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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 EXSEA267. Buy these 4 items as a set for $88 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Eyewitness Guide Vietnam and Angkor Wat

Eyewitness Guide Vietnam and Angkor Wat

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

Featuring innovative site diagrams, local maps and hundreds of color photographs, this handy companion introduces the culture, history and attractions of Vietnam. (VNM102, $25.00)

Odyssey Guide Angkor

Odyssey Guide Angkor

by Dawn Rooney

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

The sixth edition of Rooney's indispensable guide to Khmer culture and history. Includes monuments, temple plans, color photographs and practical information about Siem Reap. (CBD05, $27.95)

Understanding Vietnam

Understanding Vietnam

by Neil Jamieson

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 428 PAGES

Jamieson's ambitious primer addresses politics, social history, village life, structural renewal, literature and the arts, illuminating the Vietnamese worldview with insight and depth. It's a terrific introduction to Vietnam. (VNM01, $27.95)

Vietnam, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Vietnam, A Traveler's Literary Companion

by John Balaban | Nguyen Qui Duc

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 239 PAGES
  • COMING IN FEBRUARY

From rain forest and rural countryside to the cities, these 17 stories from Vietnam's finest writers explore Vietnam's landscapes, myths and changing traditions. (VNM04, $14.95)

 
Vietnam Map

Vietnam Map


by ITMB

  • 2005
  • MAP

A detailed travel map of Vietnam at a scale of 1:1,000,000. (VNM05, $12.95)

Ancient Angkor

Ancient Angkor


by Claude Jacques | Michael Freeman

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 239 PAGES
  • COMING IN MARCH

Organized geographically, this indispensable guide to the monuments, architecture, culture, religion and history of Angkor features hundreds of color photographs, site plans and maps. (CBD15, $25.00)

Fodor's Bangkok's 25 Best

Fodor's Bangkok's 25 Best


by Sylvie Franquet | Anthony Sattin

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

This slim guide to Bangkok includes an excellent pullout map of the center of the city along with essential information on its highlights. (TLD40, $11.99)

Lonely Planet Vietnamese Phrasebook

Lonely Planet Vietnamese Phrasebook


by Nguyen Xuanthu

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 284 PAGES

A handy palm-sized guide to pronunciation, grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (VNM20, $8.99)

A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia

A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia


by J.M. Barwise | Nicholas J. White

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES
  • COMING IN MARCH

A compact history of the region, including the Khmer and the various ancient kingdoms that produced Borobudur, Angkor and other architectural marvels. (SEA36, $14.95)

Fire in the Lake

Fire in the Lake


by Frances FitzGerald

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

A classic historical, political and cultural portrait of a nation at war, this powerful book won both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. FitzGerald, a staff writer at the New Yorker and a reporter in Vietnam, presents a vivid image of a revolution. (VNM12, $18.99)

Shadows and Wind

Shadows and Wind


by Robert Templer

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

A British journalist based in Vietnam, Templer cuts through myth and legend to offer a lively, opinionated portrait of contemporary Vietnam. (VNM43, $17.00)

The Civilization of Angkor

The Civilization of Angkor


by Charles Higham

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 207 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

A concise history of the origins, development and rise of the kingdom of Angkor by a leading archaeologist. It's an up-to-date, accessible overview of the civilization from prehistory through the fall of Angkor in 1431. (CBD26, $24.95)

The Mekong, Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future

The Mekong, Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future


by Milton Osborne

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

A cultural history of the great river from prehistory to European exploration, colonial tensions and modern challenges. It's an engaging introduction to the history of Southeast Asia. (SEA28, $16.00)

Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind, and Spirit

Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind, and Spirit


by Nguyen Van Huy | Laurel Kendall

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 303 PAGES

A marvelously illustrated portrait of culture and society in contemporary Vietnam, featuring informed essays by diverse contributors with accompanying color photographs. (VNM66, $50.00)

What the Buddha Taught

What the Buddha Taught


by Walpola Sri Rahula

  • RELIGION
  • 1972
  • PAPER
  • 151 PAGES

A classic account of Theravada Buddhism by a respected monk and scholar from Sri Lanka. Provides translations from original texts with explanations for Western readers. A good foundation for any visitor to Southeast Asia. (SEA41, $14.95)

Zen Keys, A Guide to Zen Practice

Zen Keys, A Guide to Zen Practice


by Thich Nhat Hanh

  • RELIGION
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 198 PAGES

An overview of Zen Buddhism as practiced in Vietnam, including 43 koans from the 13th century Vietnamese master, Tran Thai Tong, and an opening chapter on daily life in a Zen monastery. Originally published in 1974. (VNM72, $14.95)

Art & Architecture of Cambodia

Art & Architecture of Cambodia


by Helen Ibbitson Jessup

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Jessup includes not just Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei but also lesser-known recent discoveries in the surrounding jungle in this illustrated overview in the World of Art series. (CBD41, $16.95)

A Dragon Apparent, Travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

A Dragon Apparent, Travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam


by Norman Lewis

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 358 PAGES
  • FAVORITE
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

A classic account of travels and adventure during the last years of French Indochina, strong on atmosphere and including wonderfully detailed descriptions of local cultures and archaeological treasures. First published in 1951. (SEA40, $33.95)

Dispatches

Dispatches


by Michael Herr

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 296 PAGES

Robert Stone introduces this Everyman's Library edition of Herr's impressionistic, affecting memoir of his time as a war correspondent in Vietnam, called by the New York Times the best book yet to be written about the war. (VNM03, $24.00)

First They Killed My Father, A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers

First They Killed My Father, A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers


by Loung Ung

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

An eye-opening eyewitness account of the atrocities suffered by millions of Cambodians from the perspective of a young girl who survived the reign of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. (CBD13, $13.99)

The River's Tale, A Year on the Mekong

The River's Tale, A Year on the Mekong


by Edward Gargan

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A personal, probing chronicle of a 3,000 mile journey on the river from its source in China through Tibet, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. (SEA33, $15.95)

The Sacred Willow, Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family

The Sacred Willow, Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family


by Duong Van Mai Elliott

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 506 PAGES

This vivid family saga, beginning with the author's great-grandfather, captures the life and momentous history of Vietnam over the last 100 years. (VNM39, $24.99)

The Quiet American

The Quiet American


by Graham Greene

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 180 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A classic, this is the most famous Western work of fiction on Vietnam. Greene writes of a love triangle between a war correspondent, his Vietnamese consort and an optimistic young American during the last days of French rule. (VNM08, $16.00)

Soul of the Tiger, Searching for Nature's Answers in Southeast Asia

Soul of the Tiger, Searching for Nature's Answers in Southeast Asia


by Jeffrey A. McNeely | Paul Spencer Sochaczewski

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

A meditation on the role of animals and nature in the societies of Southeast Asia. With dark humor, the authors wax philosophical about conservation issues throughout the region. (SEA02, $18.99)

Vietnam: A Natural History

Vietnam: A Natural History


by Eleanor J. Sterling | Martha Maud Hurley | Le Duc Minh | Joyce Ann Powzyk

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

A serious, thorough study of habitats, wildlife, human influence and conservation in Vietnam, featuring a handful of color photographs (VNM85, $22.00)

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia


by Morten Strange

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 40 PAGES

A compact photographic guide to almost 700 species of birds in the region, featuring concise descriptions and distribution maps. (SEA39, $38.95)

Birds of Southeast Asia

Birds of Southeast Asia


by Craig Robson

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

This authoritative, masterfully illustrated guide, featuring 140 color plates covering 1,270 species throughout the region, also includes Malaysia, Burma, Borneo and Indonesia. (SEA49, $35.00)

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.