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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.

Item EXMED463. Buy these 4 items as a set for $68 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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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)

The Tomb of Agamemnon

by Cathy Gere | Mary Beard

• HISTORY
• 2006
• HARD COVER
• 208 PAGES

An enlightening brief guide to the archaeological site (a fortified hill in the Peloponnese at Mycenae), its history and current scholarship on the Bronze Age. (GRE252, $19.95)

Corelli's Mandolin

by Louis De Bernieres

• LITERATURE
• 1995
• PAPER
• 448 PAGES

This lyrical novel captures the humanity, quirks and loves of village life in Greece. A satire of war, the novel is set on the Greek island of Cephallonia during the Italian occupation in the 1940s. (GRE51, $15.95)

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)

 

Also Recommended

Cadogan Guide The Peloponnese & Athens

by Dana Facaros

• GUIDEBOOK
• 2008
• PAPER
• 352 PAGES

This comprehensive look at the Peloponnese provides insightful cultural and historical background, and up-to-date practical information (GRE103, $22.95)

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)

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)

La Bella Lingua

by Dianne Hales

• CULTURAL PORTRAIT
• 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)

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Why the Greeks Matter

by Thomas Cahill

• HISTORY
• 2004
• PAPER
• 320 PAGES

Cahill sketches ancient Greek society and civilization through the lives and words of politicians, playwrights, a poet, philosopher and artist in this eloquent and absorbing tribute. (GRE182, $16.00)

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

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)

Ancient Greece: Art, Architecture, and History

by Marina Belozerskaya | Kenneth Lapatin

• ART & ARCHITECTURE
• 2004
• PAPER
• 144 PAGES

This lively illustrated guide covers the architecture, painting and sculpture of Ancient Greece from the third millennium to the end of the Hellenistic period. With 282 color and 28 black-and-white illustrations. (GRE194, $19.95)

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages

by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg

• ART & ARCHITECTURE
• 2010
• PAPER
• 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages features hundreds of drawings, color illustrations and a brief chronology. (MED07, $15.95)

Cezanne

by Mary Tompkins Lewis

• ART & ARCHITECTURE
• 2001
• PAPER
• 352 PAGES

A well-illustrated introduction to Cezanne's life and works in the stimulating Art and Ideas series by Phaidon, featuring 193 color and 13 black and white illustrations. (FRN508, $22.95)

Classical Music 101, A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Classical Music

by Fred Plotkin

• MUSIC
• 2002
• PAPER
• 672 PAGES

Plotkin's primer on classical music is geared to the casual, intellectually curious listener and does an admirable job of describing how best to experience and appreciate the great works, both new and old. (MUS15, $18.95)

Italy, Monuments Past and Present

by R.A. Staccioli

• ARCHAEOLOGY
• 2003
• FLEXI-BOUND
• 78 PAGES

This informative volume shows Italy's most important monuments as they look today and, via overlaid illustrations, as they were once upon a time. The book surveys the history and archeological highlights of Pompeii, Rome and Sicily. (ITL455, $25.00)

Opera 101, A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera

by Fred Plotkin | Placido Domingo

• MUSIC
• 1994
• PAPER
• 494 PAGES

A well-written introduction to opera, this volume includes a brief history of the art form, a guide to operatic terms and a review of 11 famous operas. (GEN175, $17.99)

The Maze and the Warrior: Symbols in Architecture, Theology, and Music

by Craig Wright

• MUSIC
• 2004
• PAPER
• 368 PAGES

Wright thoughtfully explores the complex symbolism of the labyrinth in architecture, religious thought, music and dance from the Middle Ages to the present. (MUS70, $27.00)

The Mediterranean in Music, Critical Perspectives, Common Concerns, Cultural Differences

by David Cooper

• MUSIC
• 2005
• HARD COVER
• 247 PAGES

Ethnomusicologists and scholars of music and anthropology explore the range and expression of music across the region in this collection of articles from a 2001 conference. (MED140, $48.95)

A Year in the World, Journeys of a Passionate Traveler

by Frances Mayes

• TRAVEL NARRATIVE
• 2007
• PAPER
• 420 PAGES

A warm account of mostly Mediterranean travels -- Spain, Portugal, Greece, Sicily, Capri, Sardinia, the Turkish Coast, Naples, Burgundy, Scotland -- arranged by season. (TVL109, $15.00)

Dinner with Persephone

by Patricia Storace

• TRAVEL NARRATIVE
• 1997
• PAPER
• 398 PAGES

The pleasures and complexities of contemporary Greece, marvelously described by an American poet spending a year there. Storace intertwines her own perceptions with the history of the country and the influence of pop culture on the classical landscape. (GRE28, $15.95)

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)

The Colossus of Maroussi

by Henry Miller

• TRAVEL NARRATIVE
• 2010
• PAPER
• 223 PAGES
• FAVORITE

Miller captures the spirit and warmth of the resilient Greek people in this inspired tale of a wartime journey from Athens to Crete, Corfu and Delphi with his friend Lawrence Durrell. (GRE05, $12.95)

Two Towns in Provence

by M. F. K. Fisher

• BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
• 1983
• PAPER
• 208 PAGES
• FAVORITE

Celebrated food writer M.F.K. Fisher contrasts village life in Aix-en-Provence with bustling Marseilles, evoking both with anecdote and loving description. (FRN27, $16.95)

Greece, A Traveler's Literary Companion

by Artemis Leontis

• ANTHOLOGY
• 1997
• PAPER
• 288 PAGES

In this terrific anthology, 24 modern Greek writers introduce Greek culture, people and landscapes. (GRE190, $14.95)

Mediterranean Passages, Readings from Dido to Derrida

by Grant Parker | Miriam Cooke | Erdag Goknar

• ANTHOLOGY
• 2008
• PAPER
• 416 PAGES

This compendium highlights 3,000 years of cultural exchange around the Mediterranean. With an assortment of maps, architectural drawings, photographs, paintings and historical and literary texts, it brings antiquity into conversation with the present. (MED139, $27.95)

No Man's Lands, One Man's Odyssey Through the Odyssey

by Scott Huler

• LITERATURE
• 2010
• PAPER
• 304 PAGES

Middle-aged everyman and NPR commentator Scott Huler draws lessons from the twists and turns of the life of Odysseus in this hilarious account of a whirlwind, six-month Mediterranean journey from Troy to Ithaca. (MED127, $14.00)

The Iliad

by Homer | Robert Fagles

• LITERATURE
• 2002
• PAPER
• 704 PAGES

In the excellent Fagles translation -- here presented in a deluxe paper edition -- Homer's Trojan epic hasn't aged a bit in the last 2,700 years. Take it along to Troy and the Aegean. We also carry Fagles's translation of The Odyssey. (Item no. GRE45, $17.00) (GRE173, $17.00)

The Ionian Mission

by Patrick O'Brian

• LITERATURE
• 1991
• PAPER
• 368 PAGES

The eighth volume in the rousing Aubrey and Maturin series takes the commander and his naturalist sidekick into the eponymous Ionian Isles, getting them mixed up not only with the French navy but also in Ottoman af-fairs. (MED26, $14.95)

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 Odyssey

by Homer | Robert Fagles

• LITERATURE
• 1997
• PAPER
• 541 PAGES

Translator Robert Fagles captures the poetry and power of The Odyssey in this translation, celebrated for its clarity and expressiveness. (GRE45, $17.00)

The Shape of Water

by Andrea Camilleri

• MYSTERY
• 2005
• PAPER
• 224 PAGES

The first of Camilleri's wildly popular Inspector Montalbano mysteries, nicely translated and shot through (pun intended) with not just memorable characters but also with Sicilian lore and politics. If you like the series, it continues in 12 more installments -- and counting. (ITL528, $14.00)

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