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Catalog

BELGIUM

A Worldly Art

Mariet Westermann

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PROVENCE & THE COTE D'AZUR

A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France

Georgeanne Brennan

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OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

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PENGUIN CLASSICS

The Log from the Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

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Smithsonian Journeys: Reading Beyond the Ordinary

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

Twelve of the Best Books for Smithsonian Journeys 2012

Serengeti, The Eternal Beginning

Serengeti, The Eternal Beginning

by Boyd Norton

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 288 PAGES

Featuring 250 exquisite color photographs alongside Norton's firsthand accounts of travels in Serengeti National Park, Kenya's Masai Mara and Ngorongoro over a decades-long career. (EAF378, $35.00)

The Great Sea

The Great Sea

by David Abulafia

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 800 PAGES

With an eye for telling detail and anecdote, Abulafia traces the sweep of Mediterranean history from the time of Troy to the mid 19th century, populating his tale with vivid personalities. He emphasizes the diversity of Mediterranean societies, arguing that the great port cities -- Alexandria, Trieste, Salonika and many others -- prospered in part because of the mix of many different peoples, religions and identities. (MED179, $34.95)

The Way of the Panda

The Way of the Panda

by Henry Nicholls

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Nicholls, whose previous book was on the Galapagos tortoise, here turns to the panda as a powerful political and cultural symbol for modern China as well as for conservation. (CHN673, $15.95)

Paris to the Past, Traveling Through French History by Train

Paris to the Past, Traveling Through French History by Train

by Ina Caro

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

The infectiously enthusiastic Ina Caro charts 25 day trips from Paris in this marvelously conceived history and guide. From the splendor of Chartres, wonders of Sainte-Chapelle and elegant Place de la Concorde, Caro enchants. (FRN953, $17.95)

State of Wonder, A Novel

State of Wonder, A Novel

by Ann Patchett

  • LITERATURE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

Pharmacologist Marina Singh travels to the heart of the Amazon to investigate the reported death of her colleague, a field researcher for a top-secret fertility drug. (AMZ130, $19.99)

Smithsonian Natural History, The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth

Smithsonian Natural History, The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth

by Becky Alexander

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 648 PAGES

Jammed with eye-popping photographs and in-depth two-page spreads on species of particular interest, this bold visual encyclopedia squeezes as many of the plants, animals, rocks and minerals of a natural history museum as could fit between its commodious covers. (NAT235, $50.00)

Explorers, Great Tales of Adventure and Endurance

Explorers, Great Tales of Adventure and Endurance

by DK Publishing

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 360 PAGES

Fifty of the world's great explorers come to life in first-person accounts, rare maps and hundreds of photographs in this visual compendium published in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution and the Royal Geographical Society. (EXP83, $40.00)

Turkey, What Everyone Needs to Know

Turkey, What Everyone Needs to Know

by Andrew Finkel

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 188 PAGES

From the Kurdish question to economic policy, from Turkey's role in Iraq to its quest for EU membership, regional differences and history, Andrew Finkel illuminates the past and present of this strategically important nation in lively, straightforward prose. A journalist based in Istanbul for the last 20 years (his wife Caroline is the author of the excellent Osman's Dream, The History of the Ottoman Empire), Finkel brings balance and insight to the task. (TKY230, $16.95)

India, In Word and Image

India, In Word and Image

by Eric Meola

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 272 PAGES

Meola deftly pairs colorful photographs of people, traditions, art and architecture with choice quotations by Salman Rushdie, R. K. Narayan, Jhumpa Lahiri and others in this dazzling visual celebration of the culture and pagaentry of India. (IDA540, $60.00)

Inside Havana

Inside Havana

by Julio Cesar Perez Hernandez

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES

This handsome book showcases the diverse architecture of Havana, from modernist masterpieces to splendid baroque palaces and traditional businesses such as the Partagas cigar factory, one of Havana's oldest and finest. With expert writing by Hernandez and rich color photographs by Gianni Basso. (CBA102, $29.99)

The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon

The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon

by Michael Goulding | Ronaldo Barthem | Efrem Ferreira

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 254 PAGES

This beautiful, profusely illustrated atlas of the river includes its major tributaries and 150 full-color maps. Goulding (Floods of Fortune) and Brazilian biologists Barthem and Ferreira provide the accompanying text. (AMZ82, $39.95)

The Evolution of Jane

The Evolution of Jane

by Cathleen Schine

  • LITERATURE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Setting her novel on a Galapagos cruise, Schine mixes psychological insight and travel with impressive musings on Darwin and modern evolutionary theory in this fast-paced tale. (GPS30, $14.95)

 

One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish, The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook


by Carole C. Baldwin

  • FOOD
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 300 PAGES

A collection of 150 clear, beautifully illustrated recipes by noted chefs featuring farmed and otherwise ecologically sound fisheries. (CON47, $36.00)

The Mitsitam Cafe Cookbook

The Mitsitam Cafe Cookbook


by Richard Hetzler

  • FOOD
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 186 PAGES

A member of the team that researched and developed the groundbreaking concept for the Mitsitam Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian -- serving indigenous foods of native cultures -- Richard Hetzler presents ninety savory dishes from the northern woodlands to the great plains, the pacific, central and south America in this illustrated cookbook and cultural guide. With hundreds of archival photographs from the museum collections. (WDC35, $23.95)

Captive Passage, The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the Americas

Captive Passage, The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the Americas


by The Mariners' Museum | Smithsonian Inst.

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • HARD COVER
  • 208 PAGES

A companion volume to the exhibition drawn largely from the collections of The Mariners' Museum. (ATL14, $21.95)

City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas

City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas


by Roger Crowley

  • HISTORY
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 400 PAGES

In this riveting new history, Crowley turns to the three centuries of Venetian maritime dominance -- years of plunder and plague, conquest and piracy -- during which a tiny city of lagoon dwellers grew into the richest place on earth. (MED185, $32.00)

First Peoples of Alaska

First Peoples of Alaska


by Aron Crowell

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 312 PAGES

A richly illustrated volume featuring more than 400 Alaska Native masterworks from the Smithsonian's collections. (ALA322, $50.00)

The Weeping Goldsmith, Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar

The Weeping Goldsmith, Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar


by W. John Kress | Wade Davis

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 288 PAGES

Smithsonian botanist Kress has spent the last nine years in Burma, a biological hotspot loaded with gingers -- his specialty and namesake of this vivid tale of scientific exploration, beautifully illustrated with 200 of his photographs. (BMA61, $185.00)

Vanished Kingdoms, How Nations Rise and Fall

Vanished Kingdoms, How Nations Rise and Fall


by Norman Davies

  • HISTORY
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 720 PAGES

In this marvelously tale of lost civilizations and the shifting fate of nations, historian Norrman Davies presents the stories of 14 now all-but-forgotten European states, including Aragon, Etruria and the Two Burgundies. Not just an intiguing look at history, these tales will also incite wanderlust. (EUR404, $40.00)

Sea of Glory, America's Voyage of Discovery: The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842

Sea of Glory, America's Voyage of Discovery: The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842


by Nathaniel Philbrick

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

An accomplished, vivid history of an around-the-world expedition commanded by Charles Wilkes. (PAC140, $16.00)

Smithsonian Mountaineers

Smithsonian Mountaineers


by Dorling Kindersley

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 360 PAGES

A lavish visual survey of 80 great mountaineers -- who they were, where they went -- from the Alps and Dolomites to Everest and other peaks in Himalayas and the Andes. (EXP91, $40.00)

The Lost World of James Smithson

The Lost World of James Smithson


by Heather Ewing

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 432 PAGES

The life of the remarkable Englishman behind the institution, an amateur scientist and fascinating figure, who never visited the United States. (GBR808, $29.95)

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet


by Reif Larsen

  • LITERATURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES
  • NEW

This brilliant, boundary-leaping debut novel by Reif Larson turns 12-year-old genius map-maker T.S. Spivet's attempts to understand the ways of the world into a road novel l like no other. Festooned with diagrams, maps, drawings and rather remarkable marginalia, the book traces the journey of Spivet from his home on a Montana ranch to the halls of the Smithsonian Institution (he won an award). We found it helpful to note that Larsen thanks Lois Hetland, "my seventh grade teacher, for teaching me (almost) everything I know." His novel captures the exhilaration of adolescence. (USA374, $16.00)

Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America

Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America


by Ted Floyd

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 528 PAGES

Featuring 2,000 stunning color photographs, this comprehensive guide buy the editor of Birding magazine includes almost 600 I-Pod compatable, downloadable bird songs. (NAM44, $24.95)

Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises

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)

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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.