Real People/Real Stories explores the best in nonfiction history, biography, science, nature, and the arts.

This month's read is Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive by Eliot Stein. 

This fascinating travel book explores the lives of ten people around the globe who have unusual and unique jobs—jobs so rare that they may be the last ones carrying on these extraordinary activities. From the custodian of a 700-year-old soy sauce recipe to a secret mirror maker and an Inca bridge master weaver, this intriguing book will introduce you to a world of wonders you never knew existed.

“Custodians of Wonder is the perfect title for this superb and unclassifiable book. Part travel, part anthropology, part memoir, part history, each chapter reveals a cultural treasure or custom that’s about to disappear. From a Mali musical instrument, a sacred Sardinian pasta, artisan Japanese soy sauce, a secret mirror, to beekeeping and the survival of medieval night watching on the tip of Sweden, Eliot Stein’s quests not only explore each subject in depth but open wide the aperture onto the cultural context. I was enthralled by every chapter. Written with verve and acute observation, this book is one of the rare ones that take you where you’ve never been.” ― Frances Mayes, bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun

"I so enjoyed Eliot Stein's celebration of the unsung arts still faintly glowing in the shadows of all our pasts. In this charming book he has uncovered and preserved treasures across five continents that might otherwise have slipped away. As he writes, Custodians of Wonder 'invites us to fall back in love with the world.'" ― Sara Wheeler, author of Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia

“…a treat for the mind and the senses…Stein lovingly describes the history, traditions, and dignity of these remarkable keepers of age-old customs. Beautifully written, well researched, and unusual in breadth…” ― Library Journal (Starred Review)