Best Mid Atlantic U.S. Regional Travel
Now, Brandon is back with the Humans of New York book that his loyal followers have been waiting for: Humans of New York: Stories . “Some street photographers hide behind phone booths like paparazzi so their subject won't be aware of their presence, but for Stanton it's precisely that awkward interaction, the tearing down of the wall between strangers, that he covets.” ― The Huffington Post. He was a 2013 Time Magazine "30 people under 30 changing the world," an ABC News Person of the Week, told stories from around the world in collaboration with the United Nations, and was invited to photograph President Obama in the Oval Office.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"~~~~~~~~~It appears Amazon posted my review under both books Humans of New York and HONY Stories. If you are deciding on whether or not to buy the book, consider the following, which Brandon posted on the HONY facebook page: "I want to take a quick opportunity to remind everyone that HONY is advertisement free and almost entirely financed by book sales. By purchasing a book, you can help HONY continue to grow in a way that remains focused on telling people’s stories--- and nothing else."
"I've purchased all three Humans of New York books and have loved them all, but in Humans of New York - Stories, it all comes together. Even something went unspeakably wrong and against all odds the book was garbage (it isn't) you STILL should buy it, if for nothing more than to cast a vote of support for the JOY, LOVE, and EMPATHY that HONY provides."
"It makes a great coffee table book and everybody that has come over has picked this up and started reading it."
"An amazing collection of photos and personal stories."
"I follow the Facebook page but there's something about holding a tangible book and reading through all the stories in 2 nights that make it better."
"Love this book."
"In the midst of ISIS, corruption, American elections, tanking economy and a degree of narcissism that boggles the mind... another great bit of sanity, sharing, true storytelling and remembering what it is to be human."
Ahead lay almost 2,200 miles of remote mountain wilderness filled with bears, moose, bobcats, rattlesnakes, poisonous plants, disease-bearing tics, the occasional chuckling murderer and - perhaps most alarming of all - people whose favourite pastime is discussing the relative merits of the external-frame backpack. When this American transplant to Britain decided to return home, he made a farewell walking tour of the British countryside and produced Notes from a Small Island . Accompanied only by his old college buddy Stephen Katz, Bryson starts out one March morning in north Georgia, intending to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop Maine's Mount Katahdin. As Bryson and Katz haul their out-of-shape, middle-aged butts over hill and dale, the reader is treated to both a very funny personal memoir and a delightful chronicle of the trail, the people who created it, and the places it passes through. Awed by merely the camping section of his local sporting goods store, he nevertheless plunges into the wilderness and emerges with a consistently comical account of a neophyte woodsman learning hard lessons about self-reliance.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm a sexagenarian who, on a recent vacation, happened to walk out and back on the first three miles or so of the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail (Springer Mtn, GA) and, in a fit of exhilaration, decided then and there that I would, by golly, hike the AT before I died. As I was joyfully entertained by his incisive sense of humor, I was simultaneously and seriously learning history, biology, geology (and several other -ologies) as well as being discomfitted by Bryson's documentation of our culture's dismissive practices regarding ecology."
"I enjoyed the authors point of view and sense of humor, sometimes actually laughing out loud for several minutes."
"Read one and except for a few events, you've pretty much read them all and almost any extended backpacking trip involves the same rigors, risks, weather and that mixture of misery and exhilaration."
"Bill's storytelling captured me immediately...I was taking every step he took, I enjoyed every vista he looked out on, I was eavesdropping on his conversations with his fellow hikers and feeling the spectrum of emotions held for his friend and hiking companion."
"An adventure that walks you experientially and historically through the nation's longest series of trails from Georgia to Maine while feeling every fear from blisters, hunger, thirst, wildlife, climate changes, man's limitations and nature's nuances, all the while trekking with a forty pound pack on your back, and any one of these could do you in, well it's a wonder why the wild is so compelling."
"After reading Bryson's African Diary, I had to continue on with this offering on the Australian state of affairs."
"With the film in theaters, I decided to pick it up and give it a go. I loved this book, and place it among Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild," Cheryl Strayed's "Wild," and Elizabeth Gilbert's "The Last American Man" in terms of well-written essays that explore our yearning to return to a simpler, untethered way of life."
If you are planning on (or just thinking about) hiking the Appalachian Trail, this book is for you. The goal of this guide is to help you complete the 2,185 mile long adventure, feel confident in your preparation and have a great time every step of the way. Learn how to budget wisely, save money and not waste cash. Learn how to mentally prepare for the "I-wanna-quit-days" Understand the physical demands and methods to prevent injury.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I believe one of the most important items you covered is mental preparedness and a deep internal desire and passion to make such an arduous multi month journey a thru- hike entails. Mental preparedness is absolutely the number one item any long distant hiker needs to work on. Train with and wear calf high compression socks on all long distant hikes. I have used these for years and have never had any foot or leg swelling and these also prevented me from having any hotspots or blisters on my feet. of water mixed with concentrated electrolyte solution (look into a product called LyteShow). At the end of my 12 hour hiking day I have consumed 12 quarts of electrolyte water. I find that 99% of the long distant hikers I meet on the trails never carry sufficient calories for the hike their doing. At the start of the PCT at the Mexican boarder, that increases to over a gallon of water and the food supply goes down to 3 days. of my backpack to 14 lbs and still comfortably handle zero degree weather with 50 mph winds is my ultra light weight Vapor Barrier Clothing. This includes a VB cap, face guard, gloves, socks, jacket and pants. Long distant hikers will certainly learn and benefit from your book and the lessons you gained during your Appalachian thru-hike."
"Helpful hints, slang terms, logistics, insight, and gear recommendations."
"I'm using a lot of these ideas to help my scouts prepare for smaller but just as important hikes."
"I enjoyed this author's writing style...he was positive, upbeat, and informative."
"I am thinking about doing a hike through and this book really set up what was needed."
"If your are thinking of doing the AT, this is an excellent guide."
"Reading all I can in preparation for my thu hike in 2019 upon my retirement!"
"Excellent short book on a lengthy topic... backpacking the Application Trail."
Best Urban Sociology
Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. The passages about Holmes are compelling and aptly claustrophobic; readers will be glad for the frequent escapes to the relative sanity of Holmes's co-star, architect and fair overseer Daniel Hudson Burnham, who managed the thousands of workers and engineers who pulled the sprawling fair together 0n an astonishingly tight two-year schedule.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I will be absolutely honest and admit that I purchased the book because I was interested in the weird story of H.H.Holmes, American con-man, psychopath and serial killer. I've never read anything by Erik Larsen before, but I know that he has a good number of books on the history section shelves and I’ve seen this book in passing for years. I listened to this as an audiobook, and my initial reaction was that there was an awful lot about the 1893 World’s Fair, especially the architecture of the World’s Fair, than I was expecting or interested in. However, about half-way through the book, I found my interest shifting as I was sucked into the world of the Fair and the strangeness of the world right on the cusp of becoming the world we know, with lights and Cracker Jacks and Ferris wheels, but still possessing the instincts and customs of a more genteel and trusting age. One narrative follows the twisted path of Holmes; the other follows the life of the fair. There is no doubt that the Holmes’ narrative starts out in the lead because of the natural human interest in evil, and Holmes was evil. Larsen describes Holmes as America’s first serial killer in an age when the language did not have the term “serial killer” to describe Holmes. In Chicago, he bought a pharmacy from a widow, who he probably conned, married a second wife, deposited the wife and his child in a suburb of Chicago, and then came up with the idea of transforming land he had purchased into a hotel in time for the upcoming Fair. On the other hand, Larsen presents the “White City” of the Fair as the world that was dawning. The idea that the architects are the heroes of the book seems strange since architects rarely play the role of hero, but Larsen manages to invest tension throughout the story arc about the Fair. Thus, there is tension in whether the architects will get the Fair built in time, and then there is tension about whether the Fair will turn a profit in the face of the economic depression gripping the country. My first term paper in history was one I wrote as a Junior in High School about Eugene V. Debbs and the Pullman Strike of 1894, so it was something of a home-coming for me to read about the events that were occurring just before that strike, and to think that Debs and Darrow probably visited the Fair, maybe they ran across Holmes and Burnham. Larsen writes: // Ten thousand construction workers also left the fair’s employ and returned to a world without jobs, already crowded with unemployed men. The White City had drawn men and protected them; the Black City now welcomed them back, on the eve of winter, with filth, starvation, and violence.//. Holmes’ story closes out with Holmes’ finally getting tripped up in an insurance swindle and an intrepid Pinkerton detective following the clues to prove that Holmes was a child-killer among his other sins. In that way, Holmes’ story arc concludes as a true crime story about a true crime story."
"I will admit, the author thoroughly researched both topics, but it was clear to me his focus was on the architecture of the World's Fair. Holmes, you may want to read a different book."
"In fact that fascinated me a bit more than the criminal aspect of Holmes, but both tickled my love of historical stories; it prompted me to do additional research on both topics."
"Amazing plot with two lines intertwined: creating and designing the World Exhibition in Chicago and the fate of women who mysteriously disappear at that time."
"It takes place in Chicago during the planning of their world's fair back in 1890. The people planning the fair and the killer never meet, but it's all happening at the same time."
Best Teen Health
Accompanied by an array of eclectic characters – including a world-champion juggler, a drug dealer, and a sex-starved builder from Minnesota – he takes the reader on a compelling adventure that pushes the limits of both endurance and imagination. During his five months living in the woods, Foskett’s psychological apprehensions are stretched to the limit against the wild elements of nature. His adventure weaves a route through some of America's wildest landscapes and history, and is told with insight, humour and reflection. Amongst the bears, moose and rattlesnakes, climbing to 2000 metres, and countless aches and pains lives the memory of a special journey, the wonderful people who briefly share the experience with you, and the knowledge that lasts long after the final blister has healed. Keith is a perfect walking companion for the ups and downs of the trail – his easy and understated style kept me turning the pages. "This book is for anyone who's ever dreamed about a big adventure, as Fozzie spins a funny, thought-provoking and inspiring tale of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Keith Foskett has hiked over 10,000 miles in recent years and holds a deep respect for the outdoor spaces of this world.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It would be great if everyone could be gifted with the health and ability to pick up for six or more months to pursue such an epic hike. Some of us venture a mile or so up the trail, up the stairs, out of breath, just to get a glimpse of what the author has the health to accomplish and the skill to write so blithely about. Next time you see the middle-aged "out of shape", overweight woman slowing down your thru-hike, keep in mind this may be her dream to just walk that mile, struggle up those stairs, because injury or illness means that is the best she can do."
"The trail is on my bucket list and this book just made it that much of a stronger "need to do" adventure."
"His descriptions about the people and places are palpable and you can imagine yourself along the trail with them."
"The author has the ability to take you with him on his hike north along the Appalachian trail."
"And it's funny in the same vein as Bryson's work... but different enough that you don't feel like you're reading A Walk in the Woods Part Two or anything of that sort."
"I love to read about the trail and have read many books on it."
"I lost track of who the author was."
"Not up to expected standards."
Best Teen & Young Adult Sports & Outdoors eBooks
In this captivating and lavishly illustrated young adult edition of her award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller, Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of a former Olympian's courage, cunning, and fortitude following his plane crash in enemy territory. On a May afternoon in 1943, an American military plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a sinking raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Featuring more than one hundred photographs plus an exclusive interview with Zamperini, this breathtaking odyssey—also captured on film by director Angelina Jolie—is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the ability to endure against the unlikeliest of odds. Gr 9 Up—Adapted from the best-selling adult book of the same name, this riveting account tells the story of Louis Zamperini, a thief turned track star, Olympian, airman, castaway, and prisoner of war. Though this is a strong, well-written work, the adult version is accessible and engaging; students are better off sticking with the original.—Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings Elementary School, Hoover, AL “This adaptation of Hillenbrand’s adult best-seller is highly dramatic and exciting, as well as painful to read as it lays bare man’s hellish inhumanity to man.”-- Booklist , STARRED. "This captivating book emphasizes the importance of determination, the will to survive against impossible odds, and support from family and friends.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The changes were immediately apparent: On the first page, the previous version read: Somewhere on the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Army Air Forces bombardier and Olympic runner Louie Zamperini lay across a small raft, drifting westward. The new version read: Somewhere on the Pacific Ocean, American military airman and Olympic runner Louie Zamperini lay on a small raft, drifting. In a nutshell, Hillenbrand deleted "the endless expanse of," and simplified Zamperini's title from "Army Air Forces bombardier," to "American military airman." He is easily the bravest, most remarkable person I've ever read about, and a fine example of what we hope our young people will choose to emulate."
"I would recommend this book specifically to younger audiences because if you are an adult you should read the more complex version as it is more deep."
"Read at school, good for young adults."
"He was one of the most remarkable men I have ever read about. The recounting of their time in the raft, that they survived is due to the courage of the men, especially Louie."
"Good book, my son (12) loves WWII stories."
"Here is a hero who changed his life from a boy always getting into trouble to a high school athlete, Olympic athlete, and outstanding member of WWII armed forces."
"It shares such am amazing story with so many things to learn and to apply to our own lives."
"Got this book for my 11 year old."
Best New England U.S. Regional Travel
Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded. Though the ‘stranger’ in the title is Knight, one closes the book with the sense that Knight, like all seers, is the only sane person in a world gone insane—that modern civilization has made us strangers to ourselves." —Jennifer Senior, The New York Times "Michael Finkel has done something magical with this profound book… [His] investigation runs deep, summoning…the human history of our own attempts to find meaning in a noisy world."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Not only is this story of Chris Knight one of the most compelling that I have read in some time, but the lengths that you went to, to research his venture into the woods of Maine, to understand him, to get to know him, clearly better than anyone else has, and to represent him with such dignity, astounds me. While some, especially those whose homes were burgled, might still never understand what would cause a person to want to live in such extreme conditions let alone in solitude, far removed from the ‘regular’ world, after reading the book, while I will never spend a night, let alone an hour in the woods, what drew Knight makes sense to me now. It’s not to say that after reading THE STRANGER IN THE WOODS that every reader will feel compelled to pick up and leave their jobs, families, and the comfort of modern society behind, but it sure does offer food for thought."
"I wanted to read this book as the Maine woods have been a part of my life and I was unfamiliar with this story until I saw this book. I realized from the start that at the core of this story was an important topic I already have been worrying about that I feel American society either is unaware of or is purposefully ignoring: the neuro-atypical person and the challenge of how they will live (not thriving but suffering) in modern America. Knight was content and found peace in living that life until he was caught with the help of sophisticated surveillance equipment while robbing food from a nonprofit camp for disabled children (including kids on the Autism Spectrum). The heartbreaking part of this story is that the suffering that Knight endured was due to square pegs not fitting in the round holes of modern American society, his relief and contendedness was found living in isolation in nature, but this is not really allowed in America, and when possible it's only available to those who are able to financially support themselves due to an inheritance or some income stream that they are lucky to find that meshes with their talents and abilities. But this book provides more food for thought, for me at least, than just Knight's hermit years story. I hope this book is a catalyst for Americans to think about this issue, with the rising rates of Autism and mental illness, we have more people this decade than ever before who are not fitting in with the mandatory American public school system and who are not fitting in to work jobs as adults enough to support themselves independently let alone the issue of if a person is happy or content."
"Many of us dream of secluding from the busyness of modern living—the fast-paced, noisy, cyclical nature in which life has become; yet many of us do not have the courage or tenacity to pursue such a dream, much less achieve this dream for the amount of time that Knight did. On a practical level, Michael Finkel has written this biographical account excellently."
"My heart goes out to Mr. Knight."