Amazing Journeys begin at library

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BOOK SERIES — Julia Hoisington displays the books to be discussed in the upcoming series at the Norway Memorial Library.

NORWAY — Come to Norway Memorial Library’s "Amazing Journeys" book discussion series beginning September 20 at 6:30 p.m. Explore faraway places through four nonfiction books, each one a unique experience using different modes of travel.

Follow Teddy Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration in a dugout canoe down a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon, one of the most dangerous rivers on earth, in "River of Doubt" by Candice Millard. Snaking through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world, Roosevelt, his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, are haunted by Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows, piranhas that glide through its waters and boulder-strewn rapids that turn the river into a roiling cauldron.

Jump into the Jeep Cherokee named “the City Special” with Peter Hessler as he acquires his Chinese driver’s license and discovers the real China in "Country Driving." Over a seven-year experience, Hessler crisscrosses China, first following the 7,000 mile Great Wall, then turning to the farmlands and ultimately, China’s urban areas, tracking how the automobile and improved roads are transforming China.

Ride a train across Europe to the Middle East with author Andrew Eames on the "8:55 to Baghdad," a modern-day Orient Express that follows the route Agatha Christie took in 1928. The 8:55 hurtles from familiar to exotic to frightening and back again. When things start to get too gritty and real in Serbia, Eames takes us back to the days of luxury aboard the Orient Express. When the company of pre-WWII upper class snobs threatens to become boring, we are whisked onto a bus to cross the border into Iraq on the eve of war in 2003.

To end the journey, come home to personal discoveries of rural New England along "The Path" by Chet Raymo who gives an account of his 40-year daily walk along a one-mile path from his house to the college where he taught. With each step, the landscape he traversed became richer, suggesting ever deeper aspects of astronomy, history, biology, and literature, and making the path universal in scope. His insights inspire people to turn local paths into portals to greater understanding of interconnectedness with nature and history.

This nonfiction program begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 20 at the Norway Memorial Library with a discussion of "River of Doubt." Subsequent dates and books are October 11 - "Country Driving;" November 1 - "8:55 to Baghdad" and November 15 - "The Path."

Discussion facilitators are Ann Siekman and Allison Rosenblatt, with Library hosts Katherine Morgan and Julia Hoisington. To register or request copies of the books, please stop by the Information Desk at the Library. For more information, call 743-5309 or go to www.norway.lib.me.us.