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BEST OF 2011

Wild Coast

John Gimlette

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FOR THE HOLIDAYS

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Florian Schultz

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Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

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The Pioneer

Replogle

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New & Noteworthy

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

New & Noteworthy travel books that we're specially excited about

A Lovesong for India

A Lovesong for India

by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

  • LITERATURE
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 276 PAGES

A collection of short stories set in India, England and New York City that meditate on what unites people across oceans, cultures, and lifetimes. (IDA652, $26.00)

The Rough Guide to Southwest China

The Rough Guide to Southwest China

by Rough Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 440 PAGES

This comprehensive travel guide in the British series covers the cities, traditional communities and travel in Yunnan and the region, including Sichuan, Chongqinng, Guizhou ad Guangxi. (CHN701, $25.99)

A Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand

A Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand

by Julian Fitter

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2012
  • PAPER

Comprehensive and compact, this Princeton Pocket Guide features 600 color photographs. (NZL116, $24.95)

City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas

City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas

by Roger Crowley

  • HISTORY
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 400 PAGES

Crowley turns to the three centuries of Venetian maritime dominance -- years of plunder and plague, conquest and piracy -- during which a tiny city of lagoon dwellers grew into the richest place on earth in this riveting new history. (MED185, $32.00)

Lost Kingdom

Lost Kingdom

by Julia Flynn Siler

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 480 PAGES

Royalty and rogues, sugar barons, politicians and missionaries all figure in Siler's riveting tale of Liliuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii. (HWI254, $30.00)

Vesuvius

Vesuvius

by Gillian Darley

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 144 PAGES

Gillian Darley unveils the human responses to Vesuvius, both feared and celebrated, from a cast of characters as far-flung as Pliny the Younger and David Hockney in this entry in Harvard University Press's excellent Wonders of the World series, a perfect introduction for travelers to Pompeii and Herculaneum. (ITA275, $22.95)

Vanished Kingdoms, How Nations Rise and Fall

Vanished Kingdoms, How Nations Rise and Fall

by Norman Davies

  • HISTORY
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 720 PAGES

In this marvelously tale of lost civilizations and the shifting fate of nations, historian Norrman Davies presents the stories of 14 now all-but-forgotten European states, including Aragon, Etruria and the Two Burgundies. Not just an intiguing look at history, these tales will also incite wanderlust. (EUR404, $40.00)

Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-petrels of North America, A Photographic Guide

Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-petrels of North America, A Photographic Guide

by Steve N. G. Howell

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 440 PAGES

A natural teacher and popular tour leader, the Californbia-based field ornithologist includes detailed species accounts and hundreds of color photographs of birds in flight to help you sort out all the confusing tubenoses. (BRD99, $45.00)

The Ice Balloon

The Ice Balloon

by Alec Wilkinson

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 272 PAGES

New Yorker writer Wilkinson recounts in thrilling detail the ill-fated attempt by Swedish engineer and aeronaut Salomon August Andree to reach the North Pole by balloon in 1897. (ARC289, $25.95)

Islanders, The Pacific in the Age of Empire

by Nicholas Thomas

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 356 PAGES

Thomas explores the rich and surprising history of encounters, not only between Islanders and Europeans, but among Islanders, in the wake of the discoveries of Captain Cook. (PAC234, $35.00)

Charles and Emma, The Darwins' Leap of Faith

by Deborah Heiligman

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

Heiligman docuses on Darwin's family life in this complelling biography for ages 12 and up. (GBR902, $9.99)

Why Size Matters, From Bacteria to Blue Whales

Why Size Matters, From Bacteria to Blue Whales

by John Tyler Bonner

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

Bonner considers the role of physical size and its relation to function, evolution, behavior, and longevity of in this classic essay. (NAT108, $16.95)

Insight Guide Caribbean: The Lesser Antilles

Insight Guide Caribbean: The Lesser Antilles

by Sarah Cameron | Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

This handsome travel guide gives a profusely illustrated overview of the region, featuring essays on natural history, politics and culture, as well as hundreds of photos and maps and some limited practical information. (CRB02, $24.99)

 

In the Shadow of the Buddha, One Man's Journey of Discovery in Tibet


by Matteo Pistono

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

An American Buddhist recounts his time spent searching for both spiritual enlightenment and political justice in modern-day Tibet. Includes maps, photos and illustrations. (TBT145, $16.00)

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats


by Jan-Philipp Sendker

  • LITERATURE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

This sentimental bestseller, marvelously set in modern New York and Burma traces the epic, fifty-year love between a blind monk, later a successful New York lawyer with a new family who knows nothing of his past, and the Burmese woman who captured his heart all those many years ago. (BMA71, $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.