Product Description
I had heard from passing caravans so many extremely favourable reports respecting Ugogo and its productions that it appeared to me a very Land of Promise, and I was most anxious to refresh my jaded stomach with some of the precious esculents raised in Ugogo… -from Chapter V ”

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Such was the greeting of Henry Stanley upon finding David Livingstone in deepest Africa… if we’re to believe Stanley’s own retelling of the event.

In 1869, the New York Herald newspaper assigned Stanley, one of its overseas correspondents, to search for Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and explorer presumed lost on the Dark Continent, and Stanley, appearing to appreciate full well that his expedition was history in the making, made certain to solidify his own legend with this bombastic, romanticized, and thoroughly rip-roaring chronicle.

From his entourage fit for royalty-the 2,000 porters were all paid for via his Herald expense account-to his daring exploits to find the source of the Nile with Livingstone in tow, this is armchair adventure at its most exciting. Even if it may not all be entirely true.

How I Found Livingstone: Travels, Adventures and Discoveries in Central Africa

Tags: Adventures, Africa, Central, Discoveries, Found, Livingstone, Travels

Book Review:
“These stories are like potato chips; one is never enough, and they’re all but impossible not to devour in rapid succession. Moreover, they lend themselves to repeat reading…” —Library Journal

“Suiting the armchair as well as they did as long as a century ago, these articles will be popular indeed.” —Booklist

Worlds to Explore evokes that bygone era in which the pages of National Geographic were as close as most people could get to high adventure and faraway lands. The 54 tales reproduced here immerse today’s readers in wonder and thrill of exploration before the age of mass tourism. Along with notable explorers such as Edmund Hillary, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and Teddy Roosevelt, other less famous travelers take us to places few Americans had ventured before. We follow as “An Unbeliever Joins the Hadj,” trek “Across Tibet from India to China,” and take “A Round Trip to Davy Jones’s Locker.”

Introduced by brief essays that provide context and perspective, these engaging selections speak for themselves—and trace the National Geographic Society’s growth as it explored the unknown and brought it home to readers eager for knowledge of “the world and all that is in it.”

Worlds to Explore: Classic Tales of Travel and Adventure from National Geographic

Tags: adventure, Classic, Explore, From, Geographic, National, Tales, Travel, world's

Question from a reader: We have several families traveling together to Disneyworld this year and are looking for the best way to buy tickets. Thanks for any insight! See the comments for helpful answers.

Tags: Best, Disneyworld, Tickets

Book Review
This practical, detailed guide helps parents plan and enjoy a fun-filled, creative, educational trip for the whole family. We take you to a selection of America’s most popular parks, national recreation areas, and national seashores: Acadia, Cape Cod, the Smokies, the Outer Banks, Rocky Mountain, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Olympic, Zion, and more.

Included are detailed, candid reviews of each campground and other family-friendly lodgings, plus these special features: a spectacular full-color photo insert, illustrations that help identify plants and animals, places for relaxed play and picnics, and tips on how to teach your kids about everything from native American culture to conservation. Parents will find all kinds of activities the kids will love: biking, canoeing, nature walks, horseback riding, swimming, tide pooling, whale watching, and more.

Frommer’s Family Vacations in the National Parks

With this guide in hand, parents are sure to give their children memories and learning experiences that will last a lifetime. From Amazon: There are hundreds of natural playgrounds scattered across the U.S.–from Cape Hatteras to the Great Smoky Mountains, from Cape Cod to Bryce Canyon, not to mention Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and the Grand Tetons. They’re spread out like giant economical, ecological family resorts of unsurpassed beauty–with free entertainment like hiking and swimming and horseback riding, and various accommodation options, from hike-in campsites to the relative luxury of park cabins. And they invite great family vacations, if you plan for it. Unplanned, the family camping trip can become the nightmare of a lifetime, stuck in the dark with no reservations, inadequate equipment, and a hungry carload growing crankier by the moment.

This is where Wohlforth’s guidebook comes in: Section one is devoted to planning the trip, choosing the park, and deciding when to go. Then come the national parks, first those on the Eastern Seaboard, followed by the Great Smoky Mountains, the Southwest, the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada sites, and the West Coast. For each, Wohlforth provides maps, phone numbers, addresses, and Web sites to contact, and insights into the region’s natural history. Each park is described fully, from its terrain and animal and plant life to special attractions (like geysers, peaks, and waterfalls) and all the lodging options. Wohlforth tells how far in advance you need to reserve, when to go, how much time you might want to spend, and what to pack. He explains how to get there, what facilities the park provides, what the entrance fees are, and which activities are available, as well as any other details you might wish you’d known about in advance, enabling you and your family to plan and then enjoy the trip you envisioned.

Frommer’s Family Vacations in the National Parks

Tags: Family, Frommer's, National, Parks, Vacations