USA 101

A Guide to America's Iconic Places, Events, and Festivals

WASHINGTON (March 24, 2009)-America has an abundance of city sights, scenic areas, cultural events and points of interest that would take a lifetime to explore. In a new book from National Geographic, award-winning travel writer Gary McKechnie has distilled the "American experience" into 101 quintessential destinations that celebrate our country in all its quirky diversity.

USA 101: A Guide to America's Iconic Places, Events, and Festivals (National Geographic Books; ISBN 978-1-4262-0457-9; May 19, 2009; $18.95 softcover) is a unique and entertaining travel guide that stitches together a whole crazy quilt of icons, events, fairs and festivals that encompass history, faith, art, nature, sport, leisure and the nation's favorite pastimes.

Wherever you're going and whatever your interests, they will be somewhere in this book. And if you just stay home and travel armchair-style, you will still find the book a vivid, humorous and fascinating blend of 101 world-famous and distinctly local places and events that add up to a national portrait revealing what America is all about.

The fivescore and one indelibly American destinations range from the Statue of Liberty to the Golden Gate Bridge, from Graceland to Disneyland. There are perennial sporting rituals like the Army-Navy football game, the Indy 500, the Rose Bowl, the Little League World Series and the Iditarod, plus dozens more favorite institutions, old and new, from the Appalachian Trail, Indian powwows and barbershop quartets to New England fall foliage, pie-baking contests, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Miss America pageant.

Jam-packed with interesting anecdotes, this tour around America takes readers on an exciting voyage of discovery: Where can you see Hitler's pistol and Sitting Bull's tomahawk? Which 15-year-old jockey rode to victory in the first Kentucky Derby? How many bluegrass festivals take place each year? Which Texas town hosts an annual National Polka Festival? Where will you find the nation's largest number of captive sharks? (Hint: It's in the Midwest.)

Each destination is introduced with an entertaining, descriptive narrative that captures its history and special appeal as well as detailed practical advice, contact information and useful tips for visitors. Back matter includes a comprehensive list of lodging and dining suggestions for each featured destination, as well as a list of 66 "honorable mentions" - other uniquely American sites and events that were in the running but didn't make the final cut.

An enlightening and irresistible read, USA 101 is a panorama of treasured traditions and beloved national possessions that will surprise, amuse and inform even the most sophisticated traveler.

Gary McKechnie's eclectic past includes stints as a comedian, advertising copywriter, video producer and concert promoter. He has been published in National Geographic Traveler, People, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Miami Herald and more. His previous book, "Great American Motorcycle Tours," won both a Lowell Thomas Silver Award for travel writing and a Gold Award in the Benjamin Franklin competition.

 To arrange an interview with McKechnie, contact John McFeely at (202) 857-7659 or jmcfeely@ngs.org.

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