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Israel & Jordan

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 EXMDE73. Buy these 5 items as a set for $81 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Eyewitness Guide Jerusalem: Israel, Petra & Sinai

Eyewitness Guide Jerusalem: Israel, Petra & Sinai

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

This compact, illustrated guide provides a thorough overview of Israel and western Jordan, including Petra, Wadi Rum and Amman. (ISR46, $25.00)

Petra, The Rose-Red City

Petra, The Rose-Red City

by Christian Auge | Jean-Marie Dentzer

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

Jam-packed with color illustrations, archival material, maps and site plans, this shirt-pocket encyclopedia is our best-selling book on Petra. (JRD13, $15.95)

Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths

Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths

by Karen Armstrong

  • RELIGION
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 472 PAGES

A popular history by the author of A History of God. Armstrong tackles big subjects -- and this book is no exception. It's a comprehensive, concise portrait of the city over the last 5,000 years. (ISR10, $18.00)

Israel, Palestine, Holy Land Map

Israel, Palestine, Holy Land Map

by Freytag & Berndt

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • MAP
  • 1 PAGES

A double-sided, indexed map at a scale of 1:150,000. (ISR09, $14.95)

Jordan & Syria Map

Jordan & Syria Map

by International Travel Maps

  • 2010
  • MAP

This double-sided regional map (1:700,000) shows not only Jordan & Syria, but also all of Israel. (MDE14, $12.95)

 
Jordan Map

Jordan Map


by Cartographia

  • MAP

A folded, colorful map of Jordan at a scale of 1:700,000. (JRD18, $12.00)

Insight Guide Israel

Insight Guide Israel


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

This lavishly illustrated guide includes maps and short essays on history, culture and attractions. (ISR01, $23.99)

Rough Guide Jordan

Rough Guide Jordan


by Matthew Teller

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

Teller's no-nonsense voice rings true, both in the concise background information about Jordan's highlights and in his encouragement to get off the beaten path. (JRD10, $24.99)

Spectrum Guide to Jordan

Spectrum Guide to Jordan


by Camerapix

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 347 PAGES

This handsome guidebook features in-depth essays and hundreds of color photographs introducing the culture, history and archaeology of Jordan. With travel information, maps, wildlife checklists and information on politics and the economy. (JRD09, $22.95)

A History of Jordan

A History of Jordan


by Philip Robins

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 243 PAGES

An informative, brief history of Jordan and its king from the 1920s to the present by a professor of politics at Oxford. Robins was previously a Jordan-based correspondent for the BBC and The Guardian. (JRD17, $31.99)

A History of Modern Israel

A History of Modern Israel


by Colin Shindler

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Shindler charts the tumultuous foundation and course of the modern state of Israel over the last 60 years in this balanced and lucid account. (ISR65, $25.99)

A History of the Arab Peoples

A History of the Arab Peoples


by Albert Hourani

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 624 PAGES

Called a landmark, masterpiece and essential to understanding the Middle East, Hourani's acclaimed chronicle of the political, spiritual, religious and cultural traditions of the Arab peoples is brought up to date with an afterword by noted Islamic scholar Malise Ruthven. (MDE11, $18.95)

In the Land of Israel

In the Land of Israel


by Amos Oz

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 275 PAGES

In this compelling volume, Israeli novelist Amos Oz interviewed dozens of his fellow countrymen from all walks of life. A passionate, candid and diverse portrait of a people and their hopes, fears and prejudices. (ISR03, $14.95)

Islam, A Short History

Islam, A Short History


by Karen Armstrong

  • RELIGION
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 230 PAGES

Armstrong brings authority and experience to this vivid, clear-headed survey of the history and impact of Islam from the birth of Muhammad to present-day challenges. (ISL15, $15.95)

Nine Parts of Desire, The Hidden World of Islamic Women

Nine Parts of Desire, The Hidden World of Islamic Women


by Geraldine Brooks

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A highly readable overview of the role of women in Islamic society, drawn from the author's many interviews with women throughout the Arab World. (ARB06, $15.00)

Roman Arabia

Roman Arabia


by G.W. Bowersock

  • HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

A remarkable history of the Romans in the Arab world. For the traveler with scholarly inclinations, this lucid book provides essential background to the Roman archaeological sites in the Middle East. (MDE12, $29.00)

The Israel-Arab Reader

The Israel-Arab Reader


by Barry Rubin | Walter Laqueur

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 592 PAGES

Organized chronologically, this newly revised primer includes speeches, letters, articles, timelines and reports dealing with the continuing conflict in the Middle East. (ISR62, $18.00)

The Israelis, Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land

The Israelis, Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land


by Donna Rosenthal

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

Colorful and compelling, this sharp-eyed portrait captures the diversity of modern Israel with humor and authority. 60th anniversary edition. (ISR53, $16.00)

The Story of Israel

The Story of Israel


by Martin Gilbert

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 64 PAGES

Starting with the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897, Gilbert takes the story of Israel up to the first decade of the 21st Century. With 350 photographs, 14 color maps, and 40 facsimile documents (letter, posters, diaries), many of which pull out and unfold to their original size. (ISR66, $34.95)

Walking the Bible, A Photographic Journey

Walking the Bible, A Photographic Journey


by Bruce Feiler

  • RELIGION
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 160 PAGES

Color photographs and accompanying vignettes capture the people and places of Feiler's remarkable odyssey through the biblical lands of Egypt, Israel, Palestine and Turkey. (MDE94, $32.50)

Israel, Past and Present

Israel, Past and Present


by D. Bahat

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 76 PAGES

Ingenious overlaid illustrations on acetate show Holy Land sites and monuments as they look today and as they did when they were first constructed in antiquity. (ISR44, $25.00)

A Tale of Love and Darkness

A Tale of Love and Darkness


by Amos Oz

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 544 PAGES

A family saga and portrait, Oz writes of growing up in Jerusalem in the 1940s, his family's origins and his life as a novelist and commentator. Big in scope, A Tale of Love and Darkness is, in part, the story of Israel and its people. (ISR45, $16.00)

I Saw Ramallah

I Saw Ramallah


by Mourid Barghouti | Edward W. Said | Ahdaf Soueif

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

An evocative and powerful memoir, focused on the author's return to the West Bank after 30 years, a place utterly changed and still at the center of the devastating conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. (MDE73, $14.00)

Israel Through My Lens, Sixty Years as a Photojournalist

Israel Through My Lens, Sixty Years as a Photojournalist


by David Rubinger

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 335 PAGES

The compelling autobiography of Israel's preeminent photojournalist, illustrated with his most memorable images. With 129 illustrations, 46 in full color. (ISR64, $35.00)

Lawrence of Arabia


by Liddell Hart

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 405 PAGES

A lively biography of T. E. Shaw (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia), long the standard. With 17 photos and ten maps. (JRD07, $18.95)

Leap of Faith, Memoirs of an Unexpected Life

Leap of Faith, Memoirs of an Unexpected Life


by Queen Noor

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

The absorbing, personal story of Jordan's American-born Queen Noor touches upon her husband's efforts at peacemaking, his death and contemporary Arab-Israeli relations. (JRD21, $15.99)

Married to a Bedouin

Married to a Bedouin


by Marguerite Van Geldermalsen

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 279 PAGES

"Where you staying?" the Bedouin asked. "Why you not stay with me tonight -- in my cave?" Thus begins the fascinating odyssey of a young nurse from New Zealand who would marry and raise her family among the community of 100 Bedouin families living in the ancient city of Petra. (JRD35, $16.95)

The Language of Baklava

The Language of Baklava


by Diana Abu-Jaber

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 330 PAGES

In this evocative culinary memoir, the Jordanian-American novelist recalls growing up with her gregarious, homesick Jordanian father, who cooked to remember the place he came from and to pass that connection to his children. With one recipe per chapter. (JRD22, $14.95)

Appointment with Death

Appointment with Death


by Agatha Christie

  • MYSTERY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Hercule Poirot steps into the story when an American tourist on a grand tour of the Holy Land is found murdered in Petra. (JRD02, $12.99)

Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist

Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist


by Dorothy Gilman

  • MYSTERY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Mrs. Pollifax must smuggle a manuscript out of Jordan, a document that encodes the shocking truth of Saddam Hussein's reign. (JRD32, $7.99)

In a Desert Land, Photographs of Israel, Egypt and Jordan

In a Desert Land, Photographs of Israel, Egypt and Jordan


by Neil Folberg

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1998
  • HARD COVER
  • 204 PAGES

A stunning collection of photographs of the desert Middle East, including the Sinai, Petra and Jerusalem. (JRD06, $49.95)

The Snorkeller's Guide to the Coral Reef, From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean

The Snorkeller's Guide to the Coral Reef, From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean


by Paddy Ryan

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

The best-selling, take-along guide to coral reefs, coral-reef fishes, invertebrates and plants of the Indo-Pacific. With 200 color photographs. (DIV18, $21.99)

Birds of the Middle East

Birds of the Middle East


by Richard Porter | Simon Aspinall

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

An outstanding guide to 700 species of the birds in the region from the Arabian peninsula to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Cyprus. Second edition. (MDE17, $39.95)

Fishwatcher's Field Guide Red Sea

Fishwatcher's Field Guide Red Sea


by Jerry Greenberg

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • PLASTIC CARD

This double-sided plastic card shows 64 of the most commonly encountered reef fish of the Red Sea in full-color illustrations, convenient for the boat or beach. (DIV13, $7.50)

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.