WILDERNESS TRAVEL

Total Solar Eclipse in Polynesia

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

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Lonely Planet Tahiti and French Polynesia

Lonely Planet Tahiti and French Polynesia

by Tony Wheeler | Jean-Bernard Carillet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 296 PAGES

This practical guide to Tahiti and French Polynesia includes a good overview on history, culture and nature, and helpful travel details for your journey. (PAC86, $22.99)

Gauguin, The Quest for Paradise

Gauguin, The Quest for Paradise

by Francoise Colchin

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 195 PAGES

Concise and beautifully illustrated, this overview of the artist, his work and life features a significant section on his time in Tahiti. The book includes many paintings as well as excerpts from his journals and other writings. (PAC27, $12.95)

The Happy Isles of Oceania

The Happy Isles of Oceania

by Paul Theroux

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The peripatetic author flies off to Australia and New Zealand with a kayak and ends up exploring much of Melanesia and Polynesia, including Tonga, Fiji and the Marquesas in this wickedly funny, wide-ranging tale. (PAC03, $15.95)

Tahiti and Society Islands Map

Tahiti and Society Islands Map

by IGN

  • MAP

Beautifully detailed with shaded relief, topography and surrounding coral reefs. (PAC65, $17.95)

 
Eclipse! The What, Where, When, Why, and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses

Eclipse! The What, Where, When, Why, and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses


by Philip Harington

  • REFERENCE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 280 PAGES

A guide to eclipse phenomena, including how to best photograph and appreciate lunar and solar eclipses, as well as understand general celestial mechanics. With tables summarizing where lunar and solar eclipses will be visible from 1998-2017. (GEN30, $19.95)

Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide

Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide


by Jan Prince

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 632 PAGES

This authoritative, in-depth guide covers all French Polynesia, including not just Tahiti and the Society Islands (the author lives on Moorea) but also the little-discovered Austral Islands and the alluring Marquesas. Sixth edition. (PAC169, $19.95)

Beach Crossings, Voyaging Across Times, Cultures, And Self

Beach Crossings, Voyaging Across Times, Cultures, And Self


by Greg Dening

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 376 PAGES

Dening, an ethnographer of Polynesia, sums up a life's work in these autobiographical essays, covering the Marquesas and other island groups. (PAC157, $65.00)

Noa Noa, The Tahiti Journal

Noa Noa, The Tahiti Journal


by Paul Gauguin | John Miller

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1985
  • PAPER
  • 96 PAGES

Gauguin's impressions of two years in French Polynesia, originally published in 1919. With 24 black-and-white illustrations. (PAC13, $5.95)

Oceanic Art

Oceanic Art


by Nicholas Thomas

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 216 PAGES

A concise, cogent and colorful overview of the gorgeous art of the Pacific Islands. Organized thematically with 182 illustrations, 26 in color. (PAC06, $19.95)

On the Road of the Winds

On the Road of the Winds


by Patrick Vinton Kirch

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES

An excellent scholarly review of the prehistory and archaeology of Pacific civilizations before European contact. (PAC101, $39.95)

Blue Latitudes, Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before

Blue Latitudes, Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before


by Tony Horwitz

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

Sailing on a replica of Endeavour, Horwitz mixes history, fun and adventure in this hilarious recap of Cook's daring voyages around the world. (EXP31, $17.00)

Captain James Cook

Captain James Cook


by Richard Hough

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

This fine, vividly written narrative includes a gripping account of Cook's discoveries throughout the Pacific. (PAC24, $18.95)

In the South Seas

In the South Seas


by Robert Louis Stevenson

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 283 PAGES

A set of Stevenson's personal sketches describing a year of travels in the Marquesas, Paumotus and the Gilberts, first written as magazine articles and then reworked to incorporate detail on local peoples and history, published posthumously. (PAC147, $16.00)

Kon-Tiki, Across the Pacific by Raft

Kon-Tiki, Across the Pacific by Raft


by Thor Heyerdahl | F. H. Lyon

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

The hugely popular account of a daring 1947 voyage sailing along the Humboldt and Equatorial currents from Peru to Tahiti. Apart from the sheer adventure, Heyerdahl wanted to show the world that Polynesians could have settled the region. With photographs. (PAC10, $5.99)

Paradise

Paradise


by Larry McMurtry

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

McMurtry effortlessly weaves travel and biography in this absorbing account of his 1999 voyage aboard the Aranui from Tahiti to Fatu Hiva and the Marquesas. (PAC176, $13.00)

Sailing in the Wake of the Ancestors: Reviving Polynesian Voyaging

Sailing in the Wake of the Ancestors: Reviving Polynesian Voyaging


by Ben R. Finney

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

On its surface an account of a 1995 voyage from Hawaii to the Marquesas, this engaging book by a pioneer of experimental voyages is also a wide-ranging history of Pacific traditions. (PAC178, $19.95)

Storms and Dreams, The Life of Louis de Bougainville


by John Dunmore

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 296 PAGES

The first biography in English of the great 18th-century explorer and personality, one of the first Europeans to visit Tahiti. (PAC212, $24.95)

The Cruise of the Snark

The Cruise of the Snark


by Jack London

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

A facsimile edition of London's richly evocative account of his ambitious 1906-7 voyage aboard a 43-foot ketch from San Francisco to Hawaii, the Marquesas, Tuomotos, Fiji and the Solomon Islands with his wife and two crew members. With 119 original photographs of places and people. (PAC17, $14.95)

Vaka Moana, Voyages of the Ancestors: The Discovery and Settlement of the Pacific

Vaka Moana, Voyages of the Ancestors: The Discovery and Settlement of the Pacific


by R. K. Howe

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 368 PAGES

This richly illustrated collection of scholarly articles on Pacific voyaging, past and present, features 400 color and black-and-white photographs, maps and diagrams, along with contributions by Ben Finney, Sam Low, Anne Salmond and other experts. (PAC177, $61.00)

We, the Navigators, The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific

We, the Navigators, The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific


by David Lewis

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 464 PAGES

This engaging classic examines how Stone Age Polynesians may have navigated the Pacific. The scholarly volume will appeal to seafarers and modern Pacific travelers. (PAC35, $31.99)

Moon and Sixpence

Moon and Sixpence


by Somerset Maugham

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 204 PAGES

Maugham's well-regarded 1919 novel, inspired by the life of Gauguin; it's the powerful story of a man who relinquishes his family to pursue his dream of becoming a painter, eventually moving to the South Pacific. (PAC16, $14.00)

Mutiny on the Bounty

Mutiny on the Bounty


by James Norman Hall | Charles Nordhoff

  • LITERATURE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 379 PAGES

The well-known (and loved) fictional account of the voyage of the HMS Bounty, greatly enjoyable despite its probable lack of accuracy regarding Bligh's personality. (PAC11, $15.99)

South Sea Tales

South Sea Tales


by Jack London

  • LITERATURE
  • 1985
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

London draws on his voyages aboard the Snark in 1907-09 though Polynesia and the Solomons for these eight tales, vividly evoking the turn-of-the-century colonial Pacific. (PAC85, $13.00)

South Sea Tales

South Sea Tales


by Robert Louis Stevenson

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 289 PAGES

Towards the end of his life in the late 19th century, Robert Louis Stevenson lived in Samoa and traveled widely around the South Pacific. These entertaining tales, set among both real and mythical islands, show Stevenson's keen observations of island life. (PAC15, $17.05)

Tales of the South Pacific

Tales of the South Pacific


by James A. Michener

  • LITERATURE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

The first of the big Michener novels, set in World War II Polynesia. It's great fun, and the basis for the Rogers & Hammerstein musical "South Pacific." (PAC18, $7.99)

Typee, Omoo, Mardi

Typee, Omoo, Mardi


by Herman Melville

  • LITERATURE
  • 1982
  • HARD COVER
  • 1333 PAGES

Melville's South Pacific trilogy featuring a Yankee sailor who jumps ship and enters the flawed Pacific paradise of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas. (PAC62, $45.00)

Glorious Eclipses, Their Past Present and Future


by Serge Brunier

  • SCIENCE
  • 2000
  • HARD COVER
  • 192 PAGES

A beautifully illustrated chronicle of total solar eclipses over the millennia, featuring wonderful and unique photos of eclipses as well as early drawings used by astronomers before photography. (SCI191, $106.00)

The Cosmos, Astronomy in the New Millennium


by Jay M. Pasachoff | Alex Filippenko

  • SCIENCE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 500 PAGES

This illustrated, scholarly textbook, co-written by our Guest Astronomer Alex Filippenko, offers a concise overview of modern astronomy, striking a balance between fundamental principle and topics at the forefront of recent research. (SCI198, $185.95)

The Snorkeller's Guide to the Coral Reef, From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean

The Snorkeller's Guide to the Coral Reef, From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean


by Paddy Ryan

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

The best-selling, take-along guide to coral reefs, coral-reef fishes, invertebrates and plants of the Indo-Pacific. With 200 color photographs. (DIV18, $21.99)

Total Eclipses, Science, Observations, Myths, and Legends


by Pierre Guillermier

  • SCIENCE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 270 PAGES

This book combines a detailed scientific analysis of solar eclipses with a survey of many myths and legends inspired by the rare event. (SCI197, $44.95)

Total Solar Eclipses and How to Observe Them

Total Solar Eclipses and How to Observe Them


by Martin Mobberley

  • SCIENCE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 202 PAGES

A complete guide to solar eclipses, including a wealth of viewing information, how and why they occur and practical travel information. (SCI192, $29.95)

A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific

A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific


by H. Douglas Pratt

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1987
  • PAPER
  • 409 PAGES

This landmark field guide with chapters on the islands and habitats features superb color plates by Pratt and a checklist of birds. (HWI32, $45.00)

A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets

A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets


by Jay M. Pasachoff

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 578 PAGES

A guided tour of the heavens in the Peterson series equally useful in Des Moines or Montevideo. With an atlas of the sky, detailed moon maps and an overview of the science of astronomy. (SCI01, $19.00)

Flowers of the Pacific Island Seashore

Flowers of the Pacific Island Seashore


by W. Arthur Whistler

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1993
  • HARD COVER
  • 154 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

A photographic field guide to 120 species of trees, shrubs and flowers of the tropical Pacific. (PAC20, $21.00)

Reef Fish Identification, Tropical Pacific

Reef Fish Identification, Tropical Pacific


by Paul Humann | Ned Deloach | Gerald Allen | Roger Steene

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2003
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 450 PAGES

This comprehensive guide to Indo-Pacific reef fishes features 2,500 color photographs. (DIV49, $48.00)

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