With this epic tale of one vast and controversial road project, Matt Dellinger brings to life the country's complex political, social, and economic landscape. The 1,400-mile extension of I-69 south from Indianapolis, if completed, will connect Canada to Mexico through Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. This so-called NAFTA highway has been in development for two decades, and while segments are under construction today, others may never be built. Eagerly anticipated by many as an economic godsend, I-69 has also been opposed by environmentalists, farmers, ranchers, anarchists, and others who question both the wisdom of building more highways and the merits of globalization. Part history, part travelogue, Interstate 69 reveals the surprising story of how this extraordinary undertaking began, introduces us to the array of individuals who have worked tirelessly for years to build the road--or to stop it--and guides us through the many places the highway would transform forever: from sprawling cities like Indianapolis, Houston, and Memphis to the small rural towns of the Midwestern rust belt, the Mississippi Delta, and south Texas. This book vividly illustrates that the story of America is indeed the story of transportation--and that story continues. In an era when bridges fall, levies fail, and states lease their toll roads to foreign-owned corporations, Americans are realizing the central importance of infrastructure, how it affects our standard of living and quality of life and how it determines which places prosper and which places fade.Matt Dellinger connects these dots with an absorbingly human, on-the-ground examination of our country's struggle with development. Interstate 69 captures the hopes, dreams, and fears surrounding what we build and what we leave behind.

    From the co-author of Dateable.

    By explaining the inner logic of parliamentary government, as well as the underlying rationale for its institutions and processes, the authors demystify what might appear to be a relatively complex political system. Urging readers to consider the organic nature of the political system--in which change in one area inevitably ripples through the rest of the system--the authors provide much more than just a description of the features of government.The fourth edition has been updated to include analysis of the 2008 Canadian federal election. Discussions of responsible government and the role of the Governor General have been revised and expanded. Coalition government, the Single Transferable Vote, and the emergence of the Green Party are explained and new developments in Senate reform and Supreme Court appointments are also covered.

    It’s a fun way to keep your child engaged and as a supplement for activity books for children.Have you ever wondered what a badland is? What about a gulch? Do you know what an isthmus is? Or a seamount? What about the difference between a plateau and a plain, or a knob and a knoll? Well look no further. This broad introduction to the fascinating world around us explores our planet’s physical features from the highest mountain peak to the deepest ocean trench. The team behind Maps & Globes proves that geography can indeed be an adventure.This picture glossary, filled with accessible information to help children better understand geography and the environment, was praised by Kirkus as “an attractive introduction to geography’s rich vocabulary.”

    As he observes the slow but sure destruction of everything the Jarawa require for their survival, Harish is moved by a need to understand, to do something. His unlikely friend and partner on this quest is uncle Pame, a seventy-year-old Karen boatman whose father was brought to the islands from Burma by the British in the 1920s. The islands also bring him to Seema, a 'local born'-a descendant of the convicts who were lodged in the infamous cellular jail of port Blair. Seema has seen the world, but unlike most educated islanders of her generation, she has decided to return home. Harishs earnestness, his fascination and growing love for the islands, their shared attempt to understand the Jarawa and the loss of her own first love, all draw Seema closer to Harish. As many things seem to fall in place and parallel journeys converge, an unknown contender appears-the giant tsunami of December 2004. The last wave is a story of lost loves, but also of a culture, a community, an ecology poised on the sharp edge of time and history.

    We’ve all heard of fake news, but what about fake history? Dominic Sandbrook explores two and a half millennia of human history, travelling from the American Deep South to the air raid shelters of wartime Britain, to discover how the past has constantly been manipulated....3h 30min

    Recounts the voyage of Robin Lee Graham, a California sixteen-year-old, who spent nearly five years sailing alone around the world.Photo Illustrated, many photos of Graham by National Geographic photographers.

    

    Ellen Stimson and her husband had such a wonderful time in Vermont that they wondered what living there would really be like. What if we stayed here . . . forever? So began the series of adventures and misadventures of Ellen Stimson s hilarious first book, Mud Season. Now, having settled the family in Vermont s rich muddy soil, they are faced with new challenges of raising kids in the paradise of this very small, very rural town. Good Grief tells the tales of the hopes and dreams of parents just trying to do their best and not always succeeding. Imagine being the mom of the kid who peed on his teacher s chair . . . On. Purpose. Now imagine the governor asking you about it! Good Grief is all about the inevitable moment right after somebody says, What next? Ellen Stimson s irrepressible optimism and good humor prevail as she, her two husbands, their three kids, and various much-loved pets face down real life, and even death and grieving, with good humor intact. This is life in a state where everyone knows everything, and everything is everybody s else's business."

    The globetrotter has deftly woven his experiences together into a story that takes the reader on an emotive ride and establishes a connection with him and his quest. Expect outrageous tales grouped in original themes, complete with own chapters for every country. Gunnar's adventures include several travel world records and he has been featured by CNN, Huffington Post, BBC World, Daily Mail and many more media outlets in 100+ countries. He is a travel reporter and quizmaster for Norway's biggest radio show and regularly presents at media or travel events world-wide. The author on Twitter: @garfors

    Modern cartography tells the hidden stories of Portland in these fascinating and colorful infographic maps. When mapmaking takes on nontraditional topics like patterns of graffiti,  locations of strip clubs, or even which neighborhoods favor which house colors, finding your way around the city takes on a whole new meaning. Each map starts with the gathering of at least one data set about a given topic, then translating that to a visual format that blends traditional cartographic skills with modern graphic design.

    That’s where William Faulkner was living when he wrote the screenplay for To Have and Have Not; that house was designed by Neutra; over there is a Schindler; that’s where Woody Guthrie lived, where Anais Nin died, and where Thelma Todd was murdered . . .Despite the fact that one of these staircases starred in an Oscar-winning short film—Laurel and Hardy’s The Music Box, from 1932—these civic treasures have been virtually unknown to most of the city’s residents and visitors. Now, Secret Stairs puts these hidden stairways back on the map, while introducing urban hikers to exciting new “trails” all around the city of Los Angeles.

    Each book focuses on a particular topic such as famous cities, sport, science, the environment and the media.

    More exciting than a video game, this boredom-busting book is an explosion of information about sensational topics kids love: dessert, underwear, amusement parks, pirates, famous criminals, marsupials, Ancient Egypt, famous landmarks, you name it! The new 5,000 Awesome Facts (About Everything!) 2 has even more brain and eye candy rolled into one beautifully designed, high-octane treasure trove that captures kids' attention and keeps them yearning to learn more.

    Rahna Reiko Rizzuto reveals the reason for her act--and its effect on four generations of her family--in a series of alternating narratives. A son, daughter, mother, and brother all chime in, and the author's sophisticated interweaving of their tales is what gives this debut novel much of its power.Rizzuto's book includes its share of violent and disturbing incidents. A daughter helps her mother give birth on the floor of a shack; a son accompanies his senile grandfather to the toilet; a brother delivers a swift kick to his pregnant sister's belly. Yet Why She Left Us never relies on mere sensationalism. For one thing, the author's prose is strong and vivid, and she's particularly good at evoking the passage of time: "My life doesn't come to me in any order," notes one character. "Moments flip-flop, overlap--sometimes they come only in splinters." This isn't, it should be said, a big-canvas portrait of wartime life. But Rizzuto has produced a minute and successful investigation of the moments that define what a family is.That leaves the initial mystery. To her credit, Rizzuto doesn't come up with a pat solution: instead, she offers up a collage of perceptions, which fuse into a kind of answer as the story progresses. In other words, this is the latest addition to a growing canon of diplomatic, Rashomon-like novels. Why She Left Us is a true study in perspectives--and a kaleidoscopic lesson about the nature of memory and forgiveness. --Rucker Alex, Amazon.com Review