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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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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 EXIRE73. Buy these 4 items as a set for $65 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Eyewitness Guide Ireland

Eyewitness Guide Ireland

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 384 PAGES

A compact and profusely illustrated guide to the country's history, culture and attractions. (IRE02, $25.00)

For the Love of Ireland, A Literary Companion for Readers and Travelers

For the Love of Ireland, A Literary Companion for Readers and Travelers

by Susan Cahill

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 458 PAGES

Organized geographically, this rich anthology introduces Ireland through the words and lives of such luminaries as James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, Frank McCourt and Samuel Beckett. (IRE77, $15.95)

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales

by W.B. Yeats

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 380 PAGES

Edited by the Nobel Prize-winning poet who spearheaded the Celtic Renaissance in the early 20th century, these enchanting stories introduce a cast of changelings, ghosts, mermaids, demons, saints, priests and fairies. (IRE04, $16.00)

Ireland Map

Ireland Map

by Michelin

  • 2011
  • MAP

A colorful map at a scale of 1:400,000. (IRE23, $11.95)

 
Fodor's Dublin's 25 Best

Fodor's Dublin's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

Take along this handy pocket guide, which includes a map and information on city highlights. (IRE30, $11.99)

A Traveller's History of Ireland

A Traveller's History of Ireland


by Peter Neville

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

From the Celts to the Norman invasions and modern-day Ireland, this short history is highly recommended for those who would like a brief overview of the Emerald Isle through the centuries. (GBR39, $14.95)

How the Irish Saved Civilization

How the Irish Saved Civilization


by Thomas Cahill

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 236 PAGES

This best-selling history tells the generally unknown story of Ireland's preservation of classical learning in the Dark Ages. (IRE07, $15.95)

In Search of Ancient Ireland

In Search of Ancient Ireland


by Leo Eaton | Carmel McCaffrey

  • HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

This spirited, illustrated history, the companion to a PBS documentary series, traces the foundation, archaeology and legends of ancient Ireland from 9000 B.C. to 1167 A.D. with style and substance. (IRE222, $16.95)

Luck and the Irish, A Brief History of Change 1970-2000

Luck and the Irish, A Brief History of Change 1970-2000


by Roy Foster

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 288 PAGES

Foster takes in the sweep of contemporary Irish popular culture, music, literature and politics in this short personal book, originally delivered as the Wiles Lectures in Belfast in 2004. (IRE237, $30.00)

Magnum Ireland

Magnum Ireland


by John Banville

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 256 PAGES

This evocative collection of 250 photographs captures the people, landscapes and changing face of Ireland from the 1950s to the 21st century. (IRE170, $60.00)

Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland

Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland


by Malachy McCourt

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 413 PAGES

Rich in anecdote and biography, McCourt may not break new ground but he sure knows how to tell a tale in this entertaining history of the Emerald Isle from Pict and Celtic origins to Yeats, Joyce, Beckett and Bono. (IRE233, $15.95)

Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction

Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction


by Senia Paseta

  • HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

A remarkably concise history in the well-regarded series, touching on the major aspects of Irish history, politics, and society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (IRE195, $11.95)

The Aran Islands

The Aran Islands


by J.M. Synge | Tim Robinson

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

A much-loved turn-of-the-century account of the islands (as contrasted with mainland Ireland), drenched in the Celtic soul of the Irish. (IRE26, $15.00)

The Truth about the Irish

The Truth about the Irish


by Terry Eagleton

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 181 PAGES

An irreverent A-to-Z guide to all things Irish by a native son and shrewd comic commentator, who casts aside many myths, starting with the first entry - A for alcohol (the Irish have the lowest per capita consumption of alcohol in the E.U., after Greece and Italy). (IRE167, $14.95)

The Book of Kells

The Book of Kells


by Bernard Meehan

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 95 PAGES

Written by the keeper of manuscripts at Trinity College, this book features 110 color illustrations, including enlargements, of some of the more spectacular decorations in this most famous of medieval manuscripts. (IRE09, $19.95)

A Course Called Ireland

A Course Called Ireland


by Tom Coyne

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES
  • NEW

Not just a quest to play every seaside course in the Emerald Isle (60 by the time he got to Ulster), Tom Coyne's entertaining portrait of Ireland, its people, pubs and quirks illuminates "Uncommon Acts of Irish Hospitality." (IRE251, $16.00)

A Pint of Plain

A Pint of Plain


by Bill Barich

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Drawing on the wit and wisdom of O'Brien, Joyce, Behan, and Synge, Barich explores Irish culture (and popularity around the world) from the vantage of the local pub. (IRE266, $15.00)

Green Shadows, White Whale

Green Shadows, White Whale


by Ray Bradbury

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 237 PAGES

Set in Dublin, this 1953 hymn to Ireland recounts Bradbury's hilarious experiences writing the Moby Dick screenplay with John Huston (who Bradbury affectionately refers to as the "Devil Himself"). (IRE53, $13.99)

Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle

Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle


by David Wilson

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

Whether it's the author's adventures in crowded pubs or out in the wild, this travel account is a modest, humorous report on Ireland, its people, festivals and cultures. (IRE17, $19.95)

Ireland, In a Glass of Its Own

Ireland, In a Glass of Its Own


by Peter Biddlecombe

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

A hilarious account of a journey through Ireland by the seasoned and well-traveled author. (IRE185, $15.95)

McCarthy's Bar, A Journey of Discovery in Ireland

McCarthy's Bar, A Journey of Discovery in Ireland


by Pete McCarthy

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A droll account of McCarthy's encounters on a bar-hopping jaunt from Cork along the west coast to Donegal. His motto, assiduously followed, was never to pass up a bar with his name on it! (IRE168, $16.99)

O Come Ye Back to Ireland, Our First Year in County Clare

O Come Ye Back to Ireland, Our First Year in County Clare


by Niall Williams | Christine Breen

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 233 PAGES

The first of four engaging chronicles of life on a farm in Kilmihi in rural County Clare, by an Irish-American couple who realized their lifelong dream of returning to Ireland. (IRE16, $12.00)

Round Ireland With a Fridge

Round Ireland With a Fridge


by Tony Hawks

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

From Dublin to Donegal, from Sligo through Mayo to Galway, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Wexford and Wicklow, the English comic really does hitchhike his way around Ireland, on a bet, with an appliance (albeit a mini-fridge). Surprisingly, this deeply silly, thoroughly entertaining book also captures the warmth and spirit of the Irish. (IRE70, $14.95)

A Star Called Henry


by Roddy Doyle

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 402 PAGES

The Irish wars of independence and the Dublin slums of the early 20th century provide the backdrop for Doyle's gritty, swashbuckling tale about a boy who enlists in the army at age 14, wielding his father's peg leg as a weapon. (IRE254, $16.00)

Dubliners

Dubliners


by James Joyce

  • LITERATURE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 317 PAGES

James Joyce's unsurpassed collection of short stories depicting ordinary life in Dublin among the lower middle class -- a milestone in the history of prose fiction. (IRE15, $11.00)

Ireland, A Novel

Ireland, A Novel


by Frank Delaney

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 576 PAGES

In this hugely pleasurable tale Delaney wraps the history, myth and legend of Ireland around a quest. It's an ambitious, subtly comic and enthralling story of the importance of tales and tradition. (IRE156, $14.99)

Sun Dancing, A Vision of Medieval Ireland

Sun Dancing, A Vision of Medieval Ireland


by Geoffrey Moorhouse

  • LITERATURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 280 PAGES

This wonderfully inspired combination of scholarship and historical fiction, set at the monastery on Skellig Michael, carries the reader back to Ireland's early monastic tradition. (IRE13, $22.95)

The Hill Bachelors

The Hill Bachelors


by William Trevor

  • LITERATURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

No one writes better short fiction than William Trevor. This collection of 12 stories captures the life and people of rural Ireland. (IRE42, $15.00)

The Princes of Ireland, The Dublin Saga

The Princes of Ireland, The Dublin Saga


by Edward Rutherfurd

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 800 PAGES

An epic novel drawing on the events, personalities and drama of Dublin from settlement through the Easter Rebellion. (IRE145, $16.95)

The Rebels of Ireland, The Dublin Saga

The Rebels of Ireland, The Dublin Saga


by John Rutherford

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 896 PAGES

Rutherfurd spins the saga of Ireland's 400-year path to independence in all its drama, tragedy and glory in this sweeping follow-up to The Princes of Ireland. (IRE253, $16.95)

The Teapots Are Out and Other Eccentric Tales from Ireland

The Teapots Are Out and Other Eccentric Tales from Ireland


by John B. Keane

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A collection of 17 sentimental, sad, outrageous and just plain fun stories by the prolific North Kerry saloon-keeper, balladeer, playwright and novelist. Keane, who died in 2002, had an eye (and ear) for Irish rural life. (IRE144, $13.95)

Troubles

Troubles


by J.G. Farrell

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 459 PAGES

Set on the eve of the Irish Rebellion, this first novel in Farrell's remarkable Empire Trilogy illuminates the British Empire's decline in Ireland and the Anglo-Irish to hilarious, haunting effect. (IRE171, $16.95)

Wild Decembers

Wild Decembers


by Edna O'Brien

  • LITERATURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

A haunting novel of clan enmities and forbidden love in rural Ireland. Few writers have as sure a sense of place as Edna O'Brien, whose lyrical prose builds inevitably toward final tragedy. (IRE94, $13.95)

Yeats's Poetry, Drama, and Prose

Yeats's Poetry, Drama, and Prose


by W. B. Yeats

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 518 PAGES

An authoritative anthology, heavily annotated and with biographical and background information. (IRE208, $25.00)

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)

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.