challenge you face or ambitions you want to achieve, Savage Mountain will inspire you to take action and live life more fearlessly.

The Southern Foodie: 100 Places to Eat in the South Before You Die (and the Recipes That Made Them Famous)


Chris Chamberlain - 2012
    Check out the culinary creativity in the Carolinas where you’ll find traditional smoked pork barbecue alongside Southern favorites made with fresh, local produce. Explore the restaurant kitchens of Atlanta and Nashville where the chefs aren’t shy about fusing comfort food standards with international flair and unexpected techniques. Join food and drink writer Chris Chamberlain for access to the South’s best recipes and the kitchens where they were developed. In The Southern Foodie, Chamberlain explores the South’s culinary culture with favorites such as: Jalapeño-and-Cheese-Stuffed Grit Cakes from Mason’s Grill, Baton Rouge, LARoasted Heirloom Pumpkin with Mulled Sorghum Glaze from Capitol Grille, Nashville, TNCountry Ham Fritters from Proof on Main, Louisville, KYBlue Crab Cheesecake from Old Firehouse Restaurant, Hollywood, SCApricot Fried Pies from Penguin Ed’s Bar-B-Q, Fayetteville, AR  The Southern Foodie you where the South eats and how to create those distinct flavors at home. You’re sure to rediscover old favorites and get a closer look at the delicious new traditions in Southern cuisine.

Half Fast: (mis) Adventures in Slowly Sailing around (on) the World


Randy Baker - 2019
    With little money and even even less nautical experience they leave their small-town home in Arkansas to embark on an adventure they hope will last for a year or two but which evolves into a quarter-century voyage of discovery spanning half the world. Come along with Randy and Cheryl as they cruise their small boat to intriguing destinations that you won’t find in any tourist brochure. Along the way they discover the best and worst the sailing life has to offer as they visit twenty-nine countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America and the South Pacific. Their adventures and misadventures include encounters with hurricanes, thieves, drug smugglers and a disastrous tsunami as well as lasting new friendships formed with local people and fellow sailors all along their route. Cruising under sail is a lifestyle like no other and though there are sometimes hardships, those who take the plunge will be rewarded with a life of adventure and freedom that may be impossible to find any other way in the modern world.

Everest '96


Ken Vernon - 2015
    We usually only read about the best - about the bravery, the courage and the sacrifice of mountaineers who risk life and limb to achieve excellence for themselves and others. But there are other mountaineers – the charlatans, the conmen, the bullies, the petty-minded and narcissistic - who prefer to sacrifice others to their obsession to reach the top of Mt. Everest. This book is about one of the worst! In 1996, the deadliest year in the history of climbing Mt. Everest, both types were on the mountain. But in a cruel twist of fate the good guys died while the bad guy not only reached the top, but lived to prosper from it. In a piece of top class investigative journalism Ken Vernon delves into the guts of one dysfunctional expedition that, despite being supported by the iconic Nelson Mandela, became an international laughing stock. Everest ‘96 also peels back the layers of deception surrounding the fantastic past of the man who became the most reviled in mountaineering lore. Ken Vernon is an Australian journalist with decades of experience covering stories ranging from the African wars of Independence to the climbing of Mt Everest.

2,000 Miles Together: The Story of the Largest Family to Hike the Appalachian Trail


Ben Crawford - 2020
    On the trail, Ben Crawford battled not only the many dangers and obstacles presented by the wilderness-snowstorms, record-breaking heat, Lyme disease, overflowing rivers, toothaches, rattlesnakes, forest fires, and spending the night with a cult-but also his own self-doubt. In an effort to bring his family closer together, was he jeopardizing his future relationship with his kids? When the hike was done, would any of them speak to him again?The Crawford family's self-discovery over five months, thousands of miles, and countless gummy bears proves that there's more than one way to experience life to the fullest. You don't have to accept the story you've been shown. By leaving home, you'll find more than just adventure--you'll find a new perspective on the relationships we often take for granted, and open yourself up to a level of connection you never thought possible.

New England Open-House Cookbook: 300 Recipes Inspired by New England's Farms, Dairies, Restaurants, and Food Purveyors


Sarah Leah Chase - 2015
    Sarah Leah Chase is a caterer, cooking teacher, and prolific writer whose books—including The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook (as coauthor) and Nantucket Open-House Cookbook—have over 3.4 million copies in print. For New England Open-House Cookbook, she draws from her memories of growing up in Connecticut and Maine; her experience living and cooking on Cape Cod; and her extensive travels meeting farmers, fishermen, and chefs. The result is a wide-ranging cookbook for everyone who has skied the mountains of Vermont, sailed off the coast of Maine, dug for clams on Cape Cod, or just wishes they had. It reflects the bountiful ingredients and recipes of New England, served up in evocative prose, gorgeous full-color photographs, and 300 delicious recipes. All of New England’s classic dishes are represented, including a wealth of shellfish soups and stews and a full chapter celebrating lobster. From breakfast (Debbie’s Blue Ribbon Maine Muffins) to delightful appetizers and nibbles (Tiny Tumbled Tomatoes, Oysters “Clark Rockefeller”) to mains for every season and occasion: Baked Bluefish with New Potatoes and Summer Rib Eyes with Rosemary, Lemon, and Garlic. Plus: perfect picnic recipes, farmstand sides, and luscious desserts.

River Notes: The Dance of Herons


Barry Lopez - 1979
    In its companion volume River Notes, Lopez takes us into a different country where a nameless river flows through an animated world of herons, bears, and human beings.There is violence here, in the conflict of natural forces, in the people touching the river. There are landscapes, physical and spiritual, that we have not sensed, rituals we have not understood. Like the earlier peoples of our land, and like few American writers who have reentered this world, Barry Lopez respects the river and its imperatives, understands the language of cottonwoods and the salmon, and brings us in an extraordinary dance with a heron to the oneness with nature which is our heritage. ... [i]n these haunting, passionate stories Lopez brings us home to a deeply comforting unity with the natural world.From the first-edition dustjacket.

Gettysburg: The Story of the Battle with Maps


Stackpole Books - 2013
    70 color maps and insightful text tell the hour-by-hour story of the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg.

A Garden In Sarlat: Fulfilling an ambition to run a bed and breakfast in The Dordogne


David Prothero - 2016
    They knew that it was a massive gamble. Their friends called them brave. Their families thought that they had either gone completely mad or were dreaming of a delusional easy life in the sun. In the event none of these assumptions were completely accurate. Moving and funny, this is the story of the trials and tribulations involved in buying and converting their new house. The challenges of starting a new business in a foreign land, speaking a language they had struggled to learn thirty years previously and had since forgotten. But ultimately of fulfilling their ambition to work, laugh and play in the beautiful town of Sarlat.

France in Four Seasons: More Tales from my French Village (Tout Sweet Book 5)


Karen Wheeler - 2017
    Her latest book, the fifth in the series, is a collection of short stories based on her newspaper articles, magazine columns and other writings about France. France in Four Seasons is a series of short (and sweet) anecdotes, designed to give a delightful and evocative insight into French life as the seasons unfold.

The Pie At Night: In Search of the North at Play


Stuart Maconie - 2015
    Industry, toil and grime. Its manufacturing roots mean we still see the North of England as a hardworking place. But, more than possibly anywhere else, the North has always known how to get dressed up, take itself out on the town and have a good time. After all, working and playing hard is its specialty, and Stuart Maconie is in search of what, exactly, this entails what it tells us about the North today.Following tip offs and rumour, Stuart takes trip to forgotten corners and locals’ haunts. From the tapas bars of Halifax to the caravan parks of Berwick Upon Tweed, from a Westhoughton bowling green to Manchester’s curry mile, via dog tracks and art galleries, dance floors and high fells, Stuart compares the new and old North, with some surprising results.The Pie at Night could be seen as a companion to the bestselling Pies and Prejudice, but it is not a sequel. After all, this is a new decade and the North is changing faster than ever. This is a revealing and digressive journey and a State of the North address, delivered from barstool, terrace, dress circle and hillside.

The Endless Knot: K2 Mountain of Dreams and Destiny (The Kurt Diemberger Omnibus)


Kurt Diemberger - 1991
    A rare first-hand account from a survivor at the very epicentre of the drama, The Endless Knot describes the disaster in frank detail. Kurt Diemberger’s account of the final days of success, accident, storm and escape during which five climbers died, including his partner Julie Tullis and the great British mountaineer Al Rouse, is lacerating in its sense of tragedy, loss and dogged survival. Only Diemberger and Willi Bauer escaped the mountain. K2 had claimed the lives of 13 climbers that summer. Kurt Diemberger is one of only two climbers to have made first ascents of two 8000-metre peaks, Broad Peak and Dhaulagiri. A superb mountaineer, the K2 trauma left him physically and emotionally ravaged, but it also marked him out as an instinctive and tenacious survivor. After a long period of recovery Diemberger published The Endless Knot and resumed life as a mountaineer, filmmaker and international lecturer.

The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future


Milton E. Osborne - 2000
    Beginning with the rise of ancient seafaring civilizations at Oc Eco and moving on to the glory of the Cambodian empire in the first millennium, through European colonization and the struggle for independence in the twentieth century, Osborne traces the history of the region that comprises the modern nations of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, and China. Vibrant, insightful, and eminently readable, The Mekong is a rousing history of a dynamic region that has fascinated readers the world over.

Campfire Cuisine: Gourmet Recipes for the Great Outdoors


Robin Donovan - 2006
    Campfire Cusine is a cookbook for the growing number of hikers, campers, and backpackers who are making healthy, tasty, and satisfying food a high priority in their lives. It offers more than 100 simple but inspired recipes for meals that can be cooked at a campsite or in any other outdoor setting—all made from fresh foods, never relying on ready-made food products. Enjoy Spicy Orange Chicken, Grilled Steak Tacos, Bourbon-Glazed Salmon, Lemony Couscous Salad, Cinnamon Baked Bananas, and more!   Armed with Campfire Cusine’s step-by-step, practical guidance on meal planning, shopping, and equipment selection, everyone from die-hard gourmets to novice cooks will be fully prepared to eat well in the outdoors.Â

Stairway Walks in San Francisco


Adah Bakalinsky - 1984
    Now with additional walks and 16 pages of full-color photographs, Stairway Walks in San Francisco contains step-by-step route descriptions that include notes on historical background, architecture, and other points of interest. Accompanying each of the 27 walks is an easy-to-follow map with corresponding numbered walk directions and public transportation information. Locals and tourists alike have used the book for over 20 years to explore San Francisco's beautiful neighborhoods.