In the vein of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, a riveting work of narrative nonfiction centering on the unsolved disappearance of an American backpacker in India--one of at least two dozen tourists who have met a similar fate in the remote and storied Parvati Valley.For centuries, India has enthralled westerners looking for an exotic getaway, a brief immersion in yoga and meditation, or in rare cases, a true pilgrimage to find spiritual revelation. Justin Alexander Shetler, an inveterate traveler trained in wilderness survival, was one such seeker.In his early thirties Shetler quit his job at a tech startup and set out on a global journey: across the United States by motorcycle, then down to South America, and on to the Philippines, Thailand, and Nepal, in search of authentic experiences and meaningful encounters, while also documenting his travels on Instagram. His enigmatic character and magnetic personality gained him a devoted following who lived vicariously through his adventures. B
Explorers' accounts of the search through Northern Canada for a waterway connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The many attempts by navigators to find a Northwest Passage via its Pacific portal all failed; however, their discoveries spurred expansionist developments that would forever alter the landscape of North America. In Discovering Nothing, David L. Nicandri maps a cast of geographic visionaries and practical explorers as they promoted or sought a workable commercial route linking the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. The discovery of the legendary northern passage proved elusive, but the equivalent land bridges that were built in the form of two transcontinental railroads changed the futures of Canada and the United States. Drawing from close readings of explorers' journals, Nicandri provides readers with a detailed, engaging, and multifaceted investigation into the many players and failed enterprises at the core of this search, beginning in the eighteenth century th
Presenting a global and interdisciplinary approach to plant ecology, this much-awaited new edition of the book Plants and Vegetation integrates classical themes with the latest ideas, models, and data. Keddy draws on extensive teaching experience to bring the field to life, guiding students through essential concepts with numerous real-world examples and full-colour illustrations throughout. The chapters begin by presenting the wider picture of the origin of plants and their impact on the Earth, before exploring the search for global patterns in plants and vegetation. Chapters on resources, stress, competition, herbivory, and mutualism explore causation, and a concluding chapter on conservation addresses the concern that one-third of all plant species are at risk of extinction. The scope of this edition is broadened further by a new chapter on population ecology, along with extensive examples including South African deserts, the Guyana Highlands of South America, Himalayan forests and
Penguin Classics commemorates the 50th anniversary of Steinbeck's Nobel Prize with two stunning new editions of his best-loved works At age fifty-eight, John Steinbeck and his poodle, Charley, embark
Film and television icon Gina Gershon may be best known for her movie roles in Bound and Showgirls and television appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm and How to Make It in America, but deep down she i
In Search of Respect, Philippe Bourgois's now-classic, ethnographic study of social marginalization in inner-city America, won critical acclaim after it was first published in 1995 and in 1997 was awarded the Margaret Mead Award. For the first time, an anthropologist had managed to gain the trust and long-term friendship of street-level drug dealers in one of the roughest ghetto neighborhoods in the United States - East Harlem. This edition adds a prologue describing the major dynamics in America that have altered life on the streets of East Harlem in the six years since the first edition. Bourgois, in a new epilogue, brings up to date the stories of the people - Primo, Caesar, Luis, Tony, Candy - who readers come to know in this remarkable window onto the world of the inner-city drug trade.
In the 1960s, Mississippi was the heart of white southern resistance to the civil-rights movement. To many, it was a backward-looking society of racist authoritarianism and violence that was sorely ou
The powerful story of one woman’s search for happiness and fulfillment in modern-day America. After moving to the United States from Canada, a free-spirited young woman rejects the status quo and emba
To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light—these were John Steinbeck's goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the
In September 1960, John Steinbeck and his poodle, Charley, embarked on a journey across America. A picaresque tale, this chronicle of their trip meanders through scenic backroads and speeds along anon
To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the tress, to see the colors and the light?these were John Steinbeck's goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the
The largest edible fruit native to the United States tastes like a cross between a banana and a mango. It grows wild in twenty-six states, gracing Eastern forests each fall with sweet-smelling, tropic
One of the most profound events in sixteenth-century North America was a ferocious battle between the Spanish army of Hernando de Soto and a larger force of Indian warriors under the leadership of a f
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America?s greatest writers and cultural figures. Over the next year, his many works published as black-spine
