Travelers' Tales Guides – serie

What is it about Japan that so beguiles foreigners? It is a small country and yet an economic powerhouse, a land of great natural beauty — from green-cloaked mountains to glistening rice paddies — a place of intricate arts and crafts and amazing cuisine, and home to a people whose kindness and sensitivity surprise westerners at each turn. It is no wonder that Japan simultaneously astonishes, delights, and frustrates travelers, and the diverse tales in this book reveal the nation in all its contradictions: a place of tranquil temples and high-tech toilets, exquisite ancient inns and lurid love hotels, where electric baths sit beside indoor ski slopes, and cherry blossoms fall on kindly grandmothers, cynical salarymen, wise monks, and wild lovers alike. Gathered in this collection are pieces by several notable authors, each offering anecdotes that tell of encounters to be had or avoided, each with uncommon insight to enrich the traveler's experience.

It's winter. The holidays are over. For those living in areas where it's still snowing, and even where it's just cold or rainy, it's the time of year when magazines, newspapers, radio, and television are tantalizing us with ads of warm beaches, sunshine, relaxation, water sports, and foo-foo drinks with little umbrellas sticking out of them.Many of us would love to be able to travel to someplace warm, or to a far away place for a new adventure. However, we may not have the time or the resources to do so. Fortunately, Travelers' Tales has just the armchair adventure travel anyone can experience -- the beaches of Thailand, dining on the banks of the Seine, running with the bulls of Pamplona, purchasing a suit in Hong Kong, climbing the Himalayas -- all for only $17.95 (no shots or visa required).O'Reilly and Travelers' Tales have created a national campaign to help you promote Travelers' Tales titles as the "great getaway -- for cheap". We'll provide you with marketing materials (signage, T-shirts, buttons, postcards, special discount for inventory order, ad slick, and book displays) to create a window or in-store display during the month of May 1997. The store with the best display wins an overstuffed armchair fully equipped with an airline style seat belt.We'll also provide you with shelftalker coupon books with space on the front for you to stamp your store name and address. The coupon is redeemable for 10% off the purchase of a Travelers' Tales book. Your customer simply tears off the coupon from the shelftalker, completes the information (name and address) on the back, and gives it to the cashier when they're ready to purchase a book. At the end of each month you send us thecoupons used by your customers, and we'll credit your account. We understand that you might be hesitant to send in coupons with the names and addresses of your customers. The reason for retrieving this information is so you can build your customer list, and so we can send a Travelers' Tales newsletter to your customers informing them of new titles available from their local bookstore -- including a reference to your store.

Nepal is renowned for its temples, shrines, palaces, amazing mountains and jungles, and colorful festivals. Ever since it began admitting tourists in the early 1950s, its remarkable blend of cultures, traditions, and languages has stirred the longings and fantasies of travelers of every stripe. The foreign spiritual seeker soon discovers that there are more temples, gompas, gurus, sadhus, and rinpoches in Nepal than cereal brands in the U.S. This collection celebrates the country with pieces by Peter Matthiessen, Jeff Greenwald, Meg Lukens Noonan, Broughton Coburn, Diane Summers, Jimmy Carter, Susan Vreeland, and Jan Morris.

Travelers' Tales Love & Romance is a collection of literary essays -- all true stories -- of love, lust, and romance encountered while traveling. They range from a tender story of how travel kept the spark in a 50-year marriage, to one woman's story of becoming engaged to a Figi Island tribesman, to the tale of an erotic romp with an unsuspected opium smuggler. Some stories are touching, others are frightening; all involve love in its many guises waiting to surprise and delight the unsuspecting traveler.

In only three months, Travelors' Tales Gutsy Women has gone to its second printing. Its popularity has inspired award-winning editor/author Marybeth Bond, mother of two, to make her next book Travelers' Tales Gutsy Mamas, a book of tips and wisdom for mothers traveling with their children. Look for Gutsy Mamas this summer.

Mother''s World illuminates what it means to be a mother on the road, and aims to dispels the notion that motherhood and travel are incompatible. '

The tales in this collection present a uniqu e portrait of the United States through the eyes of a host o f renowned travellers that includes Bill Bryson, Jim Harriso n, E. Annie Proulx and Jan Morris. '

Here are 28 awe-inspiring stories of danger and survival, guaranteed to get your heart pumping. Whether trapped in an underwater cave, escaping an avalanche, fending off a thug, or surviving a storm at sea, each author faces moments of raw terror and finds deep reserves of courage. From mountain ice to jungle rot, from bombed-out villages and urban ghettos to wild animals and depraved humans, our authors struggle with life, death, and their very sanity on their travels. Notable authors include Sebastian Junger, Eric Hansen, Peter Maass, Bill Buford, Janine Jones, and William T. Vollmann.

From Tanzania to China, Peru to the Arctic Circle, these stories are passports into a world where family travel has become par for the course. You'll discover how travel restores, revitalizes, and reveals the family, and how traveling with family can give us balance, roots, and stronger wings to explore the world.

Travel can take many forms with a vast array of destinations, but there's one trip everyone will eventually take. The Ultimate Journey offers a choice selection of true stories from major writers about the final adventure. Crossing all geographical and spiritual boundaries, these writers in the fields of travel and spirituality tell touching, and often surprising, stories of their brushes with death. In a different way, each writer learns an important lesson about life. One traveler tries to make sense of a mysterious rescue from certain death on a bridge in Afghanistan. Another watches a holy man in India bring a crushed fly back to life. A third encounters an old woman in a cemetery in Mexico who tells her more about herself than anyone could know. Contributors include Sogyal Rinpoche, Edward Abbey, Pico Iyer, Mary Morris, Barbara Kingsolver, among others.

Whether it roots us in our own backyard or takes us across continents, watching birds calls us to stillness and demands our keen attention to the details that flicker around us. This collection of stories will appeal to bird lovers everywhere.'

Men, you''ve encountered them before - the most foolhardy, annoying, courageous and dangerous creatures on the planet. Journey around the planet in this text and watch the male species.'

Pilgrimage comes in many forms: traditional and unconventional, religious and secular, intended and accidental. Yet it always entails mindfulness - a soulful presence that summons meaning to the surface. This book showcases a diverse array of spirit-renewing journeys from pilgrims of many kinds from places as far away as Tibet's Mount Kailish and as near as sacred New Mexico soil. Includes contributions from Jack Hitt, William Dalrymple, Rabbi David A. Cooper, among others.

With its vast vistas, splendid sunsets, and rich history, the American Southwest has always inspired superb writing. Travelers’ Tales Southwest features a selection of some of the best. Tony Hillerman explores the wonders of Canyon de Chelly, while Douglas Preston takes the reader on a poignant journey into the land of the Hopi. Barbara Kingsolver learns how to live in harmony with the desert, and Barbara Beckwith joins the secret world of Native American pottery hunters. The book covers a wide physical and mythic terrain, with essays on director John Ford’s dramatic use of Monument Valley, and the Mad Monks’ bizarre excursion through “Planet Nevada.”

“Melting pot,” a phrase inevitably associated with the United States, may be even more applicable to Mexico, where ancient civilizations merge with modern cultures in a cross-current of peoples, languages and dialects, art and music, religions, hidden cosmologies, and fabled ruins. Travelers’ Tales Mexico explores this deep diversity in essays by important writers who have experienced it firsthand. On his journey south of the border, Carlos Fuentes reveals layer upon layer of history in Mexico City’s town square; Alice Adams discovers her love for Frida Kahlo’s work; Pete Hamill unearths the ghosts of Hollywood in Puerto Vallarta; and Mary Morris moves to San Miguel to find a writer’s life. Travelers’ Tales Mexico is a lyrical reminder of why it’s both a pleasure and a necessity to visit this magnificent country.

With a bottomless taste for the absurd, Doug Lansky takes the reader on a global odyssey. In Naples, reputedly the world’s worst place to drive, Lansky rents a car. In Berlin, he dons a latex jumpsuit and spiked collar for a visit to the notoriously erotic Kit Kat Club. And in Tokyo, determined to deepen his appreciation for sumo wrestling, Lansky takes lessons from a master and rediscovers how it feels to be lifted into the air by a wedgie. Other adventures include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in ill-fitting hiking boots, competing with the mobs to get picked for The Price Is Right, and tandem hang gliding with a daredevil pilot in New Zealand.

These essays by renowned travel writers explore the many lures of Tuscany — its rolling hills, sunny climate, friendly people, and superb food and wine. This extraordinary region comes alive in tales of harvesting grapes, hunting for truffles, hiking ancient Etruscan paths, and glorying in the region’s bountiful art, music, history, and above all, romance. Some of the writers have made Tuscany their home, others came to vacation or study. But the spell of the region pervades all of these accounts. Authors include Frances Mayes, Matthew Spender, Jan Morris, Ferenc Mate, and Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, among others.

In this lively collection from an array of accomplished writers, readers meet an old woman who imparts an invaluable midnight message on a Greek island; brothers who heal old family wounds in Ireland; and travelers who awaken to the mystery of their souls in such disparate places as St. Peter’s in Rome and a dusty road in India. Contributors include Phil Cousineau, Kim Chernin, David Yeadon, Don George, and Jan Morris. The Spiritual Gifts of Travel reveals the myriad ways that travel renews the spirit. “The tales ring clear and loud with the universal need to travel the road toward self.” — Francesca de Grandis, author of Be a Goddess!

This newly designed collection of adventures in Italy takes the reader to a land of magical extremes — of ancient verities and modern vitality. Sculptors, olive harvesters, art historians, and cooks people these tales, and their stories are as evocative as opera. The book simmers with romance, culture — and the best food on earth. Authors include Tim Parks, Patricia Hampl, Mary Taylor Simeti, Luigi Barzini, Gary Paul Nabhan, and many others. “Travel writing at its glorious best.” — Chicago Tribune

This newly designed edition of Travelers’ Tales France celebrates the culture, history, and joie de vivre of one of the most beloved — and most visited — countries on Earth. Acclaimed writers, including Peter Mayle, M.F.K. Fisher, Jon Krakauer, Mort Rosenblum, Alice Kaplan, and Jan Morris, who have fallen in love with France — with the food, the land, the irrepressible French people — provide a mesmerizing literary tour of this special place. Opening many windows onto France, this collection reveals the most important reason to visit: to experience life as it should be. “Pays homage to the good life, as defined by the French.” — Los Angeles Times

These stories of travel in Central America -- Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama -- are adventurous and quirky, sobering and enlightening. Readers visit a Panamanian island known for its wildlife; glimpse the wealthy Generation X repatriates of Nicaragua; and meet a charming Guatemalan revolutionary. Authors include Paul Theroux, Jennifer Harbury, Ronald Wright, Joan Didion, Randy Wayne White, and Rigoberta Menchu. Travelers' Tales Central America provides a new window into this astonishingly beautiful and complex part of the world. "For the thoughtful traveler, these books are an invaluable resource." -- Pico Iyer

Winner of the Lowell Thomas Best Travel Book Award, this updated, newly designed collection of Thailand travel stories makes you fall in love with this fabulous country. Thailand can satisfy just about any traveller's hunger for the exotic, the beautiful, the thrillingly different. It's a country with a deep respect for family and monarchy and a pervasive Buddhism practised by the vast majority. The traveller - new or veteran - never leaves Thailand unchanged.

Travelers’ Tales Tibet is a collection of riveting tales from one of the most controversial and fascinating regions of the earth. Travel with world-renowned writers to this mythic land and enjoy a feast cooked by blowtorch on a high mountain pass, witness an ancient sky burial, rebuild an ancient monastery, make the pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash, work as an extra on a Chinese movie set, and visit the eternal home of the Dalai Lama, the Potala Palace. Travelers’ Tales Tibet draws an unforgettable portrait of a magical country, its stunning culture, and unforgettable people.

Journey into Spain with some of the world’s best writers, and discover a country of heightened senses, bougainvillea blossoming in crimson and orange, and air pungent with sizzling olive oil. Readers travel the ancient road to Santiago, get a glimpse of Pamplona during the running of the bulls, walk in Don Quixote’s footsteps on a midlife quest, and follow a woman’s dream to study the “male” art of flamenco guitar. These soulful stories of travel in a land poised between the old world and new. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Barbara Kingsolver, Calvin Trillin, and Penelope Casas are among the authors featured.

From cosmopolitan Istanbul to villages where people have never heard of America or England, the writers here describe a vibrant land. Markets burst with the colors of carpets, the aroma of spices, and the sound of merchants eager to make a sale (and serve apple tea). Minarets and the call to prayer pierce the blue sky while Sufi dervishes whirl in the shadows. The seas glisten, lapping against coasts dotted with the ruins of antiquity. Tradition blends with contemporary change, as Turkey struggles to find its place in the new millennium. Travelers’ Tales Turkey unveils this dramatic land through stories that range from whimsical to profound. Drink raki and smoke a water pipe with Stephen Kinzer. Explore the cave churches and fairy chimneys of Cappadocia with Mary Lee Settle. Search for evidence of Noah’s Ark at Mount Ararat with Bruce Feiler. Wrestle with the legend of the Goddess Artemis with Tim Ward. Discover the exquisite pleasure of the perfect Turkish dish on the roadside with Pier Roberts and be applauded by a busload of locals for your good judgment.

Paris is one city that you should endeavor to know over the course of a lifetime, and not just in one or two visits. It is the center of the civilized universe, and it belongs to everyone--even to those who see it only in their dreams. The City of Light has bestowed on millions the gift of the incandescent present, an image or experience into which all life is condensed and reflected upon for years to come. Travelers' Tales Paris captures the romance of the world's favorite city through stories that entertain, inform, and touch the heart. John Gregory Dunne reveals the manic pleasures of driving in the city's chaotic traffic. Joseph Diedrich and Katya Macklovich explore romantic encounters that could only happen here. Herbert Gold and David Applefield take aim at the nostalgia surrounding The Left Bank, one reveling in its literary past, the other urging the visitor to reach out to a new, modern Paris in the outlying area of Montreuil. Tim O'Reilly and Coleman Lollar evoke the appeal of unexpected tourist sites, and Marcel Laventurier recounts his harrowing escape from the Nazis on a train bound for occupied Paris in a tale you will never forget.

San Francisco is spoken of in the same breath as Paris, Venice, and Rome, and has earned the slogan "America’s Favorite City" for its openness, dramatic beauty, cultural amenities, the diversity of its neighborhoods and population, and its icons—the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, cable cars, Fisherman’s Wharf, and fog. It sits on the tip of a peninsula on the edge of a continent in one of the world’s most seismically active areas—no wonder there has always been a "sitting on the edge" mentality here. The city appeared instantly—just add gold and stir!—when that precious ore was discovered in the nearby hills in 1848. It was a boomtown that lasted, and all of that rich history is captured in Travelers’ Tales San Francisco along with clear portraits of today’s city. In these true stories you will explore the North Beach of the Beat era and beyond with Herbert Gold, discover true romance on a cable car with Michele Anna Jordan, uncover the real Mission district with John Krich, marvel at the city’s wild light with Andrei Codrescu, gumshoe through Sam Spade’s San Francisco with Don Freeman, and learn what it means to be a "quintessential San Franciscan" with the late Herb Caen.

Provence is one of the world's beloved places—redolent with the scent of lavender, steeped in olive oil, marinated in wine. Provence teaches us to appreciate the simple life of abundance—buying bread at the morning market, lingering over meals, and soaking in the vistas of old stone villages surrounded by fields of flowers. Immerse yourself in the landscape and light that has inspired some of the greatest artists of all time. Travelers' Tales Provence takes you into a magnificent world of food, wine, history, and art. For those who love this region, Travelers' Tales Provence will rekindle fond memories. For those who have not yet ventured into this magical part of France, it will fire the imagination with the many delights that await.- Experience the time-honored ritual of pressing olives for oil with Carol Drinkwater- Join Lawrence Durrell as he opens the day at a Provençal town market- Hike the hills of Provence with Margie Goldsmith- Search the back streets of Nice for the perfect pan bagnat with Calvin Trillin- Explore the charm of Aix-en-Provence with M.F.K. Fisher