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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 EXSEA295. Buy these 5 items as a set for $82 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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The River's Tale, A Year on the Mekong

The River's Tale, A Year on the Mekong

by Edward Gargan

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A personal, probing chronicle of a 3,000 mile journey on the river from its source in China through Tibet, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. (SEA33, $15.95)

Angkor, Heart of an Asian Empire

Angkor, Heart of an Asian Empire

by Bruno Dagens

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 191 PAGES

An excellent guide to the site, this shirt-pocket encyclopedia of discovery features hundreds of color photographs, illustrations and maps. (CBD01, $15.95)

The Quiet American

The Quiet American

by Graham Greene

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 180 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A classic, this is the most famous Western work of fiction on Vietnam. Greene writes of a love triangle between a war correspondent, his Vietnamese consort and an optimistic young American during the last days of French rule. (VNM08, $16.00)

Footprint Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos

Footprint Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos

by Jack O'Tailan | Claire Boobbyer | John Colet | Andrew Spooner

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 576 PAGES

With practical information on attractions, transportation, food, activities and lodgings. Includes Bangkok. (SEA52, $25.95)

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Map

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Map

by Nelles

  • 2010
  • MAP

A convenient, double-sided map of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam at a scale of 1:1,500,000, with city maps of Hanoi, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh City, Luang Prabang, and Phnom Penh. (SEA75, $13.95)

 
Angkor Map

Angkor Map


by Dawn Rooney

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER

A site plan and pocket guide to the city of Angkor at a scale of 1:40,000. (CBD16, $12.95)

Odyssey Guide Angkor

Odyssey Guide Angkor


by Dawn Rooney

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

The sixth edition of Rooney's indispensable guide to Khmer culture and history. Includes monuments, temple plans, color photographs and practical information about Siem Reap. (CBD05, $27.95)

A History of Cambodia

A History of Cambodia


by David Chandler

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

An excellent, scholarly history from early civilization through the rise of Angkor, French colonial period, Vietnamization of Cambodia, Khmer Rouge and Coup de Force of 1997. (CBD27, $38.00)

A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia

A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia


by J.M. Barwise | Nicholas J. White

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES
  • COMING IN MARCH

A compact history of the region, including the Khmer and the various ancient kingdoms that produced Borobudur, Angkor and other architectural marvels. (SEA36, $14.95)

Indochine

Indochine


by Regis Wargnier

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • DVD

Catherine Deneuve stars in this love triangle set in Vietnam in the days before the 1954 communist revolution in Indochina. (VNM135, $24.96)

The Cham of Vietnam: History, Society, and Art


by Tran Ky Phuong | Bruce Lockhart

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 300 PAGES

A collection of scholarly essays on the history, archaeology, anthropology, history and language of the Cham people, the society that once ruled over a large stretch of the central Vietnamese coast. (VNM136, $32.00)

The Mekong, Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future

The Mekong, Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future


by Milton Osborne

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

A cultural history of the great river from prehistory to European exploration, colonial tensions and modern challenges. It's an engaging introduction to the history of Southeast Asia. (SEA28, $16.00)

Arts of Southeast Asia

Arts of Southeast Asia


by Fiona Kerlogue

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

A handsome guide to the art, architecture, textiles and crafts of Southeast Asia. (SEA45, $16.95)

A Dragon Apparent, Travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

A Dragon Apparent, Travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam


by Norman Lewis

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 358 PAGES
  • FAVORITE
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

A classic account of travels and adventure during the last years of French Indochina, strong on atmosphere and including wonderfully detailed descriptions of local cultures and archaeological treasures. First published in 1951. (SEA40, $33.95)

The Gods Drink Whiskey

The Gods Drink Whiskey


by Stephen T. Asma

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Asma writes with verve and wit in this eye-opening account of his yearlong stint teaching at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh. His account is both an overview of Theravada Buddhism and a down-to-earth portrait of contemporary Cambodia. (CBD46, $14.99)

The Sacred Willow, Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family

The Sacred Willow, Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family


by Duong Van Mai Elliott

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 506 PAGES

This vivid family saga, beginning with the author's great-grandfather, captures the life and momentous history of Vietnam over the last 100 years. (VNM39, $24.99)

The Lover

The Lover


by Marguerite Duras

  • LITERATURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 117 PAGES

A haunting tale of coming-of-age in Indochina during the 1930s, beautifully evoking its setting and the complex emotions of a young girl, her family and her wealthy Chinese lover. (CBD09, $12.00)

The Tale of Kieu, Bilingual Edition

The Tale of Kieu, Bilingual Edition


by Huynh Thong

  • LITERATURE
  • 1987
  • PAPER
  • 211 PAGES

A cornerstone of Vietnamese literature, this much-loved epic poem was written in the early 19th-century by a Vietnamese ambassador to the Chinese court. (VNM22, $22.00)

Vietnam, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Vietnam, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by John Balaban | Nguyen Qui Duc

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 239 PAGES
  • COMING IN FEBRUARY

From rain forest and rural countryside to the cities, these 17 stories from Vietnam's finest writers explore Vietnam's landscapes, myths and changing traditions. (VNM04, $14.95)

The Quiet American


by Phillip Noyce

  • 2003
  • DVD

Michael Caine stars as a British journalist stationed in Vietnam in the 1950s who becomes friends with a seemingly harmless American (Brendan Fraser). (VNM59, $29.99)

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.