The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, Zeitoun is a riveting account of one family’s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. A New York Times Notable Book An O, The Oprah Magazine Terrific Read of the Year A Huffington Post Best Book of the Year A New Yorker Favorite Book of the Year A Chicago Tribune Favorite Nonfiction Book of the Year A Kansas City Star Best Book of the Year A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year An Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Decade

Zeitoun

Eggers, Dave.

Reference

Vintage

One of The New York Times's 10 Best Books of the Year, a Christian Science Monitor Best Nonfiction Book, a Newsday Top 10 Books pick, a People magazine Top 10 pick, a Good Reads Best Book of the Year, and a Kirkus Best Nonfiction Book A National Book Critics Circle Award finalist In 2004, at a beach resort on the coast of Sri Lanka, Sonali Deraniyagala and her family—parents, husband, sons—were swept away by a tsunami. Only Sonali survived to tell their tale. This is her account of the nearly incomprehensible event and its aftermath.

Wave: A Memoir

Biographies & Memoirs

Deraniyagala, Sonali

Community & Culture

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: THE NEW YORK TIMES • NPR • THE GUARDIAN From pole to pole and across decades of lived experience, National Book Award-winning author Barry Lopez delivers his most far-ranging, yet personal, work to date. Horizon moves indelibly, immersively, through the author’s travels to six regions of the world: from Western Oregon to the High Arctic; from the Galápagos to the Kenyan desert; from Botany Bay in Australia to finally, unforgettably, the ice shelves of Antarctica. Along the way, Lopez probes the long history of humanity’s thirst for exploration, including the prehistoric peoples who trekked across Skraeling Island in northern Canada, the colonialists who plundered Central Africa, an enlightenment-era Englishman who sailed the Pacific, a Native American emissary who found his way into isolationist Japan, and today’s ecotourists in the tropics. And always, throughout his journeys to some of the hottest, coldest, and most desolate places on the globe, Lopez searches for meaning and purpose in a broken world.

Horizon

History

Lopez,Barry

Americas

David Abram’s first book, The Spell of the Sensuous has become a classic of environmental literature. Now he returns with a startling exploration of our human entanglement with the rest of nature. As the climate veers toward catastrophe, the innumerable losses cascading through the biosphere make vividly evident the need for a metamorphosis in our relation to the living land. For too long we’ve ignored the wild intelligence of our bodies, taking our primary truths from technologies that hold the living world at a distance. Abram’s writing subverts this distance, drawing readers ever closer to their animal senses in order to explore, from within, the elemental kinship between the human body and the breathing Earth. The shape-shifting of ravens, the erotic nature of gravity, the eloquence of thunder, the pleasures of being edible: all have their place in this book.

Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology

ABRAM, DAVID

The Future of Life

One of the world’s most important scientists, Edward O. Wilson is also an abundantly talented writer who has twice won the Pulitzer Prize. In this, his most personal and timely book to date, he assesses the precarious state of our environment, examining the mass extinctions occurring in our time and the natural treasures we are about to lose forever. Yet, rather than eschewing doomsday prophesies, he spells out a specific plan to save our world while there is still time. His vision is a hopeful one, as economically sound as it is environmentally necessary. Eloquent, practical and wise, this book should be read and studied by anyone concerned with the fate of the natural world.

The Future of Life: ALA Notable Books for Adults

WILSON, EDWARD O.

English as a Second Language

Every spring, puffin parents come back to the same cliff to raise a single baby puffling. And every fall, all of the parents pick one day to leave so that their babies can start taking care of themselves. The pufflings have an instinct to fly toward the moon, which would lead them to the ocean and away from the cliff. But the lights of civilization confuse some of the pufflings, who then end up lost and lonely on land.But then something amazing happens! Kids who live on Iceland's Westman Islands look for those lost pufflings in town every September. They keep them overnight in little houses they have made for just this purpose, and then take them to the Sea Life Trust. The pufflings are checked out by the team there, and most of the pufflings are healthy enough to be released to the ocean. In the fall of 2019, children on the Westman Islands rescued over 7,500 pufflings! Follow along as Lundi the puffling gets lost and then saved, based on the true child heroes of Iceland!

Lundi the Lost Puffin: The Child Heroes of Iceland

Children's Books

Newman, Éric

Animals

Travel Step by Step

Three years after my 7 month, 2900 mile trip to Montana in 2005, I was eager, excited even, to take another canoe trip. I'd already gone west, mates, so now, would it be north, east or south? Crikey, I'd best take my canoeabout north while I can still shoulder a canoe because there be wilderness in that direction!I didn't know it then, but I had my support crew out there already.

Navigating North: Canoeing to Ontario from Wisconsin

Travel

James B. Kurz

United States

UPDATED FOR 2024. Did you know that you can camp for free on much of America’s public lands? 
Boondocking/dispersed camping is growing rapidly in popularity as more and more people take to their vans, RVs, SUVs, trucks, and cars to explore the backroads of America’s forests and deserts in search of solitude and natural beauty. I Have a Lot of Experience Doing Dispersed Camping! 
I'm John Soares, a writer for businesses and nonprofits for over three decades, and also the author of four hiking guidebooks on Northern California. I've been doing dispersed camping for 30-plus years in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and other states. In this book I bring all my knowledge, experience, and research together to clearly explain everything you need to know to get out into nature on national forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands and find primo camping spots, while saving a ton of money in the process. This Book is Your Bible for Dispersed Camping and Boondocking 
Here’s what Camp for Free: Dispersed Camping & Boondocking on America’s Public Lands covers: In-depth discussion of the different types of federal and state lands where you can camp for free, including dispersed camping and boondocking on national forests, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, national monuments, and more Clear explanation of how to research the best areas to go dispersed camping and boondocking, and where to find the best advice on finding campsites Detailed guidelines that help you find excellent campsites once you’re out on dirt roads in the hills, forest, or desert – and what you need to do to not get lost! A list of the key characteristics of a good dispersed campsite, and how to make sure it’s a good fit for your specific needs How you can minimize your impact on the land, including applying Leave No Trace principles What you need to do to be as safe as possible when camping and exploring How to keep your dogs safe Advice on where to legally sleep along highways and in and near towns and cities A comprehensive list of everything you need to take with you to have a thoroughly enjoyable dispersed camping experience A clear definition of dispersed camping, and why I use it more than “boondocking,” which is more common among RV folks. I also define similar terms, such as free camping, primitive camping, dry camping, and wild camping. A comparison of dispersed camping with regular pay campgrounds, and why, despite the cost and potential noise and other hassles, it can occasionally be a good idea to stay in a campground. Discussion and ranking of the variety of vehicles you can use for dispersed camping: full-size vans, trucks with camper shells, minivans, RVs, travel trailers, cars, and motorcycles. Only have a regular car? No problem—you can still do this!\nThe book includes 25 photos, plus maps showing the distribution of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands across the United States. What This Book Is – and What It Is Not 
There are hundreds of thousands of places where you can legally boondock and do dispersed camping in the United States, so this is not a guidebook to specific places. Rather, it’s how-to manual that makes sure you know how to find the best dispersed camping and boondocking sites in the United States, and that you maximize your enjoyment and safety. My Website Has a Wealth of Boondocking/Dispersed Camping Resources 
In the introduction and throughout the book you'll see my website address. The website helps you find the best dispersed camping spots and get the most out of your dispersed camping experiences. It includes websites and apps that help you find specific campsites.

Camp for Free: Dispersed Camping & Boondocking on America’s Public Lands

Sports & Outdoors

Soares, John

Hiking & Camping

Get Outside Press

Within this extraordinary memoir, Radhanath Swami weaves a colorful tapestry of adventure, mysticism, and love. Readers follow Richard Slavin from the suburbs of Chicago to the caves of the Himalayas as he transforms from young seeker to renowned spiritual guide. The Journey Home is an intimate account of the steps to self-awareness and also a penetrating glimpse into the heart of mystic traditions and the challenges that all souls must face on the road to inner harmony and a union with the Divine. Through near-death encounters, apprenticeships with advanced yogis, and years of travel along the pilgrim’s path, Radhanath Swami eventually reaches the inner sanctum of India’s mystic culture and finds the love he has been seeking. It is a tale told with rare candor, immersing the reader in a journey that is at once engaging, humorous, and heartwarming.

The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

Swami, Radhanath

Mandala Publishing

In the summer of 2015, at age 53, Laurie Apgar Chandler became the first woman to solo thru-paddle New England's Northern Forest Canoe Trail. Achieving her improbable dream, to travel 740 miles alone in a small canoe, was by no means certain. Relatively new to wilderness paddling, she encountered challenges, expected and unexpected, that pushed her to the limits of her courage and endurance. Surprisingly, the scariest of these had a human face. Weaving faith, nature, and the abiding goodness of people into a captivating adventure tale, Upwards takes readers along storied waterways from New York's Adirondacks to Maine's Allagash Wilderness Waterway, proving that dreams are meant to be followed. Reviews "Chandler vividly tells of the NFCT's fascinating geography and history, while poetically describing the colors, smells, sounds and sights of the waterway's wilderness and wildlife, and the days and nights of quiet solitude. Throughout her beautifully written memoir is her clear message: 'Every day is a gift.'" -Bill Bushnell, Kennebec Journal "A personal and mesmerizing account of a transformative paddling journey, beautifully written." -Kay Henry and Rob Center, NFCT founders "Chandler can write as skillfully and passionately as she paddles! 'Upwards' is a must read for paddlers, and a quality reading experience for anyone who likes the natural world and values thoughtful, sensitive prose." -V. Paul Reynolds, Northwoods Sporting Journal "I was hooked in the first chapter. Chandler's writing is compelling, and I felt a kindred spirit with her as she expressed deep inspiration and connection with the experience of being on the water." -Karrie Thomas, NFCT Executive Director "Inspiring...her fierce determination...is amazing. A great book to take along on your next paddling adventure, but it would also be a great read beside the fire on a cold winter's night." -George Smith, Bangor Daily News

Upwards: The Story of the First Woman to Solo Thru-Paddle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail

Chandler, Laurie Apgar (Author)

Specialty Travel

Maine Authors Publishing

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