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Sardinia & Corsica

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 EXMED422. Buy these 5 items as a set for $78 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Cadogan Guides Corsica

Cadogan Guides Corsica

by Dana Facaros | Michael Pauls

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 296 PAGES

A practical region-by-region guide in the British series, with good maps as well as introductory chapters on the history and culture of Corsica. (MED135, $18.95)

Eyewitness Guide Sardinia

Eyewitness Guide Sardinia

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

A comprehensive guide to the island of Sardinia, featuring color photography, dozens of excellent maps and a synopsis of the island's attractions. (ITL183, $20.00)

Sea and Sardinia

Sea and Sardinia

by D.H. Lawrence

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 211 PAGES

A marvelous account of a trip to Sardinia, evoking both the charms and travails of the then-remote island, and the personality of the author. It's a pleasingly exaggerated, accessible portrait of life on the island, circa 1921. (ITL349, $16.00)

Corsica Map

Corsica Map

by IGN

  • 2009
  • MAP

A detailed map of the island of Corsica at a scale of 1:250,000. (MED57, $13.95)

Sardinia Map

Sardinia Map

by Touring Club Italiano

  • MAP

A colorful map of the island of Sardinia, at a scale of 1:200,000. (ITL259, $14.95)

 
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)

The Foods of Sicily and Sardinia and the Smaller Islands

The Foods of Sicily and Sardinia and the Smaller Islands


by John Dominis | Giuliano Bugialli

  • FOOD
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Bugialli presents a truly authentic and comprehensive cuisine in these illustrated pages, including not just recipes but also wonderful photography and cultural notes. (ITL297, $37.50)

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

Italians themselves love this guide to the Italian character, which addresses the apparently 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 Ancient Mariners, Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times

The Ancient Mariners, Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times


by Lionel Casson

  • HISTORY
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 246 PAGES

The classic history of seafaring in the Mediterranean. (OCE51, $29.95)

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)

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)

D.H. Lawrence and Italy

D.H. Lawrence and Italy


by D.H. Lawrence

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 495 PAGES

This omnibus Penguin Classics edition includes Lawrence's three travel tales, each very different in tone and all wonderful: Sea and Sardinia is a nostalgic look at traditional ways of life; Twilight in Italy, an evocation of Lawrence's memorable stay on Lake Garda; and Etruscan Places his musings on ancient sites, including the painted tombs of Tarquinia. (ITL62, $18.00)

Napoleon

Napoleon


by Paul Johnson

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

British historian Johnson doesn't hold back in this enlightening, short biography in the inspired Penguin Lives series. In just over 200 pages, he not only traces the major events of the emperor's life, from his birth on Corsica to his death on St. Helena, but also exposes Napoleon's ruthless appetite for power and his naked opportunism. (FRN348, $14.00)

Napoleon Bonaparte


by Alan Schom

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 888 PAGES

An extremely unflattering biography of Napoleon. Schom challenges some common notions of the Bonaparte legend, while giving well researched accounts of some of the most famous battles. (FRN149, $24.99)

On the Shores of the Mediterranean

On the Shores of the Mediterranean


by Eric Newby

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

A sparkling observer and famously entertaining, Newby tackles the Mediterranean in this merry classic account of travels to North Africa, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cairo and Jerusalem. (MED25, $18.95)

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)

The Spirit of Mediterranean Places

The Spirit of Mediterranean Places


by Michel Butor

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1986
  • PAPER
  • 147 PAGES
  • FAVORITE
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

In this remarkable short book, the celebrated French novelist chronicles his travels to Cairo, Luxor, Crete, Istanbul and other Mediterranean sites in absorbing, appreciative painterly detail. (MED03, $13.95)

After the Divorce

After the Divorce


by Grazia Deledda | Susan Ashe

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 174 PAGES

This powerful and tragic tale of murder and infidelity is set, like many of the Nobel Prize winning author's novels, on her native Sardinia. First published in 1902. (ITL196, $17.00)

Italian Folktales

Italian Folktales


by Italo Calvino

  • LITERATURE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 763 PAGES

A treasured collection of 200 lively folk tales presented by none other than the great Italo Calvino, a modern master with great affection for the folkloric traditions of his childhood. (ITL314, $25.00)

Master and Commander

Master and Commander


by Patrick O'Brian

  • LITERATURE
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 412 PAGES

The very first of O'Brian's wildly successful seafaring novels about Captain Aubrey and sidekick Maturin sets the duo against a well-researched Napoleonic wars backdrop in the Western Mediterranean. (MED27, $13.95)

Vendetta

Vendetta


by Michael Dibdin

  • MYSTERY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 260 PAGES

An eccentric billionaire, his wife and guests are gunned down Mob-style in his Sardinian villa in this second book in the Aurelio Zen series. (ITL621, $13.95)

Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates

Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates


by Paul Dallman

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 210 PAGES

Richly illustrated, clearly written and engaging, this book is an ecological overview of the landscapes, plants and vegetation types found in Mediterranean climates. (MED21, $35.95)

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.