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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

Item EXCHN80. Buy these 4 items as a set for $72 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Odyssey Guide Xi'an, Shaanxi & the Terracotta Army

Odyssey Guide Xi'an, Shaanxi & the Terracotta Army

by Kevin Bishop

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

With color photographs, insightful essays on culture and history, site plans and places of interest in and around China's ancient capital. (CHN34, $24.95)

Understanding China

Understanding China

by John Bryan Starr

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

The Yale professor brings us up to date in this third edition of his succinct and refreshingly forthright best-selling guide to China's economy, history and politics. (CHN196, $17.95)

Wild Swans, Three Daughters of China

Wild Swans, Three Daughters of China

by Jung Chang

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 524 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

In this riveting tale of three generations spanning the end of Old China, Mao's regime and the Japanese occupation, Chang chronicles the enormous changes in China since 1929. (CHN04, $16.99)

China Wakes, The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power

China Wakes, The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power

by Nicholas Kristoff | Sheryl WuDunn

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 501 PAGES

The authors journeyed from Tibet to Tiananmen, reporting in depth on contemporary China and its cultural dissidents. An engrossing portrait of a nation struggling to hold onto tradition while modernizing its economy. (CHN33, $16.95)

 
Chinese (Mandarin), Start Speaking Today!

Chinese (Mandarin), Start Speaking Today!


by Educational Services Corporation

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 1993
  • AUDIO CD

A 90-minute crash course in Mandarin featured in two compact discs and a phrasebook packaged in a vinyl sleeve. Geared for travelers, the course follows the foreign service method -- which focuses on dialogues and useful sentences instead of individual words. (CHN92, $24.95)

Lonely Planet China

Lonely Planet China


by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 1048 PAGES

An excellent practical guide to China, geared for independent travelers. (CHN39, $31.99)

Lonely Planet Mandarin Phrasebook

Lonely Planet Mandarin Phrasebook


by Hua-Yuan L. Mowry | Justin Ben-Adam Rudelson

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A handy phrasebook for basic Mandarin, focusing on pronunciation, grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (CHN72, $8.99)

Survival Kit for Overseas Living

Survival Kit for Overseas Living


by L. Robert Kohls

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 165 PAGES

With chapters on cultural baggage, stereotypes and common complaints of American expats, this intercultural classic is perfect for study abroad. (GEN137, $19.95)

Between Mecca and Beijing, Modernization and Consumption Among Urban Chinese Muslims


by Maris Boyd Gillette

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 296 PAGES

An academic study of the minority Muslim population of Xi'an. (CHN180, $24.95)

Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey

Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey


by Kenneth Ch'en

  • RELIGION
  • 1972
  • PAPER
  • 560 PAGES

A well organized, scholarly history of the development of Mahayana Buddhism in China, originally published in 1964. (CHN151, $57.50)

China, A New History

China, A New History


by John Fairbank | Merle Goldman

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 546 PAGES

A sweeping history of China from the Paleolithic to Tiananmen, revised with a new chapter by Merle Goldman. A standard for history buffs. (CHN11, $26.50)

Foreign Devils on the Silk Road

Foreign Devils on the Silk Road


by Peter Hopkirk

  • HISTORY
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 252 PAGES

Hopkirk's rousing tale of Sven Hedin and other larger-than-life archaeological raiders of the early 20th century captures the excitement of discovery -- and the glories of the Silk Road. (CAS22, $24.95)

Religions of China in Practice

Religions of China in Practice


by Donald S. Lopez Jr.

  • RELIGION
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 472 PAGES

Confucionism, Daoism and Buddhism, and how they overlap and interact with each other. (CHN127, $42.00)

Religions of China, The World as a Living System


by David L. Overmyer

  • RELIGION
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 125 PAGES

A brief primer on the religions of China. (CHN154, $11.50)

Religions of the Silk Road

Religions of the Silk Road


by Richard C. Foltz

  • RELIGION
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 186 PAGES

A scholarly survey of cultural traditions, and especially religions, along the trade routes through China and Central Asia from antiquity to the 15th century. (CAS52, $26.00)

The Art of Crossing Cultures

The Art of Crossing Cultures


by Craig Storti

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 153 PAGES

Tips for travelers adjusting to a new culture. (GEN136, $24.95)

The Cambridge Illustrated History of China

The Cambridge Illustrated History of China


by Patricia Buckley Ebrey

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A concise, handsomely illustrated survey of Chinese history. Organized chronologically, this book marches confidently through 8,000 years of Chinese civilization, balancing social issues with politics and culture. (CHN79, $46.99)

The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China

The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China


by William Lindesay

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 32 PAGES

Lindesay augments colorful illustrations and photographs with detailed captions in this concise visual overview of the extraordinary tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, First Emperor of China. (CHN126, $12.95)

Along the Silk Road

Along the Silk Road


by Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A nicely illustrated collection of essays on the art, culture and music of the Silk Road with contributions by art historian ten Grotenhuis (who edited the volume), Yo-Yo Ma and others associated with the Silk Road Project. (CAS78, $24.95)

Life Along the Silk Road

Life Along the Silk Road


by Susan Whitfield

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 253 PAGES

With insight, scholarship and dramatic flair, Susan Whitfield recounts the lives of ten diverse individuals on the ancient Silk Road, including four tales set in Dunhuang. With a superb 15-page history of Central Asia. (CAS44, $24.95)

Red China Blues, My Long March from Mao to Now

Red China Blues, My Long March from Mao to Now


by Jan Wong

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

Jan Wong tells of her experiences in the "hermetically sealed bubble of Maoism" as one of two westerners to attend Beijing University, then offers a first-hand account of recent reforms in China. (CHN37, $15.95)

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.