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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 . Buy these 6 items as a set for $102 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Eyewitness Guide Spain

Eyewitness Guide Spain

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 720 PAGES

This superb, colorful guide covering all of Spain features bright photography, dozens of maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the country's attractions. (SPN05, $30.00)

Eyewitness Guide Morocco

Eyewitness Guide Morocco

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 408 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

Gorgeously illustrated and filled with excellent maps, this compact guide introduces Morocco's history, culture and attractions. (MRC58, $30.00)

The Alhambra

The Alhambra

by Robert Irwin

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 213 PAGES

Irwin's brief, indispensable guide introduces the stunning Moorish palace and fortress complex, revealing its mysteries, myths and significance with wit and insight. (SPN226, $14.95)

The Caliph's House, A Year in Casablanca

The Caliph's House, A Year in Casablanca

by Tahir Shah

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 343 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

Shah is a marvelous storyteller, weaving Moroccan customs and history with deft portraits of neighbors, craftsmen and others in this entertaining tale of the transformation of a crumbling palace in Casablanca. (MRC66, $16.00)

Spain & Portugal Map

Spain & Portugal Map

by Michelin Travel Publications

  • 2011
  • MAP

A colorful, shaded relief map of the entire Iberian Peninsula at a scale of 1:1,000,000. With an index of principal place names. (SPN22, $11.95)

Morocco Map

Morocco Map

by Michelin Travel Publications

  • 2009
  • MAP
  • BEST SELLER

An excellent road map in the Michelin style, featuring city and town plans and a full place name index. (MRC13, $11.95)

 
Eyewitness Guide Seville and Andalusia

Eyewitness Guide Seville and Andalusia


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 286 PAGES

This wonderfully organized and visually rich guide features excellent maps and essays on the culture, history and geography of the region. (SPN15, $23.00)

Lonely Planet Fez Encounter

Lonely Planet Fez Encounter


by Virginia Maxwell

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 136 PAGES

A lively shirt pocket guide to the imperial city. (MRC90, $11.99)

Lonely Planet Moroccan Arabic Phrasebook

Lonely Planet Moroccan Arabic Phrasebook


by Dan Bacon

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

This handy phrasebook includes pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary. (MRC15, $8.99)

A Late Dinner, Discovering the Food of Spain

A Late Dinner, Discovering the Food of Spain


by Paul Richardson

  • FOOD
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

A resident of Spain for the last 15 years, Richardson searches out the diversity and delight of Spain and its food in this engaging account of travels in search of a meal. (SPN344, $24.00)

Traditional Moroccan Cooking, Recipes from Fez

Traditional Moroccan Cooking, Recipes from Fez


by Claudia Roden | Madame Guinaudeau

  • FOOD
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

First published in 1958, Madame Guinaudeau's charming guide to Moroccan cuisine explores the rich culinary traditions of Fez with anecdotes, recipes, drawings and chapters on everything from choosing spices and preserving lemons to The Art of Making and Drinking Tea. (MRC44, $14.95)

Ghosts of Spain

Ghosts of Spain


by Giles Tremlett

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 396 PAGES

Tremlett captures the Spanish character, history and modern politics in this masterful portrait, interweaving the story of his love for the country (where he has lived for 20 years) with interview, anecdote and observation. (SPN323, $18.00)

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)

Living in Morocco

Living in Morocco


by Stoeltie, Barbara and Rene

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 280 PAGES

From exquisite rugs and textiles to vibrant mosaics, courtyards and homes, this gorgeous photographic collection celebrates the beauty and allure of Morocco's architecture, with a particular focus on interiors. (MRC71, $29.99)

Moorish Spain

Moorish Spain


by Richard Fletcher

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 189 PAGES

The history and culture of Islam in Spain geared for the curious traveler. (SPN110, $26.95)

Spain, The Root and the Flower

Spain, The Root and the Flower


by John A. Crow

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 455 PAGES

Take this book with you to Spain: it's an absorbing, well-written account of Spanish cultural history from prehistory to the Romans, Jews, Moors, Golden Age and on to Franco and his legacy in modern Spain. (SPN13, $29.95)

The Ornament of the World, How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain

The Ornament of the World, How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain


by Maria Rosa Menocal | Harold Bloom

  • RELIGION
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

A lively, illuminating portrait of the Andalucian Kingdom, its cultural achievements and religious tolerance from the eighth century to 1492. (SPN185, $15.99)

The Story of the Moors in Spain

The Story of the Moors in Spain


by Stanley Lane-Poole

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 285 PAGES

A wonderfully readable, sweeping tale of splendor and tragedy, first published in 1866. (SPN12, $18.95)

The Prado

The Prado


by Alfonso E. Perez Sanchez

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

Highlights of the Prado Museum in Madrid, featuring 320 illustrations of art collected by the kings and queens over centuries, including works by Goya, Rubens, Velazquez and El Greco. (SPN104, $35.00)

Dreams of Trespass, Tales of a Harem Girlhood

Dreams of Trespass, Tales of a Harem Girlhood


by Fatima Mernissi

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 242 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

This captivating memoir opens, "I was born in a harem in 1940 in Fez, a ninth-century Moroccan city." Mernissi captures not only the spirit of the place, but also the hierarchy and decorum of a family compound in a Muslim household. (MRC10, $17.00)

Driving over Lemons, An Optimist in Andalucia

Driving over Lemons, An Optimist in Andalucia


by Chris Stewart

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Stewart's memoir about moving with his wife to a farm in Alpujarras is charming and insightful. Unlike many expatriates, Stewart manages to ground himself far enough into the community to make lasting friends -- as well as a home for his young daughter. (SPN135, $14.95)

In Morocco

In Morocco


by Edith Wharton

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 223 PAGES

Wharton's enjoyable account of her month-long journey through Morocco after WWI captures the landscapes, architecture and many aspects of Muslim culture and history, and especially the cities of Rabat, Fez and Marrakech. (MRC02, $10.95)

Leo Africanus

Leo Africanus


by Amin Maalouf

  • LITERATURE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 360 PAGES

A fictional memoir of the first 40 years in the life of Leo Africanus, a Muslim whose travels led him throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. (MED55, $16.95)

Marrakesh, Through Writers' Eyes

Marrakesh, Through Writers' Eyes


by Barnaby Rogerson | Stephen Lavington

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 306 PAGES

A choice collection of travel writing on the Red City by 40 luminaries, including George Orwell, Winston Churchill, Gavin Maxwell and Peter Mayne. (MRC72, $33.95)

Spain, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Spain, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by Peter R. Bush

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 242 PAGES

These 30 short stories form a who's who of contemporary Spanish literature, including writers from Galicia, Leon, the Basque Country, Madrid and Barcelona. (SPN173, $13.95)

The Sheltering Sky

The Sheltering Sky


by Paul Bowles

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 313 PAGES

Bowles' most famous work, by turns stark and transcendent, is a tale of three people whose lives unravel in the desert of North Africa. Originally published in 1949. (NAF09, $14.99)

The Spider's House

The Spider's House


by Paul Bowles

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 406 PAGES

Set in Fez during a 1954 nationalist uprising, this richly descriptive novel may be the most evocative of Bowles' many works set in Morocco. Originally published in 1955. (MRC08, $14.99)

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.