description and travel

Everyone has experienced hot days in which it's hard to move without sweating. Readers will realize those days were cool compared to some of the sweltering locations vividly described within the pages of this volume. Death Valley, the Sahara, and Ethiopia are highlighted in text and on maps in this trip around the globe in search of Earth's hottest places. Why some locations are so hot, different ways of measuring temperature, and the health risks of extreme heat are just a few of the topics touched upon in this book, compatible with any science and social studies collection.

In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Huan Hsu's great-great-grandfather Liu's Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, Liu was forced to bury his valuables, including a vast collection of prized antique porcelain, and undertake a decades-long trek that would splinter the family over thousands of miles. Many years and upheavals later, Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed only with curiosity, moved to China to work in his uncle's semiconductor chip business. Once there, a conversation with his grandmother, his last living link to dynastic China, ignites a desire to learn more about not only his lost ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering the language enough to venture into the countryside, Hsu set out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have obscured both China and his heritage and finally complete his family's long march back home. Provides a revealing, lively perspective on contemporary Chinese society from the point of view of a Chinese- American coming to terms with his hyphenated identity.

Introduces readers to the culture, economy, government, history, lifestyle, and more of Romania.

"Recounts the 1918-1919 winter spent on Alaska's Fox Island from the point of view of 9-year-old Rocky, son of the painter Rockwell Kent II"--Provided by publisher.

In graphic novel format, presents a guidebook to Japan, focusing on shopping, food, the world's biggest manga, anime, and cosplay festivals, and other topics.

Learn about Australia's land and climate, plants and animals, natural resources, goods and services, indigenous peoples, cultural groups, arts and entertainment, sports, politics and government, and much more!.

Provides a first person account of an expedition to the North Pole, including preparing for the trip, a description of the people and animals who live in the area, and survival tips.

Tells the story of Chris McCandless, a twenty-four-year-old who walked into the Alaskan wilderness on an idealistic journey and was found dead of starvation nearly four months later. Presented in Spanish.

Follows the adventures of the thirteenth-century Venetian merchant who traveled along the Silk Road to the court of Kublai Khan in China.

Helena Atlee sets out to explore citrus' curious past and its enduring resonance in Italian culture. This heady mixture of travel writing, history, horticulture and art offers a unique-and enormously readable-journey through Italy's cultural, culinary and political past.