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Famous authors expected to participate include John Irving, Jodi Picoult, James Patterson, Judy Blume and John Grisham.

The Associated Press sent interns to check out hostels in four cities: Baltimore, Chicago, New York, and Venice Beach in Los …

We were as shocked as anyone when BMW announced it was quitting Formula 1 to devote more resources to developing cleaner, greener automobiles. There was some skepticism, but BMW wasn’t blowing green smoke. It’s serious about building eco-friendlier pavement-peeling cars.
First up is a slick 356-horsepower all-wheel-drive plug-in diesel-hybrid concept that BMW claims accelerates like an [...]

When in doubt on the portions of U.S. 395 in the Eastern Sierra, take it slow. You don’t want to miss anything on the history-packed scenic road that sways to its own unusual tune. L..A. Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds once marvelously called the route “a mandolin-driven ode to the West that evokes images of [...]

Love nature and digging in your garden? Have we got a volunteer vacation for you! The National Botanical Garden on the island of Kauai in Hawaii has been dedicated to preserving tropical plant diversity through research, education and by creating a safe haven for at-risk plant species for more than 30 years. Their headquarters at The McBryde Gardens features native Hawaiian Flora, orchids, palm trees and flowering trees that were wild-collected from tropical regions around the of the world.

Visitors to this eden are able to explore the garden via paths and bamboo bridges that cross over the park’s natural streams and waterfalls. The garden is always looking for volunteers for the long-term or on a “vacation and volunteer” basis. There are endless opportunities available year-round using a variety of skill-sets. But that’s not to say you need any special skills to help out, the garden’s staff provides on-the-job training for newbies.

Gone, at last, are the days of bribing your best friend with pizza and beer to hold your flashlight as you tinker (or fumble) with a wrench in the dark recesses of your car. Grab yourself a set of Hi Beam-Light Wrenches and you can use one hand to hold the wrench and the light, [...]

In conjunction with his upcoming book, Here Is Where: In Search of America’s Great Forgotten History, we’re following historian and Legacy Project founder Andrew Carroll as he drives, flies, walks, boats, buses, bikes, and hikes to seek out little-known historic sites in all 50 states. Bookmark all of his posts here.

Before arriving in Atlanta, Georgia, I received a call from a local WSB-AM radio reporter named Jon Lewis who wanted to talk about my search for unmarked historic sites throughout the country. I confessed I only had two sites to check out in Atlanta–one of which was already marked, and the second one I had yet to locate on a map. So throughout the day it was Jon who guided me around the city pointing out one fascinating, little-known site after another.

A few highlights:

To date, the worst hotel fire in the United States occurred in what was once the Winecoff Hotel on 176 Peachtree Street, and is now the Ellis Hotel. One hundred and nineteen people were killed on December 7, 1946, in what was supposedly a “fireproof” building–despite the fact it had no sprinklers or fire escapes. (The tragedy prompted cities across the country to enact stronger fire safety measures.) A young graduate student named Arnold Hardy won the Pulitzer Prize–and he was the first amateur to do so–for a picture he took of a woman falling from the eleventh floor. Miraculously, she survived. The building was put on the National Register of Historic Places only earlier this year.

A new concept aims to create an “intense” ownership experience by using emerging technologies to strengthen the emotional bond between man and machine.
Bob Romkes, a designer at Britain’s Royal College of Art, penned the Equilibrium concept as a luxury car for the future. In an era when customization equals personalization, Romkes sees a chance for [...]