Best Mountain U.S. Regional Travel

In this gripping narrative, New York Times bestselling author Daniel James Brown sheds new light on one of the most legendary events in American history. The story of the ill-fated Donner party, a group of nineteenth-century settlers en route to California who became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains and resorted to cannibalism to survive, remains an iconic moment in American history.

When Rick Lamplugh reports for work at the historic Lamar Buffalo Ranch on New Year's Eve, he has one goal: to learn as much as possible about the ecology of the Lamar Valley and how wolves fit in. A literary blend of facts and feelings, In the Temple of Wolves celebrates nature's stark beauty and the importance of wolves, while revealing Lamplugh's inner battles with his own human nature. His stories pull the reader into adventures and mis-adventures of cold wind and blowing snow, the reality of life and death in nature, and the complexities of managing wildlife and human park visitors. Review by Marjane Ambler, author of Yellowstone Has Teeth ... the perfect read for all who dream of wolves, winter and wilderness. Though Rick doesn't shy from exposing the unsettling realities of the natural world and wildlife tourism, his skilled balance of humor, reverence and natural history enlightens and entertains...

William Thomas Hamilton (1822-1908), also known as Wildcat Bill, was a Scottish-born mountain man, trapper, and scout of the American West. William Thomas Hamilton was born into a wealthy family in England but was brought to American when he was two years old.

Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection: This special eBook edition of Cheryl Strayed’s national best seller, Wild ,features exclusive content, including Oprah’s personal notes highlighted within the text, and a reading group guide. Amazon Best Books of the Month, March 2012: At age 26, following the death of her mother, divorce, and a run of reckless behavior, Cheryl Strayed found herself alone near the foot of the Pacific Crest Trail--inexperienced, over-equipped, and desperate to reclaim her life. While readers looking for adventure or a naturalist's perspective may be distracted by the emotional odyssey at the core of the story, Wild vividly describes the grueling life of the long-distance hiker, the ubiquitous perils of the PCT, and its peculiar community of wanderers. But Strayed doesn't want sympathy, and her confident prose stands on its own, deftly pulling both threads into a story that inhabits a unique riparian zone between wilderness tale and personal-redemption memoir. Two months before Wild was published I stood on a Mexican beach at sunset with my family assisting dozens of baby turtles on their stumbling journey across the sand, then watching as they disappeared into the sea. Echoing the ever-popular search for wilderness salvation by Chris McCandless (Back to the Wild, 2011) and every other modern-day disciple of Thoreau, Strayed tells the story of her emotional devastation after the death of her mother and the weeks she spent hiking the 1,100-mile Pacific Crest Trail. As her family, marriage, and sanity go to pieces, Strayed drifts into spontaneous encounters with other men, to the consternation of her confused husband, and eventually hits rock bottom while shooting up heroin with a new boyfriend. Woefully unprepared (she fails to read about the trail, buy boots that fit, or pack practically), she relies on the kindness and assistance of those she meets along the way, much as McCandless did.