Welcome!

Enrich Your Travels with Longitude

We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.

SIGN UP FOR

Longitude News

Get our monthly e-mail update

GET A

Catalog

BEST OF 2011

Wild Coast

John Gimlette

SEE ALL >

FOR THE HOLIDAYS

To the Arctic

Florian Schultz

SEE ALL >

OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

SEE ALL >

GLOBES

The Pioneer

Replogle

SEE ALL >

Paradores & Pousadas

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

  • E-MAIL
  • PRINT

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 EXIBR34. Buy these 5 items as a set for $84 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

ADD SET
TO BOOKBAG
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 Lisbon

Eyewitness Guide Lisbon

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A compact, illustrated guide to the city featuring excellent neighborhood maps and hundreds of color photographs. It also includes chapters on the surrounding areas and Lisbon's coast. (PGL04, $20.00)

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)

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)

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)

 

Lisbon Map


by Streetwise Maps

  • MAP

A handy folded, laminated street map of Lisbon in full color at a scale of 1:8,000. (PGL54, $7.95)

Madrid Map

Madrid Map


by Borch Maps

  • 2007
  • MAP
  • 2007 PAGES

A detailed map of Madrid at a scale of 1:10,000, laminated and folded for easy reference. (SPN106, $7.95)

Fodor's Barcelona's 25 Best

Fodor's Barcelona's 25 Best


by Fodors

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 96 PAGES

This handy pocket guide includes an excellent map and essential information for a making the most of a short visit. (SPN136, $11.99)

Fodor's Lisbon's 25 Best

Fodor's Lisbon's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

This slim guide to Lisbon includes an excellent map of the city center and essential information on its highlights. (PGL40, $11.99)

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)

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)

The Food of Portugal

The Food of Portugal


by Jean Anderson

  • FOOD
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

An award-winning cookbook featuring the cuisine of Portugal and background on Portuguese culture. Sure to please the palates of tourists interested in Portuguese food, and of emigrants in search of that authentic taste of home. (PGL10, $19.95)

A Concise History of Portugal

A Concise History of Portugal


by David Birmingham

  • HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

A straightforward and informative account of Portugal from prehistory to its zenith as a seafaring power and current day realities. (PGL01, $25.99)

A Traveller's History of Portugal

A Traveller's History of Portugal


by Ian Robertson

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A lively, admirably concise survey from prehistory to the present, great for travelers to Portugal who would like an overview of the country's history and culture. (PGL32, $14.95)

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)

Barcelona

Barcelona


by Robert Hughes

  • HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 570 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A Longitude favorite, this big, thoroughly enjoyable cultural history of the city touches on architecture, art, religion and literature from Roman outpost to the present. (SPN01, $21.00)

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 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 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)

Goya, Painter of Terrible Splendor

Goya, Painter of Terrible Splendor


by Jeanine Baticle

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

A pocket-size encyclopedia, this slim book is an illustrated overview of the life and times of Goya. It's an illuminating portrait of 18th-century Madrid. (SPN35, $12.95)

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)

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)

Iberia, Spanish Travels & Reflections

Iberia, Spanish Travels & Reflections


by James Michener

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 960 PAGES

In this best-selling travelogue, Michener presents a compulsively readable and well-observed account of his love affair with Spain and all things Spanish. It has achieved the status of a classic, rich in detail and insightful. (SPN16, $8.99)

Journey to Portugal, In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture

Journey to Portugal, In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture


by Jose Saramago

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 464 PAGES

Jose Saramago's richly detailed account of his journey across Portugal in 1979. He combines his vivid impressions of the Portuguese landscape and people with a dose of history, fiction and meditations. (PGL23, $17.00)

A Season in Granada, Uncollected Poems & Prose

A Season in Granada, Uncollected Poems & Prose


by Garcia Lorca | Christopher Maurer

  • LITERATURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

A selection of poems and prose in celebration of Granada, where Garcia Lorca was raised, studied and spent much of his short life. (SPN117, $13.95)

A Small Death in Lisbon

A Small Death in Lisbon


by Robert Wilson

  • MYSTERY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 440 PAGES

Set in Lisbon in 1941 and 1999, this award-winning mystery intertwines a present day murder, some unsavory arms production, and smuggling in Nazi Germany. Be warned, there are some graphic passages dealing with the horrors of war and concentration camps. (PGL22, $7.99)

Platero and I

Platero and I


by Juan Ramon Jimenez | Eloise Roach

  • LITERATURE
  • 1983
  • PAPER
  • 218 PAGES

In this autobiographical tale, the Nobel Prize-winner chronicles the wanderings of a donkey and his meditative master through Andalusia, capturing the rhythms and traditions of village life. (SPN214, $19.95)

The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Rises


by Ernest Hemingway

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Hemingway's great novel, which encapsulates the angst of the post-WWI "lost generation," is the story of unmoored American and British expats travelling from Paris to Pamplona. (SPN33, $15.00)

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)

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.