Hi! My name is Eric McCarthy, a librarian in the Resources Management department of Greenwich Library. Enjoy one of the many great armchair travel books we have at Greenwich Library. Here are three of my favorites:
Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. After a divorce and losing his job as an English Professor in Columbia, Missouri, Heat-Moon makes livable a Ford Van and hits the road deciding to follow only the “Blue Highways”. Identified that way in his Rand McNally Atlas to differentiate the interstates and main highways crisscrossing The United States. It is about travel, but more than that it is about making connections with people and understanding how we are more the same than different. You might not find the best recommendations for hotels along Interstate 95, but you will find out what a four-calendar café is and why exactly you want to eat at one of those when traveling.
The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen. George Schaller is a biologist who is studying the Himalayan Blue Sheep and Peter Matthiessen is a practicing Zen Buddhist who is looking for some understanding after his wife’s recent death. With a team of porters and Sherpas, they hike into the Himalaya mountains. Matthiessen is a wonderful writer and this thoughtful journey will put you in a beautiful place that few people can travel to but also make you understand his spiritual journey and his deeper understanding of the biggest issues of life and death. Winner of the National Book Award.
Endurance by Alfred Lansing. The greatest travel adventure book I know about a colossal failure. Endurance is about Ernest Shackleton’s disastrous attempt to cross Antarctica on foot in 1914. The journey starts with a shipwreck and gets increasingly perilous from there. Told without being overly sensational, there really is not any need, it has that wonderful and rare quality of building tension even though you most likely know the outcome. The descriptions of what the crew did to stay alive are incredible and will most likely keep you up into the night.
Happy Reading!
Greenwich Library staff are some of the most prolific readers in our community and are always looking to share their recommendations, no matter the genre. Looking for titles based on category? Check out what our librarians are reading and loving here: greenwichlibrary.org/staff-picks. Or, get personalized recommendations based on your reading tastes here: greenwichlibrary.org/forms/personalized-reading-recommendations.
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Questions? Contact:
Greenwich Library
(203) 622-7900
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