Imagine taking a road trip across this great land, then hopping a flight to Hawaii and Alaska, spending time in every state in the union. That's what the author of Slow Roads America, Jerry Park, beckons you to do from the comfort of your favorite chair. Many years, road miles, motel nights, and flights in the making, Jerry's book takes you down the backroads that knit this expansive land together in an endless variety of scenery, folk, and story. From a swamp in Florida to the Amish countryside of Pennsylvania to the top of a 10,000 foot volcano in Hawaii to New England in the fall to a canyon in Arizona to a Kansas prairie, you're coming along for the ride. Through his rich, color photographs and engaging short stories inspired by a handful of the images, Jerry gives you a fresh and pleasurable look at ordinary scenes and stories that capture the imagination and maybe cause you to wonder about some things. Jerry stays away from the celebrated icons of the USA that have already been photographed for ages and instead looks for the extraordinary view of things we may drive by every day and never really see.

Travel with David Reynolds as he sets off to explore route US Route 50, one of the few remaining two-lane highways running right across the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Driving as slowly as safety permits, stopping frequently and often going backwards to have a second look at something glimpsed in passing, Reynolds talks to people on the streets, in bars and cafes, motels and gas stations. They talk about everything from cannabis in Colorado to slavery, from Aaron Burr to Marilyn Monroe via Truman Capote, and everyone has something to say about Donald Trump. Beautifully observed, with candour, insight and humour, this is a vivid and timely portrait of small-town USA as we head towards the US elections.

The community of Deadhorse, Alaska (population 25) lies 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, at the northern terminus of the Pan-American Highway, the longest road in the world. Key West, Florida, sits at the southern tip of the Florida Keys, an archipelago of coral islands jutting into the Caribbean warmth of the Mexican Gulf. Between Key West and Deadhorse lies most of North America. Londoner James Anthony decided to drive between the two, adjusting his GPS settings to 'avoid highways, ' letting an inanimate piece of technology guide him left-right through the byways, back roads, country lanes and mountain passes of this vast continent. Along the way, he was serenaded in an African-American Church in Miami; went peanut farming in Georgia; hitched a ferry ride across the Mississippi with moonshine-drinking locals; got drunk with a North Dakotan farmer who had three months to live; survived a haunting in Saskatchewan; was nearly squashed by an irate buffalo in the Northern Rockies; and arrived at the Arctic Ocean just before freeze-up. Part travelogue, history, social commentary, and good-time escapism, The Slow Road to Deadhorse chronicles an Englishman's road-trip through the North America most people never get to see.

"Immensely illuminating and enjoyable account of a road trip along Highway 83 ... Books like [Reynold's] prove that good travel writing remains not only very much alive, but essential."--The Bookseller In Slow Road to Brownsville, David Reynolds embarks on a road trip along Highway 83, a little-known two-lane highway built in 1926 that runs from Swan River, Manitoba, to the Mexican border at Brownsville, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico. Growing up in a small town in England, Reynolds was enthralled by both the myth of the Wild West and the myth of the open road. This road trip is his exploration of the reality behind these myths as he makes his way from small town to small town, gas station to gas station, and motel to motel, hanging out in bars, drinking with the locals, and observing their sometimes-peculiar customs. Reynolds also wanted to see the country where the Sioux, the Cheyenne, the Comanches, the Apaches, and other native groups lived and died and to look at how their descendants live now. He describes the forced location of the Cheyenne people, discovers the true story of the Alamo, and finds similarities between Sitting Bull's tours and those of the Black

As he crisscrosses America—driving in search of the present, the past, and himself—Larry McMurtry shares his fascination with this nation's great trails and the culture that has developed around them. Ever since he was a boy growing up in Texas only a mile from Highway 281, Larry McMurtry has felt the pull of the road. His town was thoroughly landlocked, making the highway his "river, its hidden reaches a mystery and an enticement. I began my life beside it and I want to drift down the entire length of it before I end this book." In Roads, McMurtry embarks on a cross-country trip where his route is also his destination. As he drives, McMurtry reminisces about the places he's seen, the people he's met, and the books he's read, including more than 3,000 books about travel. He explains why watching episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show might be the best way to find joie de vivre in Minnesota; the scenic differences between Route 35 and I-801; which vigilantes lived in Montana and which hailed from Idaho; and the histories of Lewis and Clark, Sitting Bull, and Custer that still haunt Route 2 today. As it makes its way from South Florida to North Dakota, from eastern Long Island to Oregon, Roads is travel writing at its best.

From the acclaimed author of the “wonderfully funny and openhearted” (NPR) Drinking with Men comes a poignant, wrenching, and ultimately hopeful book—equal parts memoir and social history—that follows the author, after a series of tragic losses, to Northern Ireland, where she finds a path toward healing. Rosie Schaap had a solid career as a journalist and a life that looked to others like nonstop fun: all drinking and dining and traveling to beautiful places—and getting paid to write about it. But under the surface she was reeling from the loss of her husband and her mother—who died just one year apart. Caring for them had claimed much of her daily life in her late thirties. Mourning them would take longer. It wasn’t until a reporting trip took her to the Northern Irish countryside that Rosie found a partner to heal with: Glenarm, a quiet, seaside village in County Antrim. That first visit made such an impression she returned to make a life. This unlikely place—in a small, tough country mainly associated with sectarian strife—gave her a measure of peace that had seemed impossible elsewhere. Weaving personal narrative and social history, The Slow Road North is a moving and wise look at how a community can offer the key to healing. It’s a portrait of a complicated place at a pivotal time—through Brexit, a historic school integration, and a pandemic—and a love letter to a village and a culture.

A new way forward for sustainable quality of life in cities of all sizes Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co-founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem. Inside, you’ll learn why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles—and why it just doesn’t work. New development and high-risk investing don’t generate enough wealth to support itself, and cities continue to struggle. Read this book to find out how cities large and small can focus on bottom-up investments to minimize risk and maximize their ability to strengthen the community financially and improve citizens’ quality of life. Develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying logic behind the “traditional” search for never-ending urban growth Learn practical solutions for ameliorating financial struggles through low-risk investment and a grassroots focus Gain insights and tools that can stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls and unexpected downturns Become a part of the Strong Towns revolution by shifting the focus away from top-down growth toward rebuilding American prosperity Strong Towns acknowledges that there is a problem with the American approach to growth and shows community leaders a new way forward. The Strong Towns response is a revolution in how we assemble the places we live.