WILDERNESS TRAVEL

Great Alpine Traverse

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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

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Killing Dragons, The Conquest of the Alps

Killing Dragons, The Conquest of the Alps

by Fergus Fleming

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

Fleming spins lively tales of man against nature in this entertaining history of the eccentrics, adventurers and publicity-hounds who sought to conquer the Alps, including Whymper and his first ascent of the Matterhorn (where four of the seven-man team perished). (ALP16, $14.00)

Quest for the Sublime, Finding Nature's Secret in Switzerland

Quest for the Sublime, Finding Nature's Secret in Switzerland

by Richard Bangs

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 260 PAGES
  • CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE
    • >

Richard Bangs revisits the Swiss Alps, following the likes of Byron, Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth in an attempt to grasp the Sublime. (SWZ66, $16.95)

Walking in the Alps

Walking in the Alps

by Kev Reynolds

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

A nicely illustrated, authoritative guide to hiking throughout the Alps. Reynolds covers a range of activities from day hikes to the classic hut-to-hut mountain walks. (SWZ44, $22.95)

Alps Map

Alps Map

by Freytag & Berndt

  • 2010
  • MAP

This regional map (1:500,000), centered on the Alps, includes portions of Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France. (ALP07, $14.95)

 
Insight Guide Switzerland

Insight Guide Switzerland


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

This handsome guide gives a profusely illustrated overview of Switzerland, featuring concise essays by well-regarded authors on history, politics and culture, as well as hundreds of photos and maps, and some practical information. (SWZ15, $24.99)

Cuisines of the Alps

Cuisines of the Alps


by Kay Shaw Nelson

  • FOOD
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 197 PAGES

Subtitled "Recipes, Drinks, and Lore from France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia," this colorful tour of the region's rustic cuisine offers more than 140 recipes, a section on regional wines and historical information. (CEU38, $24.95)

La Place de la Concorde Suisse

La Place de la Concorde Suisse


by John McPhee

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 150 PAGES

In the company of a Swiss patrol leader on a training mission, McPhee deploys his usual insight and wonderful prose on the phenomenon of the army of Switzerland. (SWZ14, $16.00)

The Alps, A Cultural History

The Alps, A Cultural History


by Andrew Beattie

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 256 PAGES

Beattie explores the turbulent past and vibrant present of the Alps, where early pioneers of tourism, mountaineering and scientific research have all left their mark. (ALP30, $35.00)

Why Switzerland?

Why Switzerland?


by Jonathan Steinberg

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 300 PAGES

A masterly overview of the idiosyncrasies of Switzerland, its history, language, politics and identity as a naysayer at the center of Europe. (SWZ04, $37.99)

Iceman: Uncovering the Life and Times of a Prehistoric Man Found in an Alpine Glacier

Iceman: Uncovering the Life and Times of a Prehistoric Man Found in an Alpine Glacier


by Brenda Fowler

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 313 PAGES

The complete story of the discovery of and controversy surrounding the frozen corpse of a prehistoric man found in the Tyrolian Alps. (ALP20, $20.00)

A Tramp Abroad

A Tramp Abroad


by Mark Twain | David Eggers | Kerry Driscoll

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

Written 11 years after Innocents Abroad, this is Twain's second foray into European travel. Filled with his characteristic wit and humorous observations, it documents his journeys through Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy. Now with an introduction by Dave Eggers. (EUR78, $14.95)

Eiger Dreams, Ventures Among Men and Mountains

Eiger Dreams, Ventures Among Men and Mountains


by Jon Krakauer

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A collection of some of Krakauer's (Into Thin Air) best journalism, these stories and essays focus on the mindset and determination of world-class mountaineers, including Alpine and Himalayan climbers. (ALP10, $14.95)

Mont Blanc, Discovery and Conquest of the Giant of the Alps

Mont Blanc, Discovery and Conquest of the Giant of the Alps


by Stefano Ardito

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 228 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

With color and archival photographs, historic paintings and illustrations, this handsome book celebrates the history of climbing at Mont Blanc. (ALP37, $19.99)

There & Then, Travel Writings of James Salter

There & Then, Travel Writings of James Salter


by James Salter

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 296 PAGES

These sketches and essays cover 20 years of novelist Salter's peripatetic life, particularly his extended time hiking and skiing in the Alps of Switzerland, Austria and France. (ALP28, $15.00)

White Spider, The Classic Account of the Ascent of the Eiger

White Spider, The Classic Account of the Ascent of the Eiger


by Heinrich Harrer

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 364 PAGES

The classic tale of a young climber and the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in 1938. This edition includes photographs, maps, and a chronology of attempts on the North Face. (ALP09, $15.95)

Cham


by Jonathan Trigell

  • LITERATURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER

A young British author who lives in Chamonix, Trigell captures the beauty of the region, the allure of the slopes and the decadent vibe of the ski bum sub-culture in this edgy thriller. (ALP39, $16.95)

Homestead

Homestead


by Rosini Lippi

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 210 PAGES

Set firmly in a small village in the Austrian Alps, these 12 interlinking stories are almost ethnographic in their rich detail of small town life. The stories range from the turn-of-the-century to the present, accurately charting change in the remote village. (ALP11, $13.95)

Hotel du Lac

Hotel du Lac


by Anita Brookner

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

Funny, stylish and spellbinding, Brookner's novel tracks the story of a romance novelist, not quite finding peace and quiet at the quiet luxury of Hotel du Lac in Switzerland. (SWZ05, $13.95)

La Nouvelle Heloise

La Nouvelle Heloise


by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  • LITERATURE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 421 PAGES

Rousseau may be best known for his political philosophy, but in this novel we see his softer side. This is the passionate story told through the letters of two lovers in a small town at the foot of the Alps. (SWZ19, $33.95)

Solo Faces

Solo Faces


by James Salter

  • LITERATURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 218 PAGES

The story of an American climber who, dissatisfied with his everyday life, travels to the Alps of southern France to tackle mountain peaks. The prose is glorious and the mountain-climbing scenes are as vivid as they get. (ALP14, $15.00)

Glacier Ice

Glacier Ice


by Austin Post | Edward R. LaChapelle

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 145 PAGES

A classic book of extraordinary black-and-white aerial photographs of mountains and glaciers by two devoted men of ice. Ed LaChapelle's text is paired with Austin Post's stunning aerial photographs of glaciers from Alaska and Chile to Switzerland, the Himalayas and other parts of the world. (SCI07, $27.95)

Birds of Europe

Birds of Europe


by Lars Svensson

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Featuring 3,500 glorious paintings by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterstrom, the second revised edition of this exquisite guide has been brought up to date with revised text and maps. (FG47, $29.95)

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