"From one of our most beloved authors, a fascinating excursion into the history behind the place we call home--now richly illustrated with almost four hundred images. A national bestseller, At Home is Bill Bryson's epic chronicle of domestic history. In this lavish new edition, his riveting room-by-room journey of discovery around his house--a Victorian parsonage in southern England--is enhanced by some four hundred carefully selected full color and...

Bryson examines closely the events and personalities of the summer of 1927 when America's story was one of brawling adventure, reckless optimism and delirious energy.

This collection of essays by the humorist author traces his offbeat world travel experiences. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in the English countryside or marveling over a...

Venice, a city steeped in a thousand years of history, art and architecture, teeters in precarious balance between endurance and decay. Its architectural treasures crumble--foundations shift, marble ornaments fall--even as efforts to preserve them are underway. This book opens in 1996, when a dramatic fire destroys the historic Fenice opera house, a catastrophe for Venetians. Arriving three days after the fire, Berendt becomes a kind of detective--inquiring...

The author, having spent several summers working to restore the villa she purchased in Tuscany, shares her ongoing love affair with her home and the country, and discusses her joyous experience of the spring season in Italy.

"A profound rumination on the concept of freedom from the New York Times bestselling author of Tribe"-- Throughout history, humans have been driven by the quest for two cherished ideals: community and freedom. The two don't coexist easily. We value individuality and self-reliance, yet are utterly dependent on community for our most basic needs. In this intricately crafted and thought-provoking book, Sebastian Junger examines the tension that lies...

The Andrea Gail was caught in a storm in October 1991, off the coast of Nova Scotia, "and soon afterward the boat and its crew of six disappeared without a trace. The incredible true account of the most extraordinary storm of the 20th century, this is the story of a tempest born from so rare a combination of factors it was deemed "perfect" and of the doomed fishing boat with her crew of six that was helpless in the midst of a force beyond comprehension....

Traveling along the three-thousand-mile stretch of China's Route 312, the Beijing bureau chief for NPR offers a close-up look at the economic and social transformation within China and the implications for both China and the world.

After a career in journalism culminating in his twenty-two years as anchor of the NBC Nightly News and as bestselling author of The Greatest Generation, comes a powerful memoir of a year of dramatic change--a year spent battling cancer and reflecting on a long, happy, and lucky life.

An advertising executive remembers his childhood with his eccentric foster family and his early adulthood experiences of trying to establish an independent life for himself.