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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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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 EXUSS112. Buy these 5 items as a set for $77 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Bicycling the Natchez Trace, A Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway and Nearby Scenic Routes

Bicycling the Natchez Trace, A Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway and Nearby Scenic Routes

by Glen Wanner

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 219 PAGES

A cyclist's guide to the Natchez Trace and surrounding routes, from Nashville to Vicksburg. Includes detailed trail routes and logistical information, as well as facts on the region's history. (USS407, $15.95)

The Barber of Natchez

by Edwin Adams Davis | William Ransom Hogan

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1973
  • PAPER
  • 278 PAGES

A vivid portrait of the life and times of the remarkable William Johnson, a free slave and successful businessman in Natchez, who writes of his family life, business successes and friendships with people of both races. Drawing on Johnson's diaries, letters and contemporary accounts. Johnson was murdered in 1851. (USS401, $19.95)

A Curtain of Green and Other Stories

A Curtain of Green and Other Stories

by Eudora Welty

  • LITERATURE
  • 1979
  • PAPER
  • 324 PAGES

Welty's first collection of stories, which includes the classic "A Worn Path," established her reputation as a leading southern writer. (USS402, $27.95)

The Devil's Backbone: Story of the Natchez Trace

The Devil's Backbone: Story of the Natchez Trace

by Jonathan Daniels

  • HISTORY
  • 1985
  • PAPER
  • 267 PAGES

A brief, pocket history of the development, exploration and settling of the Natchez Trace, which stretches from Natchez, Mississippi, across northwestern Alabama to Nashville. (USS142, $12.95)

Jackson, Natchez and Vicksburg Map

Jackson, Natchez and Vicksburg Map

by Riley Maps

  • 2004
  • MAP

A regional map of Mississippi at scale of 1:50,000, covering Jackson, Natchez and Vicksburg. (USS403, $4.95)

 
Deep South, Mississippi Valley, Gulf of Mexico Map

Deep South, Mississippi Valley, Gulf of Mexico Map


by Hallwag

  • MAP

A map of the southern Mississippi Valley region. (USS47, $14.95)

Africans in America, America's Journey through Slavery

Africans in America, America's Journey through Slavery


by Charles Johnson | Patricia Smith | WBGH Series Research Team

  • HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

A powerful collaborative effort that paints a vivid picture of the history of slavery in America, and celebrates the brave Africans who managed to preserve their heritage as they endured so many hardships. (USS53, $38.95)

Guide to the Vicksburg Campaign

Guide to the Vicksburg Campaign


by Jay Luvaas | Steven Bowman | Leonard Fullenkamp

  • HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 482 PAGES

A history and guide to the battlefield of Vicksburg designed for the traveler. With archival and modern maps, as well as photographic portraits of many of the major officers, it's a terrific handbook for the Civil War enthusiast. (USS155, $17.95)

The Majesty of Natchez


by Steven Brooke

  • HISTORY
  • 1999
  • HARD COVER
  • 96 PAGES

This lively introduction to Natchez's well-preserved antebellum architecture includes a useful map, anecdotal histories and a number of excellent color photographs. (USS133, $17.95)

The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation

The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation


by Stephen Ambrose | Douglas Brinkley

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 272 PAGES

This illustrated popular history -- and travelogue -- tells the story of the great river from the time of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. (USM110, $40.00)

The South in Modern America, A Region at Odds


by Dewey Grantham

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

A comprehensive, well researched survey of the South from the time of Reconstruction to the late 20th century. Grantham captures the politics, history, and psychology of the lower half of the country. (USS66, $24.95)

Architecture of the Old South

Architecture of the Old South


by Mills Lane | Van Jones Martin

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1993
  • HARD COVER
  • 335 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

An illustrated survey of the glorious architecture of the Old South. With an authoritative text by a Savannah native, and 250 sumptuous color photographs of antebellum architecture. (USS19, $75.00)

Classic Natchez: An Illustrated Tour through a Remarkable Antebellum Town


by Van J. Martin | Randolph Delehanty

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1996
  • HARD COVER
  • 164 PAGES

Antebellum South presented through photographs and essays on 43 Natchez homes, including maps, floor plans, and a timeline. (USS136, $39.95)

Around the Bend, A Mississippi River Adventure

Around the Bend, A Mississippi River Adventure


by C.C. Lockwood

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • HARD COVER
  • 169 PAGES

A photographic tour of the Mississippi River as seen through the lens of naturalist and wildlife photographer C.C. Lockwood. (USS45, $39.95)

Black Boy

Black Boy


by Richard A. Wright | Jerry W. Ward

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

The autobiography of Richard Wright, chronicling his days as a young black man in rural Mississippi and Memphis. It's a hard-hitting look at race relations in the United States before the civil rights era. (USS50, $14.99)

Life on the Mississippi

Life on the Mississippi


by Mark Twain

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 388 PAGES

A classic marking Twain's return to the days of his youth spent on the Mississippi. Full of historical information, anecdotes, character sketches and fond memories, it's an enjoyable look back at the Old Mississippi. (USS05, $9.95)

Mississippi Solo: A River Quest

Mississippi Solo: A River Quest


by Eddy L. Harris

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 250 PAGES

From Minnesota to New Orleans, in a canoe, Harris travels the length of the Mississippi, facing rednecks, wild dogs and bad weather. (USS384, $16.00)

Old Glory, A Voyage Down the Mississippi

Old Glory, A Voyage Down the Mississippi


by Jonathan Raban

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 409 PAGES

Raban tackles the "Mighty Mississippi" aboard a 16-foot motorboat in this entertaining portrait of contemporary life on the river, featuring places and people he encounters along the way from from Minnesota to Mississippi. (USS42, $18.00)

William Johnson's Natchez, The Ante-Bellum Diary of a Free Negro

William Johnson's Natchez, The Ante-Bellum Diary of a Free Negro


by Edwin Adam Davis | William Ransom Hogan

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 812 PAGES

The personal diary of William Johnson, a free Negro of Natchez, Mississippi. Discovered in 1938, this first person account reveals the hardship he endured as he went from a former slave to a successful businessman. (USS139, $34.95)

Canaan's Tongue


by John Wray

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

This fiercely poetic novel, set in the American South before and during the Civil War, traces the decline of a gang of horse-thieves and slave traders. The ringleader, a preacher known as "The Redeemer" is based on the historical outlaw John Murrell. (USS406, $14.95)

The Best Short Stories by Black Writers, The Classic Anthology from 1899 to 1967


by Langston Hughes

  • LITERATURE
  • 1969
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

A collection of groundbreaking works by luminaries including James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Ralph Ellison and Alice Walker. (GEN400, $16.99)

The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty


by Eudora Welty

  • LITERATURE
  • 1982
  • PAPER
  • 622 PAGES

All the stories written by Welty, the pride of Jackson, Mississippi, in a single volume. (USS250, $16.00)

The Confidence-Man, His Masquerade

The Confidence-Man, His Masquerade


by Herman Melville

  • LITERATURE
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 351 PAGES

Melville's final work of prose, a bewildering story of the Devil and his attempt to con a group of travelers aboard a riverboat on the Mississippi. (USS44, $14.00)

The Quiet Game

The Quiet Game


by Greg Iles

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 576 PAGES

A murder mystery set in Natchez, Mississippi. (USS141, $9.99)

Yonder Stands Your Orphan


by Barry Hannah

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 333 PAGES

A dazzling Gothic novel of the Deep South, bursting with eccentric, deeply confused characters, humor and pain. Set near Vicksburg, Mississippi. (USS232, $14.95)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States


by Peter Alden

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 446 PAGES

A compact photographic guide to the nature of the Southeast States from Mississippi and Georgia to North Carolina, featuring 1,500 photographs, concise descriptions and an overview of the natural history of the area. (USS31, $19.95)

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.