Catfish and Mandala, A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam  •  Andrew X. Pham BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 344 PAGES Much more than a road trip, this book combines the author's family history with his many and often-gritty adventures by bicycle through foreign lands (including Mexico, Japan and, notably, Vietnam). In addition, he reveals much about himself and his family, transplanted from Vietnam to the United States in 1967. Winner of the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. (VNM50, $15.00)
The Curve of Time  •  Muriel Wylie Blanchet EXPLORATION •  1993 •  PAPER  • 170 PAGES • FAVORITE When in 1927, at the age of 36, the author was left widowed with five children in remote Vancouver Island, her relatives counseled that she'd never manage on her own. But manage she did -- and she wrote this delightful book about the pleasures of exploring the coastal wilderness in a 25-foot boat. It's a funny, vivid account of the region, full of memorable detail on people and place. (PNW48, $15.95)
Through Siberia by Accident  •  Dervla Murphy TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 302 PAGES Undeterred by a change in plans after wrenching her knee on the Trans-Siberian, the indomitable Murphy explores Siberia in lieu of a planned trip on her bicycle dubbed Pushkin. Instead of the Russian Far East, she spent much of her three-month stay in and around Lake Baikal (where, naturally, she takes a swim). The book brims with personality and insight. (SIB50, $15.95)
Independent People, An Epic  •  Halldor Laxness LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES • FAVORITE A masterwork redolent of Icelandic rural life in the early days of the 20th century. This great mock-epic features Bjartur of Summerhouses -- a hard-headed, independent-minded sheep farmer whose voice dominates the story. Whatever its ethnographic interest, this is a tremendously good book, rich in local detail. The author won the Nobel Prize in 1955. (ICL01, $15.95)