50 Great American Places


Book Description

Profiles fifty sites across the United States that trace the cultural history of the country, discussing the people and events that led to each site's importance, from the National Mall in D.C. to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.




50 States, 5,000 Ideas


Book Description

This richly illustrated book from the travel experts at National Geographic showcases the best travel experiences in every state, from the obvious to the unexpected. Sites include national parks, beaches, hotels, Civil War battlefields, dude ranches, out-of-the-way museums, and more. You'll discover the world's longest yard sale in Tennessee, swamp tours in Louisiana, dinosaur trails in Colorado, America's oldest street in NYC, and the best spot to watch for sea otters on the central California coast. Each entry provides detailed travel information as well as fascinating facts about each state that will help fuel your wanderlust and ensure the best vacation possible. In addition to 50 states in the U.S., the book includes a section on the Canadian provinces and territories.




Great American Eating Experiences


Book Description

A guide to America's diverse food heritage offers a culinary tour of all fifty states, covering everything from the best diner food in New Jersey to the top fish tacos and burritos in the West.




100 Places That Can Change Your Child's Life


Book Description

Kids who learn to travel will travel to learn. National Geographic Traveler Editor Keith Bellows sends you and your children globetrotting for life-changing vacations that will expand their horizons and shape their perspectives. What you won’t find inside: predictable itineraries and lists of landmarks and events. Instead, you’ll get evocative, slice-of-life experiences and age-appropriate ideas that illuminate place and culture. Each chapter of 100 Places That Can Change Your Child’s Life plumbs the heart of a special place—from the Acropolis to Machu Picchu to the Grand Canyon—all from the perspective of insiders who see destinations through a child’s eyes. You’ll meet actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy, who tours the suqs of Marrakech with his seven-year-old son; photographer Annie Griffiths, who shares the miraculous migration to Mexico of the monarch butterflies; Tom Ritchie, who has guided countless children and parents to Antarctica for more than 30 years; the waterman who knows where to see the ponies of Assateague in the true wild; and countless others who are cultural treasures, great storytellers, and keepers of a sense of place. Packed with ideas to supplement the travel experience—foods, music, films, and carefully curated lists of kid-friendly activities and places to eat and stay—this inspiring book is the perfect trip planner to excite children about culture and the unique magic the world has to offer.




The Great American Road Trip


Book Description

This book offers a lively and entertaining read for world- and armchair travelers alike. Consider such roadside treasures as the Cabazon Dinosaurs, Lucy the Elephant, Igloo City, and the world's largest killer bee. You just have to see them. If you're planning a fun trip on the open road, read this first . . . or better yet, bring it along. There are plenty of colorful (and weird) places that you wouldn't want to miss. Gorgeous photography and tongue-in-cheek text will steer you to some of the most garish, inelegant, and unbelievable sights in the United States!




Our Towns


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "James and Deborah Fallows have always moved to where history is being made.... They have an excellent sense of where world-shaping events are taking place at any moment" —The New York Times • The basis for the HBO documentary streaming on HBO Max For five years, James and Deborah Fallows have travelled across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, the America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems—from economic dislocation to the opioid scourge—but it is also crafting solutions, with a practical-minded determination at dramatic odds with the bitter paralysis of national politics. At times of dysfunction on a national level, reform possibilities have often arisen from the local level. The Fallowses describe America in the middle of one of these creative waves. Their view of the country is as complex and contradictory as America itself, but it also reflects the energy, the generosity and compassion, the dreams, and the determination of many who are in the midst of making things better. Our Towns is the story of their journey—and an account of a country busy remaking itself.




Moon USA State by State


Book Description

From the Pacific to the Atlantic, through prairies and bayous to snow-capped mountains, uncover the best of the US with Moon USA State by State. Inside you’ll find: Broken down by region, each chapter introduces the unique personality of all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico The top 3 experiences in every state: Whether it’s a bucket-list national park, a famous festival, or an unbeatable beach, find out what makes each state special Unforgettable outdoor adventures: Explore the best national parks from Acadia to Zion. Peep the changing leaves in Vermont or set up camp for a night of stargazing in Texas. Explore underground caves in Kentucky, or hike to waterfalls in Washington and volcanoes in Hawaii. Admire stunning arches and hoodoos in Utah, or watch for wildlife in Alaska Road trip ideas: Hit the road with lists of each state's best scenic drives and must-see roadside stops Local flavors from coast to coast: Sample hatch chilis in New Mexico and dig in to heaping plates of hot chicken in Tennessee. Spend a weekend wine-tasting in Oregon, or try a flight of craft beers in Colorado History and fun facts: Get to know more about each state with historical background, lesser-known local favorites, and more A foldout poster map with checklists to track your adventures Moon USA State by State: Inspiration, experiences, and adventures from coast to coast. Winner of the 31st Annual North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) Travel Media Awards Competition: Best Travel Book or Guide, Gold Award​ About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you. For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.




Backroads of the Great American West


Book Description

Backroads of the Great American West describes and details with full-color photos and maps the most scenic routes in the Rocky Mountains, Texas, Desert Southwest, California, and Pacific Northwest.




The Last Empty Places


Book Description

". . . intriguing, both a solid refresher on our savage colonial history and a smart rumination on what it means to get lost. ― Outside First time in paperback, ebook, and audio editions Part travel adventure, part history, part exploration Features four specific "blank spots" from across the country and delves into our human relationships with place In The Last Empty Places, bestselling author Peter Stark takes the reader to four of the most remote, wild, and unpopulated areas of the United States outside of Alaska and mainly not part of protected wilderness: the rivers and forests of Northern Maine; the rugged, unpopulated region of Western Pennsylvania that lies only a short distance from the East’s big cities; the haunting canyons of Central New Mexico; and the vast, arid basins of Southeast Oregon. Stark discovers that the places he visits are only "blank" in terms of a lack of recorded history. In fact, each place holds layers of history, meaning, and intrinsic value and is far from being blank. He also finds that each region has played an important role in shaping our American idea of wilderness through the influential "natural philosophers" who visited these places and wrote about their experiences--Henry David Thoreau, William Bartram, John Muir, and Aldo Leopold. It’s a fascinating look at the value of nature, the ways humans use and approach it, and what it means to seek out empty places in today’s world.




The Not-Quite States of America: Dispatches from the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA


Book Description

"To truly understand the United States, one must understand the 'not-quite states of America." —Mark Stein, best-selling author of How the States Got Their Shapes Everyone knows that America is 50 states and…some other stuff. Scattered shards in the Pacific and the Caribbean, the not-quite states—American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—and their 4 million people are often forgotten, even by most Americans. But they’re filled with American flags, U.S. post offices, and Little League baseball games. How did these territories come to be part of the United States? What are they like? And why aren’t they states? When Doug Mack realized just how little he knew about the territories, he set off on a globe-hopping quest covering more than 30,000 miles to see them all. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Mack examines the Founding Fathers’ arguments over expansion. He explores Polynesia’s outsize influence on American culture, from tiki bars to tattoos, in American Samoa. He tours Guam with members of a military veterans’ motorcycle club, who offer personal stories about the territory’s role in World War II and its present-day importance for the American military. In the Northern Mariana Islands, he learns about star-guided seafaring from one of the ancient tradition’s last practitioners. And everywhere he goes in Puerto Rico, he listens in on the lively debate over political status—independence, statehood, or the status quo. The Not-Quite States of America is an entertaining account of the territories’ place in the USA, and it raises fascinating questions about the nature of empire. As Mack shows, the territories aren’t mere footnotes to American history; they are a crucial part of the story.