Wide World Books & Maps
Wide World
Books & Maps, founded in 1976, has the unique distinction
of being the first travel-only bookstore in the country. Since
then we have continued to be home to a consortium of travel
sages, inspired wanderers, book lovers and cartographic connoisseurs.
Click
here to get directions and maps. We are located
in Seattle's historic Wallingford District.
Who We Are
 Simone
Andrus & Stanley Toops, Ph.D
Simone
is a native of Seattle and the owner of Wide World Books and
Maps, has traveled to over 50 countries in Asia, Europe,
Africa, the Pacific and Canada. She has led tours to Australia
and New Zealand and at one time owned and operated
Far Away Places, a travel information center in Seattle.
Stanley, Simone's husband, works at Wide World Books when he
is on break from his teaching responsibilities at Miami University
in Oxford, Ohio. There he directs the International Studies
program and holds a joint appointment in geography and international
studies. Stanley, an expert on Chinese culture and language,
has led study tours to China for Smithsonian and National
Geographic, and is happy to advise travelers to China. He
can be reached via e-mail
at Miami University when he is not in the store.
 Terrell
"Buon Giorno. Mi nome e Terrell." Yes, I am the certified
(or certifiable) Italophile on staff. I was an exchange student
in Italy many years ago and have always retained my fondness
for my host country. I've also visited many of the western
European nations, most recently Turkey (twice).
I've been to Mexico quite a few times since I grew
up in Texas and lived in Arizona for many
years. I've also been to Guatemala. My only travel
to Asia was a six week trip to China that included three weeks
at a university in Shanghai and a trip down the
Yangtze on a Chinese boat-not the plush tourist boat most
Americans ride on. I also spent most of 2001 driving a rough
perimeter of the country with long pauses in Chautauqua,
New York, and Long Island. I'm a big fan of the
two-lane highway. I'm also one of the book specialists on
staff. I've been working in bookstores since 1986, so if you
want advice on what to read or a point by point comparison
of a couple of guide books, I'm your gal.
 Ron
Short, balding, and hairy, Ron is a modern road tripping
Renaissance man. At only 32, he has somehow managed
to spend over one-third of his life in the book business working
previously as a librarian, an online retailer, and a manager
for a chain bookstore. Besides large portions of
Canada and Mexico, Ron has been to 49 of the
50 U.S. states (missing Hawaii) and eaten a burrito in
48 of them (Hawaii and Rhode Island). He is an active
a member of the
Appalachian Trail Conference and
Washington Trails Association, and last spring he
walked the
Camino de Santiago across Northern Spain
with a childhood friend. Next up, Ron and his fiance
plan on walking the Coast-to-Coast Walk across Northern
England for their honeymoon. Wish them luck, or better
yet, donate them money.
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