COLLETTE VACATIONS

San Francisco & Northern California

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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We feature a handpicked selection of travel guides, maps, literature, books on art, nature and culture, designed to help you get more out of your travels to San Francisco & Northern California. Order an essential package, and additional items ship free.

Essential Reading

Item EXCAL81. Buy these 4 items as a set for $64 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Eyewitness Guide San Francisco and Northern California

Eyewitness Guide San Francisco and Northern California

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. With excellent maps. (USW147, $25.00)

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

by Joan Didion

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 238 PAGES

A classic collection of essays on the 60s cultural climate, first published in 1968. In the acclaimed title essay, Didion vividly describes the landscape, mood and culture of 60s San Francisco. (SFO11, $15.00)

Travelers' Tales San Francisco

Travelers' Tales San Francisco

by James O'Reilly | Larry Habegger | Sean O'Reilly

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

Experience San Francisco from the inside out with this engaging, insightful and entertaining selection of mostly contemporary eyewitness reports -- a terrific literary profile of a dynamic city. (SFO15, $18.95)

San Francisco Map

San Francisco Map

by Borch Maps

  • 2006
  • MAP

A laminated, folded map of the city center of San Francisco at a nice scale of 1:13,000. (CAL80, $8.95)

 

San Francisco Bay Map


by Great Pacific Map Company

  • MAP

A map of the San Francisco Bay area, including Oakland, San Jose, Napa, Sonoma and Point Reyes, at a scale of 1:145,000. (CAL194, $5.95)

Fodor's San Francisco's 25 Best

Fodor's San Francisco's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

A shirt-pocket guide to San Francisco, this slim book includes an excellent map of the center of the city and essential information on its highlights. (USW185, $12.99)

Moon Handbook Northern California

Moon Handbook Northern California


by Kim Weir

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 560 PAGES

A comprehensive guide to northern California, with a wealth of practical information and coverage of local history, culture and nature. (CAL60, $19.95)

National Geographic San Francisco


by Jerry Camarillo, Jr. Dunn

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 271 PAGES

A compact guidebook to San Francisco, published by National Geographic in its attractive, visual style. It features many color photographs, maps and good information history, nature, culture and travel. (SFO47, $22.95)

San Francisco, A Cultural History

San Francisco, A Cultural History


by Mick Sinclair

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Organized more thematically than chronologically, this easy-to-read introduction to the city and its neighborhoods will appeal both to first time visitors and those who know and love the city. (SFO20, $15.00)

Chez Panisse Vegetables


by Alice Waters

  • FOOD
  • 1996
  • HARD COVER

Alongside gorgeous woodcuts and deceptively simple, world-famous recipes, Waters explains how to cook, buy and prepare specific vegetables in this still-fresh take on seasonal cooking. (GEN987, $36.99)

Tartine Bread

Tartine Bread


by Chad Robertson

  • FOOD
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 304 PAGES

A lushly illustrated step-by-step guide to bread baking by the master baker behind San Francisco's famed Tartine. Includes countless tips, insights and additional recipes for using up every delicious morsel, including Catalan bread salad, a variety of bruschettas and delicious homemade aioli. (GEN986, $40.00)

The Accidental Connoisseur, An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World

The Accidental Connoisseur, An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World


by Lawrence Osborne

  • FOOD
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 262 PAGES

With a winning wit and not a drop of pretense, Osborne sets out to discover what's what with wine, traveling through Sonoma and Napa, France, Italy and other European wine meccas, 11 adventures in all. He meets plenty of interesting characters along the way, revealing much about the pleasures of wine (and travel!). (TVL31, $15.00)

A Crack in the Edge of the World, America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906

A Crack in the Edge of the World, America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906


by Simon Winchester

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

Geologist, master storyteller, traveler and journalist, Simon Winchester succeeds again in this fast-paced, utterly fascinating account of the great 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco. (CAL193, $15.99)

California, A History

California, A History


by Kevin Starr

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

A lively short history in the excellent Modern Library Chronicles series, written by a renowned historian. (CAL204, $14.95)

San Francisco Then and Now

San Francisco Then and Now


by Dennis Evanovsky | Eric J. Kos

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A compact edition of Evanovsky and Kos's pictorial history of San Francisco featuring dramatic photos taken before, during and after the 1906 Earthquake and fire. (SFO58, $12.95)

Bay Area Figurative Art, 1950-1965


by Caroline A. Jones

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 231 PAGES

Defecting from the prevailing style of Abstract Expressionism, a number of Bay Area artists began experimenting with painting the human figure again in the 1950s. This full-color book about the resulting movement is a perfect addition to your library before or after a trip to San Francisco's museums. (SFO59, $49.95)

Fifth Chinese Daughter

Fifth Chinese Daughter


by Jade Snow Wong

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 246 PAGES

First published in 1945, Jade Snow Wong's memoir is a simply told, moving story of family life in pre-WWII San Francisco Chinatown. (SFO08, $14.95)

Bret Harte's Gold Rush, Outcasts of Poker Flat, The Luck of Roaring Camp, Tennessee's Partner and Other Favorites

Bret Harte's Gold Rush, Outcasts of Poker Flat, The Luck of Roaring Camp, Tennessee's Partner and Other Favorites


by Bret Harte | Reuben H. Margolin

  • LITERATURE
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 178 PAGES

In the 1860s and 70s, a former stagecoach messenger named Bret Harte dazzled the literary world with his tales of Gold Rush-era California. These 15 rough-and-tumble stories include some of the best he ever wrote. (CAL78, $13.95)

Natural State, A Literary Anthology of California Nature Writing


by Steven Gilbar

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

Divided by ecological region, this book is a literary tour of California's unrivaled natural diversity, featuring essays and excerpts by such great writers as Barry Lopez, Gretel Ehrlich and John McPhee. Gary Snyder provided the afterword. (CAL101, $26.95)

San Francisco Stories, Great Writers on the City

San Francisco Stories, Great Writers on the City


by John Miller

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

This well-chosen anthology shows the city as seen by wonderful writers, ranging from London, Wolfe and Kerouac to Ann Lamott and Amy Tan. (CAL168, $14.95)

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon


by Dashiell Hammett

  • MYSTERY
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 217 PAGES

Set in San Francisco, this is Dashiell Hammett's classic story of Sam Spade, the archetypal hard-boiled detective. (CAL06, $14.00)

The Valley of the Moon

The Valley of the Moon


by Jack London

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 425 PAGES

In part a tribute to his wife and rural life on his ranch in Glen Ellen, London's California novel follows Billy and Saxon Roberts from Oakland to Sonoma, where they strive to live independently on the land. (CAL169, $21.95)

Assembling California

Assembling California


by John McPhee

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Another fine book on geology and natural history from John McPhee, this time in the company of Eldridge Moores, on travels throughout California. (USW187, $16.00)

Mac's Field Guide to Northern California Wildflowers


by Craig MacGowan

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2000
  • PLASTIC CARD
  • 2 PAGES

This double-sided, laminated card features color drawings of the wildflowers commonly found in the northern California region. (CAL05, $4.95)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to California

National Audubon Society Field Guide to California


by Peter Alden

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

A compact, easy-to-use guide to 1,000 of California's trees, wildflowers, mammals, insects, birds and other flora and fauna. (CAL07, $19.95)

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America


by Jon Dunn

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 576 PAGES

From Alaska to Baja California, Nova Scotia and Florida, this guide is the veteran's choice for birding anywhere in the United States. Tabbed for easy access, the color range maps in this sixth edition are outstanding. (FG09, $27.95)

Pacific State Wildflowers


by Theodore F. Niehaus | Charles Ripper

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

This Peterson field guide covers 1,492 species of wildflowers found from British Columbia to Baja California. (USW192, $19.00)

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