The King S Best Highway

A VIVID AND FASCINATING LOOK AT AMERICAN HISTORY THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST STORIED HIGHWAY, THE BOSTON POST ROAD During its evolution from Indian trails to modern interstates, the Boston Post Road, a system of over-land routes between New York City and Boston, has carried not just travelers and mail but the march of American history itself. Eric Jaffe captures the progress of people and culture along the road through four centuries, from its earliest days as the king of England’s “best highway” to the current era. Centuries before the telephone, radio, or Internet, the Boston Post Road was the primary conduit of America’s prosperity and growth. News, rumor, political intrigue, financial transactions, and personal missives traveled with increasing rapidity, as did people from every walk of life. From post riders bearing the alarms of revolution, to coaches carrying George Washington on his first presidential tour, to railroads transporting soldiers to the Civil War, the Boston Post Road has been essential to the political, economic, and social development of the United States. Continuously raised, improved, rerouted, and widened for faster and heavier traffic, the road played a key role in the advent of newspapers, stagecoach travel, textiles, mass-produced bicycles and guns, commuter railroads, automobiles—even Manhattan’s modern grid. Many famous Americans traveled the highway, and it drew the keen attention of such diverse personages as Benjamin Franklin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, P. T. Barnum, J. P. Morgan, and Robert Moses. Eric Jaffe weaves this entertaining narrative with a historian’s eye for detail and a journalist’s flair for storytelling. A cast of historical figures, celebrated and unknown alike, tells the lost tale of this road. Revolutionary printer William Goddard created a postal network that united the colonies against the throne. General Washington struggled to hold the highway during the battle for Manhattan. Levi Pease convinced Americans to travel by stagecoach until, half a century later, Nathan Hale convinced them to go by train. Abe Lincoln, still a dark-horse candidate in early 1860, embarked on a railroad speaking tour along the route that clinched the presidency. Bomb builder Lester Barlow, inspired by the Post Road’s notorious traffic, nearly sold Congress on a national system of expressways twenty-five years before the Interstate Highway Act of 1956. Based on extensive travels of the highway, interviews with people living up and down the road, and primary sources unearthed from the great libraries between New York City and Boston—including letters, maps, contemporaneous newspapers, and long-forgotten government documents—The King’s Best Highway is a delightful read for American history buffs and lovers of narrative everywhere.

A “lively, informative history” of distance running’s 1970s heyday—including the famous Falmouth Road Race—written “with a true fan’s contagious enthusiasm” (Newsweek). It was 1978. Jimmy Carter was president; gas prices were soaring; and Americans were hunkering down to weather the economic crisis. But Jim Fixx’s The Complete Book of Running was a bestseller. Frank Shorter’s gold medal in the 1972 Olympic marathon had put distance running on the minds of many Americans. The odd activity of “jogging” became “running,” and America was in love. That summer, a junior from the University of Oregon named Alberto Salazar went up against Shorter and Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers at the Falmouth Road Race. Though he lost to Rodgers’s record-setting 32:21, the competition set the stage for an epic rivalry among the three greats. Each pushed the others to succeed and, in turn, inspired a nation of couch potatoes to put down the remote and lace up their sneakers. “[A] lively, informative history.” — Newsweek/The Daily Beast “Essential reading for runners both competitive and casual.” —Kirkus Reviews “Kings of the Road is about marathon legends. It’s about running Fast. It’s about Will. It’s about the Real. It’s about drama of the finest kind.” —Bernd Heinrich, author of Why We Run and Racing the Antelope “A rollicking, informed account of . . . how distance running helped define a generation.” —John Brant, author of Duel in the Sun and coauthor with Alberto Salazar of 14 Minutes

Ascend towering peaks, take in awe-inspiring views, and get to know some of the oldest, tallest, and rarest living things on Earth with Moon Sequoia & Kings Canyon. Inside you'll find: Flexible Itineraries: Unique and adventure-packed ideas for day hikers, winter visitors, families with kids, campers, and more The Best Hikes in Each National Park: Detailed hike descriptions, trail maps, mileage and elevation gains, and backpacking options Experience the Outdoors: Behold greatness at the base of a giant sequoia, stop and smell the wildflowers of Zumwalt Meadow, or savor panoramic views from the summit of Mount Whitney (the highest peak in the continental US!). Strap on snowshoes for a ranger-led winter walk or spelunk your way around otherworldly rock formations in Crystal Cave. Cool off in the mist of a trailside waterfall, conquer the 400-step climb to the top of Moro Rock, and gaze at ink-black skies with unbeatable views of the Milky Way How to Get There: Up-to-date information on traveling between the parks, gateway towns, park entrances, park fees, and tours Where to Stay: From RV or tent campgrounds to rustic cabins and all-inclusive lodges, find the best spots to kick back, both inside and outside the parks Planning Tips: When to go, what to pack, safety information, and how to avoid the crowds, with full-color photos and easy-to-use maps throughout Expert Insight: Former national park ranger Leigh Bernacchi provides helpful background on the parks' history, geology, conservation efforts, and more Find your adventure in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks with Moon. Exploring more of America's parks? Check out Moon USA National Parks. About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you. For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.

Ank and Williams (The Ank Williams Story, A Dinosaur is a Man's Best Friend, Flashback Twilight) return in an all-new adventure which picks up right where Flashback Twilight left off. Join them as they're recruited by an aging king in post-apocalyptic Canada and charged with transporting his daughter across country to Edmonton--a journey fraught with peril including vicious albertosauruses, a 700-pound prehistoric beaver, were-raptors, and more! From Kings of the Road: We ran, even though we were tired (Ank had tossed and turned most of the night which meant of course Gisela had tossed and turned; which meant that between his farting and her griping I hadn’t slept a wink); past former canola fields and dry pea fields and barley—all of it now overgrown—past Brightview and Wiesenthal to Southfork Landing/Leduc; where we came upon a car—a bright-yellow AMC Pacer, if you can believe it—which was headed in the opposite direction. “Ho, easy does it,” I said, even as Ank slowed to a crawl and the car pulled alongside. “Eh? What sort of kerfuffle is this?” The driver looked at Ank disbelievingly. “Oat and aboat with the dinosaur, are you?” I looked beyond him at the passengers: at the plain but pretty woman seated next to him and two others—a male and a female in their twenties—in the back. “Meh—tame as a Peep Toe mule, I assure you. And completely untouched by the fever. Carries our gear—and other things.” I paused, noticing blood on the door. “We’re heading up north—to Edmonton. To some sort of mall encampment. Anything we should be aware of?” The driver’s eyes flicked up and down; as though noticing me noticing the blood. “Din’ come from there—hung a roger onto Highway 2 from Route 19; at the Petro-Pass. So I couldn’ really say.” He looked at the young woman next to him—who seemed markedly ill at ease. “I’ll do ya a blunt tho an’ tell ya: if you’re look’n for a place to crash—that Petro-pass is tops. There’s still stuff on the shelves: bottled water, toilet paper—” “Have a safe trip,” I said, with my hand close to the revolver. “Bridge is out near Red Deer. And thanks for the tip.” “Eh?” He looked me up and down again. “All right. Have it your way.” He glanced through the rearview mirror at the young people, who just stared back. “Off like newlyweds, then. Hooroo.” And they went—after which Gisela called down, “Why so rude?” I exchanged knowing glances with Ank. “Because they were troubled—you couldn’t see it from up there.” I watched as they disappeared down the road. “The kind you can catch.” And then we continued—toward Leduc/Nisku and what I hoped would be our camp for the night. Toward the Petro-Pass; which I assumed was a kind of Canadian answer to a truck stop.

British cycling has had a tumultuous history, from the bizarre ban on road racing in the first half of the 20th Century to the sport's golden era after the Second World War and on to its dramatic decline in the 1960s and beyond. Over the past decade, however, it has undergone a dramatic resurgence in which elite British cyclists have become among the best in the world and millions of Britons have taken up the sport. In Kings of the Road, Robert Dineen charts these developments by meeting neglected heroes from each generation of British cycling. As he becomes immersed in the sport, he also charts his own experiences on the club scene while preparing for the Etape du Tour, the sportive regarded as the ultimate challenge for the amateur cyclist. The result is a unique look at British cycling’s past, its present and where it might be headed.

"This book establishes R.M. Schindler’s Kings Road House amongst the icons of modernist housing—as crucial as Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, or Frank Lloyd Wright to the story of twentieth-century residential design. Weaving together an impressive blend of primary sources, Sweeney and Sheine illuminate heretofore unknown or neglected stories regarding Schindler’s life, his relationship with his mentors—most notably, Wright himself—and the development of his unique theories about space. These essays will interest both scholars and practitioners of architecture as well as readers wishing to learn more about the development of architectural modernism in general.”—J. Philip Gruen, School of Design and Construction, Washington State University.