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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

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The Vikings, Lords of the Seas

The Vikings, Lords of the Seas

by Yves Cohat

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

An indispensable reference that fits in your pocket, this slim volume is packed with maps, archival photographs, and illustrations. It tells of the Norse homeland, discoveries and settlements, and also features a useful chronology and excerpts from the Viking Sagas. Part of the "Discoveries" series. (VIK01, $15.95)

The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen

The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen

by Hans Christian Andersen | Diana Crone Frank | Jeffrey Frank

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 293 PAGES
  • FAMILY

A newly refurbished collection of twenty-two tales, adroitly retranslated by Diana and Jeffrey Frank and with the original illustrations. (DMK27, $23.95)

Scandinavia Map

Scandinavia Map

by HEMA Maps

  • MAP

This detailed map (1:800,000) shows Denmark and southern Scandinavia on one side and Norway, including Spitsbergen, on the reverse. (SCN16, $12.95)

 

Scandinavia Atlas


by Freytag & Berndt

  • MAP
  • 464 PAGES

A spiral-bound atlas with large-scale color maps (1:250,000 to 1:400,000). (SCN48, $44.95)

St. Petersburg Map

St. Petersburg Map


by Borch Maps

  • MAP

A detailed, laminated city plan of St. Petersburg, with street index inset. Place names are in transliterated English. (RUS89, $7.95)

A Hedonist's Guide to Tallinn


by Laurence Shorter

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 208 PAGES

A guide to the vibrant city, with comprehensive listings of accommodations, restaurants and bars. (BLT29, $16.95)

Eyewitness Guide St. Petersburg

Eyewitness Guide St. Petersburg


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 264 PAGES

With excellent local maps and site plans, this outstanding visual guide introduces the culture, history and attractions of St. Petersburg. (RUS87, $25.00)

Eyewitness Guide Stockholm

Eyewitness Guide Stockholm


by Kaj Sandell

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 232 PAGES

This superb, fully illustrated guide to Stockholm and surrounding islands features dozens of local maps and site diagrams. (SWE18, $20.00)

Insight Guide Norway

Insight Guide Norway


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 391 PAGES

Featuring concise essays on natural history, politics and culture, hundreds of photos and maps, and some limited practical information. (NOR03, $23.95)

Lonely Planet Scandinavian Europe

Lonely Planet Scandinavian Europe


by Glenda Bendure | Ned Friary

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 550 PAGES

An excellent practical guide to Scandinavian countries, as well as St. Petersburg and Tallinn, featuring a good overview of culture, history and nature, and plenty of information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. (SCN01, $24.99)

Rick Steves' Scandinavia

Rick Steves' Scandinavia


by Rick Steves

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 516 PAGES

A personable, practical guide in the growing series by travel guru Rick Steves. (SCN44, $19.95)

Rough Guide Copenhagen

Rough Guide Copenhagen


by Lone Mouritsen | Andrew Spooner

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

A pocket guide to Copenhagen, its history, culture and attractions. (DMK15, $19.99)

A History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland

A History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland


by T.K Derry

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 447 PAGES

Scandinavia from prehistory to the present with chapters on the Viking and Lutheran kingdoms, medieval times, monarchies, the World Wars and modern period, emphasizing the common cultural, political and social backgrounds. (SCN03, $25.00)

A Short History of Finland

A Short History of Finland


by Fred Singleton | Anthony F. Upton

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 209 PAGES

A concise, thoroughly readable and scholarly history of Finland from early settlement to Finland's admission into the European Union in 1995. (SCN19, $31.00)

Helsinki, A Cultural and Literary History

Helsinki, A Cultural and Literary History


by Neil Kent

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 247 PAGES

A literary guide to Helsinki, its history and culture, organized into three sections: city of architects and engineers; city of music and arts; and city of hospitality. With maps and black-and-white illustrations. (SCN33, $15.00)

Ring of Seasons, Iceland, Its Culture and History

Ring of Seasons, Iceland, Its Culture and History


by Terry G. Lacy

  • HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 332 PAGES

A longtime resident of Reykjavik, Lacy weaves tales of family life, anecdote, lore and history into this illuminating personal portrait of Iceland. (ICL03, $25.95)

The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558-1721

The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558-1721


by Robert I. Frost

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 401 PAGES

A scholarly, detailed history of the struggle over Estonia, Livonia and control of the Nordic-Baltic region during the 16th-18th centuries, a highly militarized period in the region's history. (BLT15, $69.33)

The Vikings

The Vikings


by Else Roesdahl

  • HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

This well-written look at Norse civilization goes beyond the limited view of the ruthless Viking invaders, creating a full picture of the vibrant, artistic, agricultural and ex-ploratory culture (VIK09, $17.00)

The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland, 1939-1940

The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland, 1939-1940


by Eloise Engle | Lauri Paananen

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

The story of the 105-day campaign against Finland in the early days of WWII. This book displays how the Finns, though vastly outnumbered, showed great ingenuity in the field of battle. (SCN20, $19.95)

Vikings, The North Atlantic Saga

Vikings, The North Atlantic Saga


by William Fitzhugh | Elisabeth Ward

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

An extensively illustrated volume of Viking culture, history and exploration that focuses especially on voyages to North America. Published in conjunction with a Smithsonian exhibit, it features essays and 400 color photographs. (VIK11, $34.95)

Hans Christian Andersen, The Life of a Storyteller


by Jackie Wullschlager

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

The acclaimed biography of Copenhagen's most famous denizen, who rose from his lot as a washerwoman's son to dine with princes and literary lions -- yet who died alone and unhappy. (DMK13, $21.00)

Iceland, Land of the Sagas

Iceland, Land of the Sagas


by Jon Krakauer | David Roberts

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

Krakauer and colleague David Roberts hike and climb around Iceland in this classic travel narrative, reissued as a paperback and featuring Krakauer's color photographs. The book interweaves the natural and cultural history of the island with the authors' own adventures. (ICL07, $24.00)

Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark

Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark


by Mary Wollstonecraft | William Godwin

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 129 PAGES

Groundbreaking feminist Wollstonecraft records her observations of a late 18th-century journey through Scandinavia in this small masterpiece, rich in detali of people and place. (SCN04, $16.95)

The Sagas of Icelanders

The Sagas of Icelanders


by Jane Smiley | Robert Kellog

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 544 PAGES

Nine sagas and six tales composed between the years 1000 and 1500, including an account of Leif Eriksson's voyage to North America, all newly translated. With an introduction by Jane Smiley. (ICL13, $25.00)

We Die Alone

We Die Alone


by David Howarth

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

Howarth's riveting account of courage, determination and valor in Nazi-occupied Norway follows Jan Baalrud's extraordinary escape by ski across the Lyngen Alps. (NOR14, $16.95)

Beowulf


by Seamus Heaney

  • LITERATURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 215 PAGES

A best-selling, critically acclaimed verse translation of the seminal Anglo-Saxon epic, which tells of a Scandinavian hero's bravery in defending Denmark from the monster Grendel. Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney translated. (SCN27, $13.95)

Growth of the Soil

Growth of the Soil


by Knut Hamsun

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

The epic tale of a homesteader in the mountainous Norwegian interior, which helped win Hamsun a Nobel Prize in 1920. (NOR36, $14.00)

Hanna's Daughters

Hanna's Daughters


by Marianne Fredriksson

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

A family saga spanning a swiftly changing century of Swedish history. Fredriksson reveals the female experience in 19th and 20th century Scandinavia. (SWE27, $14.95)

Independent People, An Epic

Independent People, An Epic


by Halldor Laxness

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Rich in local color, this great mock-epic by the Icelandic Nobel Prize-winner features the indelible Bjartur of Summerhouses, a hard-headed, independent-minded sheep farmer. (ICL01, $16.00)

Nordic Gods and Heroes

Nordic Gods and Heroes


by Padraic Colum | Willy Pogany

  • LITERATURE
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 292 PAGES

Column's classic retelling of the dramatic tales of the Norse gods and goddesses, originally published in 1928. With 40 illustrations. (SCN39, $10.95)

Norwegian Folk Tales

Norwegian Folk Tales


by Peter Asbjornsen

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1982
  • PAPER
  • 188 PAGES

This rich collection of stories, interpreted by a leading scholar on ancient traditions and tales, will delight both adults and children. (NOR06, $15.95)

The Kalevala


by Keith Bosley

  • LITERATURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 679 PAGES

This national epic of Finland, based on ancient heroic poetry, was a rallying flag for national aspirations as Finland struggled to break away from Russia in the 19th century. (SCN14, $15.95)

The Messiah of Stockholm, A Novel

The Messiah of Stockholm, A Novel


by Cynthia Ozick

  • LITERATURE
  • 1988
  • PAPER
  • 141 PAGES

Set in the dark of Stockholm's winter, this atmospheric short novel follows the peregrinations of Lars Andemeing -- and his search for his father Bruno Schulz. (SWE11, $13.95)

The Saga of the Volsungs

The Saga of the Volsungs


by Jesse Byock

  • LITERATURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 145 PAGES

Full of traditional Norse lore, including runic knowledge, jealous princes, betrayals, unrequited love, the vengeance of a Barbarian queen, the greed of Attila the Hun and the mythic deeds of a dragon-slayer, these tales are essential reading for anyone wishing to understand Viking society. (SCN05, $18.95)

The Wreath

The Wreath


by Sigrid Undset | Tina Nunnally

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 305 PAGES

A romantic masterpiece by the Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author, first published in 1927. The first volume in Undset's trilogy of historical novels recreating a woman's life during the Middle Ages in devoutly Catholic Norway. Also available are the other two parts of the trilogy, "The Mistress of Husaby" (NOR16) and "The Cross" (NOR17). (NOR10, $15.00)

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.