"A fascinating take on 'the search for memory' and how certain places have come to symbolize deep American principles."— Join William Zinsser as he visits sixteen of our nation's most treasured historic sites—unlearning cliched assumptions and rediscovering fundamental truths about America. —and the ideals that Zinsser discovers these places represent—will never go out of fashion. "Niagara Falls existed only in the attic of my mind where collective memory is stored: scraps of songs about honeymooning couples, vistas by painters who tried to get the plummeting waters to hold still, film clips of Marilyn Monroe running for her life in , odds and ends of lore about stuntmen who died going over the falls, and always, somewhere among the scraps, a boat called , which took tourists…where? Behind the falls? the falls? Death hovered at the edge of the images in my attic, or at least danger. But I had never thought of going to see the place itself. That was for other people. Now I wanted to be one of those other people."—from " paints vivid word pictures that put you in those places and make you feel that you've been there, but it also encourages each of us to take our own trek through history."— "Zinsser's choices and descriptions are refreshing because of the obvious thought that went into the selections. It's also fun to read Zinsser's observations."— is a lifelong journalist and nonfiction writer—he began his career on the in 1946—and is also a teacher, best known for his book , a companion held in affection by three generations of writers, reporters, editors, teachers, and students. His 17 other books range from memoir ( ) to travel ( ), jazz ( ), American popular song ( ), baseball ( ) and the craft of writing ( ). During the 1970s he was at Yale University, where he was master of Branford College and taught the influential nonfiction workshop that would start many writers and editors on their careers. He has taught at the New School, in New York, his hometown, and at the Columbia UniversityGraduate School of Journalism.