Literary Nonfiction. JOURNEY TO MOUNT TAMALPAIS is an essay on Nature, Art, and the relationship between them. Highly original in both content and literary structure, it provides a new outlook on the importance of Nature as an element of thinking; one of the major works on the "spirit of place" in contemporary literature. This book is illustrated with 17 drawings by the author. "An enlightening journey for those who love the mountain, and for those who love Etel Adnan." Wendell Berry"

In 1965, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Philip Whalen gathered at the base of Mt. Tamalpais, a lovely small mountain in Marin County that anchors the San Francisco Bay on its northwest side. Inspired by Tibetan and Indian practices of walking clockwise — “the way of the sun” — around a venerated object, they “opened the mountain” by completing the first circumambulation. They did it again two years later, a month after the “Human Be-in” in Golden Gate Park, and with greater company as they invited the public to join them. The practice has continued almost uninterrupted for forty years, with Matthew Davis finding an organizing role on April 8, 1971, the Buddha's birthday, when he first led the walk. He has led the celebrations more than 140 times since. The ritual walk — slightly less than 15 miles in length — marks the four quarters of the year. Ten way stations have been established for ceremonial chanting and prayer. With 80 remarkable photographs by Michael Farrell Scott, lovely drawings and maps, chants and poems, this book documents not only this particular spiritual practice but offers guidance for others wishing to establish similar practices in their own areas.

As skilled a philosopher as she is a poet, Adnan weaves multiple sonic, theoretical, syntactic pleasures at once.

The first retrospective collection of 50 years of writing by our leading Arab-American innovative writer. This landmark two-volume edition, first published in 2014, is being reprinted in a single volume. This collection follows Adnan's work from the infernal elegies of the 1960s to the ethereal meditations of her later poems, to form a portrait of an extraordinarily impassioned and prescient life. Ranging between essay, fiction, poetry, memoir, feminist manifesto, and philosophical treatise, while often challenging the conventions of genre, Adnan's works give voice to the violence and revelation of the last six decades as it has centered, in part, within the geopolitics of the Arab world, and in particular the author's native Beirut. Among the key works reproduced in their entirety are Sitt Marie Rose (1978); The Arab Apocalypse (1980); Journey to Mount Tamalpais (1986); and Of Cities & Women (1993).

An arresting new translation of poems, originally written in French, by one of our greatest philosopher poets

Plan and Enjoy Self-Guided Inn-to-Inn Hikes Leave the car behind, and go on a multiday hiking adventure in Northern California. Cross the Sierra in the footsteps of pioneers, staying in cabins beside clear mountain lakes. Take a romantic stroll along the beautiful Mendocino Coast, and sample gourmet cuisine at inns overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Explore the hydrothermal landscapes in Lassen Volcanic National Park, where you can relax with a muscle-soothing soak in hot springs. Walkabout Northern California gives you the information you need to create a wilderness vacation that lets you end each day with a comfortable bed, a great meal, and perhaps even a hot tub. This fully updated, full-color edition describes 14 walks (or walkabouts) in the wilds of Northern California: along the Pacific Coast, through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the Cascades, and around the parklands of the San Francisco Bay. Each entry includes all the necessary details to create a memorable and invigorating vacation—with a map, mile-by-mile details of the route, logistical tips on places to stay and eat, and inspirational ideas to simplify your travel and reconnect with nature’s rhythm. Some hikes can take a week, but many can be enjoyed in a weekend. Some are challenging, but many are perfect for the casual hiker. With a light day pack and a few reservations, you can travel for days along California’s breathtaking coastline or over its vast mountain ranges. Follow author Tom Courtney on a northern California walkabout, so you can create a human-powered vacation in wilderness and in comfort.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of Bird by Bird comes a personal, wise, very funny, and “life-affirming” book (People) that shows us how to find meaning and hope through shining the light of faith on the darkest part of ordinary life. "Anne Lamott is walking proof that a person can be both reverent and irreverent in the same lifetime. Sometimes even in the same breath." —San Francisco Chronicle Lamott claims the two best prayers she knows are: "Help me, help me, help me" and "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She has a friend whose morning prayer each day is "Whatever," and whose evening prayer is "Oh, well." Anne thinks of Jesus as "Casper the friendly savior" and describes God as "one crafty mother." Despite—or because of—her irreverence, faith is a natural subject for Anne Lamott. Since Operating Instructions and Bird by Bird, her fans have been waiting for her to write the book that explained how she came to the big-hearted, grateful, generous faith that she so often alluded to in her two earlier nonfiction books. The people in Anne Lamott's real life are like beloved characters in a favorite series for her readers—her friend Pammy, her son, Sam, and the many funny and wise folks who attend her church are all familiar. And Traveling Mercies is a welcome return to those lives, as well as an introduction to new companions Lamott treats with the same candor, insight, and tenderness. Lamott's faith isn't about easy answers, which is part of what endears her to believers as well as nonbelievers. Against all odds, she came to believe in God and then, even more miraculously, in herself. As she puts it, "My coming to faith did not start with a leap but rather a series of staggers."