Tips & Reviews

Beyond Lance   Though I may not be Lance Armstrong’s number one fan, I’m up there. I’ve followed his career since 1990, and I knew of him as a promising young US cyclist before he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.… Read full article

Songbirds, Truffles, and Wolves (An American Naturalist in Italy) by Gary Paul Nabhan Colin Fletcher, one of the great walkers of the 20th century (The Man Who Walked Through Time and The Complete Walker) advised his readers to find something… Read full article

Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180 by Mike Magnuson Heft on Wheels makes no secret of its subject matter. On the front, we have a photo of author Mike Magnuson, naked, obese and miserable riding his… Read full article

On Italian Politics, Landscapes and Two Movies about the Po Valley The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L’Albero degli Zoccoli)  by Ermanno Olmi, 1978 1900 (Novecento) by Bernardo Bertolucci, 1976 I’ve been observing Italy since 1966 when I first visited this… Read full article

The Tour de France Companion by Bob Roll Bob Roll’s Nuts, Bolts and Spokes on the famous Tour This is a great book, just out, for those of us who haven’t had time to follow the Tour de France every year… Read full article

To the Ends of the Earth by Paul Theroux One of my favorite things about airports is visiting their bookstores. I like to wander among the cramped aisles in search of something to read during the long hours passed crossing… Read full article

Giving Good Weight: Unmasking Food Writer John McPhee My all time favorite food essayist is John McPhee. This may come as a surprise, mainly because McPhee writes about so many things (his interests are even more eclectic than mine, it… Read full article

Movie Review The Third Man (1949) Produced by Carol Reed, Screenplay by Graham Greene Starring Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Joseph Cotton, and Alida Valli There is no better reminder and introduction to the history of Austria in mid-20th century than… Read full article

Timeline by Michael Crichton I first visited Costa Rica in March of 1993 and I did so by bicycle. I can still picture my ride at the end of Arenal Lake after a long, beautiful day with the lake’s namesake… Read full article

2005 Race Companion by Bob Roll and Dan Koeppel A year ago, we reviewed the first edition of this fine introduction to The Race. Rick offered this opinion:   Avid fans… will find most of this old hat. But those… Read full article

The Venetian Empire by Jan Morris Reviewed by Rick Price, Ph.D. Reading for your Greece, Bike, Walk, and Cruise Trip I enjoy popular history books by good travel writers and Jan Morris qualifies.  His short paperback volume on the Venetian… Read full article

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee (Atheneum, 1969) Moment of War: A Memoir of the Spanish Civil War by Laurie Lee (New Press, Reprint Edition, 1994)… Read full article

Off the Road: A Modern Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain by Jack Hitt Off the Road is often called "irreverent" as Hitt makes fun of himself and others as pilgrims. Yet most of the pilgrims he meets… Read full article

Pride of Carthage, A Novel of Hannibal by David Anthony Durham Public policy generally changes slowly and reluctantly. Major changes, however, often occur in response to sudden catastrophic or cataclysmic events that act as catalysts for change. You needn’t search… Read full article

John Wayne, Harley Davidson, Peanuts, McDonald’s, Route 66, James Dean, Babe Ruth, Ford, and many, many more, including, last but not least, “Schwinn Built” bicycles make up a list of indisputable cultural icons that help to define this country. But… Read full article

Pelle the Conqueror/ Smilla’s Sense of Snow/Babette’s Feast   Pelle the Conqueror by Martin Anderson Nexö (Fjord Press, first printed 1906) Smilla’s Sense of Snowby Peter Hoeg (Delta; Reprint edition)   Babette’s Feast by Baronness Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen… Read full article