Travel
To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. You may also request these titles online through WolfPAC. All books listed are linked to Braille and Audio Reading Download site (BARD) for downloading. Happy Reading!
July 2019
13 Stradomska Street: A Memoir of Exile and Return by Andrew Potok
DB 89264
Read by Jon Huffman. Reading time: 7 hours, 21 minutes.
BR 22244; 2 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2.
Author describes his family's flight from the Nazi invasion of Poland, including his father's betrayal of the rest of them to save himself. Potok also recounts his battle to reclaim his family's home in Warsaw and his encounters with anti-Semitism in postwar Poland. Some violence and some strong language. 2017.
The Best American Travel Writing by Cheryl Strayed
DB 93535
Read by Stephen Van Doren. Reading time: 14 hours, 17 minutes.
Twenty-four previously published essays selected by the author of Wild (DB 74646). In "The Digital Republic," Nathan Heller recounts his trip to Estonia, where he investigated an attempt to link all government services across one platform. 2018.
Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah K. Strycker
DB 89467
Read by Gary Telles. Reading time: 27 hours, 9 minutes.
The author of The Thing with Feathers (DB 85163) chronicles the year he traveled around the globe to see as many bird species as he could. Describes his start in Antarctica and his visits to all the continents, local connections he made with each stop, and the more than six thousand species that he spotted. 2017.
Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living by Tim Bauerschmidt
DB 88643
Read by Jon Pinnow. Reading time: 7 hours, 21 minutes.
When the author's father died unexpectedly and his ninety-year-old mother, Norma, was diagnosed with cancer, he and his coauthor wife invited Norma to join them in traveling around the country in an RV. Describes their year-long adventure that covered thirty-two states and fifteen national parks and attracted many fans. Some strong language. 2017.
The Four Roads to Heaven: France and the Santiago Pilgrimage by Edwin Mullins
DB 92044
Read by George Holmes. Reading time: 11 hours, 22 minutes.
The author follows four French roads cited in a twelfth-century manuscript considered to be one of the world's first travel guides for pilgrimage tours to Santiago de Campostela. Recounts the historical context of the sites listed as well as the author's own experiences tracing the routes. 2017.
Ghost Empire: A Journey to the Legendary Constantinople by Richard Fidler
DB 89893
Read by Ken Kliban. Reading time: 13 hours, 46 minutes.
A historical account of the Byzantine Empire, particularly within Constantinople, tied in with the author's 2014 journey with his son to modern Istanbul. Discusses many aspects of Byzantine history, including the falls of empires, the rise of Christianity, and warring civilizations. 2017.
Himalaya Bound: One Family's Quest to Save Their Animals and an Ancient Way of Life by Michael Benanav
DB 90437
Read by Joe Peck. Reading time: 7 hours, 36 minutes.
Author of Men of Salt (DB 66075) profiles two brothers and their families who are nomadic water buffalo herders in northern India. Describes their way of life, the environment they live in, and the challenges they face as they attempt to drive their herds across international borders. 2018.
Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition by Paul Watson
DB 88125
Read by Michael Russotto. Reading time: 14 hours, 38 minutes.
Journalist chronicles the history of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, whose mission to find the Northwest Passage through Canada led to the loss of two ships--the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror--and all their crewmen to Arctic ice. Recounts the discoveries of the Erebus in 2014 and the Terror in 2016. 2017.
I'll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, and One Wheelchair by Patrick Gray
DB 89784
Read by Bill Wallace. Reading time: 8 hours, 35 minutes.
Gray and Skeesuck, friends for the entirety of their lives, detail their 2014 journey along the 500-mile-long Camino de Santiago--with Skeesuck, who has multifocal acquired motor axonopathy, using a wheelchair. Discusses their friendship, the faith that sustained them for their trek, and the people they met. 2017.
Island of the Blue Foxes: Disaster and Triumph on the World's Greatest Scientific Expedition by Stephen R. Bown
DB 89836
Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 11 hours, 1 minute.
Chronicle of the eighteenth-century Russian scientific expedition to the North Pacific Ocean and North America, known both as the Great Northern Expedition and the Second Kamchatka Expedition. Details the career of leader Vitus Bering, discoveries made by naturalist Georg Steller, and challenges faced by the crew. 2017.
The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables: The Enchanting Island That Inspired L.M. Montgomery by Catherine Reid
DB 91610
Read by Peter Holdway. Reading time: 3 hours, 27 minutes.
Exploration of the Canadian maritime province, Prince Edward Island, that was the setting for the Anne of Green Gables (DB 50475) series of novels by L. M. Montgomery. Uses Montgomery's journals, scrapbooks, and other archival sources to illuminate the inspiration for scenes from the books. 2018.
The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas J. Preston
DB 87296
Read by Bill Mumy. Reading time: 10 hours, 31 minutes.
BR 21848; 4 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. Volume 4.
Coauthor of the Pendergast series--including The Obsidian Chamber (DB 86193)--recounts the expeditions he joined to explore what was believed to be the remains of Hernán Cortés's lost city of gold in Honduras. Describes the area's history, previous expeditions, and the challenges he and his team faced. Unrated. Bestseller. 2017.
Mammoth Cave Curiosities: A Guide to Rockphobia, Dating, Saber-toothed Cats, and Other Subterranean Marvels by Colleen O'Connor Olson
DBC08441
Read by Ann Zimmer. Reading time: 5 hours, 55 minutes.
Mammoth Cave tour guide Colleen O'Connor Olson uses her experience to provide an insider's look at the cave's history. Covering everything from saltpeter mines and a tuberculosis sanatorium to a Mammoth Cave themed video game, she shares entertaining anecdotes about the cave and the people who have visited it over the years. Includes an interview with the first female guide, first-hand accounts of the Cave Wars in the mid-20th century, and stories about celebrity visits. 2017.
Mouse Ears for Everyone: A Guide to Walt Disney World for Guests with Special Needs by Amy Schinner
DB 91749
Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 6 hours, 21 minutes.
Guide to navigating Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for guests with special needs of all kinds. Sections include pre-travel preparation, navigating the main Disney parks, and navigating auxiliary attractions such as the water parks, Disney Springs, and more. Chapter eight discusses Disney's accommodation policies in detail. 2017.
My Twenty-Five Years in Provence: Reflections on Then and Now by Peter Mayle
DB 93453
Read by John Lee. Reading time: 4 hours, 6 minutes.
Author of Encore Provence (DB 48526) and French Lessons (DB 52170) reflects on living as an expatriate in the Provence region of France for twenty-five years. Examines what has changed since he and his wife moved there, such as rising costs, and what has remained the same. Unrated. 2018.
No Friends but the Mountains: Dispatches from the World's Violent Highlands by Judith Matloff
DB 88591
Read by Catherine Byers. Reading time: 11 hours, 12 minutes.
Journalist specializing in conflict-reporting details her experiences in communities located in mountainous regions of Albania, Mexico, Colombia, Nepal, the North Caucasus, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Norway, France, and Switzerland. Proposes political solutions specific to mountain regions using Switzerland as a model. Some violence. 2017.
Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
DB 86971
Read by Karen White. Reading time: 10 hours.
BR 22203; 4 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. Volume 4.
A look at the subculture of older Americans who, unable to afford either mortgages or retirement, are traveling the country in RVs, campers, and vans. Particularly examines the life of one woman as she travels between seasonal jobs and reunions with her van-dwelling friends. Some strong language. 2017.
Northland: A 4,000-Mile Journey Along America's Forgotten Border by Porter Fox
DB 93430
Read by Jonathan Yen. Reading time: 9 hours, 12 minutes.
Travel writer recounts his three-year trek along the northern border of the United States between Maine and Washington. Includes histories of areas visited, challenges in policing it, and his experiences traveling by canoe, freighter, car, and foot. Unrated. 2018.
Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America by James M. Fallows
DB 91288
Read by Deborah Fallows. Reading time: 15 hours, 45 minutes.
Husband and wife chronicle their cross-country survey of twenty-one small towns in America from 2013 to 2016. Highlights the lessons they learned from talking with civic leaders, entrepreneurs, immigrants, factory workers, and other residents. 2018.
The Outer Beach: A Thousand-Mile Walk on Cape Cod's Atlantic Shore by Robert Finch
DB 88459
Read by Richard Davidson. Reading time: 15 hours, 45 minutes.
Author of Common Ground (DB 18547) chronicles his nearly fifty years' residency on Cape Cod and walking its Outer Beach. Ranging from south to north, he reflects as a shorebound observer on the ways the beach has changed over the years. 2017.
The Promise of the Grand Canyon: John Wesley Powell's Perilous Journey and His Vision for the American West by John F. Ross
DB 91800
Read by Stefan Rudnicki. Reading time: 13 hours, 6 minutes.
Profile of Civil War amputee veteran who was the first Anglo explorer to travel the length of the Colorado River and document the Grand Canyon. Describes his work as the second director of the U. S. Geological Survey and his attempts to tie homesteading management to watershed availability. Unrated. 2018.
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth A. Rush
DB 92695
Read by Teresa Willis. Reading time: 8 hours, 42 minutes.
BR 22449; 4 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. Volume 4.
Sixteen essays highlighting coastal communities facing the ecological impact of rising sea levels. Includes communities in Maine, Rhode Island, Florida, New York, Louisiana, Oregon, and California. Discussions focus on climate change, housing development, disaster recovery, academic research, and advocacy efforts. 2018.
Ruthless River: Love and Survival by Raft on the Amazon's Relentless Madre de Dios by Holly Conklin FitzGerald
DB 89968
Read by Jorjeana Marie. Reading time: 9 hours, 58 minutes.
Chronicle of a honeymoon gone wrong when the plane the author and her husband are in crashes at a penal colony in Peru. Describes their harrowing trek through the Amazon jungle and down the Rio Madre de Dios to reach civilization. Some strong language and some violence. 2017.
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein: The Far East, Palestine & Spain, 1922-1923 by Albert Einstein
DB 92828
Read by Ken Kliban. Reading time: 10 hours, 54 minutes.
Travel diary kept by Nobel Prize-winning physicist during his trip to East Asia, Palestine, and Spain from October 1922 to March 1923. Describes sights seen, people met, and thoughts on his experiences. Includes introduction placing it in its historical context. Translated from the German. 2018.
Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches by John Hodgman
DB 89405
Read by John Hodgman. Reading time: 5 hours, 26 minutes.
Comedian recounts trips to beaches in New England as a child and an adult. Shares tales of learning about freshwater clams, the evolutionary purpose of the mustache, and the difference between poisonous and pet-worthy animals. Reflects on facing middle age. Narrated by the author. Unrated. 2017.
Walking to Listen: 4,000 Miles Across America, One Story at a Time by Andrew Forsthoefel
DB 88885
Read by Robert Sams. Reading time: 12 hours, 31 minutes.
The chronicle of the author's year-long walking trip across America. After graduating college, Forsthoefel set out walking from eastern Pennsylvania to California. Recounts conversations he had, people he met, and adventures he experienced. Explores the changing nature of human connection in the twenty-first century. Some strong language. 2017.
Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River by David Owen
DB 89750
Read by Fred Sanders. Reading time: 9 hours, 27 minutes.
Examination of the ecosystem fueled by the Colorado River. Traces the river from its headwaters to its terminus--once a wetland, but now a desert--and the many destinations of the gallons of water that it comprises. Discusses policies regarding the potential future of the river. Unrated. 2017.
The White Darkness by David Grann
DB 93369
Read by Will Patton. Reading time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.
Profile of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Worsley, who died in 2016 while attempting to cross Antarctica on his own. Discusses Worsley's fascination with polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, his 2008 trek through the Transantarctic Mountains with two fellow descendants of Shackleton's men, and his final expedition. 2018.