Welcome!

Enrich Your Travels with Longitude

We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.

SIGN UP FOR

Longitude News

Get our monthly e-mail update

GET A

Catalog

BELGIUM

A Worldly Art

Mariet Westermann

SEE ALL >

PROVENCE & THE COTE D'AZUR

A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France

Georgeanne Brennan

SEE ALL >

OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

SEE ALL >

PENGUIN CLASSICS

The Log from the Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

SEE ALL >

Cruising Mediterranean Shores

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

  • E-MAIL
  • PRINT

Kids

Books for

Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXMED263A. Buy these 5 items as a set for $83 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

ADD SET
TO BOOKBAG
Mediterranean by Cruise Ship

Mediterranean by Cruise Ship

by Anne Vipond

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

The best-selling, compact guide, featuring excellent local maps, hundreds of color photographs, concise background information and recommended excursions for ports-of-call throughout the Mediterranean. (MED34, $21.95)

Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome

Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome

by Christopher Scarre

  • HISTORY
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A vivid overview of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and its expansion throughout North Africa and the Mediterranean, illustrated with ingenious color maps on many topics (political borders, trade, defense, religion) and 80 color photographs. (ITL29, $18.00)

Italy, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Italy, A Traveler's Literary Companion

by Lawrence Venuti

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Not just a literary companion, this anthology is also a who's who of contemporary Italian writers that captures the spirit, history and allure of the country. (ITL466, $14.95)

The Ancient Mediterranean

The Ancient Mediterranean

by Michael Grant

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 374 PAGES

Grant explores the realms of archaeology, geography, art and economics to sketch this classic portrait of the ancient world, from prehistory through the Roman Imperium, and the influence on western civilization. (MED10, $20.00)

Mediterranean Cruises Map

Mediterranean Cruises Map

by Freytag & Berndt

  • 2010
  • MAP

A double-sided, full-color map of the Mediterranean, including the Iberian Peninsula and Black Sea, North Africa and the Levant, at a scale of 1:2,000,000. (MED36, $14.95)

 
Barcelona Map

Barcelona Map


by Borch Maps

  • 2010
  • MAP

A detailed city map, laminated and folded for easy reference. (SPN105, $8.95)

Naples Map

Naples Map


by Touring Club Italiano

  • MAP

A good locally published map of Naples. (ITL280, $12.95)

Rome Map

Rome Map


by Borch Maps

  • 2007
  • MAP

A handy map at a scale of 1:11,000, with a more detailed overview of the city center. (ITL60, $8.95)

Fodor's Barcelona's 25 Best

Fodor's Barcelona's 25 Best


by Fodors

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 96 PAGES

This handy pocket guide includes an excellent map and essential information for a making the most of a short visit. (SPN136, $11.99)

Fodor's Naples' 25 Best

Fodor's Naples' 25 Best


by Michael Buttler

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

This shirt-pocket guide includes a map of the city and essential information on its highlights (ITL594, $11.99)

Fodor's Rome's 25 Best

Fodor's Rome's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

This shirt-pocket guide includes a map of the city and essential information on its highlights. (ITL112, $12.99)

The Tuscan Year, Tuscan Life and Food in an Italian Valley

The Tuscan Year, Tuscan Life and Food in an Italian Valley


by Elizabeth Romer

  • FOOD
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 182 PAGES
  • FAVORITE
  • OUT OF PRINT

An intimate portrait of life on a Tuscan farm as seen primarily through the robust food and a Longitude favorite. Romer captures the goings-on in the countryside, and especially in the Cerotti kitchen, where traditional Tuscan rural food is prepared with loving care. Every chapter includes concisely described recipes. (ITL131, $15.00)

Barcelona

Barcelona


by Robert Hughes

  • HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 570 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A Longitude favorite, this big, thoroughly enjoyable cultural history of the city touches on architecture, art, religion and literature from Roman outpost to the present. (SPN01, $21.00)

Inside the Vatican

Inside the Vatican


by Bart McDowell | Jim Stanfield

  • RELIGION
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This selection of stunning, behind-the-scenes color photographs of the Vatican includes text describing the city-state's history and some background on the modern popes. (ITL55, $19.95)

La Bella Figura, A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura, A Field Guide to the Italian Mind


by Beppe Severgnini

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

Italians themselves love this guide to the Italian character, which addresses their never-ending passion for beauty, disorder and high emotion. Severgnini opens the book with a snapshot of the hubbub at Malpensa Airport, then moves on to Tuscany, Rome, Naples and Sardinia. (ITL718, $14.00)

The Middle Sea

The Middle Sea


by John Julius Norwich

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 720 PAGES

A marvelous writer who has already tackled Byzantium, the Normans in Sicily and Venice, Norwich spins his magic in this story of culture, trade and politics, royalty and rulers, wars and religion in the Mediterranean. (MED98, $21.00)

Antonio Gaudi, Master Architect

Antonio Gaudi, Master Architect


by Juan Bassegoda Nonell

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2001
  • HARD COVER
  • 285 PAGES

This lavish little collection of Gaudi's work captures the evolution, imagination and exuberance of one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. (SPN374, $11.95)

In the South of France

In the South of France


by Don Krohn

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1999
  • HARD COVER
  • 117 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

With an overview of history and culture, generous literary excerpts and stunning color photographs, this handsome book is a splendid introduction to the landscapes and fields, villages, castles, medieval churches and chateaux of Provence and the south of France. (FRN192, $39.95)

Homage to Catalonia

Homage to Catalonia


by George Orwell

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1987
  • PAPER
  • 234 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Orwell's portrait of the Barcelona uprising and the spirit of a city at war is a classic, an observant and heartfelt report from the streets. (SPN03, $14.00)

Italian Days

Italian Days


by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 479 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Grizzuti Harrison writes with warmth and depth of her journey from Milan south to Calabria in this sprightly account of Italy and the Italians. (ITL02, $15.00)

La Bella Lingua

La Bella Lingua


by Dianne Hales

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES
  • NEW

Inebriated with the sounds of Italian, lovesick for its phrases and enamored of its earthy idioms, Hales, "a sensible woman of sturdy Polish stock," dives into the Italian of the piazza, literature, movies and streets in this charming memoir. (ITA26, $15.00)

Midnight in Sicily, On Art, Food, History, Travel and La Cosa Nostra

Midnight in Sicily, On Art, Food, History, Travel and La Cosa Nostra


by Peter Robb

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Combining interviews, research and essays on Sicilian history and culture, this vivid report by journalist Peter Robb is a superb introduction to Italy's glorious, corrupt and troubled south. (ITL74, $18.00)

Pillars of Hercules

Pillars of Hercules


by Paul Theroux

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 509 PAGES

Theroux seems to have had an exceptionally good time on his tour of the Mediterranean, circling the celebrated sea on foot, horseback, train and boat from Gibraltar to North Africa. (MED20, $17.00)

Cosi Fan Tutti

Cosi Fan Tutti


by Michael Dibdin

  • MYSTERY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 247 PAGES

Romantic entanglements complicate the investigation of a murder in Naples in this installment of the enjoyable series. (ITL623, $13.95)

Pompeii, A Novel

Pompeii, A Novel


by Robert Harris

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

In this fast-paced historical novel set in Pompeii, a young engineer sets out to repair the Roman aqueducts and discovers the imminent eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Full of suspense and period detail. (ITL560, $7.99)

Pride of Carthage, A Novel of Hannibal

Pride of Carthage, A Novel of Hannibal


by David Anthony Durham

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 576 PAGES

A richly imagined epic saga based on the events of the Second Punic War. Although a work of fiction, the book does a good job of evoking the history of the era and its personalities. (TUN24, $15.95)

The Leopard

The Leopard


by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Evoking a lost world of privilege and tradition, Giuseppe Di Lampedusa's memorable tale, set on a rural Sicilian estate during the days of independence, follows the world-weary Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina. A classic, now in a 50th anniversary edition. (ITL11, $16.00)

The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind


by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

Set in the brooding atmosphere of post-WW II Barcelona, this gripping story-within-a-story has it all: murder, doomed love and a mysterious book which draws the young hero, Daniel Sempere, into the city's dangerous underworld. (SPN298, $16.00)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.