Welcome!

Enrich Your Travels with Longitude

We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.

SIGN UP FOR

Longitude News

Get our monthly e-mail update

GET A

Catalog

BEST OF 2011

Wild Coast

John Gimlette

SEE ALL >

FOR THE HOLIDAYS

To the Arctic

Florian Schultz

SEE ALL >

OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

SEE ALL >

GLOBES

The Pioneer

Replogle

SEE ALL >

SMITHSONIAN JOURNEYS

Norway's Fjords, the North Cape and Russia's White Sea

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

  • E-MAIL
  • PRINT

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 EXNOR50. Buy these 6 items as a set for $106 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

ADD SET
TO BOOKBAG
Eyewitness Guide Norway

Eyewitness Guide Norway

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

This handsome, illustrated guide covers nature, culture, history and attractions. (NOR29, $25.00)

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)

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)

Solovki, The Story of Russia Told through Its Most Remarkable Islands

Solovki, The Story of Russia Told through Its Most Remarkable Islands

by Roy Robson

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 304 PAGES

A remarkable amount of Russian history has played out among these remote arctic islands in Russia's White Sea. Robson traces the story of the Solovetski Archipelago from settlement by early monks, though its 17th-century expansion into one of the largest monasteries in the world and its 20th-century infamy as fortress and prison camp. (SIB41, $30.00)

Norway Map

Norway Map

by Michelin Travel Publications

  • MAP

A handsome map of Norway at a scale of 1:1,000,000, with a place index and shaded relief. (NOR05, $11.95)

Commonwealth of Independent States Map

Commonwealth of Independent States Map

by Freytag & Berndt

  • MAP

A double-sided map of the entire CIS, divided into Western Russia (at a scale of 1:2,000,000 and eastern Russia (1:8,000,000). (RUS133, $14.95)

 
Oslo/Bergen Map

Oslo/Bergen Map


by ITMB

  • 2006
  • MAP

A walking map of Oslo and Bergen at a scale of 1:10,000. (NOR44, $8.95)

Culture Smart! Norway

Culture Smart! Norway


by Linda March

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

A concise, no-nonsense guide to local customs, etiquette and culture with a short overview of the land and people along with practical travel advice. (NOR43, $9.95)

Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings

Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings


by John Haywood

  • REFERENCE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

The history of the Vikings told through a series of innovative maps and excellent photographs. This book traces the route of the 9th-century Viking merchants and explorers throughout Europe and on to the New World. (VIK02, $20.00)

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)

Gulag, A History

Gulag, A History


by Anne Applebaum

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 677 PAGES

A massive, fascinating and thoroughly unsettling history of Russia's infamous gulags. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, it's noteworthy for its expansive view, effortless prose and prodigious research. (SIB34, $18.95)

Running with Reindeer, Encounters in Russian Lapland


by Roger Took

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

An absorbing account of travels among the reindeer herding Saami in 1990s Russia. Took captures the wide landscapes, people and political instability of the wilderness surrounding Murmansk. (RUS221, $17.95)

Russia, A Concise History

Russia, A Concise History


by Ronald Hingley

  • HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Well-known scholar Hingley sketches Russia's multiple transformations from her illiterate, pagan, Slavic roots to a multi-ethnic empire in this highly readable, well-illustrated brief history. (RUS04, $19.95)

The Sami People, Traditions in Transition

The Sami People, Traditions in Transition


by Veli-Pekka Lehtola

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

Lehtola traces the history, traditions, political challenges, arts and culture of the reindeer-herding Sami in this incisive portrait. (SCN42, $27.95)

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)

Peter the Great, His Life and World

Peter the Great, His Life and World


by Robert Massie

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 914 PAGES

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Massie portrays the giant of history who transformed Russia from backwater tsardom into a major empire. (RUS48, $21.00)

The Long Walk, The True Story of a Trek to Freedom

The Long Walk, The True Story of a Trek to Freedom


by Slavomir Rawicz

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 245 PAGES

Thisremarkable tale follows the odyssey of cavalry officer Rawicz and six fellow prisoners from their capture in Moscow under Stalin to a prison camp in Yakutsk and escape across Siberia and the Gobi to Tibet and over the Himalayas to India. Originally published in 1956. (SIB13, $16.95)

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)

Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath, The Wife, The Cross

Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath, The Wife, The Cross


by Sigrid Undset | Tina Nunnally

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 1184 PAGES

A masterful historical epic by the Nobel Prize-winning author, first published in 1927. This omnibus edition follows the life of one woman from birth to death in devoutly Catholic 14th-century Norway. A cornerstone of Scandinavian literature, the trilogy is a powerful introduction to the medieval society. (NOR40, $25.00)

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)

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich


by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

  • LITERATURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 181 PAGES

An overnight classic, Solzhenitsyn's poweful story of an inmate struggling to maintain his dignity in a Siberian labor camp still resonates today. (RUS26, $14.00)

Out Stealing Horses

Out Stealing Horses


by Per Petterson

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 258 PAGES

In this luminous novel of memory, childhood and loss in rural Norway, elderly narrator Trond Sander looks back on his life and the chain of events that began one fateful summer day in 1948. (NOR66, $14.00)

Russian Short Stories

Russian Short Stories


by Robert Chandler

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 396 PAGES

This fine collection of tales captures the sweep and soul of Russian literature, including works by Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Tolstoy along with lesser-known greats. (RUS288, $18.00)

The Norse Myths

The Norse Myths


by Kevin Crossley-Holland

  • LITERATURE
  • 1981
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

This classic collection includes 32 tales of Nordic gods, goddesses and heroes. With an overview of the Norse world, cosmology and gods. (SCN38, $17.95)

Lapland, A Natural History

Lapland, A Natural History


by Derek Ratcliffe

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 320 PAGES

An authoritative, indispensable overview of the birds, plants, habitats and wildlife of the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and northwestern Russia. (ARC182, $70.00)

Birds of Europe

Birds of Europe


by Lars Svensson

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Featuring 3,500 glorious paintings by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterstrom, the second revised edition of this exquisite guide has been brought up to date with revised text and maps. (FG47, $29.95)

The Arctic, A Guide to Coastal Wildlife

The Arctic, A Guide to Coastal Wildlife


by Tony Soper

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

This compact guide to coastal marine mammals and seabirds of the circumpolar north features handsome watercolor illustrations and lively text. (ARC85, $21.95)

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.