Walking Baltimore includes Charm City's well-known neighborhoods -- Downtown, the Inner Harbor, Mount Vernon, and Fells Point. But in the voice of its insider author, the book also covers lesser-known and far-flung corners, revealing what makes Baltimore such a wonderful and fascinating destination and hometown. Full of little-known facts and trivia, this book shows how and why Baltimore was an essential player in the country's early history and continues to be influential today. Here is a city almost unparalleled in American history and it lives up to its modern reputation as a quirky, come-as-you-are and be-what-you'll-be place. The zany Baltimore-based film director John Waters (of Hairspray fame) summed it up best when he said, "It's as if every freak in the South was headed to New York City, ran out of gas in Baltimore, and decided to stay."

Auteur

Evan Balkan's wanderlust was spawned in his international birthplace city of Washington, D.C., and brought him full circle back to the U.S. Atlantic seaboard and to his current home of Baltimore. From playing childhood geography games to, at age 17, exploring France, Italy, Monaco, and Switzerland, he went on to spend 20 years visiting some 25 countries on four continents. Now he says, as a husband and father, he has happily rediscovered what he calls the quirky and livable city of Baltimore. Here, he hikes, bikes, and kayaks in the metro area and, at least once per season, camps in the Appalachians of Western Maryland. Researching Walking Baltimore, he says, "reminds me of the many wonderful urban spaces in Baltimore and how I lucky I am to live here."

The author holds degrees from Towson, George Mason, and Johns Hopkins Universities and teaches writing at the Community College of Baltimore County. He is the author of five other books of nonfiction. They include 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Baltimore and Best in Tent Camping: Maryland. With his wife and two daughters, he lives north of downtown Baltimore, in Towson, Maryland--Baltimore County's county seat.