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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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CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles & Southern California

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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We feature a handpicked selection of travel guides, maps, literature, books on art, nature and culture, designed to help you get more out of your travels to Los Angeles & Southern California. Order an essential package, and any additional items ship free.

Essential Reading

Item EXCAL38. Buy these 5 items as a set for $89 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Rough Guide Los Angeles and Southern California

Rough Guide Los Angeles and Southern California

by J.D. Dickey

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 463 PAGES

An opinionated, comprehensive travel guide in the British series. (CAL154, $19.99)

Los Angeles A to Z, An Encyclopedia of the City and County

by Leonard Pitt | Dale Pitt

  • REFERENCE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 600 PAGES

A big, handsomely produced reference and guide to the personalities, history and complicated geography of Los Angeles. (CAL20, $39.95)

Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster

Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster

by Mike Davis

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 484 PAGES

A wild look at the multitude of environmental dangers that threaten Los Angeles. Davis details the possibilities and realities of floods, fires and earthquakes -- as well as the occasional attack from a swarm of killer bees. (CAL18, $15.95)

Where I Was From

Where I Was From

by Joan Didion

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

Joan Didion's personal history and provacative critique of California. (CAL153, $15.00)

Los Angeles Map

by Rand McNally Maps

  • MAP

A map of Los Angeles and vicinity at a scale of 1:285,000. (CAL36, $5.99)

 

Los Angeles City Center Map


by Borch Maps

  • MAP

A map of the center of L.A. (CAL37, $8.95)

Adventuring in the California Desert

Adventuring in the California Desert


by Lynne Foster

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

With terrific coverage of the nature, culture, history and hikes of Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Mojave National Preserve, Anza-Borrego and other desert destinations. (CAL73, $18.95)

Fodor's Los Angeles' 25 Best

Fodor's Los Angeles' 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

A shirt-pocket guide to Los Angeles, this slim book includes an excellent map of the center of the city and essential information on its highlights. (USW186, $12.99)

Insight City Guide Los Angeles

Insight City Guide Los Angeles


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 302 PAGES

A colorful guide to L.A. (CAL19, $16.95)

Lonely Planet Los Angeles Encounter


by Amy Balfour

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

This lively shirt pocket guide to the city, jammed with personal recommendations and photographs, also includes a pull-out map. (CAL215, $12.99)

California, A History

California, A History


by Kevin Starr

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

A lively short history in the excellent Modern Library Chronicles series, written by a renowned historian. (CAL204, $14.95)

City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s


by Otto Friedrich

  • HISTORY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

An engaging social history of Hollywood during the decline of the studio system. (CAL29, $29.95)

City of Quartz, Excavating the Future of Los Angeles


by Mike Davis

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

A grim portrait of racial, economic and social struggle in Los Angeles. (CAL146, $15.95)

The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1859-1930


by Robert M. Fogelson | Robert Fishman

  • HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 362 PAGES

A history of the early urban development of L.A. (CAL28, $26.95)

An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles

An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles


by David Gebhard | Robert Winter

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 543 PAGES

A newly revised edition of the classic architectural guide. (CAL147, $24.99)

Building the Getty


by Richard Meier

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 204 PAGES

An account of the construction of the Getty Center, written by it's architect. (CAL21, $32.95)

Palm Springs Weekend, The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis


by Alan Hess | Andrew Danish

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2001
  • HARD COVER
  • 180 PAGES

An attractive and insightful study of the architecture of Palm Springs. (CAL129, $40.00)

The J. Paul Getty Museum and Its Collections: A Museum for the New Century


by John Walsh | Deborah Ann Gribbon

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

A well-illustrated overview of the J. Paul Getty Museum, it's history and varied collection of art, written by the museum's director and chief curator. With a chapter on J. Paul Getty's life. (CAL26, $40.00)

William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles


by Catherine Mulholland

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

A biography of William Mulholland, the man who led the project of bringing water to Los Angeles. Written by his granddaughter, who seeks to dispel what she believes are common misconceptions about him. (CAL31, $25.95)

Ask the Dust

Ask the Dust


by John Fante | Charles Bukowski

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 165 PAGES

Fante's oft-forgotten classic novel of Arturo Bandini, trying to make it as a writer in L.A. (CAL14, $13.99)

L.A. Confidential

L.A. Confidential


by James Ellroy

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

James Ellroy's modern noir thriller, a densely plotted yarn in the style of Raymond Chandler. Made into a critically acclaimed film. (CAL35, $14.99)

The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep


by Raymond Chandler

  • LITERATURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 231 PAGES

The classic crime novel from the master of the genre. Here is a journey into the dark underworld of 1930's Los Angeles. (CAL17, $14.00)

The Golden West, Hollywood Stories


by Daniel Fuchs

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

This marvelous collection of stories and essays from Sunny California, many originally appearing in The New Yorker and Commentary, capture the spirit (and personalities) of Hollywood in the heyday of the studio era. (CAL188, $16.95)

The Hours


by Michael Cunningham

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • HARD COVER
  • 230 PAGES

A marvelous book -- deep, dark and full of hope, signed by the author. (NYC72, $23.00)

The Literature of California, Vol. 1

The Literature of California, Vol. 1


by Jack Hicks | Al Young | James D. Houston | Maxine Hong Kingston

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 653 PAGES

A best-of anthology of California writing, pre-1945. (CAL102, $29.95)

The Love of the Last Tycoon


by Matthew J. Bruccoli | F. Scott Fitzgerald

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 169 PAGES

Fitzgerald's unfinished novel, newly restored. (CAL16, $14.00)

An Island Called California, An Ecological Introduction to Its Natural Communities

An Island Called California, An Ecological Introduction to Its Natural Communities


by Elna S. Bakker

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 484 PAGES

An introduction to the ecology and wildlife of the Golden State, this volume is filled with photographs illustrating a variety plants, animals and geological features found throughout the deserts, forests and coastline of California. (CAL11, $25.95)

Assembling California

Assembling California


by John McPhee

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Another fine book on geology and natural history from John McPhee, this time in the company of Eldridge Moores, on travels throughout California. (USW187, $16.00)

Cadillac Desert, The American West and Its Disappearing Water

Cadillac Desert, The American West and Its Disappearing Water


by Marc Reisner

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 582 PAGES

A definitive history of water development in the American desert -- and a now-classic chronicle of wrong-headed policies and misadventures controlling the great rivers of the West. (USW246, $18.00)

The Control of Nature

The Control of Nature


by John McPhee

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

In the classic McPhee tradition, these sparkling essays explore our generally feeble attempts to combat all-powerful nature, including valient efforts by Icelanders to control the flow of a volcano across the harbor at Heimaey in the Westman Islands. (NAT01, $16.00)

The Land of Little Rain

The Land of Little Rain


by Mary Austin | Terry Tempest Williams

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 107 PAGES

In this turn-of-the-century desert hymn, Austin -- a writer and naturalist who accompanied her husband to Death Valley in the 1890s -- finds a vibrant ecosystem where her forbears saw wasteland. An illuminating natural history. (CAL66, $13.00)

The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death and Possible Rebirth


by Blake Gumprecht

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 380 PAGES

A history of the Los Angeles river and its role in the city in the past and future. (CAL32, $27.00)

Fishwatcher's Field Guide Baja California, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco

Fishwatcher's Field Guide Baja California, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco


by Idaz Greenberg

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2000
  • PLASTIC CARD

A double-sided, full-color waterproof card. (BJA31, $7.50)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to California

National Audubon Society Field Guide to California


by Peter Alden

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

A compact, easy-to-use guide to 1,000 of California's trees, wildflowers, mammals, insects, birds and other flora and fauna. (CAL07, $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.