Welcome to Recce July 2008

Illuminations with Don George - The Magic of the Mundane

For Don George, a spring train ride illuminates an age-old truth: Whether it's a broken-down farmhouse in the Italian countryside, multi-patched pants billowing on aPeruvian clothesline, or skewered chicken sizzling at an Indonesian streetside stall, the pieces of our world can mean very different things:It'snot what we're looking at, but how we choose to see.

Roundtable - By Stanley Stewart

A thousand-mile journey across Mongolia, on horseback, teaches Stanley Stewart some surprising lessons about the descendants of Genghis Khan — and about himself.

Soundings - A Conversation with Tui De Roy

From a singularupbringing in the Galapagos Islands, Tui De Roy has made a living pursuing her passions: photographing wildlife in remote places. Here the eminent conservationist reflects on her career and on the abiding challenges and riches of the islands that shaped her.

Fresh From the Field - Seeing South India

Award-winning photographer Nevada Wier specializes in the remote corners of the globe and the cultures that inhabit them. The exquisite portfolio we present here illuminates her recent encounters in South India.

Brilliant Books - In Arabian Nights

In this enthralling new book, Tahir Shah recounts his exploits throughout Morocco as he seeks to fulfill a venerable quest: to find the story in his heart. Wandering from teeming Tangier to medieval Marrakech and Fez, Shah weaves contemporary realities, ageless characters,and eternal verities into a poignant and profoundly humanizing portrait of his adopted homeland. In our excerpt, he encounters warmth and wonder on a journey to the Sahara.