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Spain: Rioja

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 EXSPN250. Buy these 4 items as a set for $61 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Eyewitness Guide Northern Spain

Eyewitness Guide Northern Spain

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 264 PAGES

A literate, visually rich guide to Northern Spain from Galicia across Asturbias and the Basque Country to La Rioja to the Pyrenees. (SPN315, $25.00)

Fodor's Madrid's 25 Best

Fodor's Madrid's 25 Best

by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

This slim guide includes an excellent pull-out map of the center of Madrid and essential information on its highlights, including restaurant recommendations and sightseeing. (SPN172, $11.99)

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)

Basque Country, Navarra and La Rioja

Basque Country, Navarra and La Rioja

by Michelin Travel Publications

  • 2003
  • MAP

A regional map of Spain covering the Basque Country, Navarra and La Rioja at a scale of 1:250,000. (SPN204, $12.95)

 
Footprint Guide Northern Spain

Footprint Guide Northern Spain


by Andy Symington

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 556 PAGES

A detailed, comprehensive guide published in Britain, nicely divided between a general overview of the region and practical travel detail on where to go and what to do. (SPN233, $24.95)

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)

Food and Wines of Spain

Food and Wines of Spain


by Penelope Casas

  • FOOD
  • 1982
  • HARD COVER
  • 457 PAGES

This classic collection of 400 recipes, interwoven with cultural commentary and culinary history, is a pleasure to read, but prepare to become hungry. (SPN100, $37.50)

A History of Medieval Spain

A History of Medieval Spain


by Joseph F. O'Callaghan

  • HISTORY
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 728 PAGES

A detailed history of the Medieval kingdoms of Iberia. (SPN10, $29.95)

A Traveller's History of Spain

A Traveller's History of Spain


by Juan Lalaguna

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

A swift survey from prehistory through the Romans, Goths and Moors to the present. (SPN06, $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)

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 Arts of Intimacy, Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture

The Arts of Intimacy, Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture


by Maria Menocal | Jerilynn Dodds | Abigail Balbale

  • RELIGION
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 416 PAGES

Using the visual art (presented in stunning photographs) and literature of Medieval Spain, the authors illustrate the vibrant mix of three cultures which has formed the Castilian identity. (SPN365, $40.00)

The Basque History of the World

The Basque History of the World


by Mark Kurlansky

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Popular author Mark Kurlansky offers an engaging portrait of the seven provinces of Basque Land, discussing everything from language to culinary heritage and seafaring traditions. (SPN116, $16.00)

The New Spaniards

The New Spaniards


by John Hooper

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 458 PAGES

A survey of the cultural, political and economic changes in Spain since the death of Franco. An authoritative and compelling look the everyday life of Spaniards. (SPN08, $16.00)

The Spanish Labyrinth, An Account of the Social and Political Background of the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Labyrinth, An Account of the Social and Political Background of the Spanish Civil War


by Gerald Brenan

  • HISTORY
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

A fine introduction to the issues driving the Spanish Civil War. Brenan was there, and he offers a vivid picture that loses nothing for being skewed slightly towards the left. (SPN74, $25.00)

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages


by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages features hundreds of drawings, color illustrations and a brief chronology. (MED07, $15.95)

Painting in Spain 1500-1700

Painting in Spain 1500-1700


by Jonathan Brown

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 283 PAGES

Velazquez and El Greco are but a few of the Spanish artists discussed in this in-depth study of the art produced during Spain's golden age. (SPN183, $40.00)

Grammar Lessons

Grammar Lessons


by Michele Morano

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 184 PAGES

Morano, who lived in Oviedo in the early 1990s, reflects on the humor and trials of living in a new language in these 13 essays on travel in Spain and search for self. (SPN345, $22.50)

Homage to Catalonia

Homage to Catalonia


by George Orwell

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1987
  • PAPER
  • 234 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Orwell's portrait of the Barcelona uprising and the spirit of a city at war is a classic, an observant and heartfelt report from the streets. (SPN03, $14.00)

Travels with My Donkey

Travels with My Donkey


by Tim Moore

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 328 PAGES

In this wickedly comic account of grand adventures on the 500-mile pilgrimage to Santiago de Campostela with a French-speaking donkey, Moore salts his anecdotes of fellow travelers and grand adventures with an account of the history and culture of the medieval Way of St. James. (SPN242, $14.99)

Everything but the Squeal

Everything but the Squeal


by John Barlow

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 256 PAGES

Barlow, his wife (from Galicia but a vegetarian) and young son gallavant from roadhouse to fine dining establishments, villages and cities in this endearingly offhand, loving account of travels in honor of pork. A delightful, witty guide to the traditions, culinary and otherwise, of the region. (SPN368, $25.00)

For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls


by Ernest Hemingway

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 471 PAGES

Hemingway's great novel about the Spanish Civil War is a love story set during the four-day fight of anti-fascist units in the mountains. (SPN19, $16.00)

Spain in Mind

Spain in Mind


by Alice Powers

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 372 PAGES

This literary A-to-Z includes selections by Auden, Hemingway, Michener, Twain, Orwell, Trollope, Wharton and other luminaries. (SPN290, $15.95)

The Flanders Panel


by Arturo Perez-Reverte

  • MYSTERY
  • 2004
  • PAPER

Art and intrigue combine over a Flemish painting "The Game of Chess" in this first Perez-Reverte thriller. When a young restorer discovers a secret inscription hidden within the painting, she employs the help of an antiques dealer, an art professor (and ex-lover) and a chess master to discover the secret -- but not before murder ensues. (SPN276, $14.95)

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.