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New York City is known for its towering skyscrapers, world-class theaters and museums, honking taxis, and bustling crowds. But it is so much more. It is a smoky jazz club in Harlem, an All Saints Day feast in Queens, an extra-innings baseball game in the Bronx, a thrill-seeker's dream in Brooklyn's Coney Island. Ever since the isle of Manhattan expanded its domain back in the 1890's this megalopolis of five boroughs has encompassed a surprising mélange of neighborhoods, cultures, styles, and outlooks.
In a stunning celebration of New York and its boroughs, renowned photographer Carol M. Highsmith captures the diversity of this sprawling city in spectacular full-color images. This pictorial souvenir presents the best of New York and its environs, including architectural landmarks like Manhattan's St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Chrysler Building, elegant Park Avenue and the frenetic New York Stock Exchange; ethnic, eclectic, and fashionable neighborhoods throughout all five boroughs; wonderful parklands and botanical gardens; Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo in the Bronx; the Socrates Sculpture Park and the New York Hall of Science in Queens; the stately Brooklyn Museum and Staten Island's serene Snug Harbor.
A lively and fact-filled foreword and captions by award-winning writer Ted Landphair help paint the full picture of the undisputed capital of fashion, finance, publishing, performing arts, and more.
New York City: The Five Boroughs, A Pictorial Souvenir is a wonderful keepsake of a memorable visit, and the ideal gift for anyone who savors the unforgettable architecture, unsurpassed cultural offerings, and sensational parklands of an eclectic metropolis that is arguably the most fascinating city in the world.
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The outstanding beauty and distinction of the small towns of Provence have proved irresistibly attractive to visitors from America for the best part of a century. From the hills and mountains of the Alps and the Lubéron to the rich vine-growing country of the Var and the delightful coastal resorts, these communities are special places indeed.
In the small towns one finds the true spirit of Provence. Terracotta roofs cling at strange angles to stone and plaster; deep, velvety shade covers the ground beneath tall plane trees in some peaceful square, enlivened by the sound of water from an ancient fountain. Sometimes calm, sometimes vibrant, but always timelessly appealing, the most beautiful country towns of Provence are presented here in Alex Ramsay's perceptive photographs and Helena Attlee's evocative commentaries.
This magnificently illustrated survey opens in the west of the province, marked by the Roman presence and home to the lively regional centers of Arles and Uzès. In the center of Provence—the départements of Var and Vaucluse—are such attractions as L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, famous for its antique markets, and Hyères, one of the first resorts on the Riviera. Haute-Provence and Maritimes, which sweep around the north of the province and finally descend to the sea in the east, embrace the varied gems of mountainous Saint-Martin-Vésubie, coastal and Italianate Menton, and Grasse, perfume capital of the world. The variety revealed in this visual and textual feast is incredible—and all set in the dramatic contours of one of Europe's most striking landscapes.
Like other volumes in this internationally best-selling series, The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Provence is completed by lists of sights to visit and places to stay and to eat. 260 color photographs.
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The beauty of Provence is captured in this book!
If you, like me, cannot afford to travel to the south of France, this large-format book is the next best thing!!! Its stunning photography will really enchant you and leave you with a sense of regret that you cannot be there now, at this exact moment. Looking at the beautiful pictures of old but graceful buildings, narrow streets and dramatic landscapes you can almost sense certain serenity permeating those ageless country towns of Provence, endlessly basking in the golden rays of sun... Aaah, Provence....
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Through Dorothy Camagna's artful photography and Jennifer Cording's essays, Chincoteague Revisited captures the essence of the community, ecology and the natural landscape of this unique place off Virginia's coast. Together, they tell Chincoteague's story—the life and history of the land, water and its people.
The first essay, "Community", welcomes readers to island life and to the islanders themselves—an uncommon culture of people who share a common bond. Local watermen, decoy carvers and shop owners ply their trade; visitors from everywhere transform the community in the spring; simple, whitewashed houses line Main Street, and the Channel Bass Inn bed and breakfast invites afternoon callers to tea. Townspeople and visitors enjoy the traditional Christmas parade and the tastes of the annual oyster festival. Chincoteague Island comes to life in poetry and pictures.
The next essay, "Refuge", centers on the mystery and beauty of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge—its seashore, marshlands, maritime forests and wildlife. Through Camagna's expert eye and Cording's sensitive language, the sun sets on the loblolly pine, and the great egret takes its majestic flight towards Chincoteague Bay. The most famous inhabitants of Assateague Island, the wild ponies, also call the refuge home. Each July, local cowboys herd the ponies for their swim across the channel to Chincoteague's shore, where the foals are auctioned at the annual Firemen's Carnival.
And finally, the essay titled "Transitions" focuses on the ecological and seasonal changes of Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. "It is a delicate balance," writes Cording of the fragile combination of a beautiful natural landscape and thousands of human visitors who descend on the island each season.
Chincoteague Revisited is a rare collection of over one hundred full color photographs with accompanying essays—from aerial shots of the coastline and barrier islands, to intimate portraits of the water, land and people that make Chincoteague Island a destination to be visited, revisited and remembered.
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Perhaps no state holds as many surprises as Arizona. To outsiders, Arizona conjures up images of the Grand Canyon, the saguaro cactus, and the O.K. Corral. Those who have experienced this jewel of the Southwest, however, know that Arizona is all these things and much more. Arizona on My Mind brings you the many faces of this diverse state in words and pictures. No matter where you are, you can open this wonderful collection of images and find yourself transported to a world of stunning beauty. A world where the forces of nature-wind, water, and time-have shaped the landscape in fantastic and unusual ways. You'll see towering, snow-capped mountains; eerie, spire-like volcanic cores; seemingly bottomless canyons; and impossible rock formations. You'll find roaring waterfalls; quiet, tree-lined brooks; massive reservoirs; vast painted deserts, and endless blue skies. Arizona is a land of open spaces-quiet, remote places where you can look in all directions and see no trace of the hand of man. In other corners of the state man's influence is more apparent. Spectacular ancient Indian ruins, carved into the landscape itself, are a mysterious record of Arizona's earliest inhabitants. Flat-roofed adobe houses recall the architecture of Spanish settlers. Towns like Tombstone are a step back to the Old West, where cowboys still ride through the streets on horseback. And Arizona's major cities are bustling urban centers, where skyscrapers and universities have taken the place of pueblos and one-room schoolhouses. This unique combination of wild landscape, historical interest, and cultural diversity has drawn many of the nation's best photographers to Arizona, where every budding cactus, every grand vista, and every sunset is a momentary work of art waiting to be captured on film. For these reasons, many of these photographers call Arizona home. The photographs chosen for this book are beautiful-because Arizona is a beautiful place-but they also have that something extra, that ability to capture the true essence, the spirit, the magic of Arizona. Arizona's natural beauty and its people have also spawned a wealth of literature and other written and oral tributes. You'll find these scattered through this book as well. Zane Grey, John Wesley Powell, Walt Whitman, John Steinbeck, Willa Cather, Barry Goldwater, and many others help articulate this complicated land that can often seem indescribable. Whether you're an Arizona resident, a frequent visitor, or someone who simply enjoys a beautiful places, Arizona on My Mind is the perfect way to remember a special place and to dream of Arizona days to come.
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The famous phrase from the nineteenth century, "Go West young man," still has meaning today. California is as far west as you can go in the United States—in geography and in mind—and has come to represent America's "land of milk and honey." It is still the destination of a never-ending influx of new arrivals looking to "reinvent" themselves—or their lives—and find the American dream. The Golden State is a haven for individualists, nonconformists, eccentrics, and restless souls itching for the laid-back life of "California dreamin'."
In
California: A Photographic Tour, the reader is taken on a journey filled with the beautiful vistas and sights that have made the state famous. Photographer Carol M. Highsmith visits all of the state's great cities—Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco—as well as famed landmarks like the famous HOLLYWOOD sign in L.A. And, of course, there are California's celebrated tourist attractions: the La Brea Tar Pits with its displays of mastodons and other creatures; Knott's Berry Farm, the nation's oldest theme park; and the world famous Disneyland in Orange County. Then there is the ritzy glamour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Malibu, and Palm Springs—the mecca for golfers, tennis players, and sun-worshippers. Also visited are California's natural wonders like Death Valley National Park and the world-famous Redwood Forest where visitors can see, and even drive through, monolithic sequoias.
These and many more points of interest await the reader. With its dazzling photos and lucid text,
California: A Photographic Tour makes an excellent gift for anyone who has visited or wishes to visit this unrivaled state.
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In praise of books by the author: "Bodio writes like Pavarotti sings. He is a master." --Tony Hillerman (for Querencia)
"Stephen Bodio has written an unpretentious yet thrilling book about falconry, one of man's oldest and most mysterious alliances in the natural world; and he takes us afield under the wild skies of birds of prey." --Thomas McGuane (for A Rage for Falcons)
"Fascinating, funny, sad, beautiful . . . Aloft is full of wonderful images and energy." --Annie Proulx
When Stephen Bodio was a young boy in the early 50's he saw an image in National Geographic which became forever etched in his mind: it was a photograph of a Kazakh nomad, dressed in a long coat and wearing a fur hat, holding a huge tame eagle on his fist. And a life-long fascination with Central Asia was born.
Mongolia, a vast country located between Siberia and China and little known to outsiders, was long under Soviet domination and inaccessible to westerners. When it became independent in 1990 Bodio began planning a pilgrimage to see if the eagle hunters of "The Picture" had survived. A life-long falconer himself, he longed to visit the birth place of falconry and observe the traditions that had survived intact through the ages. His fantasy was realized when he traveled independently twice to the westernmost region of Mongolia and spent months with the people and birds of his dreams. The ancient rituals of hunting with eagles are fascinating and the remarkable relationship these nomadic people have with their birds of prey is thrilling. With vivid prose and humor, Bodio gives life to his dreams and the people, landscapes, and animals of Mongolia that have become part of his soul.
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A Tribute to Wild FreedomI was a junior in college when my dad sent me a copy of a new magazine he had started receiving at home called Gray's Sporting Journal. An English student and avid sportsman, I turned immediately to the book review section. Typically, I did not expect much from a sporting magazine's book review; seldom did these reviews actually convey much critical information.
This was the first time I read Steve Bodio's by-line. I read his review column, then went back and read it again, and again. In three pages, I knew this was a writer that deserved my attention. In fact, I had never read anyone who so passionately loved books and the sporting life, and who also wrote about those passions so beautifully. As Bodio himself once wrote about another writer: "He's THAT good."
Steve Bodio is a cult writer, a characterization I once heard Bodio himself acknowledge. Those of us who make up this cult cannot figure out why he isn't better known. Quite possibly it is because he is a naturalist who remains an unapologetic hunter, a hunter who would rather discuss natural history than the latest camouflage pattern, and a writer who ignores current fashions and writes about subjects like falconry, pigeons, catfish and wild freedom.
This latest book, on Mongolia, is a wonderful travel book that one hopes will introduce Bodio to a new and expanded readership. "Eagle Dreams" traces Bodio's fascination with the eagle hunters of Mongolia to the realization of the dream during the course of two trips.
Calling "Eagle Dreams" a travel book is perhaps unfair; it is not easily placed into a neat category. It is a travel book, a sporting book, a nature book, a "sense of place" book-but none of those categories convey its real spirit.
Bodio has a naturalist's keen curiosity, conveyed through vivid descriptions of everything from eagles to malaria. He has a fascination with even the more common creatures, writing of the magpies and pigeons he finds with a delight that seems as if he is seeing these creatures for the first time. He captures Mongolia's interesting history, its nomadic culture and the difficulties of travel in a way that is humane, engaging, and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny.
Of course, there is a lot of falconry here, with fascinating writing about the eagle hunters of Mongolia, their methods, their birds and their lives.
Bodio does not take his travels for granted, in stark contrast to the writers of many modern travel books. His travels to Mongolia are the realization of a dream, and he conveys just what it is like for a lover of words and ideas to finally stand in a place one has imagined deeply. I suspect many of us who grew up dreaming of travel that seemed so beyond our means can relate to this; I have never read any writer who conveys this feeling better. His observations on the "sountrack" of such experiences are worth the price of the book.
This book is a good introduction to Steve Bodio, capturing his love of animals and wild places, his opinionated (and true) observations on our society's maddening political correctness and Puritanism, his embodiment of a well-lived life (again, to paraphrase him on another subject, I'm not sure that he is making much of a living but what a life!), his literary musings that lead one to believe he has read EVERYTHING, and a writing style that is just a joy to read.
Ultimately, this book seems to be saying, that, even in an increasingly tamed and conformist world, there is still quarry to hunt, books to read, birds to watch, adventures to live. It's not a message you'll find in many travel-to-unusual places books. If for that reason alone, read this book.
Eagle Dreams: A Superb Book by a Fine Writer
Stephen J. Bodio's Eagle Dreams is one of the best books I've ever read. By turns lyrically poetic, hilariously funny, dramatic, touching, and inspiring, this book is travel writing at its very best. Most authors cannot approach Bodio in terms of talent, in the way his masterful prose brings scenes and people (in this case, the wilds of Mongolia and the tribesmen who hunt with golden eagles) to life and puts the reader in the middle of the action. Fascinating, exotic story, beautifully told. Buy this book!
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In 2002, with nothing but 2 thousand miles of ocean and 22 thousand miles of ground between himself and New York, Christoph Bangert started the trip of his life.
Flying from Dortmund, Germany to Buenos Aires, Argentina was the first step in the six-month journey that took Bangert over two continents, across the borders of 14 countries, through numerous mountain ranges and over countless bodies of water, and finally to his new home in Brooklyn. He made this astounding trip with little more than a camera and a Land Rover, his wits and perseverance. The result, Travel Notes: 22 Thousand Miles Across the Americas, is an astounding compendium of visual and written documentation of his remarkable expedition.
We travel with Bangert through the political upheaval in Argentina's capital, drive with him across the seemingly endless landscapes of Patagonia, spend a freezing cold night at the southern-most tip of the Americas on Tierra del Fuego, and climb the snowcapped Andes. After crossing the Atacama desert, we get stuck with him in the deep mud of a Bolivian salt flat, where after two days he is rescued from a hopeless situation by a freight train. We are at his side as he almost drowns inside his Land Rover while crossing Lake Titikaka on a wooden barge, and stand breathless with him in front of the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. In Peru and Ecuador, we follow him up the famed Pan-American Highway, doing what he loves to do the most: drive. We visit every single country in Central America, discovering great poverty and an equal amount of beauty. In Mexico we find Aztec ruins and American tourists. In the United States, we experience the shock of reentry into a developed economy and! the majesty of the country's vast landscape, and finally, after an exhausting journey, we feel the joy and triumph of arrival in New York City. Cataloging Bangert's trials, tribulations, and wild successes, Travel Notes is the ultimate road trip.
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Carved out, at the close of the eighteenth century, of some of the thickest woods and foulest swamps north of Georgia, the glorious city of Washington D.C., is among America's most stately, most beautiful, and most impressive. Indeed, once maligned by Charles Dickens as simply "spacious avenues that begin in nothing and lead nowhere; streets a mile long that only want houses, roads, and inhabitants; public buildings that need but a public to be complete, " Washington, D.C. today is a powerful symbol not only of our nation but of democracy.
Spanning the Potomac in majestic fashion, the city fans out gracefully, offering a multitude of pleasures to the more than twenty million tourists who visit annually. From official Washington (the imposing Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the White House, the Capitol, the souring obelisk of the Washington Monument) to its lush public parks and gardens; from Arlington National Cemetery to the Capitol reflecting pool; the Museum of Natural History's fabled elephant; the charm of its celebrated Cherry Blossom Festival to the somber beauty of the Vietnam Wall; from the massive FBI Building to the profoundly moving Holocaust Museum—
Washington D.C., A Pictorial Souvenir, a marvelously evocative portrait in words and pictures, captures this historic city memorably.
A wonderful keepsake for anyone who has ever visited Washington, and an enticing gift for those who merely dream of strolling down Pennsylvania Avenue, America's "Main Street,"
Washington D.C., A Pictorial Souvenir succeeds in conveying all the grandeur of the nation's capital while reminding us that this splendor belongs, of course, to all who prize democracy.
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The best way to remember your Washington, D.C. visitI have visited Washington, D.C. several times, by myself and with my family. This book has the best photographic coverage of Washington in one cover that I have seen. The captions for the photographs are accurate and helpful. If you go on the Washington by Dark bus tours, this book is better than the photos most of us take for the monuments. You can save your film for pictures of your friends or family at the sites during the day. Additionally, the preface history of Washington is interesting and concise. I heartily recommend this photo essay to any Washington, D.C. visitor.
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Embark on a journey to the Emerald Isle -- travel the ancient land of the Irish in breathtaking color.
Devised by the creators of the award-winning Dorling Kindersley Travel Guides, Portrait of Ireland is a fascinating introduction to every facet of the Emerald Isle. From Dublin's many pleasures and treasures to the tranquillity of the country's ancient landscapes, covering every aspect of Irish life, history, and culture.
Ireland in Color. Portrait of Ireland is crammed with nearly 1,000 specially commissioned photographs, many reproduced on a large scale- unrivaled coverage of Ireland in all its diversity. In-depth features focus on key themes in Irish history and culture, including the impact of Christianity, the legacy of the Celts in literature and song, and Ireland's modern-day pub tradition.
Information At A Glance. From the banks of the Liffey to the rugged western islands, this beautifully presented book offers comprehensive information on places of interest throughout Ireland: prehistoric sites, Norman fortresses, medieval abbeys, mansions and stately homes, museums, galleries, towns and cities. It makes use of dramatic cutaway artworks and aerial drawings to give fascinating 3-D impressions of famous buildings and bird's-eye views of street plans in stunning large-format detail.
A Visual Celebration. Unparalleled in its portrayal of the big picture, but also of the intimate details of the sights to be found throughout the country, Portrait of Ireland contains hundreds of ideas for places to visit, including a region-by-region guide to golf courses. And for those who prefer to travel without leaving home, this book serves as a gorgeous reminder of the Emerald Isle's sweeping beauty and hidden secrets. This is much more than a travel companion-it is a stunning pictorial celebration of a country held in the affections of millions around the world.
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A brilliant young transplant surgeon brings moral intensity and narrative drama to the most powerful and vexing questions of medicine and the human condition.
When Pauline Chen began medical school twenty years ago, she dreamed of saving lives. What she did not count on was how much death would be a part of her work. Almost immediately, Chen found herself wrestling with medicine’s most profound paradox, that a profession premised on caring for the ill also systematically depersonalizes dying. Final Exam follows Chen over the course of her education, training, and practice as she grapples at strikingly close range with the problem of mortality, and struggles to reconcile the lessons of her training with her innate knowledge of shared humanity, and to separate her ideas about healing from her fierce desire to cure.
From her first dissection of a cadaver in gross anatomy to the moment she first puts a scalpel to a living person; from the first time she witnesses someone flatlining in the emergency room to the first time she pronounces a patient dead, Chen is struck by her own mortal fears: there was a dying friend she could not call; a young patient’s tortured death she could not forget; even the sense of shared kinship with a corpse she could not cast aside when asked to saw its pelvis in two. Gradually, as she confronts the ways in which her fears have incapacitated her, she begins to reject what she has been taught about suppressing her feelings for her patients, and she begins to carve out a new role for herself as a physician and as human being. Chen’s transfixing and beautiful rumination on how doctors negotiate the ineluctable fact of death becomes, in the end, a brilliant questioning of how we should live.
Moving and provocative, motored equally by clinical expertise and extraordinary personal grace, this is a piercing and compassionate journey into the heart of a world that is hidden and yet touches all of our lives. A superb addition to the best medical literature of our time.
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Fascinating--Exquisitely Written--Full of Heartfelt Honesty"Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality" by Pauline W. Chen is outstanding on many levels. Its purpose is to reveal what is wrong with the medical profession's attitude toward the treatment of terminally ill and dying patients. But don't expect an academic discussion; Chen makes this issue very personal. The book is a recounting of the many experiences in her own medical career--from medical student to transplant surgeon--that shaped and later changed her attitude toward care of patients at the end of life.
I had no particular reason to read this book--I am not a doctor, the parent of a doctor, or involved in any way with the medical profession. I just saw this book on the New Books shelf in my local library and checked it out. What is amazing is that I could not put this book down--I know that sounds so trite, but it's true. What grabbed me first was the wholly unexpected openness and honesty of the author. What grabbed me next was the beautiful clear prose. Here was a brilliant woman doctor telling me all about the many experiences in her medical career that shaped her current convictions about medical care at the end of life. But she was not just telling me about these medical experiences, she was turning herself inside out to reveal how she actually FELT about each experience. How many doctors have you ever heard talk to you about their feelings? This author brought me close to her heart--I felt like a sister or a dear friend.
I came away from this book with a far greater respect for physicians; especially all they have to deal with, physically and mentally, throughout their long years of training and practice. I also come away with a far greater appreciation for the human frailty of physicians, particularly when dealing with-end of-life issues. This is a profession that has to deal with far more than a normally allotted human share of agony, grief, and soul-searching.
