American ShaolinMatt Polly

Chinese kung-fu is one of the most glorious examples of obsessive-compulsive behavior in the history of human culture.

There is a certain type of person who needs something to hang onto, make their own and Focus On (yes, with caps). For some reason, martial arts (and religion) seem …

Off the Tourist TrailEyewitness Travel

This is SUCH a dangerous book if you like to travel. Here are a thousand alternative trips and places to visit off the standard tourist trail. Usually less expensive than the big names, much less-visited and often harder to get to, these destinations are so very tempting. Find …

This trio of true adventure books are completely gripping. The Lost City of Z, written by New Yorker columnist David Grann, chronicles his obsession with Victorian explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett. Trained by the Royal Geographical Society in London, Fawcett undertook numerous trips exploring the Amazon basin. Based on pottery …

London Then and NowDiane Bursten

I’m not sure what photos surprised me more in London Then and Now – the photos of landmarks virtually unchanged in over 100 years or those that were completely obliviated with not a hint that they ever existed. In both cases, images of massive stone and brick edifices …

 London Sight UnseenSnowdon

This clever collection of photos showcases strange and outré buildings in London. Originally built as gate houses, gazebos or follies (mock-historical buildings built just for the heck of it) most have now been converted into expensive yuppie dwellings or garden sheds. With everything from mock-churches, tiny Victorian wrought-iron stands, …

Sunken Cities, Sacred Cenotes and Golden SharksBill Belleville

Travel writer Belleville has visited some of the most remote and inaccessible sites in the world. Drawn to the water, he has explored reefs, tunnels, underwater caves, murky tropical rivers and cenote (sinkholes sacred to the Maya) visited by less people than have visited the moon. Sunken Cities …

Offbeat MuseumsSaul Rubin

I can’t begin to tell you how upset I was to discover the Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue had closed a few scant years ago. Such a shrine, virtually in my own back yard! A well, there are plenty of other great places to visit – The Nut …

Beyond Mammoth CaveJames Borden and Roger Brucker

I picked up this book earlier in the fall when we were vacationing at Mammoth Cave. Tag-teaming in an occasionally confusing way, Borden and Brucker tell of their various exploits exploring and mapping Mammoth Cave and the ensuing connection to Roppel Cave, making Mammoth Cave …

Gullible's TravelsCash Peters

Peters’ travelogue is by far the oddest I have ever read. Peters is best known for doing short segments on wacky roadside attractions for public radio shows like The Savvy Traveler. Within a few pages, Peters makes clear how much he loathes this lifestyle. Fourteen years of being …