- Table View
- List View
A Wild Idea: How the Environmental Movement Tamed the Adirondacks
by Brad EdmondsonA Wild Idea shares the complete story of the difficult birth of the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). The Adirondack region of New York's rural North Country forms the nation's largest State Park, with a territory as large as Vermont. Planning experts view the APA as a triumph of sustainability that balances human activity with the preservation of wild ecosystems. The truth isn't as pretty. The story of the APA, told here for the first time, is a complex, troubled tale of political dueling and communities pushed to the brink of violence. The North Country's environmental movement started among a small group of hunters and hikers, rose on a huge wave of public concern about pollution that crested in the early 1970s, and overcame multiple obstacles to "save" the Adirondacks. Edmondson shows how the movement's leaders persuaded a powerful Governor to recruit planners, naturalists, and advisors and assign a task that had never been attempted before. The team and the politicians who supported them worked around the clock to draft two visionary land-use plans and turn them into law. But they also made mistakes, and their strict regulations were met with determined opposition from local landowners who insisted that private property is private.A Wild Idea is based on in-depth interviews with five dozen insiders who are central to the story. Their observations contain many surprising and shocking revelations. This is a rich, exciting narrative about state power and how it was imposed on rural residents. It shows how the Adirondacks were "saved," and also why that campaign sparked a passionate rebellion.
A Wind from the North: The Life of Henry the Navigator
by Ernle BradfordThe captivating biography of Prince Henry of Portugal, the navigator and explorer who helped usher in the Age of Discovery. Before Columbus, Vespucci, and Sir Francis Drake, there was Henry the Navigator. Pirate hunter, intrepid explorer, and ship designer, the Portuguese prince was one of the great innovators who pioneered the Age of Discovery. In an effort to locate the mythic kingdom of Prester John, Prince Henry organized voyages into the Southern Atlantic and developed a new kind of ship, the caravel, specifically for the task. His explorations yielded riches and fame for Portugal, as well as the discovery of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Yet the scope of his contribution to the world is often overshadowed by other figures. In this expertly researched biography, Ernle Bradford brings to light the captivating tale of a pioneer who initiated an era of exploration and forever changed the course of history.
A Winter in Arabia: A Journey Through Yemen
by Freya StarkOne of the most unconventional and courageous explorers of her time, Freya Stark chronicled her extraordinary Travels in the Near East, establishing herself as a twentieth century heroine. A Winter in Arabia recounts her 1937-8 expedition in what is now Yemen, a journey which helped secure her reputation not only as a great travel writer, but also as a first-rate geographer, historian, and archaeologist. There, in the land whose "nakedness is clothed in shreds of departed splendor," she and two companions spent a winter in search of an ancient South Arabian city. Offering rare glimpses of life behind the veil-the subtleties of business and social conduct, the elaborate beauty rituals of the women, and the bitter animosities between rival tribes, Freya Stark conveys the "perpetual charm of Arabia ... that the traveler finds his own level there simply as a human being."
A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg (Vintage Departures)
by Tim CahillCahill is great! He is the P.J. O'Rourke of the outdoors! Fearless and hell-bent on overcoming all obstacles in his path, Cahill takes us to the oddest and scariest adventures nature has to offer.From the Trade Paperback edition.
A Woman in the Polar Night
by Christiane RitterIn this extraordinary adventure, a reluctant visitor to the Arctic thrives in the awesome and unforgiving landscape.<P><P>In 1933, Christiane Ritter, a painter from Austria, travelled to Spitsbergen, an Arctic island north of Norway, to be with her husband. He had been taking part in a scientific expedition and stayed on to hunt and fish. "Leave everything as it is and follow me to the Arctic," he wrote to his wife; but for Christiane, "as for all central Europeans, the Arctic was just another word for freezing and forsaken solitude. I did not follow at once." Eventually she gave in, lured by his compelling stories about the remarkable wildlife and alluring light shows. She says: "They told of journeys by water and over ice, of the animals and the fascination of the wilderness, of the strange light over the landscape, of the strange illumination of one's own self in the remoteness of the polar night. In his descriptions there was practically never any mention of cold or darkness, of storms or hardships."
A Woman in the Polar Night (Pushkin Press Classics)
by Christiane Ritter&“An epic story, elegantly told and full of mystery.&” — Maggie Shipstead, author of Great CircleA rediscovered classic memoir - the mesmerizingly beautiful account of one woman's year spent living in a remote hut in the ArcticThis rediscovered classic memoir tells the incredible tale of a woman defying society's expectations to find freedom and peace in the adventure of a lifetime.In 1934, the painter Christiane Ritter leaves her comfortable life in Austria and travels to the remote Arctic island of Spitsbergen, to spend a year there with her husband. She thinks it will be a relaxing trip, a chance to 'read thick books in the remote quiet and, not least, sleep to my heart's content', but when Christiane arrives she is shocked to realize that they are to live in a tiny ramshackle hut on the shores of a lonely fjord, hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement, battling the elements every day, just to survive.At first, Christiane is horrified by the freezing cold, the bleak landscape the lack of equipment and supplies... But as time passes, after encounters with bears and seals, long treks over the ice and months on end of perpetual night, she finds herself falling in love with the Arctic's harsh, otherworldly beauty, gaining a great sense of inner peace and a new appreciation for the sanctity of life.
A Woman's Journey Round the World: From Vienna to Brazil, Chili, Tahiti, China, Hindostan, Persia, and Asia Minor
by Ida PfeifferThis scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
A Woman's Walks
by Lady Colin CampbellA book of exploration and discovery, celebrating the 175th anniversary of The London Library.From young men seeking outdoor adventure to intrepid ladies of a certain age discovering other cultures, Victorian explorers were starting to develop a more personal kind of travelogue. In A Woman's Walks, Lady Colin Campbell takes us on a voyage of exploration through her inner landscape - as well as through Italy, France, Switzerland, Austro-Hungary, London, and the English countryside.The books in "Found on the Shelves" have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over seventeen miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it.From essays on dieting in the 1860s to instructions for gentlewomen on trout-fishing, from advice on the ill health caused by the "modern" craze of bicycling to travelogues from Norway, they are as readable and relevant today as they were more than a century ago.
A World Away: The British Package Holiday Boom, 1950–1974
by Michael John LawThe 1950s and 1960s were a transformative period in Britain, and an important part of this was how Britons’ lives were changed when they began flying abroad for their holidays. In A World Away Michael John Law investigates how something that previously only the rich could afford became available to working-class holidaymakers.A World Away moves beyond the big players in the tourist industry and technical accounts of the airplanes used by tour operators to tell the histories of the people who were there, both tourists and tour guides, using their personal testimonies. Until now there has been uncertainty about the identity of these new tourists: some feared they were working-class intruders who might invade the pristine destinations favoured by the elite; others claimed that most were from the middle class. Using new data derived from flight accident investigations, Law explains the complex origins of these new flyers. In British society this unprecedented mobility could not go unpunished, and the new tourists were lampooned in books and newspapers aimed at the middle classes. Law shows how popular culture, movies, and music influenced the decision to travel, and what actually happened when these new holidaymakers went abroad.Law investigates the package tour industry from its mid-century origins through its inherent weaknesses, governmental interference, and unforeseen world events that contributed to its partial failure in the early 1970s. A World Away provides the definitive account of this important change in postwar British society.
A World Between Waves: Politics And Extinction On A Hawaiian Island
by Frank StewartA World Between Waves is a collection of essays on the natural history of Hawaii by some of America's most renowned writers. It is a testament to the biological and geological wealth of this unique and threatened island landscape, and a passionate call to action on behalf of what may soon be gone.
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance - Portrait of an Age
by William ManchesterA "lively and engaging" history of the Middle Ages (Dallas Morning News) from the acclaimed historian William Manchester, author of The Last Lion. From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose, and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth: the dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history's greatest poets, philosophers, painters, adventurers, and reformers, as well as some of its most spectacular villains."Manchester provides easy access to a fascinating age when our modern mentality was just being born." --Chicago Tribune
A World of Culture, Oil and Golf
by David AllardTwists & turns on the world’s roads to oil and golf .... this book takes you there! • World cultures; people and places tourists do not typically see • Oil business risk and wildcat wells • Rebels, jungle, desert and offshore • Golf in strange places; even if your caddy speaks no English “JR Ewing in Dallas, Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood – fictional oil men live oversized lives. David Allard lived a life in oil but the glamour was different – early morning shifts on a rig in the South China Sea, a handful of pistachios with friendly locals while drilling in Turkey, a cold beer in Cairo after a rough drive exploring a remote oasis. All through this oil and gas adventure, he dreams of being at home with his wife, her garden, and his young son. This is the real thing – meticulously documented and full of the little details that really matter.” Lisa Margonelli, author of Oil on the Brain. “A World of Culture, Oil and Golf is a fascinating look into the global oil business and what it’s like to be an insider traveling the world and navigating the amazing array of locales and personalities of the most valuable commodity mankind has ever traded. The book is an easy, fast-paced read and is entertaining and informative from the first page to the last. I truly enjoyed it and would recommend it to readers of any age.David W. Miller II, author of Hard Knocks MBA: The Search for Business Success and Job Satisfaction and Before and After: Auto Restoration Done RIGHT! With over 30 years in the oil business as a geologist, David Allard takes you on a wild worldwide adventure. From the oil patch of Midland Texas, to Houston, around the world and back to the USA; enjoy the trip!
A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate <i>Pallada</i>
by Edyta M. BojanowskaMany people are familiar with American Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition to open trade relations with Japan in the early 1850s. Less well known is that on the heels of the Perry squadron followed a Russian expedition secretly on the same mission. Serving as secretary to the naval commander was novelist Ivan Goncharov, who turned his impressions into a book, The Frigate Pallada, which became a bestseller in imperial Russia. In A World of Empires, Edyta Bojanowska uses Goncharov’s fascinating travelogue as a window onto global imperial history in the mid-nineteenth century. Reflecting on encounters in southern Africa’s Cape Colony, Dutch Java, Spanish Manila, Japan, and the British ports of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, Goncharov offers keen observations on imperial expansion, cooperation, and competition. Britain’s global ascendancy leaves him in equal measures awed and resentful. In Southeast Asia, he recognizes an increasingly interlocking world in the vibrant trading hubs whose networks encircle the globe. Traveling overland back home, Goncharov presents Russia’s colonizing rule in Siberia as a positive imperial model, contrasted with Western ones. Slow to be integrated into the standard narrative on European imperialism, Russia emerges here as an increasingly assertive empire, eager to position itself on the world stage among its American and European rivals and fully conversant with the ideologies of civilizing mission and race. Goncharov’s gripping narrative offers a unique eyewitness account of empire in action, in which Bojanowska finds both a zeal to emulate European powers and a determination to define Russia against them.
A Wretched and Precarious Situation: In Search of the Last Arctic Frontier
by David WelkyA Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2016 A remarkable true story of adventure, betrayal, and survival set in one of the world’s most inhospitable places. In 1906, from atop a snow-swept hill in the ice fields northwest of Greenland, hundreds of miles from another human being, Commander Robert E. Peary spotted a line of mysterious peaks looming in the distance. He called this unexplored realm “Crocker Land.” Scientists and explorers agreed that the world-famous explorer had discovered a new continent rising from the frozen Arctic Ocean. Several years later, two of Peary’s disciples, George Borup and Donald MacMillan, assembled a team of amateur adventurers to investigate Crocker Land. Before them lay a chance at the kind of lasting fame enjoyed by Magellan, Columbus, and Captain Cook. While filling in the last blank space on the globe, they might find new species of plants or animals, or even men; in the era of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, anything seemed possible. Renowned scientific institutions, and even former president Theodore Roosevelt, rushed to endorse the expedition. What followed was a sequence of events that none of the explorers could have imagined. Trapped in a true-life adventure story, the men endured howling blizzards, unearthly cold, food shortages, isolation, a fatal boating accident, a drunken sea captain, disease, dissension, and a horrific crime. But the team pushed on through every obstacle, driven forward by the mystery of Crocker Land and faint hopes that they someday would make it home. Populated with a cast of memorable characters, and based on years of research in previously untapped sources, A Wretched and Precarious Situation is a harrowing Arctic narrative unlike any other.
A Writer's House in Wales
by Jan MorrisThrough an exploration of her country home in Wales, acclaimed travel writer Jan Morris discovers the heart of her fascinating country and what it means to be Welsh. Trefan Morys, Morris's home between the sea and mountains of the remote northwest corner of Wales, is the 18th-century stable block of her former family house nearby. Surrounding it are the fields and outbuildings, the mud, sheep, and cattle of a working Welsh farm. She regards this modest building not only as a reflection of herself and her life, but also as epitomizing the small and complex country of Wales, which has defied the world for centuries to preserve its own identity. Morris brilliantly meditates on the beams and stone walls of the house, its jumbled contents, its sounds and smells, its memories and inhabitants, and finally discovers the profoundest meanings of Welshness.
A Writer's House in Wales
by Jan MorrisTrefan Morys, Morris's home between the sea and mountains of the remote northwest corner of Wales, is the 18th-century stable block of her former family house nearby. Surrounding it are the fields and outbuildings, the mud, sheep, and cattle of a working Welsh farm. She regards this modest building not only as a reflection of herself and her life, but also as epitomizing the small and complex country of Wales, which has defied the world for centuries to preserve its own identity. Morris brilliantly meditates on the beams and stone walls of the house, its jumbled contents, its sounds and smells, its memories and inhabitants, and finally discovers the profoundest meanings of Welshness.
A Writer's Paris: A Guided Journey for the Creative Soul
by Eric MaiselEnrich your life and write with more intensity than ever on a spirit-renewing adventure in the City of Light. Experience Paris not as a tourist but as a creator, where you dedicate yourself to the bohemian life in picturesque parks, cafés, and bookstores. In this guided tour of a beloved destination that has sparked the imagination of countless writers and artists, leading creativity coach Eric Maisel offers insights on how to use the city to spur commitment to your craft. Beyond the metaphor of Paris as a place of creativity, Maisel provides practical tools for you to use upon committing to this journey: tips for writing at the Place des Vosges while soaking in the surrounding architecture and vibrant energy; advice on the best time to visit the Musée d'Orsay for maximum inspiration; and ideas for engaging all the senses during strolls through churches and subways of this dazzling location. In brief essays that are whimsically illustrated, Maisel helps you put your dreams into action, encouraging you to move beyond the idea of living and writing in Paris to the reality of doing it, for three weeks or three years or anytime in between.
A Writer's San Francisco: A Guided Journey for the Creative Soul (Creativity And Journaling Ser.)
by Eric Maisel"Maisel has a wonderful voice and A Writer's San Francisco reads like a gritty, fluent love letter. He moves seamlessly between thoughtful descriptions of modern San Francisco and the San Francisco of the '60s and '70s in narratives that bring the city alive on the page. His affection and respect for the city are inspiring to all writers and artists, but also to anyone who has ever spent time in San Francisco and fallen in love with her." — Chris DeLorenzo, Laguna Writers Workshop San Francisco holds a special place in the history of American literature and in the hearts of creative people everywhere. In thirty-one essays, Eric Maisel takes you on an enchanted journey through one of the world's greatest cities. Walk San Francisco's twisting streets, climb its famous hills, explore bohemian landmarks like City Lights Bookstore, and check out lesser-known neighborhoods. Along the way, Maisel conjures the city's past and present writers, including Twain, Ferlinghetti, and Kerouac, and tells personal stories from his own years as a Bay Area writer, teacher, and creativity coach. Whether you're a San Francisco native, a visitor, an armchair traveler, or an artistic soul seeking inspiration, you'll find lots to inspire you in these pages.
A Year Off: A Story About Traveling the World—And How to Make It Happen For You
by David Brown Alexandra BrownIn this mix of memoir, guidebook, and travelogue, a married couple documents the year they took off from work and traveled the world together.Wait for me . . . Who knew these three words said to a near stranger would start an international travel adventure? A Year Off is one part memoir, one part travel essays and one part travel guide, documenting the story of Alexandra and David Brown, a couple who decided to take a year off from their jobs and “regular lives” to travel the world together after only knowing each other for four months. Each chapter tackles a different part of the journey, including:-Practical takeaways for how to take the same leap and travel, like tips on budgeting, planning, pacing and adjusting to culture shock-A look into David and Alexandra’s story as they traveled the world together and got to know one another-Colorful memories of their travels, like a dramatic kayak ride in Milford Sound, New Zealand, an emotional evening in India, a life-changing meal in the Loire Valley, France, a hilarious makeover in Romania . . . and many moreThis inspiring book is for all the dreamers, would-be adventurers and endearingly practical professionals looking to scratch the travel itch. With many gorgeous photographs and actionable travel advice, A Year Off captures all the beauty and magic of the wanderlust spirit, guiding readers on how to take the same leap and showing them just how doable a journey this type of round-the-world travel is.Praise for A Year Off“In A Year Off married couple Alexandra and David Brown chronicle a trip around the world and provide advice for travelers who may want to follow in their footsteps. Filled with personal stories, useful takeaways, beautiful photos and great design, chapters like “Identity Crisis” and “Financial Freak-outs” make it clear that the Browns haven’t airbrushed their story.” —BookPage“Have you ever dreamed of quitting the rat race and taking a year off—and then swiftly jolted back to reality? If so, A Year Off will give you the inspiration and the courage to make it happen in real life.” —The Independent
A Year across Maryland: A Week-by-Week Guide to Discovering Nature in the Chesapeake Region
by Bryan MacKayA week-by-week look at the abundant wildlife and plants in and around Maryland—where and when to find them.When can you find ripe blueberries along the Appalachian Trail in Maryland? Where can you see the air filled with monarch butterflies as they migrate south each autumn? If you want to enjoy nature this weekend, where is the best place to visit? Bryan MacKay can tell you.Written as an almanac, A Year across Maryland invites you to explore the natural world throughout the year, from watching bald eagles nesting in January to harvesting mistletoe in December. Entries identify the best time and place to experience such wonders as wildflowers blooming, birds in migration, amphibians singing, and morel mushrooms ready to be picked, sliced, sautéed, and devoured. Color photographs of more than seventy species enrich and illustrate the text. Every week of the year has a recommended "Trip of the Week." Personal essays that draw from MacKay's field notes provide an intimate glimpse into a biologist encounters with plants and animals over the years.Whether you want to see snow geese and trumpeter swans pausing in their northward migration each March, or the mating "jubilee" of polychaete worms during the new moon in May, A Year across Maryland offers valuable advice for the spontaneous adventurer and the serious planner alike.
A Year at Hotel Gondola: The perfect heartwarming Italian romance you need to read this holiday season
by Nicky Pellegrino'Lyrical, heartrending and compelling' JOJO MOYES on Recipe for LifeKat is an adventurer, a food writer who travels the world visiting far-flung places and eating unusual things. Now she is about to embark on her biggest adventure yet - a relationship. She has fallen in love with an Italian man and is moving to live with him in Venice where she will help him run his small guesthouse, Hotel Gondola. Kat has lined up a book deal and will write about the first year of her new adventure, the food she eats, the recipes she collects, the people she meets, the man she doesn't really know all that well but is going to make a life with. But as Kat ought to know by now, the thing about adventures is that they never go exactly the way you expect them to...The perfect romantic comedy to curl up with this autumn, for fans of Jill Mansell, Katie Fforde and Jo Thomas.******Your favourite authors love Nicky Pellegrino's feel-good stories:'Warm, engaging and truly delicious' Rosanna Ley, author of The Little Theatre by the Sea'A delicious and sensual adventure' Fiona Gibson, author of The Woman Who Met Her Match'Wonderfully evocative' Pamela Hartshorne, author of The Cursed Wife
A Year at Hotel Gondola: The perfect heartwarming Italian romance you need to read this holiday season
by Nicky PellegrinoPerfect for fans of warm contemporary women's fiction from Jo Thomas and Adriana Trigiani, Nicky Pellegrino returns with a perfect summer read.Janetta has never wanted to live a small, everyday sort of life. She's an adventurer, a food writer who travels the world visiting far-flung places and eating unusual things. Now she is about to embark on her biggest adventure yet - a relationship. She has fallen in love with an Italian man and is moving to live with him in Venice where she will help him run his small guesthouse Hotel Gondola. Janetta has lined up a book deal and will write about the first year of her new adventure, the food she eats, the recipes she collects, the people she meets, the man she doesn't really know all that well but is going to make a life with. Still as Janetta ought to know by now, the whole point of adventures is they never go exactly the way you expect them to.Read by Jane McDowell(p) Orion Publishing Group 2018
A Year at the Chateau: As seen on the hit Channel 4 show
by Dick Strawbridge Angel StrawbridgeTHE ENTERTAINING AND HEARTWARMING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER.Like many couples, Dick and Angel had long dreamed of living in France, but where others might settle for a modest bolthole in the French countryside, the Strawbridges fell in love with a 19th-century fairytale château, complete with 45 rooms, seven outbuildings, 12 acres of land and its own moat.Throwing caution to the wind, Dick and Angel swapped their two-bedroom flat in East London for an abandoned and derelict castle in the heart of the Loire valley and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime with their two young children Arthur and Dorothy.Sharing their full journey for the first time, A Year at the Château follows Dick and Angel from when they first moved to France in the depths of winter and found bedrooms infested with flies, turrets inhabited by bats, the wind rattling through cracked windows, and just one working toilet, which flushed into the moat, through to the monumental efforts that went into readying the château for their unforgettable wedding and their incredibly special first Christmas.Along the way we'll read glorious descriptions of rural life in France, with charming characters, delicious food and wonderful seasonal produce, together with the extraordinary list of renovations and restorations Dick and Angel completed, many of which were never shown on TV.As warm and entertaining as their much-loved show, A Year at the Château is a truly irresistible story of adventure and heart, epic ambitions and a huge amount of hard graft.
A Year at the Chateau: As seen on the hit Channel 4 show
by Dick Strawbridge Angel StrawbridgeTHE ENTERTAINING AND HEARTWARMING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER.Like many couples, Dick and Angel had long dreamed of living in France, but where others might settle for a modest bolthole in the French countryside, the Strawbridges fell in love with a 19th-century fairytale château, complete with 45 rooms, seven outbuildings, 12 acres of land and its own moat.Throwing caution to the wind, Dick and Angel swapped their two-bedroom flat in East London for an abandoned and derelict castle in the heart of the Loire valley and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime with their two young children Arthur and Dorothy.Sharing their full journey for the first time, A Year at the Château follows Dick and Angel from when they first moved to France in the depths of winter and found bedrooms infested with flies, turrets inhabited by bats, the wind rattling through cracked windows, and just one working toilet, which flushed into the moat, through to the monumental efforts that went into readying the château for their unforgettable wedding and their incredibly special first Christmas.Along the way we'll read glorious descriptions of rural life in France, with charming characters, delicious food and wonderful seasonal produce, together with the extraordinary list of renovations and restorations Dick and Angel completed, many of which were never shown on TV.As warm and entertaining as their much-loved show, A Year at the Château is a truly irresistible story of adventure and heart, epic ambitions and a huge amount of hard graft.
A Year in Paris: Season by Season in the City of Light
by John BaxterA Paperback OriginalFrom the incomparable John Baxter, award-winning author of the bestselling The Most Beautiful Walk in the World, a sumptuous and definitive portrait of Paris through the seasons, highlighting the unique tastes, sights, and changing personality of the city in spring, summer, fall, and winter.“A man with a great appreciation of what makes Paris tick.”— NewsdayWhen the common people of France revolted in 1789, one of the first ways they chose to correct the excesses of the monarchy and the church was to rename the months of the year. Selected by poet and playwright Philippe-Francois-Nazaire Fabre, these new names reflected what took place at that season in the natural world; Fructidor was the month of fruit, Floréal that of flowers, while the winter wind (vent) dominated Ventôse. Though the names didn’t stick, these seasonal rhythms of the year continue to define Parisians, as well as travelers to the city. As acclaimed author and long-time Paris resident John Baxter himself recollects, “My own arrival in France took place in Nivôse, the month of snow, and continued in Pluviôse, the season of rain. To someone coming from Los Angeles, where seasons barely existed, the shock was visceral. Struggling to adjust, I found reassurance in the literature, music, even the cuisine of my adoptive country, all of which marched to the inaudible drummer of the seasons.”Devoting a section of the book to each of Fabre’s months, Baxter draws upon Paris’s literary, cultural and artistic past to paint an affecting, unforgettable portrait of the city. Touching upon the various ghosts of Paris past, from Hemingway and Zelda Fitzgerald, to Claude Debussy to MFK Fisher to Francois Mitterrand, Baxter evokes the rhythms of the seasons in the City of Light, and the sense of wonder they can arouse for all who visit and live there.A melange of history, travel reportage, and myth, of high culture and low, A Year in Paris is vintage John Baxter: a vicarious thrill ride for anyone who loves Paris.