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Thursday, November 2nd |
Mary McAuliffe
Paris Discovered: Explorations in the City of Light
Historian Mary McAuliffe, author of Paris Discovered: Explorations in the City of Light, will talk about her walks through the city in search of sites noted by artists and writers. McAuliffe's Paris is filled with buildings and scenes which inspired noted paintings and literature. Her descriptions of a hidden chapel, an ancient river and a historic passageway are enticing examples of the many "secrets" shared with readers.
Manhattanite Mary McAuliffe received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland. She has taught at several universities, lectured at the Smithsonian Institution, traveled extensively in France, and for the past seven years has been a regular contributor to Paris Notes.
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October 25th, 2006 |
Wayne Bernhardson
Chilean and Argentinean Patagonia
Wayne Bernhardson returns to GCB to speak about travel
to Patagonia via the gateway cities of Santiago and
Buenos Aires. Bernhardson's extensive knowledge of and
travel in both Chile and Argentina enables a rare presentation
on all of Patagonia. Wayne Bernhardson is the author
of four Moon Handbooks: "Patagonia",
"Chile", "Argentina"
and "Buenos Aires". He
divides his time between California and Buenos Aires.
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June 22nd, 2006 |
Jeffrey Tayler
River of No Reprieve:
Descending Siberia's Waterway of Exile, Death, and Destiny
In a custom-built boat, Jeffrey Tayler travels some
2,400 miles down the Lena River from near Lake Baikal
to high above the Arctic Circle, recreating a journey
first made by Cossack forces more than three hundred
years ago. He is searching for primeval beauty and a
respite from the corruption, violence, and self-destructive
urges that typify modern Russian culture, but instead
he finds the roots of that culture--in Cossack villages
unchanged for centuries, in Soviet outposts full of
listless drunks, in stark ruins of the gulag, and in
grand forests hundreds of miles from the nearest hamlet.
That's how far he is from help when he realizes that
his guide, Vadim, a burly Soviet army veteran embittered
by his experiences in Afghanistan, detests all humanity,
including Tayler. Yet he needs Vadim"s superb skills
if he is to survive a voyage that quickly turns hellish.
Though they must navigate roiling whitewater in howling
storms, they eschew life jackets because, as Vadim explains,
the frigid water would kill them before they could swim
to shore. Though Tayler has trekked by camel through
the Sahara and canoed down the Congo during the revolt
against Mobutu, he has never felt so threatened as he
does now.
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June 1, 2006 |
Stevie
Smith
Pedaling
to Hawaii: A Human-Powered Odyssey
Stevie Smith, author of Pedaling
to Hawaii: A Human-Powered Odyssey pedaled
from his native England across the English Channel,
through the Pyrenees to the Algarve coast, across the
Atlantic Ocean to Miami and westward to California.
His travels via bicycle and the pedal-powered craft,
Moksha,were inspired by his and his friend Jason's goal
of "circumventing the world using human power alone
to promote environmental responsibility and international
understanding".
Pedaling to Hawaii
describes the adventures and misadventures in their
impressive ocean crossing, the support and companionship
of Smith's friends and family, and ongoing education
programs to increase children's awareness of both environmental
issues and opportunities to set and pursue improbable
goals. It's an amazingly engaing and thought-provoking
tale.
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