Eleven Years: A Captive Among the Snake Indians

Book Description

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

"Extremely readable account . . . invites a global edition."
—Choice

"A thought-provoking survey across time and space. . . . Pick up On Foot and carry it home. It will renew your appreciation for the pedestrian in your own flesh."—
Cleveland Plain Dealer

"An in-depth examination."—Forecast

"A rambling pleasure--leisurely placed and full of interesting cul-de-sacs--pleasantly garrulous and filled with the anecdotes of small details aptly observed."—Star Tribune

"On Foot is an expansive and illuminating field trip, complete with rest stops for little-known facts about an everyday activity many of us take for granted."
—Minnesota History

"An enlighening compelling read...a well-researched, well written piece of work."
—TCM Reviews

"This is a fascinating book, extremely knowledgeable and ambitious, thought provoking in the best sense. Simply put: a very imaginative presentation and, someone has to say it, not at all pedestrian."
—Peter Stearns, author of Anxious Parents

"Joseph A. Amato has written a richly detailed and engaging account of walking from ancient times to the present. His book explores the many modes and contexts of human ambulation: marching, strolling, promenading, rambling, sauntering, commuting, to name just a few. Taking full account of the evolution of the city, shifting attitudes toward the countryside, and the role of class and labor in determining the value and meaning of walking, this book helps us to see a basic human activity as a complex cultural and historical phenomenon."
—Roger Gilbert, author of Walks in the World: Representation and Experience in Modern American Poetry

Â”I suggest you leave your car at home, go for a long walk, and buy it.Â”
—Dr. Mike DeBrule

Â”Provides a valuable background treatise for the enlightenment of students who more often prefer to drive their automobiles than walk for any trip that ranges more than a few blocks!Â”
Journal of Social History

"I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understand the art of Walking, that is, of taking walks, who had a genius, so to speak, for sauntering."
—Henry David Thoreau (1817—1862)

"Everything is within walking distance if you have the time."
—Stephen Wright (1955—)

For approximately six million years, humans have walked the earth. This is the story of how, why, and to what effect we put one foot in front of the other.

Walking has been the primary mode of locomotion for humans until very recent times when we began to sit and ride-first on horses and in carriages, then trains and bicycles, and finally cars, trucks, buses, and airplanes-rather than go on foot. The particular way we saunter, clomp, meander, shuffle, plod along, jaunt, tramp, and wander on foot conveys a wealth of information about our identity, condition, and destination.

In this fast-stepping social history, Joseph A. Amato takes us on a journey of walking-from the first human migrations to marching Roman legions and ancient Greeks who considered man a "featherless biped"; from trekking medieval pilgrims to strolling courtiers; from urban pavement pounders to ambling window shoppers to suburban mall walkers.

Concentrating on walking in Europe and North America and with particular focus on how walking differed according to social class, Amato distinguishes how, where, when, who, what, and under which conditions people moved on foot. He identifies crucial transformations in the history of walking, including the adoption of the horse by the mounted warrior; the rise of public display among European nobility; and the building of roads and transportation systems, which led to the inevitable ascent of the wheel over the foot.

Customer Reviews:

On Foot: A History of Walking.......2007-07-16

On Foot: A History of Walking is an enlightening compelling read. As the title suggests, this book describes the history of walking. Thus, as one would expect, this book looks at how human upright mobility changed the way our ancestors traveled, lived, and thought. Though well explored, this topic is only one small aspect of the myriad of topics contained in this fascinating book.

The author outlines the many great migrations, battles, crusades, and pilgrimages that have been made by on foot. Most of these journeys, and the challenges while on these adventures, are simply beyond our modern comprehension. Nonetheless, the author paints an enlightening picture for the modern reader.

These topics alone would have made for a captivating book. However, the author has gone beyond all expectations and used this book to discuss the way walking and other means of transportation have been viewed by various social classes and how these views have changed a countless number of times over the centuries. Moreover, this book examines changes in the definition of roads over time; how these roads differed in urban and rural settlements; and these changes effected the development of culture and lifestyle in rural and urban areas.

On Foot: A History of Walking is a well researched, well written piece of work. Furthermore, though the book contains a large amount of information, this book reads easily without a lot of documentary like dryness. Time and time again, the reader will find him or herself, sharing some of the entertaining or enlightening facts, historical accounts, and quips with his or her family and friends. Simply put, this book will be enjoyed by anyone who walks, rides, or drives.

Get Off Your Seat and On Your Feet.......2005-11-04

This book appealed to me because I am a walker. In addition to being an expert long-distance hiker and backpacker, I also walk extensively throughout my town for commuting and running errands, often taking up to two hours a day to walk distances that everyone else drives in a few minutes. It's a very easy form of exercise and I buy far less gasoline than others, saving both money and natural resources. Walking also provides philosophical comfort, but in today's society it is very difficult to explain that to the car-obsessed multitudes, who seem to have forgotten that walking is even possible. Amato covers all these issues, along with walking's place in human history and in the human spirit. Walking was one of the key factors in making proto-humans into full humans, and it was the force that encouraged people to spread across the Earth and construct entire social orders and landscapes. And walking has always been an affair of the mind and soul as well, which is a key running (walking) contention throughout Amato's narrative.

Sadly, that great philosophical pretext becomes a pretty unfocused and repetitive book. After the basic philosophy is taken care of, Amato simply offers a rather watered-down cultural history of Western Europe and America, often trying to force walking-related vignettes and episodes onto an unfocused historical analysis. This analysis is too high-level and arbitrary to serve as an informative history, and also detracts from the intended focus of the book. And while it's not fair to demand that Amato cover other regions and cultures, it would be nice to learn about how non-Western cultures view the art and activity of walking (and not driving), as this could shed some real light on the obsessions with transportation and convenience that have ruined the fun for walkers in the West. Granted, the basic focus of this book remains fascinating throughout, but the overall result is boredom and disappointment. But it was still worth it for me to walk to the library to check this book out, and now I will walk back to return it. Amato, and most of his readers, will understand why I enjoy doing that. [~doomsdayer520~]

a nice walk through history.......2005-05-10

I really enjoyed the "walking" pace of the book. The pace lent itself well to stopping off at different points through history and exploring walking's relationship to them in more detail. Lots of great information... I truly enjoy the author's unique style of storytelling.

A tour de force.......2005-04-28

A tour de force on an inexhaustible topic! Joe Amato has a genius for providing insight into an activity most of us take for granted -- walking -- and making stirring connections to the world around us. -- R. Kelly

Changes in Walking Mirror Larger Changes in Society.......2005-04-22

This book is fascinating lens through which to view the broad strokes of western history over the last 800 years. Amato writes with an approachable scholarship about the role of foot transport in western religion, class distinctions, the evolution of urban places - particularly since 1800, and walking as a bobo luxury.

His work shares a subtitle - "A history of walking" with Rebecca Solnit's Wanderlust. Try them both as they complement one another quite nicely.

C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America

Average customer rating:

Great Diet Tips
Amazing story of an amazing race
A Gritty, Whimsical "Must Read" Book
Captivating, funny, colorful - a great read!
Best Book I've read in 5 Years!!

C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America
Geoff Williams
Manufacturer: Rodale Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Running & Jogging | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Running & Jogging | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

History of Sports | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1594863199
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Book Description

A riveting account of an incredible 3,423-mile foot race across America, the Great Foot Race of 1928, and C.C. Pyle, the legendary sports promoter who masterminded the event.

A year before the Great Depression, endurance fads were all the rage. From dance marathons to flagpole sitting, everyone was looking for a chance to change their luck, and spectators would shell out hard-earned cash to watch. When notorious sports agent and promoter C.C. Pyle offered a $25,000 prize for a foot race from Los Angeles to New York, 199 runners from all over the world took their marks and half a million spectators flocked to the starting line. The race was grueling, but an astonishing 55 participants made it to the Madison Square Garden finish line 84 days later.

C.C. Pyle’s Amazing Foot Race details this historic event and the colorful cast of characters involved.

At the crux of the story are two very different men: the fast-talking, shady, yet forward-thinking promoter C.C. Pyle, always scheming to make a quick buck; and Andy Payne, a 20-year-old part-Cherokee Oklahoman, who entered the competition as a longshot, against many world-class athletes, hoping to save his family’s farm and win the heart of the girl of his dreams.

In re-creating this classic American drama, the author accessed exclusive, never-before-published material and the support of several descendants of the characters, including Andy Payne’s daughter and C.C. Pyle’s great-granddaughter.

Customer Reviews:

Great Diet Tips.......2007-10-04

In addition to being a fantastic story,it should also be recognized as a great diet book. Imagine, you tub-of-lard, how svelte you would be if you ran from L.A. to New York averaging more than the distance of a marathon every day.

Seriously, if you want to understand what it was like to accomplish such a feat, this is THE book.

Amazing story of an amazing race.......2007-09-04

Mr. Williams has captured an outlandish event for all it was worth- the notion of a coast-to-coast foot race covering 30-60 miles daily with out a break through all sorts of weather is a terrific read. Predictably, many who started the race were ill-equipped and ill-trained and fell out early. Those who remained in the race paint a heroic picture of those 1920s vintage marathon personalities. Mr. William's book is also quite valuable as it documents the towns along the route the race took in the late 1920s. "C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race" also traces the original alignment of Route 66 between Los Angeles and Chicago as it was envisioned in 1926, and gives the reader a feel for both the condition of the great American highway, and what the runners faced up to each day as they ran eastward towards New York. All in all, a fine book, well researched and well presented.

A Gritty, Whimsical "Must Read" Book.......2007-09-01

In C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race, Geoff Williams breathes new life into an old, but true, coast-to-coast adventure that pitted runners from around the world in a grit-filled journey of survival from Los Angeles to New York. Readers are transported back to an era when the technology of telephones and radios, not to mention athletic gear, were still in their infancy and Vaudeville performers entertained the masses.

Cast against this backdrop, Williams tells us the story of sports promoter C.C. "Cash & Carry" Pyle, the Galloping Ghost Red Grange, and a multitude of runners and supporting characters that carved their own niche in the history of America during the spring of 1928.

Williams captures the heart and soul of the 1920s in his narrative, giving us a flavor of a less complicated time when people could turn over their whims to such feats as marathon dancing, eating contests, and flagpole sitting. Yet, under the current of these fanciful pursuits, the story also reveals to us life's realities: the desire to win the heart of your true love, the want for fame and fortune, or, more simply, the fear of losing one's home.

In March 1928, 199 men - each with their own motivations - set off from Los Angeles on a 3,421-mile race of a lifetime. During the journey, we come to know the men of the Bunion Derby like the simple, but pure-hearted Oklahoman Andy Payne, his talented, British rival Pete Gavuzzi, and the loveable laggard Paul "Hardrock" Simpson.

Williams has crafted a masterful story that is richly detailed, yet fast-paced and filled with tender and dramatic moments. While it is clear that the book was meticulously researched from newspaper accounts of the race, archival materials, old letters, and interviews with family members, Williams never overwhelms the reader with too many details at once. Rather, he weaves facts, stories, and curiosities throughout the narrative.

C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race is an engaging book from start to finish that will satisfy history buffs, runners, and anyone seeking out a great human-interest story. Even reality TV fans might be tempted to put down their remotes to read about a real reality contest far more interesting than shows like The Amazing Race or The Apprentice.

Captivating, funny, colorful - a great read!.......2007-08-28

I really enjoyed CC Pyle's Amazing Footrace. Right away, Geoff Williams presents the reader with a fascinating cast of characters, including the race's promoter: the PT Barnum-esque CC Pyle. The runners included men like the small-bodied, cigarette-smoking Pete Gavuzzi, the wholesome love-struck Andy Payne, and the ambitious go-getter, Paul "Hardrock" Simpson.

The race kicks off in Los Angeles, and Geoff Williams takes us along as the runners move eastward, at first mostly sprightly, healthy, and well-fed. As the race moves eastward, we get to know these runners more intimately, and can appreciate the friendships and rivalries that develop. The structure of the book lets the reader enjoy the cumulative effect of time, hardship, and hope on these brave participants of the bunion derby. Because Williams paints his scenes and characters so well, I could not help seeing this book as a movie.

Williams also peppers his prose with a lot of humor, which is a wonderfully unexpected thing in a book that is so well researched. I got lost in his narrative voice and finished this book very quickly. Whether you like to run or hate to run, you will love this book that shows humanity at its wackiest, most exhausted and most stubborn.

Best Book I've read in 5 Years!!.......2007-08-18

I read 50+ books a year- This was the best one I've read in a LONG time- I went cover to cover on this in about a day. It looked interesting and so I picked it up- Great story about a bunch of runners who actually ran across the country in a footrace!! Sounds unbelievable but it actually happened- You won't be disappointed in this one!!

Serendipitous Outings Near New York City: On Foot in New Jersey, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania

Average customer rating:

Taken the scare out of visiting New York City

Serendipitous Outings Near New York City: On Foot in New Jersey, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania
Marina Harrison , and Lucy D. Rosenfeld
Manufacturer: Globe Pequot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Tourist Destinations & Museums | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

Book Description

For the discriminating walker with a taste for the unusual, Serendipitous Outings near New York City includes strolls in New Jersey, Long Island, the Hudson River Valley, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania as well as a special section for birders. These walks meander through woodland gorges; among wildflowers; into deserted villages; along lakes, rivers, and the ocean; and to a historic cemetery.

Selected outings are for those with specific interests: There are mushroom forays, walks among fragrant herbs (especially, but not only, for the blind and handicapped), total fitness trails, vineyard and apple-picking walks, and a walk amid an amazing sculpturescape. Each entry includes the authors' recommended time for a visit (it's not always spring!), directions, and ideas of other outings in the area. All walks are within the abilities of the average family, and some are easier.

For walkers of every description--from experienced hikers to leisure-time strollers--this book is the perfect guide to outdoor adventures close to the City.

Customer Reviews:

Taken the scare out of visiting New York City.......2006-08-10

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (7/06)

Anticipating a trip to the New York City and area, this book certainly has taken the scare out of visiting an incredibly large city. "Serendipitous Outings Near New York City" simplifies the trip and gives the reader an opportunity to visit New York City with ease.

Harrison and Rosenfeld intended this book for all walkers - experienced trail hikers, antique hunters, nature lovers, as well as slow walkers that just love to browse and enjoy conversations with those they meet. The book starts off with the "Deserted" Village in the Allaire State Park of New Jersey. The authors give a brief history, description and when the village is open. They explain that guided tours are available if one so desires, but they also encourage self-guided tours. After the walk, they suggest a trek to the Atlantic Ocean where another small town exists.

This is only one of the many walking trips that the authors suggest. They include an easy to follow map and there is no doubt they have trekked the streets and areas themselves. They say things like "Before leaving Stonecrop, be sure to walk on a small path through the woodland garden: Azaleas, rhododendrons, and other shade-loving plants have been carefully placed to blend harmoniously with this natural habitat. Nearby is a pond surrounded by lilies and groupings of..." How enticing is that! With descriptions like this, one can't help but wander on the path.

I'm looking forward to using this book on my trip to the area. At first I wasn't anticipating visiting some of the areas which include New Jersey, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. However, after perusing this book, the travel plans will have to include these areas.

America on Foot: Walking And Pedestrianism in the 20th Century

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A legal analysis of pedestrians in an unusual coverage perfect for college-level audiences.

America on Foot: Walking And Pedestrianism in the 20th Century
Kerry Segrave
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

History of Sports | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0786425598

Product Description

Hippocrates, one of historys earliest known physicians, once asserted, Walking is mans best medicine. Over the last three centuries, people have endorsed walking for a variety of reasonshealth among them. Before the 1700s, people walked as an essential part of their lifestyle. With the coming of the transportation revolutionand the advent of such conveyances as horse-drawn coaches, railways and automobileswalking became something that was done increasingly out of choice rather than necessity. Englands fashionable society engaged in afternoon promenades as a stylish fad. While Americas vast distances and sparse settlements made this activity impractical, Americans nevertheless took to walking in other ways, including engaging in long distance walking competitions complete with spectators and prize money. Thus, for most of the twentieth century, the activity of walking was much more than a means of transportation. Beginning with the history of walking as a social activity, the book discusses the various issues which have affected walkers, including increased automobile traffic, the attention of the marketing industry and pedestrian regulations. The work examines the contemplative, psychological and observational qualities of walking as well as famous personalitiesincluding Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, John Keats and John James Audubonwho endorsed these intellectual qualifications. During the 1970s fitness boom, walking was reinvented yet again, becoming an activity of numbers and equations as participants fought to maximize health benefits. The book concludes with a legal analysis of pedestrianism as it relates to sharing space with the automobile.

Customer Reviews:

A legal analysis of pedestrians in an unusual coverage perfect for college-level audiences........2006-12-14

AMERICA ON FOOT: WALKING AND PEDESTRIANISM IN THE 20TH CENTURY will appeal to college-level collections strong in both sports science and sociology, surveying the history of waling and the issues which have affected walkers over time. Psychology, literature, writings from sports and history provide both a social history and a legal analysis of pedestrians in an unusual coverage perfect for college-level audiences.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Blue Ridge Parkway by Foot: A Park Ranger's Memoir (Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies)

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Blue Ridge Parkway by Foot: A Park Ranger's Memoir (Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies)
Tim Pegram
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

South | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Cataloochee: A Novel

ASIN: 0786431407

Product Description

One of the premier tourist attractions of the eastern United States, the Blue Ridge Parkway stretches from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in western North Carolina. This volume relates the author's one-of-a-kind backpacking trip along the 469-mile road, along with his observations and recollections regarding the Parkway, the most visited unit of the National Park Service. Beginning with his experience as a summer college intern, the book also covers the twelve years he spent working as a ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Anecdotal history and accounts from some of the Parkway's earliest rangers complete this tale of one of our country's national treasures. The appendix contains a chronological, mile-by-mile re-creation of Pegram's 2003 trek, including the names of all the Parkway landmarks mentioned in the book.

Cape Cod at three miles an hour: A sense of place that can only be learned on foot

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Cape Cod at three miles an hour: A sense of place that can only be learned on foot
Lee W Baldwin
Manufacturer: Harwich Conservation Trust
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0972040609

Average customer rating:

Foot Notes Or Walking As A Fine Art
Alfred Barron
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

Foot notes; or, Walking as a fine art. By Alfred Barron. Q

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Foot notes; or, Walking as a fine art. By Alfred Barron. Q
Michigan Historical Reprint Series
Manufacturer: Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | History | Historical Reproductions | Formats | Books
ASIN: 1425533698
Release Date: 2005-12-20

Product Description

This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program.

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Foot-loose in Seattle
Janice Krenmayr
Manufacturer: J. Krenmayr?
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00072URCM

A Nepalese Journey: On Foot Around the Annapurnas

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A Nepalese Journey: On Foot Around the Annapurnas
Andrew Stevenson
Manufacturer: Constable
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Nepal | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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Amazon.com

What is it about the inhospitable corners of the world that so attracts the imagination? Scott in the Antarctic, Hillary on top of Everest, and a multitude of wanderers--from Wilfred Thesiger and T. E. Lawrence to Gertrude Bell--wandering through the vast, empty sands of "the empty quarter" in what is now Saudi Arabia; each of these explorers has been drawn to places most of us would never think of going and found there an unexpected window onto their own souls. In The Road to Ubar, filmmaker Nicholas Clapp follows in the footsteps of earlier visitors to the Arabian peninsula as he seeks the legendary city of Ubar. Going back at least two millennia, stories about a vast city filled with gold that disappeared almost in an instant haunt the literature and lore of Arabia. And for almost as long as the stories have been around, so have the rogues and dreamers who have tried to find it. His interest sparked by the accounts of earlier travelers in the region such as Thesiger and Bertram Thomas, Clapp decided to put together his own team in hopes of finding and filming the lost city.

Using both modern tools (photographs taken from space, courtesy of NASA) as well as old ones (maps, descriptions, and written accounts), Clapp and his team slowly pieced together the clues until they arrived, at last, at the site where they would spend the next four years digging. How they got to the end of The Road to Ubar and what they found there is at the heart of this unusual travel memoir.

Book Description

No one thought that Ubar, the most fabled city of ancient Arabia, would ever be found-if it even existed. Buried in the desert without a trace, it had become known as "the Altantis of the Sands." Many had searched for Ubar, including Lawrence of Arabia. Then in the 1980s, Nicholas Clapp, a documentary filmmaker and amateur archaeologist, stumbled on the legend of the lost city while poring over historical manuscripts. Filled with overwhelming curiosity, he led two expeditions to Arabia with a team that included space scientists and geologists. The discovery of Ubar was front-page news across the world and was heralded by Time as one of three major scientific events of the year.

Customer Reviews:

A pleasant memoir of personal adventure with little excitement.......2007-05-14

Far south in the remote Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia, lay a legendary city that had grown wealthy through the frankincense trade. The Sodom and Gomorrah of the Koran, it was destoyed by an earthquake one day in punishment for its wicked ways. Did the city ever exist? This book tells the story of how an amateur with a passion for discovery assembled an expert team that ultimately found the city and excavated it.

The book includes descriptions of historical attempts to find the city, the search for new clues, the steady assembly of a set of believers with the skills to act on them, time on the ground in Saudi Arabia and Oman searching the desert dunes and mountains for evidence, and then the final piecing together of evidence that the legendary city had been hiding in plain sight for centuries.

Sounds exciting, no? Well, despite clean prose and good efforts to build and sustain suspense throughout, this reader found just enough of interest to warrant a solid article in the Smithsonian magazine. Lots of puttering about and personal meanderings about bad meals in a stinking, bad place; little to sink your teeth into. All in all, a pleasant beach read that takes you along as a naive but determined amateur pursues his passion. And, in fairness, makes a significant archeological find. But almost no detail about that find and its implications for the history of the Middle East.

Technology makes it easy.......2005-06-28

I basically enjoyed THE ROAD TO UBAR.. This book tells of Nicholas Clapp's trip to Arabia to try to locate the ruins of the legendary city of Ubar, which supposedly was destroyed by the deity in retaliation for the inhabitants' sinful ways. Clapp's job is made rather easy by getting the sympathy and support of someone in satellite technology, who locates likely locations from space. The site is found relatively easily and almost immediately comfirmed.

For an example of what a book about discovery can be, see Hillel Halkin's ACROSS THE SABBATH RIVER or William Dalrymple's FROM THE HOLY MOUNTAIN. The major problem here, I think, is that author Clapp simply does not have a literary sensibility. He is a filmmaker. The book seemed more like a dutiful essay along the lines of "What I Did Last Summer." There's no real passion in the book. The author's passion was in making the film. The book is an obligatory appendix to the film. The book has no real characters; even the author comes across as an amiable cipher. There's not a lot at stake, either. I still enjoyed it and found it informative about a part of the world of which I'm rather ignorant. I was hoping for something more profound.

... Adventurer's Little Adventure.......2003-05-21

Wonderful book. Read it all in a couple of days. Great read to get away from the everyday. A thorough enjoyment!

The kind of story movies are made of.......2002-12-09

It wouldn't surprise me if a hollywood producer (Steven Spielberg perhaps?) decided to make a movie of this fantastic book--it's got adventure, mystery, discovery, a lost city, and interesting characters. And to top it off, it's absolutely true! This real-life "Indiana Jones" adventure will draw you in and not let go until the very last page. It's amazing that, a mere 10 years ago, a rather eclectic bunch consisting of an archaeologist, a geologist, and adventurer, and a documentary filmaker (the author and "hero" of the story) set off to find a lost city, one that, up until then, existed only in myth and legend. Through the use of NASA radar imagery, Nicholas Clapp was able to find the road to Ubar--a long, trampled path that snaked around the sand dunes of modern day Saudia Arabia and Oman, once used by thousands of camel caravans carrying precious incense from Ubar. Clapp and crew eventually do find the lost city, buried deep beneath the sands. It's a reminder to us all how quickly history can disappear beneath the sands of time.

The book is an exciting read, and never drags. You will be captivated by their story and amazed that it's all completely true! And it all started with one man who dared to take a second look at an ancient myth, and found out it wasn't really a myth at all.

Hollywood couldn't have written a better script!

Outstanding Reading!.......2000-09-12

...this is a must read book. The author's handling of how the ancient city was found and the subsequent discoveries should give anyone with interest in history reason to spend a few hours with this book. As someone who has spend considerable time in North Africa and the Middle East (since 1982) I was astonished by his understanding of the peoples of the Arabian pennisula. For once, somebody actually portrayed these mischaracterized peoples for who they are and not what the stateside pundits think they should be. Well done and congratulations.

THE ROAD TO UBAR, FINDING THE ATLANTIS OF THE SANDS

Average customer rating:

An absorbing tale

THE ROAD TO UBAR, FINDING THE ATLANTIS OF THE SANDS
Nicholas Clapp
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin, 1998
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N5XGY4

Customer Reviews:

An absorbing tale.......2007-06-02

Arab legends, and the Koran itself, speak of an ancient city of great wealth and great wickedness. This city was Ubar, the "many-columned city." In punishment for its idolatry and wickedness, Allah destroyed Ubar. Legends further tell that a number of people, lost in the great Arabian desert, have seen the ruins of the great city and told of the wealth that it still contains. In the 1980s, Nicholas Clapp, a noted filmmaker, became absorbed with the legend of Ubar. Searching ancient manuscripts, and using ultramodern techniques, Clapp set out to uncover this "Atlantis of the Sands." This is the story of that search.

I found myself really enjoying this book, much more than I had ever expected. It is well-written, dramatic, and succeeds in keeping you in suspense. When I first picked the book up, I was interested in the subject, but the author succeeded in making me very interested indeed.

Average customer rating:

The Road To Ubar. Finding The Atlantis of the Sands
Nicholas Clapp
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NUKR4Q

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Real Estate Weekly, published by Hagedorn Publication on April 27, 2005. The length of the article is 578 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Public gets first glimpse of High Line park.(ASSOCIATIONS: EVENTS, AWARDS)
Author: Elaine Misonzhnik
Publication: Real Estate Weekly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 27, 2005
Publisher: Hagedorn Publication
Volume: 51 Issue: 37 Page: 1C(2)

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