Byron Rogers' latest collection of travel pieces follows the winning formula of his previous book, An Audience with an Elephant, as he goes in search of a remarkable array of quirky, whimsical, and singular individuals. But in addition to meeting a pensioner on a holiday who decided to swim across the Amazon, this book sees Rogers meeting a number of undeniably famous people. But as one might expect, Rogers' encounters with celebrity have their own unexpected outcomes. Burt Lancaster rants to him about transsexuality...
Once renowned as a funspot, Coney Island has been largely forgotten. Does it still exist? What has survived of the place? And what was it like? In his new book CONEY ISLAND, Professor Solomon takes us there to find out. Roaming about, he interviews old-timers`searches for antiquities, explores what is left of the amusement area. He also provides a history of Coney Island, from its Canarsie Indian days, to its era as a lawless, Tijuana-style resort, to the rise and fall of its amusement parks...