In The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and, in doing so, investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. In this insightful and funny collection of personal stories Vowell -- widely hailed for her inimitable narratives on public radio's This American Life -- ponders a number of curious questions: Why is she happiest when visiting the sites of bloody struggles like Salem or Gettysburg? Why do people always...

Heat-Moon writes travel books like no one else. Quirky, discursive, endlessly curious, he embarks on American journeys off the beaten path. Sticking to the small places via the small roads, he uncovers a nation deep in character, story, and charm. "Quoz" refers to anything strange, incongruous, or peculiar. Quoz can be history and heredity; stories, retold or invented; strange characters with poignant dreams. It's places with names like Sublimity...

"In The History of the Future, McPherson explores America in all its beauty and strangeness. He is funny and searching-a joy to read."-Elizabeth Kolbert Praise for Edward McPherson: "Mr. McPherson is an intrepid traveler. a charming and literate companion, and he approaches his task with becoming modesty."-The Wall Street Journal What does it mean to think about Dallas in relationship to Dallas? In The History of the Future, McPherson reexamines American...