The World Traveler Reader Type
New Release Book Recommendations
For the adventurous at heart, fall 2024 brings a lineup of new book releases that are perfect for those who yearn to explore the world from the comfort of their favorite reading nook. Whether you’re into epic tales of historical expeditions, crave in-depth cultural insights, or have a soft spot for global cuisine, this collection offers a bit of everything for the modern-day World Traveler. These books will transport you across continents, through centuries, and into the rich fabric of distant cultures, inviting you to experience the thrill of discovery without ever packing a suitcase.
From mesmerizing travelogues that capture the essence of life on the road to captivating geographical biographies and culturally immersive cookbooks, these new releases highlight the beauty, diversity, and history of our world. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or a curious armchair explorer, these nonfiction reads promise to inspire your next adventure—or at least spark your wanderlust.
DECEMBER NEW RELEASE
Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman
by Patrick Hutchison
A memoir of the author's journey from an office job to restoring a cabin in the Pacific Northwest, based on his wildly popular Outside Magazine piece.
Wit's End isn't just a state of mind. It's the name of a gravel road, the address of a run-down off-the-grid cabin, 120 shabby square feet of fixer-upper Patrick Hutchison purchased on a whim in the mossy woods of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state.
To say Hutchison didn't know what he was getting into is no more an exaggeration than to say he's a man with nearly zero carpentry skills. Well, used to be. You can learn a lot over six years of renovations.
CABIN is the story of those renovations, but it's also a love story; of a place, of possibilities, and of the process of construction, of seeing what could be instead of what is. It is a book for those who know what it's like to bite off more than you can chew, or who desperately wish to.
Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe
by Matthew Gabriele - David M Perry
"This is a serious, meticulous history that will also appeal to Game of Thrones fans, who will discover intriguing parallels between history and fiction." -- Booklist
"An enlightening portrait of the medieval mindset." -- Publishers Weekly
The authors of The Bright Ages return with a real-life Game of Thrones--the story of the Carolingian Civil War, a bloody, protracted battle pitting brother against brother, father against son, that would end an empire, upend a continent, and redefine the future of Europe
By the early ninth century, the Carolingian empire was at the height of its power. The Franks, led by Charlemagne, had built the largest European domain since Rome in its heyday. Though they jockeyed for power, prestige, and profit, the Frankish elites enjoyed political and cultural consensus. But just two generations later, their world was in shambles. Civil war, once an unthinkable threat, had erupted after Louis the Pious's sons tried to overthrow him--and then placed their knives at the other's neck. Families who had once charged into battle together now drew each other's blood.
Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter
by Clare Mulley
The incredible and inspiring story of Elzbieta Zawacka, the World War II female resistance fighter known as Agent Zo.
During World War II, Elzbieta Zawacka--the WWII female resistance fighter known as Agent Zo--was the only woman to reach London as an emissary of the Polish Home Army command. In Britain, she became the only woman to join the Polish elite Special Forces, known as the "Silent Unseen." She was secretly trained in the British countryside, and then she was the only female member of these forces to be parachuted back behind enemy lines to Nazi-occupied Poland. There, while being hunted by the Gestapo (who arrested her entire family), she took a leading role in the Warsaw Uprising and the liberation of Poland.
The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs
by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa
"Elegantly written and magisterially researched" (Robert Service, author of A History of Modern Russia), the definitive story behind the self-destruction of the autocratic Romanov dynasty, by the world's foremost expert
When Tsar Nicholas II fell from power in 1917, Imperial Russia faced a series of overlapping crises, from war to social unrest. Though Nicholas's life is often described as tragic, it was not fate that doomed the Romanovs--it was poor leadership and a blinkered faith in autocracy.
Based on a trove of new archival discoveries, The Last Tsar narrates how Nicholas's resistance to reform doomed the monarchy. Encompassing the captivating personalities of the era, it untangles the struggles between the increasingly isolated Nicholas and Alexandra and the factions of scheming nobles, ruthless legislators, and pragmatic generals who sought to stabilize the restive Russian empire either with the Tsar or without him.
Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive
by Eliot Stein
A vivid look at 10 astonishing people who are maintaining some of the world's oldest and rarest cultural traditions.
Eliot Stein has traveled the globe in search of remarkable people who are preserving some of our most extraordinary cultural rites. In Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive, Stein introduces readers to a man saving the secret ingredient in Japan's 700-year-old original soy sauce recipe. In Italy, he learns how to make the world's rarest pasta from one of the only women alive who knows how to make it. And in India, he discovers a family rumored to make a mysterious metal mirror believed to reveal your truest self. From shadowing Scandinavia's last night watchman to meeting a 27th-generation West African griot to tracking down Cuba's last official cigar factory "readers" more than a century after they spearheaded the fight for Cuban independence, Stein uncovers an almost lost world.
The Last Kilo: Willy Falcon and the Cocaine Empire That Seduced America
by T J English
From true-crime legend T. J. English, the epic, behind-the-scenes saga of "Los Muchachos," one of the most successful cocaine trafficking organizations in American history--a story of glitz, glamour, and organized crime set against 1980's Miami.
Despite what Scarface might lead one to believe, violence was not the dominant characteristic of the cocaine business. It was corruption: the dirty cops, agents, lawyers, judges, and politicians who made the drug world go round. And no one managed that carousel of dangerous players better than Willy Falcon.
A Cuban exile whose family escaped Fidel Castro's Cuba when he was eleven years old, Falcon, as a teenager, became active in the anti-Castro movement.
NOVEMBER NEW RELEASE
Pan Y Dulce: The Latin American Baking Book (Pastries, Desserts, Rustic Breads, Savory Baking, and More)
by Bryan Ford
From star baker Bryan Ford, a "vast and vibrant" baker's guide to Latin America (Maurizio Leo, author of The Perfect Loaf), sharing the cultures and stories behind every recipe: artisan bread, pan dulce, cookies, pastries, and more.
Bryan Ford, the acclaimed author of New World Sourdough and judge on Netflix's Blue Ribbon Baking Championship, is changing how the world bakes with recipes that are "full of deep expertise" yet "unusually warm [and] friendly" (New York Times). In Pan y Dulce he helps home bakers embrace the extraordinary world of Latin American baking and break free of Eurocentric approaches to the craft.
Enter medialunas: full of tender layers, glazed with sugar. Alfajores sandwiched with dulce de leche. Fluffy conchas and pan de coco--and so much more.
The Pasta Queen: The Art of Italian Cooking
by Nadia Caterina Munno - Anna Francese Gass
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
NOW AN ORIGINAL SERIES ON PRIME VIDEO
Culinary virtuoso and New York Times bestselling author Nadia Caterina Munno expands beyond pasta and into the art of traditional Italian cooking with this vibrant and accessible cookbook--featuring seasonal dishes, healthy entrees, and so much more.
Go beyond the first course of pasta with this brand-new cookbook from The Pasta Queen herself. From aperitivi to awaken your appetite to desserts that end meals on a sweet note--and all the courses in between--Nadia will help you create an Italian dinner party fit for royalty.
With over a hundred delicious recipes and stunning photographs that will transport you to the heart of the Mediterranean, this cookbook also delves into Nadia's food philosophies, including the importance of using seasonal ingredients, following a balanced diet, and celebrating cultural history through food. While there's still plenty of pasta to be found, this cookbook will enrich your plate with the rest of what Italy has to offer...and it's just gorgeous.
The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham
by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
From the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize, an extraordinary history of the meteoric rise and fall of George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham.
As King James I's favourite, Buckingham was also his confidant, gatekeeper, advisor and lover. When Charles I succeeded his father, he was similarly enthralled and made Buckingham his best friend and mentor. A dazzling figure on horseback and a skilful player of the political game, Buckingham rapidly transformed the influence his beauty gave him into immense wealth and power. He became one of the most flamboyant and enigmatic Englishmen at the heart of seventeenth-century royal and political life.
The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering
by Daniel Light
Whether in the name of conquest, science, or the divine, humans across the centuries have had myriad reasons to climb mountains. From the smoking volcanoes of South America to the great snowy ranges of the Himalaya, The White Ladder follows a cast of extraordinary characters--conquistadors and captains, scientists and surveyors, alpinists and adventurers--up the slopes of the world's highest peaks.
OCTOBER NEW RELEASE
Roman Year: A Memoir
by André Aciman
The author of Call Me by Your Name returns with a deeply romantic memoir of his time in Rome while on the cusp of adulthood.
In Roman Year, André Aciman captures the period of his adolescence that began when he and his family first set foot in Rome, after being expelled from Egypt. Though Aciman's family had been well-off in Alexandria, all vestiges of their status vanished when they fled, and the author, his younger brother, and his deaf mother moved into a rented apartment in Rome's Via Clelia. Though dejected, Aciman's mother and brother found their way into life in Rome, while Aciman, still unmoored, burrowed into his bedroom to read one book after the other. The world of novels eventually allowed him to open up to the city and, through them, discover the beating heart of the Eternal City.
My Mexican Kitchen: 100 Recipes Rich with Tradition, Flavor, and Spice: A Cookbook
by Eva Longoria
A celebration of Mexican ingredients and traditions--plus 100 favorite recipes--from Eva Longoria
While hosting Searching for Mexico on CNN, Eva Longoria reconnected with her Mexican roots and tasted iconic Mexican dishes like meat-stuffed Chiles en Nogada draped in a creamy walnut sauce and the Yucatán classic Pollo Asado, made with an aromatic garlic-citrus-achiote paste. In My Mexican Kitchen, she embraces the techniques and flavors she discovered and brings them home to her Southern California kitchen. From dishes based on long-heeded Aztec traditions like Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde to her Tia Elsa's Pork and Red Chile Tamales and Conchas that remind her of Mexico City, each recipe offers a delicious tribute to Mexican food and flavors.
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
by Dan Jones
The New York Times bestselling author returns with a biography examining the dramatic life and unparalleled leadership of England's greatest medieval king
Henry V reigned over England for only nine years and four months and died at the age of just thirty-five, but he looms over the landscape of the late Middle Ages and beyond. The victor of Agincourt, he is remembered as the acme of kingship, a model to be closely imitated by his successors. William Shakespeare deployed Henry V as a study in youthful folly redirected to sober statesmanship. For one modern medievalist, Henry was, quite simply, “the greatest man who ever ruled England.”
World in Books: 52 Works of Great Short Nonfiction
by Kenneth C Davis
A delightful, inspiring, and idea-rich selection of fifty-two of the best, most important short nonfiction works of all time--from Plato to Michael Pollan and Dante to Joan Didion--chosen by historian, lifelong reader, and bestselling author of Don't Know Much About History.
From ancient times to the present day, The World in Books offers a wide-ranging historical education through pleasure reading--and a fantastic introduction to some of the most thought-provoking, profound, and interesting nonfiction works of all time. From Sun Tzu's The Art of War to bell hooks's All About Love, as well as such recent classics as Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists, Davis's guide suggests a world of nonfiction books and explains just why they're so historically meaningful and culturally relevant today.
Vietnam War: A Military History
by Geoffrey Wawro
The first comprehensive military history of the war in Vietnam
The Vietnam War cast a shadow over the American psyche from the moment it began. In its time it sparked budget deficits, campus protests, and an erosion of US influence around the world. Long after the last helicopter evacuated Saigon, Americans have continued to battle over whether it was ever a winnable war.
Subpar Planet: The World's Most Celebrated Landmarks and Their Most Disappointed Visitors
by Amber Share
New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of Subpar Parks Amber Share takes us around the globe to celebrate the world's greatest wonders alongside hysterical reviews from their harshest critics.
The world is filled with marvels--both natural and human-made-- and artist Amber Share has made it her mission to capture the unique majesty of these sites alongside reactions from some of their most vocal visitors. The Dead Sea? "Who needs burning eyes?" Who indeed? Big Ben? "Just a really big clock." Go figure.
My Pisces Heart: A Black Immigrant's Search for Home Across Four Continents
by Jennifer Neal
With heart, humor, and razor-sharp observation, this intimate and incisive memoir traces the journey of a Black, queer woman as she searches the world for a place of security and acceptance to call home
I've never seen home as a permanent concept; it is an image crafted from untempered glass that threatens to shatter with lack of care.
Jennifer Neal was born in the United States to a family that moved continuously for their own survival and well-being--from the Great Migration to the twenty-first century. As an adult, she has continued to travel the world as a Black queer woman, across two decades and four countries--from Japan to the US and then Australia to Germany, where she has settled for now.
Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures
by Wally Koval - Amanda Koval - Wes Anderson
Adventure awaits in this new visual odyssey from Accidentally Wes Anderson, taking readers on stunning trips to every continent and sharing oddly moving human tales along the way.
For lovers of travel, design, and exploration, AWA presents a brand-new collection of real-world places that seem plucked from the films of Wes Anderson, and the stories that bring each location to life.
You'll venture to Antarctica through the treacherous Drake Passage, make a stop in lesser-known Jincumbilly, Australia (where platypuses outnumber people), discover the bridge in Wisconsin that went to nowhere, and drop into the most peculiar umbrella shop in London.
But adventure means nothing without someone to tell the tale.
Reservations: The Pleasures and Perils of Travel
by Steve Burgess
Steve Burgess takes readers around the world as he ponders our right to roam.
In this smart and sharply funny exploration of tourism, Steve Burgess poses the questions that all travelers should pause to consider: why do we travel and should we? In his quest for answers, he reviews studies and interviews experts from many facets of the tourism industry, all the while sharing observations from some of his most personally significant travels, from Rome to Kathmandu.