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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

Item EXAEG35. Buy these 4 items as a set for $73 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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The Colossus of Maroussi

The Colossus of Maroussi

by Henry Miller

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 223 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Miller captures the spirit and warmth of the resilient Greek people in this inspired tale of a wartime journey from Athens to Crete, Corfu and Delphi with his friend Lawrence Durrell. (GRE05, $12.95)

Eyewitness Guide Istanbul

Eyewitness Guide Istanbul

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2013
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

This superb guide to Istanbul features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a district-by-district synopsis of the city's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (TKY86, $25.00)

Eyewitness Guide Greek Islands

Eyewitness Guide Greek Islands

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 408 PAGES

Color photography, excellent local maps and an island-by-island synopsis of attractions make this book the one to carry with you. (GRE37, $28.00)

Greece Map

Greece Map

by Michelin

  • 2011
  • MAP

A colorful shaded map of Greece, the Greek Islands and the western coast of Turkey at a scale of 1:800,000. (GRE24, $12.95)

 
Athens Map

Athens Map


by World Mapping Project

  • MAP

A water- and tearproof foldup map of Athens and surroundings, at an excellent scale. (GRE160, $8.99)

Istanbul Map

Istanbul Map


by Borch Maps

  • 2011
  • MAP

A laminated folded map at a scale of 1:11,000. (TKY65, $8.95)

Eyewitness Top Ten Athens

Eyewitness Top Ten Athens


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

A compact illustrated guide in the popular series, featuring favorite attractions, events, restaurants, shops and excursions in Athens. (GRE219, $14.00)

Lonely Planet Istanbul Encounter

Lonely Planet Istanbul Encounter


by Verity Campbell

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

With a section of not-to-miss highlights, pull-out map and a calendar of annual events. (TKY151, $12.99)

The Foods of the Greek Islands, Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean

The Foods of the Greek Islands, Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean


by Aglaia Kremezi

  • FOOD
  • 2000
  • HARD COVER
  • 320 PAGES

Kremezi spent eight years collecting the recipes in this cookbook. Filled with lively histories of the islands, cultural asides and stunning photographs, the book is perfect for anyone interested in Greek island life. (GRE120, $40.00)

1453, The Holy War For Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West

1453, The Holy War For Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West


by Roger Crowley

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

In this well-paced history, Crowley recounts with drama the events surrounding the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. (TKY114, $15.99)

A Short History of Byzantium

A Short History of Byzantium


by John Julius Norwich

  • HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

A richly detailed and evocative history of the tumultuous span of the great empire from the fourth century to the 15th, brimming with intrigue, skullduggery, palace revolution and other treachery. (TKY18, $19.00)

A Traveller's History of Greece

A Traveller's History of Greece


by Timothy Boatswain | Colin Nicolson

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 344 PAGES

A nicely written survey from prehistory through the 1990s: wide-ranging, accessible and necessarily condensed. (GRE55, $14.95)

Ancient Turkey, A Traveller's History

Ancient Turkey, A Traveller's History


by Seton Lloyd

  • HISTORY
  • 2013
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES
  • COMING IN FEBRUARY

A lively tale of cultures and conquest, from the Hittites to St. Paul, that illuminates the living past of Turkey's archaeological treasures, this classic by professor Seton Lloyd, first director of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, is now in a 25th anniversary edition. With maps, drawings, site plans and a photographs. (TKY43, $31.95)

Crescent and Star

Crescent and Star


by Stephen Kinzer

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 265 PAGES

This insightful anecdotal report on contemporary life, culture and politics in Turkey comes from a former New York Times Istanbul bureau chief, who is especially attuned to the powerful geographic position of Turkey and its multiple identities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. (TKY64, $17.00)

Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire

Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire


by Bernard Lewis

  • HISTORY
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 187 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

In this slim volume the great Islamic scholar describes the invasion of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks on May 29, 1453, evoking the city at this pivotal moment in its long history. (TKY17, $24.95)

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Why the Greeks Matter

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Why the Greeks Matter


by Thomas Cahill

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Cahill brings to life ancient Greek society and civilization through the lives and words of politicians, playwrights, a poet, philosopher and artist in this eloquent and absorbing tribute. (GRE182, $17.00)

The Classical World

The Classical World


by Robin Lane Fox

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 656 PAGES

From Homer to Hadrian, Fox conjures tyrants, conquerors and enthralling personalities in this marvelously written history of ancient Greece and Rome. (GRE293, $19.99)

Ancient Greece: Art, Architecture, and History

Ancient Greece: Art, Architecture, and History


by Marina Belozerskaya | Kenneth Lapatin

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

This lively illustrated guide covers the architecture, painting and sculpture of Ancient Greece from the third millennium to the end of the Hellenistic period. With 282 color and 28 black-and-white illustrations. (GRE194, $19.95)

The Complete World of Greek Mythology

The Complete World of Greek Mythology


by Richard Buxton

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES

With hundreds of color illustrations, site plans, genealogies and maps, this handsome, encyclopedic reference illuminates the world of the Greek gods. (GRE377, $39.95)

The Parthenon

The Parthenon


by Mary Beard

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 204 PAGES

A lively tale of the construction, significance and many uses of the 2,500-year-old architectural marvel. (GRE195, $15.50)

The Search for Ancient Greece

The Search for Ancient Greece


by Roland Etienne | Francoise Etienne

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

Lavishly illustrated, this pocket encyclopedia covers the archaeology and meaning of ancient Greece, quite an accomplishment for such a slim book. (GRE01, $15.95)

Dinner with Persephone

Dinner with Persephone


by Patricia Storace

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

The pleasures and complexities of contemporary Greece, marvelously described by an American poet spending a year there. Storace intertwines her own perceptions with the history of the country and the influence of pop culture on the classical landscape. (GRE28, $18.00)

Istanbul, Memories and the City

Istanbul, Memories and the City


by Orhan Pamuk

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Nobel Prize-winner Pamuk writes with quiet grace of the city of his birth, celebrated in his many novels: a magical place of crumbling mansions and Ottoman riches, mingling Asian, Islamic, secular and European influences. (TKY99, $16.95)

Turkish Reflections, A Biography of a Place

Turkish Reflections, A Biography of a Place


by Mary Lee Settle

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 253 PAGES

Settle's captivating travelogue is a richly detailed portrait of contemporary Turkey, its people, monasteries, myths, archaeological treasures and living traditions. Exemplary. (TKY08, $16.99)

Birds Without Wings

Birds Without Wings


by Louis De Bernieres

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

De Bernieres offers sweeping historical scope, memorable characters, drama and many new vocabulary words in this stupendous novel set in Anatolia during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. (TKY91, $16.00)

Greece, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Greece, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by Artemis Leontis

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

In this terrific anthology 24 modern Greek writers offer a flavor of their nation, its culture and people, its beautiful landscapes and rich history. (GRE190, $14.95)

The Iliad

The Iliad


by Homer | Robert Fagles

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 704 PAGES

In the excellent Fagles translation -- here presented in a deluxe paper edition -- Homer's Trojan epic hasn't aged a bit in the last 2,700 years. Take it along to Troy and the Aegean. (GRE173, $18.00)

The King Must Die

The King Must Die


by Mary Renault

  • LITERATURE
  • 1988
  • PAPER
  • 330 PAGES

A novel of Theseus, slayer of the Minotaur and King of Athens, including his Cretan adventures. The first in Renault's trilogy of well-researched page-turners. (GRE23, $15.00)

The Odyssey

The Odyssey


by Homer | Robert Fagles

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 541 PAGES

The blind bard's epic in a translation celebrated for its clarity and expressiveness. Take is along for a voyage in Homeric lands and waters. (GRE45, $18.00)

The Songs of the Kings

The Songs of the Kings


by Barry Unsworth

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 342 PAGES

Unsworth's sly novel, set in 1260 B.C. as scheming Odysseus prepares to plunder Troy. A familiar story enhanced by Unsworth's mix of classic cadence, contemporary language, ripe humor and pulled-from-the-headlines satire. (GRE185, $13.95)

The Towers of Trebizond

The Towers of Trebizond


by Rose MacAulay | Jan Morris

  • LITERATURE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 277 PAGES

Mixing high farce, archaeology, history and lively travel writing, Rose MacAulay's impossibly witty short novel is back in a new edition., Originally published in 1956, MacAulay follows the adventures of English missionaries traipsing to across Turkey from Istanbul to Trabzon. (TKY15, $16.00)

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.