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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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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 EXATL78. Buy these 4 items as a set for $76 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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A Visitor's Guide to the Falkland Islands

A Visitor's Guide to the Falkland Islands

by Debbie Summers

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 132 PAGES

Published in conjunction with Falklands Conservation, this spiral-bound guide features color photographs and outstanding maps. (ANT235, $35.00)

Time Out Cape Town

Time Out Cape Town

by Time Out

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 280 PAGES

Compact, informative and lively, this outstanding guide covers where to go and what to do in Cape Town and surroundings. (SAF164, $19.95)

Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

by Alfred Lansing

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 280 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Lansing's gripping day-by-day story of Shackleton's legendary perseverance is essential reading for any Antarctic traveler; it captures all the fortitude, drama and cheer of this most famous Antarctic expedition. (ANT03, $14.95)

Antarctic Explorer Map

Antarctic Explorer Map

by Ocean Explorer

  • 2009
  • MAP
  • BEST SELLER
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

A full color map of the Antarctic Peninsula, including Tierra del Fuego, the Falklands and South Georgia, at a scale of 1:2,750,000. With a map of the Antarctic continent on the reverse. (ANT128, $11.95)

 
Cape Town and Region Map

Cape Town and Region Map


by National Geographic

  • MAP

This double-sided map includes Cape Town, Table Mountain National Park and other reserves south to Cape of Good Hope. (SAF161, $11.95)

Falkland Islands Explorer Map

Falkland Islands Explorer Map


by Ocean Explorer Maps

  • 2011
  • MAP

Nigel Sitwell, publisher of the Antarctic Explorer (ANT128) and other terrific maps, created this double-sided beauty -- with color photographs and information on wildlife and exploration. (ANT180, $11.95)

South Africa Travel Map

South Africa Travel Map


by Globetrotter

  • 2008
  • MAP
  • BEST SELLER

A colorful map at a scale of 1:2,400,000. (SAF09, $8.95)

South Georgia Explorer Map

South Georgia Explorer Map


by Ocean Explorer Maps

  • 2002
  • MAP
  • OUT OF PRINT

Not just a full color map, this double-sided beauty features a detailed map of South Georgia at scale of 1:250,000, along with color photographs and information on wildlife and exploration. (ANT179, $11.95)

A Visitor's Guide to South Georgia

A Visitor's Guide to South Georgia


by Sally Poncet | Kim Crosbie

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 180 PAGES
  • COMING IN JULY

This convenient, comprehensive and full-color guide includes detailed maps of visitor sites. (ANT236, $35.00)

Cape Winelands, A Touring Guide

Cape Winelands, A Touring Guide


by Theresa Morrison | Lanz von Horsten

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 120 PAGES
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

An informative, visual tour of 40 favorite wineries, all close to Cape Town. With fold-out maps, color photographs and information on restaurants, picnic spots and lodging. (SAF128, $20.00)

Eyewitness Guide South Africa

Eyewitness Guide South Africa


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 408 PAGES

This superb guide features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the country's attractions. (SAF138, $27.00)

Insight Guide South Africa

Insight Guide South Africa


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

South Africa is brought to life in hundreds of color photographs and vividly written essays by a team of experts. Panoramic in scope, the guide takes us from Johannesburg out into the veldt, providing genuine insight into the history, nature and modern politics of this complex land. (SAF21, $24.99)

Lonely Planet Buenos Aires

Lonely Planet Buenos Aires


by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

The best of Buenos Aires is included in this practical guide, along with a pullout map and insider recommendations on shopping, eating, sleeping and day trips. (ARG10, $19.99)

Lonely Planet Cape Town

Lonely Planet Cape Town


by Simon Richmond

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 236 PAGES

Geared for independent travelers, this savvy guide features color photographs and dozens of excellent maps. (SAF27, $19.99)

Longitude

Longitude


by Dava Sobel | Neil Armstrong

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

An elegant extended essay on the historically vexing problem of determining longitude and the solution developed by master clockmaker John Harrison. It's a captivating story of marine chronometers, Byzantine 18th-century British politics, and the age of sail. With photographs. (HSC01, $14.00)

Tango, The Art History of Love

Tango, The Art History of Love


by Robert Farris Thompson

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

A probing cultural history of the tango, its working class origins in 19th-century Buenos Aires and Afro-Argentine roots. (ARG56, $17.00)

The Battle for the Falklands

The Battle for the Falklands


by Max Hastings | Simon Jenkins

  • HISTORY
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

A gripping eyewitness account of the 1982 Falklands war. It includes a history of the islands, but the primary focus is a detailed account of the conflict. (ANT91, $24.95)

Ambassador to the Penguins, A Naturalist's Year Aboard a Yankee Whaleship

Ambassador to the Penguins, A Naturalist's Year Aboard a Yankee Whaleship


by Ellie Mathews

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 353 PAGES

Robert Cushman Murphy's much-loved Logbook for Grace, nicely re-told, annotated and amplified by his granddaughter. His account of a year (1912-13) among the whalers of South Georgia is a classic. (ANT200, $29.95)

Around Cape Horn

Around Cape Horn


by Irving Johnson

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1986
  • DVD

Captain Irving Johnson memorably narrates this documentary of his 1929 voyage as a young man aboard the Peking, featuring a remarkable sequence about the ship rounding the Horn in a storm. Talk about bad weather! (PAT68, $29.95)

End of the Earth, Voyaging to Antarctica

End of the Earth, Voyaging to Antarctica


by Peter Matthiessen

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 242 PAGES

In this fine book, the result of two voyages, Matthiessen captures the magic of polar landscapes and wildlife, along with the camaraderie of a ship-based polar expedition. (ANT190, $15.00)

In Patagonia

In Patagonia


by Bruce Chatwin

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 204 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A masterpiece of travel, history and adventure, this award-winning book captures the spirit of the land, history, wildlife and people of Patagonia. There's no travel writer as engaging, insightful and just plain wonderful as Bruce Chatwin. (PAT01, $15.00)

Long After Midnight at the Nino Bien

Long After Midnight at the Nino Bien


by Brian Winter

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 336 PAGES

A journalist posted to the capital during the economic crisis, Winter captures the rhythms and character of Buenos Aires with fearless, profane wit in this wise and rollicking portrait. (ARG80, $24.95)

Long Walk to Freedom

Long Walk to Freedom


by Nelson Mandela

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 640 PAGES

An unpretentious tale of an extraordinary life, Mandela's autobiography is essential reading for an understanding of South Africa. His grace and his love for his country shine throughout. (SAF15, $17.99)

My Traitor's Heart

My Traitor's Heart


by Rian Malan

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 425 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The Afrikaner and journalist recounts his return to his homeland just before the collapse of Apartheid. Malan grapples with the black and white heart of South Africa, drawing on the 300-year history of his family in Africa, legends of the Zulu nation and some brutally honest reporting. (SAF19, $15.00)

Outposts, Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire


by Simon Winchester

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 362 PAGES

Winchester's fascinating, globe-trotting account of scattered, mostly oceanic, outposts of the British Empire shows his usual flair for anecdote in describing Hong Kong, Diego Garcia, Tristan de Cunha, St. Helena, As-cension, Pitcairn, Antarctica and the Falkland Islands. (GBR569, $13.99)

Rounding the Horn

Rounding the Horn


by Dallas Murphy

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 358 PAGES

A sailor at heart, Dallas Murphy gets himself down to Ushuaia, embarks a sturdy vessel and heads out to experience the wind and weather of Tierra del Fuego. In his informative account, Dallas interweaves plenty of history, a little rather naive politics and the story of his own adventures. (PAT65, $18.00)

The Discoverers

The Discoverers


by Daniel Boorstin

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1985
  • PAPER
  • 745 PAGES

This wide-ranging and readable account of exploration by Daniel Boorstin includes a chapter on some of the great sea voyages, including Magellan's voyage to Tierra del Fuego and Cook's extraordinary journey into the Southern Ocean. (EXP01, $18.95)

Voyage of the Beagle

Voyage of the Beagle


by Charles Darwin

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 468 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER
  • FAVORITE

The wide-eyed tale of a young man on a five-year voyage that changed his life -- and our way of thinking about the world. First published in 1839, it's still a marvelous introduction to the wildlife, nature and allure of South America. (GPS02, $12.95)

Albatross: Their World, Their Ways

Albatross: Their World, Their Ways


by Tui De Roy | Mark Jones | Julian Fitter

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES

The culmination of a storied career at sea as roving naturalist-photographers, this remarkable collection of 300 photographs of the ocean wanderers, both at sea and on the nest, is not just beautiful. It's also an authoritative survey of the natural history, status and conservation of the world's Diomedeidae. Anyone who has tried to photograph these magnificent birds in flight will appreciate the art, experience and perseverance of De Roy, Jones and Fitter. (BRD64, $49.95)

Elephant Destiny, Biography of an Endangered Species in Africa


by Martin Meredith

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

A succinct and fascinating history of the relationship between humans and the African Elephant. (AFR187, $14.95)

Penguins of the World

Penguins of the World


by Wayne Lynch

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

Lynch weaves delightful tales of penguins, their habitats and habits, with hundreds of glorious full-color photographs. (ANT62, $24.95)

The Falkland Islands, Between the Wind & Sea

The Falkland Islands, Between the Wind & Sea


by Kevin Schafer

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 96 PAGES
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Schafer's tribute and celebration of these South Atlantic islands combines dozens of superb color photographs and an extended personal essay by the veteran naturalist on the history, wildlife and future of the Falklands. (ANT208, $24.95)

The Nature of Penguins

The Nature of Penguins


by Jonathan Chester

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 112 PAGES

Expedition leader, author and photographer Chester presents a beautiful collection of full-color penguin photographs along with accompanying essays on these much-loved birds. (ANT19, $17.95)

Volcanoes, Crucibles of Change

Volcanoes, Crucibles of Change


by Richard Fisher

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 344 PAGES

A complete primer for the volcano lover, this heavily illustrated book covers types of volcanoes and eruptions, worldwide distribution and the physics of their formation. (GEO02, $29.95)

Antarctica, A Guide to the Wildlife

Antarctica, A Guide to the Wildlife


by Tony Soper | Dafila Scott

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

Designed for the field, this compact handbook features all the species of birds, seals and whales the traveler is likely to encounter on an Antarctic voyage, each with a few paragraphs, range map and masterful color paintings by the granddaughter of Captain Robert Scott. (ANT30, $25.99)

Birds & Mammals of the Antarctic, Subantarctic & Falkland Islands

Birds & Mammals of the Antarctic, Subantarctic & Falkland Islands


by Frank Todd

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 138 PAGES
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Compact and comprehensive, this indispensable photo guide by Mr. Penguin himself includes all the hard-to-identify seabirds of Antarctic waters. (ANT213, $29.95)

Birds of Southern South America & Antarctica

Birds of Southern South America & Antarctica


by Martin D. la Pena | Maurice Rumboll

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

With color plates, range maps and brief descriptions, this is a compact regional guide. (SAM12, $29.95)

Smithsonian Handbook: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises

Smithsonian Handbook: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises


by Mark Carwardine

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

In the trademark, graphic Eyewitness style, this sturdy guidebook colorfully describes the world's cetaceans with numerous illustrations, range maps, fluke drawings and a few paragraphs on each species. (FG02, $20.00)

The Wildlife of Southern Africa, A Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of the Region

The Wildlife of Southern Africa, A Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of the Region


by Vincent Carruthers | Kenneth Newman

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

With 1,200 color illustrations by a range of experts, this compact field guide includes all the birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, fish and plants that a traveler is likely to encounter in Southern Africa. (SAF59, $29.95)

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.